1 . Allison Guallpa concentrates on following the video directions for an unusual painting at home — the eighth-grader must draw a face using fruits or vegetables. She chooses peaches for rosy cheeks and a banana for the mouth.
That’s just one project Guallpa and other children are participating in during a 10-week, free, virtual art education series led by Marie Saint-Cyr, owner of Saint-Cyr Art Studio. Other challenges have included drawing a black-and-white still life of bottles, creating a watercolor landscape (风景) and copying works of artists like Van Gogh.
Saint-Cyr began the program during the summer of 2020 to give children an opportunity to express themselves and their feelings during dramatic changes in their lives because of COVID-19. Saint-Cyr, 25, moved to Long Island at 8. The programs she attended after her arrival were free and influenced her so much that she wanted to create something alike for the next generation.
Parents first contact Saint-Cyr through her website, Saintcyrartstudio.com. Saint-Cyr works with program supporters who pay her and provide the supplies for the children, which parents can pick up or have delivered. Saint-Cyr then provides 30-minute videos through Google Classroom that walk students through creating their artwork projects. At 4 p.m. meetups Mondays through Thursdays, whoever can make it attends a Zoom meeting where children show off their works in progress, give each other feedback (反馈) and ask questions. They also do 5-to 10-minute small exercises to improve their skills. It might be “Find an object and draw it without lifting the pencil off the paper”. At the conclusion of the series, Saint-Cyr displays students’ work in the “walk-through” virtual gallery online. It looks as if viewers are really walking through a museum display with all the kids’ professional artwork hanging on the walls.
Instead of being bored, the students participating in the program have got something to do — create things, see all the students’ works and get ideas. Saint-Cyr is considering bringing the program to nearby schools as an optional after-school activity.
1. How does Guallpa learn to create the unusual painting?| A．Through TV programs. |
| B．Through picture books. |
| C．Through school courses. |
| D．Through video instructions. |
| A．To strengthen teacher-student relationship. |
| B．To help kids express emotions artistically. |
| C．To provide parents with painting supplies. |
| D．To sharpen kids’ organizational skills. |
| A．How the art program works. |
| B．How parents react to the art program. |
| C．What kids do at the regular meetings. |
| D．What viewers think of kids’ creations. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Positive. |
| C．Uncaring. | D．Opposed. |
2 . I have a special place in my heart for libraries. I have for as long as I can remember. I was always an enthusiastic reader, sometimes reading up to three books a day as a child. Stories were like air to me and while other kids played ball or went to parties, I lived out adventures through the books I checked out from the library.
My first job was working at the Ukiah Library when I was 16 years old .It was a dream job and I did everything from shelving books to reading to the children for story time.
As I grew older and became a mother, the library took on a new place and an added meaning in my life. I had several children and books were our main source(来源) of entertainment. It was a big deal for us to load up and go to the local library, where my kids could pick out books to read or books they wanted me to read to them.
I always read ,using different voices ,as though I were acting out the stories with my voice and they loved it !It was a special time to bond with my children and it filled them with the wonderment of books .
Now, I see my children taking their children to the library and I love that the excitement of going to the library lives on form generation to generation.
As a novelist, I’ve found a new relationship with libraries. I encourage readers to go to their local library when they can’t afford to purchase a book. I see libraries as a safe haven(避风港) for readers and writers, a bridge that helps put together a reader with a book. Libraries, in their own way, help fight book piracy(盗版行为) and 1 think all writers should support libraries in a significant way when they can. Encourage readers to use the library. Share library announcements on your social media. Frequent them and talk about them when you can.
1. Which word best describes the author’s relationship with books as a child?| A．Cooperative. | B．Uneasy. | C．Inseparable. | D．Casual. |
| A．Pleasure from working in the library. |
| B．Joy of reading passed on in the family. |
| C．Wonderment from acting out the stories. |
| D．A closer bond developed with the readers. |
| A．Sponsor book fairs. | B．Write for social media. |
| C．Support libraries. | D．Purchase her novels. |
| A．Reading: A Source of Knowledge |
| B．My Idea about writing |
| C．Library: A Haven for the Young |
| D．My Love of the Library |
