Philadelphia is a city known for many things. It is where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, and it was also the first capital of the United States.
More than 20 years ago, a New Jersey artist named Jane Golden started a program pairing troubled youth with artists to paint murals on a few buildings around the city.
Take a walk around some of the poorest neighborhoods in Philadelphia and you will find beautiful works of art on the sides and fronts of buildings. Of course the murals are not just in poor neighborhoods, but richer ones as well. Special buses take tourists to different parts of the city to see the various murals, which show the diverse ethnic groups that call Philadelphia home.
| A．How did this come to be? |
| B．What happened to the murals on Earth? |
| C．They also learned to take pride in their community. |
| D．But one fact about Philadelphia is not so well-known. |
| E．From this small project, something magical happened. |
| F．The program encouraged troubled youth to paint together with their teachers. |
| G．As a result of its success, the murals program has now become the nation’s largest public art program. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Whether you're travelling to the islands or the mountains of Thailand, you're likely to spend at least one night in its capital city, Bangkok. It's an exciting city with plenty of things to see and do. Why not make it a longer stay?
Where to stay
The Khao San Road was a famous but noisy traveller spot, not very pretty and not very Thai. For something more typical, Phra Kanong offers an alternative place to stay, with its fantastic street markets where everyday Bangkok people eat, work and live.
How to get around
Bangkok's traffic can be a nightmare. Sure, you can easily take a taxi-if you want to spend hours stuck in traffic jams. To explore the temples, catch a longtail boat along the Chao Phraya river and the canals. For the modern part of the city, the Skytrain is a fast, cheap way to travel from the river to the shopping malls and nightlife of Sukhumvit, and the famous Chatuchak street market.
Where to eat
The simple answer is: everywhere! Thai street food is among the best in the world, and for around $5 you can eat a filling and delicious meal. Some food stands have little plastic seats where you can sit and eat. Head for Chinatown-Yaowarat Street-and choose whatever looks most interesting.
What to do
After you've seen the main sites like the Giant Buddha at the temple of Wat Pho and the spectacular Grand Palace, and shopped at Chatuchak market, check out the snake farm and watch the live snake show. You can even touch a snake yourself if you want to!
1. If you want to try something typical, you can go to ________.| A．Phra Kanong | B．the Skytrain |
| C．Chinatown | D．Chatuchak street market |
| A．It is the best to travel by taxi in Bangkok. |
| B．The Skytrain offers no service in the evening. |
| C．It is better to travel by boat when visiting temples. |
| D．It is convenient and comfortable to travel in Bangkok. |
| A．introduce the capital city of Thailand |
| B．attract tourists to the capital city of Thailand |
| C．present people with something special about Thailand |
| D．provide information about historical sights of Thailand |
【推荐2】Sometime in the early 1960s, a significant thing happened in Sydney, Australia. The city discovered its harbor. Then, one after another, Sydney discovered lots of things that were just sort of there — broad parks, superb beaches, and a culturally diverse population. But it is the harbor that makes the city.
Andrew Reynolds, a cheerful fellow in his early 30s, pilots Sydney ferryboats for a living. I spent the whole morning shuttling back and forth across the harbor. After our third run Andrew shut down the engine, and we went our separate ways — he for a lunch break, I to explore the city.
“I’ll miss these old boats,” he said as we parted.
“How do you mean?” I asked.
“Oh, they’re replacing them with catamarans. Catamarans are faster, but they’re not so elegant, and they’re not fun to pilot. But that’s progress, I guess.”
Everywhere in Sydney these days, change and progress are the watchwords (口号), and traditions are increasingly rare. Shirley Fitzgerald, the city’s official historian, told me that in its rush to modernity in the 1970s, Sydney swept aside much of its past, including many of its finest buildings. “Sydney is confused about itself,” she said. “We can’t seem to make up our minds whether we want a modern city or a traditional one. It’s a conflict that we aren’t getting any better at resolving (解决).”
On the other hand, being young and old at the same time has its attractions. I considered this when I met a thoughtful young businessman named Anthony. “Many people say that we lack culture in this country,” he told me. “What people forget is that the Italians, when they came to Australia, brought 2000 years of their culture, the Greeks some 3000 years, and the Chinese more still. We’ve got a foundation built on ancient cultures but with a drive and dynamism of a young country. It’s a pretty hard combination to beat.”
He is right, but I can’t help wishing they would keep those old ferries.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．Sydney’s striking architecture. | B．The cultural diversity of Sydney. |
| C．The key to Sydney’s development. | D．Sydney’s tourist attractions in the 1960s. |
| A．He goes to work by boat. | B．He looks forward to a new life. |
| C．He pilots catamarans well. | D．He is attached to the old ferries. |
| A．It is losing its traditions. | B．It should speed up its progress. |
| C．It should expand its population. | D．It is becoming more international. |
| A．A city can be young and old at the same time. |
| B．A city built on ancient cultures is more dynamic. |
| C．Modernity is usually achieved at the cost of elegance. |
| D．Compromise should be made between the local and the foreign. |
【推荐3】Washington D.C. is a destination filled with sites of historic and current importance. During a visit, you can learn about the structure of the government and see monuments, museums and much more.
After exploring some of Washington D.C.’s amazing monuments, the next stop should be to plan out a visit to some of the Smithsonian Institution’s complex of museums. With over 19 museums and the National Zoological Park, it’s unlikely that you will have the time to explore each of these museums on a single visit. The best way to enjoy the Smithsonian Institution is to plan out which museums you are most interested in visiting. If you are interested in culture, the National Museum of African American History and Culture is a wonderful choice, where you can learn about the richness and diversity of the African American experience.
Washington D.C. doesn’t just have monuments and museums. There are also chances to enjoy the great outdoors.
The arts and entertainment in Washington D.C. are also an important part of any trip to the city.
| A．Washington D.C. is filled with important monuments. |
| B．The city has many parks and places to enjoy. |
| C．You will find art galleries, clubs and fantastic restaurants. |
| D．These important landmarks are open all day and into the evening. |
| E．Washington D.C. is one of the great destinations you can visit. |
| F．You can see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and many more. |
| G．Another museum that you should visit is the National Museum of the American Indian. |
【推荐1】A fashion show that features elderly people as models is a rarity. One with elderly Black African models is even rarer. Perhaps that’s why Nigerian visual artist Malik Afegbua got so much attention from around the world when he posted images titled “The Elders Series” on social media last month showing seniors on a fashion runway, dressed in stylish and colorful clothes.
“The inspiration behind this series was my mum,” explained Afegbua, 38. “She had a stroke(中风), and I am very close to her. I just needed an outlet to find a way to express myself and not think about her on a life-support machine. I wanted to think about her in a happy place.”
But what’s truly remarkable about the images is that the ground-breaking fashion show never actually took place. While the images look like photographs of a genuine vent, they were entirely generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
“The Eiders Series” is an extension of other projects that Afegbua has created through AI. He uses the AI Platform Midjourney, which generates images in response to text prompts (提示). Afegbua says he experiments with different phases, refining his search terms until he gets an image he likes, and then edits it in Photoshop-repeating the process until he achieves the effect he’s looking for.
Afegbua believes AI can be a powerful tool for the arts-film and television in particular. “It’s here to say...it’s going to advance and it’s going to get better,” he said. But he says the role of a human creator is still key. “AI is not All. It can’t think by itself. There is always s human being behind it-to put things in motion,” he added.
1. Why did Afegbua create “The Elders Series”?| A．To raise money for his mom in hospital. | B．To express his sadness in a positive way. |
| C．To call on people to care for the seniors. | D．To earn money to buy a life support machine. |
| A．Their production method. | B．Their pretty models. |
| C．Their shooting location. | D．Their photographer. |
| A．What the AI platform Midjourney is. | B．Why “The Elders Series” is so popular. |
| C．Why AI performs better than man. | D．How Afegbun uses AI to create artworks. |
| A．Human creators are to be replaced. | B．AI can be used as tools only in art. |
| C．AI just plays an assisting role in art creation. | D．AI has advanced to the highest level. |
【推荐2】In a working site near Paris, several people are busy cleaning a canvas (画布), trying to correct the pains of time: The repairing of 22 paintings of Notre-Dame (巴黎圣母院), which were damaged by a fire in April 2019, is “a race against time”.
The project of repairing these works, which must be returned to the building for its reopening in 2024, is a unique one compared to others.
“Two years may seem like a long time? but that’s the time it takes to do the job of simply one canvas like The Triumph of Job, which is behind us,” one expert Laurence said, pointing out the huge work several meters high by the Italian artist Guido Reni, which was hung behind her back.
“You do not touch a canvas without knowing its medical history”, underlines Lavit, heritage curator (馆长) at the Center of research and repair of the Museums of France.
Once this history is known, the paintings move on to cleaning. The protector-repairer Pasquali stresses that it is a team effort.
Opposite her is Hulot, an expert in repair. One object of his attention is The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew by French artist Lubin Baugin. His job is to make sure that the canvases do not break.
Meanwhile, another team takes care of the frames (边框). “The heat of the fire dried and weakened the wood,” comments Galopin.
Once all these steps have been completed, the paintings are stored in a special room. It takes between 8 and 10 people to move them safely. They will remain there until the reopening of the church.
1. What do we know about the repair work?| A．Its focus is on cleaning a canvas. |
| B．It is considered as the pains of time. |
| C．It is different from all other projects. |
| D．Its working site is in the city of Paris. |
| A．The paintings were badly damaged in the 2019 fire. |
| B．Workers need to spend two years studying one canvas. |
| C．The huge work of an Italian artist should be returned soon. |
| D．The project is to be completed by the reopening of the church. |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．Travel and Experience. | B．Art and Culture. |
| C．Science and Technology. | D．History and Legend. |
【推荐3】The Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 closed on February 20. Let’s take a look at these Chinese elements through the designs and the ingenious ideas behind them.
Medals
The front side of the Winter Olympic medals was based on the ancient Chinese jade concentric circle pendants, with five rings representing “the unity of heaven and earth and the unity of people’s hearts”. The reverse side of the medals was inspired from a piece of Chinese jadeware called “Bi”, a double jade disc with a circular hole in the center. There are 24 dots and arcs engraved on the rings of the back side, which carries the wish that athletes achieve excellence and shine like stars at the Games.
Emblem
The Beijing 2022 emblem combines traditional and modern elements of Chinese culture, and embodies the passion and vitality of winter sports. Inspired by the Chinese character “Dong (冬)” for “winter”, the upper part of the emblem resembles a skater and its lower part a skier. It also indicates that the Games coincide with the celebrations of the Chinese New Year. The blue color in the emblem represents dreams, the future and the purity of ice and snow, while red and yellow— the colors of China’s national flag-present passion, youth and vitality.
Mascots
Bing Dwen Dwen (冰墩墩) the cute mascot of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, captures attention with the panda’s full-body “shell” made out of ice. The inspiration came from traditional Chinese snack “ice-sugar gourd” (tanghulu) , while the shell also resembles a space suit— embracing new technologies for a future of infinite possibilities, “Bing” is the Chinese character for ice, which symbolizes purity and toughness, in line with the spirit of the Olympics. Dwen Dwen is a common nickname in China for children that suggests health and ingenuity.
Uniforms
The Chinese delegation wore a set of long cashmere coats with beige for the male team and the traditional red for the female team, with woolen hats that matched their coats. Some athletes also wore red caps with beige coats. They all wore white boots. Their scarves’ were in the color of China’s national flag, with the Chinese character for “China” woven in yellow on the red background. The color red highlights the warm and festive atmosphere and shows the hospitality of the Chinese people.
1. Where was the inspiration of the reverse side of the medals from?| A．From traditional Chinese snacks. | B．From a piece of Chinese jadeware. |
| C．From a bronze lamp. | D．From Chinese characters. |
| A．It represents health and ingenuity. |
| B．It represents passion, youth and vitality. |
| C．It represents dreams, the future and the purity of ice and snow. |
| D．It represents the unity of heaven and earth and the unity of people’s hearts |
| A．Medals. | B．Emblem. | C．Mascots. | D．Uniforms |
