1 . Top Exhibitions to See in London in 2023
Architectural: Vanishing Points
While we like to think of architecture existing purely in the real world, emerging designers and architects are using platforms like Instagram to create structures in the virtual world. This collection of works, which range from the practical to the fantastical, are all by architects who have gathered significant social media followings.
In the Digital Universe at ROCA London. 8 February—31 July, free.
Flowery: Orchids
This annual festival is back in bloom (开花), this time inspired by the beauty and biodiversity of Cameroon. Just like previous years, the orchids are spread throughout the various zones of the Princess of Wales conservatory and accompanied by sculptures that are just as colourful as the flowers on display.
At Kew Gardens. 4 February —5 March, &16.50—entrance to the gardens included.
Female Abstraction: Action, Gesture, Paint
Art history has often shone a light on the men of Abstract Expressionism, such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. Well, now’s the time to let the most important women of the movement take the limelight in an exhibition that includes works by American artists such as Lee Krasner and Helen Frankenthaler, but spreads the net wider to include the female abstract artists from Europe, Asia and the wider world, with whom most of us will be unfamiliar.
At Whitechapel Gallery. 9 February—7 May, £ 16.50—concessions available.
Powerful Portraits (肖像): Alice Neel
The largest UK exhibition to date of American painter Alice Neel’s work will bring together her figurative pieces from across her 60-year career. Neel went against the popular grain by painting figures when abstract works were most popular, and she painted subjects that other artists ignored — pregnant women, labour leaders, black children, civil rights activists and strange performers. It’s high time we had a major show of her work in London, and the Barbican has duly provided.
At Barbican Art Gallery. 16 February—21 May, & 18.
1. Which of the following exhibitions is held once a year?A.Flowery: Orchids. |
B.Powerful Portraits: Alice Neel. |
C.Architectural: Vanishing Points. |
D.Female Abstraction: Action, Gesture, Paint. |
A.On February 8. | B.On January 7. | C.On April 7. | D.On May 8. |
A.She is 60 years old now. |
B.Her works didn’t follow the trend. |
C.She often ignored some common subjects. |
D.She is the most popular American painter in the UK. |
2 . If you are crazy about paintings, you shouldn’t miss the following four famous masterpieces which have stood the test of time.
The Arnolfini Portrait
Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, an oil painting on wood produced in 1434, in which a man and a woman hold hands with a window behind him and a bed behind her, is undoubtedly one of the masterpieces in the National Gallery, London. This painting is as visually interesting as it is famed. It is also an informative document in fifteenth-century society, through Van Eyck’s heavy use of symbolism—while husbands went out to engage in business, wives concerned themselves with domestic duties.
The Starry Night
Vincent van Gogh painted The Starry Night, oil on canvas, a moderately abstract landscape painting of an expressive night sky over a small hillside village, during his 12-month stay at the mental hospital near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France between 1889 and 1890. When the Museum of Modern Art in New York City purchased the painting from a private collector in 1941, it was not well known, but it has since become one of Van Gogh’s most famous works.
The Harvesters
The Harvesters is an oil painting on wood completed by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1565. It depicts the harvest time which most commonly occurs within the months of August and September. Nicolaes Jonghelinck, a merchant banker and art collector from Antwerp, commissioned this painting. The painting has been at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City since 1919.
Guernica
Guernica, a large black-and-white oil painting, was painted by the Cubist Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso in 1937. The title “Guernica” refers to the city that was bombed by Nazi planes during the Spanish Civil War. The painting depicts the horrors of war and as a result, has come to be an anti-war symbol and a reminder of the tragedies of war. Today, the painting is housed at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofaí in Madrid.
1. Which of the following paintings was produced earliest?A.The Arnolfini Portrait. | B.The Starry Night. |
C.The Harvesters. | D.Guernica. |
A.It was painted on wood in oil. |
B.It wasn’t widely recognized before 1940s. |
C.It described the painter’s life in hospital. |
D.It was given away to the museum by a private collector. |
A.Pieter Bruegel the Elder. | B.Vincent van Gogh. |
C.Jan van Eyck. | D.Pablo Picasso. |
3 . One of the oldest metaphors (隐喻) for human interaction with technology is the relationship of master and slave. Aristotle imagined that technology could replace slavery if machine became automated. Marx and Engels saw things differently. “Masses of laborers are daily and hourly enslaved by the machine,” they wrote in the Communist Manifesto.
Today, computers often play both roles. Nicholas Carr, in his new book The Glass Cage: Automation and Us, takes a stand on whether such technology imprisons or liberates its users. We are increasingly engaged, he argues, but the invisibility of our high-tech traps gives us the ‘image of freedom’. He describes doctors who rely so much on decision-assistance software that they overlook signals that are not obvious from patients.
All of this has obvious implications for the use of technology in classrooms: When do technologies free students to think about more interesting and complex questions, and when do they destroy the very cognitive (认知) capacities that they are meant to improve? The effect of spell check and AutoCorrect software is an example. Psychologists have found the act of forming a word in your mind strengthens your capacity to remember it. When a computer automatically corrects a spelling mistake, we’re no longer forced to form the correct spelling in our minds.
This might not seem very important. The process of word formation is not just supplementing spelling skills, it’s also destroying students. When students find themselves without automated spelling assistance, they don’t face the prospect of freezing to death, as the Inuits did when their GPS malfunctioned, but they’re more likely to make errors. This creates a vicious cycle: The more we use the technology, the more we need to use it in all circumstances. Suddenly, our position as masters of technology starts to seem more insecure.
1. What did Marx and Engels think of the machine?A.It did the boring daily work for people. |
B.It failed to free people from being enslaved. |
C.It gave people more time to enjoy themselves. |
D.It was the result of the development of technology. |
A.Technology is a guarantee of freedom. |
B.Doctors should stay away from technology. |
C.Too much involvement with technology may be risky. |
D.Some decision-assistance software needs improving. |
A.Students being unable to spell words correctly. |
B.Spell check helping students remember more words. |
C.Students depending too much on spelling software. |
D.Spellcheck destroying students’ cognitive capacities. |
A.Is technology making people stupid or not? |
B.Which areas are most affected by technology? |
C.Are people satisfied with the advancement of technology? |
D.Why shouldn’t technology be employed in the classroom? |
4 . We offer a programme of lectures by members of the MCLL community and other lifelong learning organisations, as well as university faculty members who have been invited to share their research with us on a variety of topics. View Instructions on How to Register Online.
Lecture 1: Social Media and MisinformationTime: Friday, June 9, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Richard Harris
Attendance: Online
A retired American IT professional, Richard Harris, will take us deep into a social media’s business model, its differences from traditional media, recent examples of its use for misinformation and possible solutions that respect freedom of expression. A lively round-table discussion not to be missed!
Lecture 2: Global Mental HealthTime: Friday, June 16, 1:00 p.m.
Presenter: Marc Laporta
Attendance: Online
Mental health was known to the public quite late. Many countries are finding ways to reduce its impact, but many factors get in the way. However, progress is visible, and hope is justified. Mare Laporta will discuss different aspects of mental health and exchange ideas about ways to improve the situation.
Lecture 3: The Silk RoadTime: Friday, June 23, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: George Lapa
Attendance: Online
The Silk Road refers to a network of routes, covering over 6,400 km, used by traders from the Han Dynasty of China who opened trade in 130 BCE until 1453 CE. The exchange of information gave rise to new technologies and innovations that changed the Western world. Topics such as gunpowder, the compass (指南针), paper-making and printing will be presented.
Lecture 4: South to Textile FactoriesTime: Friday, June 30, 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Muriel Herrington
Attendance: In person
Between 1840 and 1930 a million French-Canadians left Canada to work in the United States. Many were employed in textile (纺织品) factories in the New England states. In these areas they set up communities where they maintained the French language and culture. In this lecture Muriel Herrington will describe their working and living conditions and show their impact.
1. What will the audience attending Lecture 1 do?A.Build a social media’s business model. |
B.Exchange ideas with each other. |
C.Enjoy more respect and freedom. |
D.Contact the presenter in advance. |
A.Marc Laporta. | B.Richard Harris. | C.George Lapa. | D.Muriel Herrington. |
A.The Silk Road. |
B.South to Textile Factories. |
C.Global Mental Health. |
D.Social Media and Misinformation. |
A Little Boy
A little boy selling magazines for school walked up to a house that people rarely visited. The house was very old and shabby and the owner hardly ever came out. When he did come out, he would not say hello to his neighbors or passers-by but simply just glared at them.
The boy knocked on the door and waited, sweating from fear of the old man. The boy’s parents told him to stay away from the house, and a lot of other neighborhood children were told the same thing from their parents.
Dusk found the boy lingering on and hesitating what to do. As he was ready to walk away, the door slowly opened. “What do you want?” the old man said impatiently. The little boy was very afraid but he had a quota (定额) to meet for school with selling the magazines. So he got up the courage and said, “Uh, Sir, I am selling these magazines and, uh, I was wondering if you would like to buy one from me.”
The old man just stared at the boy without a word. The boy could see inside the old man’s house and saw that he had dog figurines (小雕像) on the fireplace mantle. “Do you collect dogs?” The little boy asked. “Yes, I have many collections in my house. They are my family here and they are all I have.” The boy then felt sorry for the man, as it seemed that he was a very lonely soul.
“Well, I do have a magazine here for collectors. It is perfect for you. I also have one about dogs since you like dogs so much.” The old man was ready to close the door on the boy and said, “No, boy. I don’t need any magazines of any kind, now goodbye.”
The little boy was sad that he was not going to make his quota with the sale. He was also sad for the old man being so alone in the house that he owned. The boy went home and then had an idea. He had a little dog figurine that he got some years ago from an aunt. The figurine did not mean nearly as much to him since he had a real live dog and a large family.
注意:1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式作答。
The little boy headed back down to the old man’s house.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________From that day on something changed inside the old man.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Du Fu: China’s Greatest Poet”, a 58-minute documentary released recently on BBC, introduces Du Fu to the Western world for the first time
Born in 712, Du Fu lived through the violent fall of China’s brilliant Tang Dynasty. He had the desire to serve his country, but his life
The documentary compared Du to Shakespeare to help audiences
During an interview, the director even quoted a line from Du to encourage the people
Ali and his younger sister, Zahra, lived with their parents in a poor neighborhood. Their mother was very sick and their father was struggling to find a job, and they had only a little money with which to buy food. As they had not paid the rent for several months, the landlord was breathing down their necks.
One day, Ali took Zahra's shoes to a shoe repairman to be fixed, but he lost them on the way home. It wasn’t until he got home that he realized he had lost the shoes. He was afraid that his parents would be angry and disappointed, so he begged his sister to keep it a secret. Zahra agreed and the two decided to share Ali’s running shoes. Zahra's school hours were in the morning, so she would wear them first. After school, she would rush back and give them to Ali. He could then run to his school, which began in the afternoon. Although he ran as fast as he could, Ali often arrived late and was warned by the school.
Ali heard about a long distance race that was held for the boys in the city.When he learned that the third prize was a new pair of shoes, he decided to take part. He ran home excitedly and promised his sister that he would win her the new shoes.
The day of race arrived. Ali had a strong start, but halfway through the race he began to get tired and his legs began to ache. Getting more and more exhausted he thought only of Zahra and his promise to her. Dreaming of the new shoes he would win for his sister gave him strength, and he stayed right behind the two fastest runners, determined to finish third. Suddenly, as the finish line drew near, another runner collided(碰撞) with Ali from behind and he crashed to the ground.
Ali looked up and saw the other boys rushing ahead.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Filled with delight, Ali walked home quickly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A new study says that going to bed late may be bad
Researcher Malcolm von Schantz said, “This is a public health problem that can no longer
9 . Paris is the most wooded (树木茂森的) city in Europe, and around one quarter of its area is taken up by parks, gardens and other green spaces.
Jardin des Plantes: over 28 hectares
This impressive botanical garden is home to four museums, including the Natural History Museum, which houses a variety of African animals. The gardens themselves boast thousands of species of plants. This is a lovely place to relax and explore the beautiful surroundings.
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont: over 24 hectares
If you want to get off the tourist trail and hang out with true Parisians, this park is the perfect spot for a relaxing picnic or a leisurely wander. It is in the 19th district and is one of the largest parks in Paris. Cross its lake on the suspension bridge, or admire the waterfalls and attractive temples.
Jardin du Luxembourg: over 25 hectares
These beautiful gardens were first laid out in 1612 as the gardens of the Luxembourg Palace. They include a geometric (结合图形的) forest, French and English style gardens, as well as a large pond. There is so much to see and do with activities especially for children, such as slides, rides and puppet shows, as well as leisure and sporting activities for adults. The gardens are home to more than one hundred sculptures.
Le Parc de la Villette: 55 hectares
This urban cultural park is so much more than just a park as it is home to numerous music venues, exhibition spaces and cafes. It is also home to no less than 12 gardens, which all follow different themes. The Passenger Gardens, for example, which are built on what was once the sheep market, support a variety of ecosystems, demonstrating the importance of biodiversity.
1. Which green space probably suits students who are interested in botany?A.Jardin des Plantes. | B.Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. |
C.Jardin du Luxembourg. | D.Le Parc de la Villette. |
A.They feature American style gardens. | B.They are favorite gardens for the French. |
C.They house a variety of African animals. | D.They used to be royal gardens. |
A.Visiting museums. | B.Attending concerts. |
C.Admiring waterfalls. | D.Watching puppet shows. |
10 . Pinocchio may be just a children’s fairy tale, but Spanish scientists at the University of Granada recently investigated this so-called “Pinocchio effect” and found that our noses don’t grow when we tell a lie, but actually shrink a bit.
Dr. Gómez Milán and his team developed a lie detector test that used thermography (体温计) to tell if people were lying and found that whenever participants in their research were being untruthful, the temperature of the tip of their nose dropped up to 1.2℃, while the temperature of their forehead increased up to 1.5℃. Scientist also found that drop in temperature at nose level actually caused it to slightly shrink, although the difference is undetected by the human eye.
“One has to think in order to lie, which rises the temperature of the forehead,” Dr. Gómez Milán explained the findings. “At the same time, we feel anxious, which lowers the temperature of the nose.” For this study, researchers asked a number of 60 students to perform various tasks while their temperature is scanned by technology. One of these tasks required making a 3 to 4 minutes call to their parents or a friend and telling a significant lie. Participants had to make up the lie themselves during the call. Interestingly, this lie detector picked up the temperature difference in 80 percent of the test subjects, which is a better rate of success than that of any modern lie detector.
“With this method we have achieved to increase accuracy”, said Dr. Gómez Milán, who added that law enforcement interviewers could one day combine other lie detection technology with thermal imaging to achieve better results.
1. Why does the writer talk about Pinocchio in the first paragraph?A.To tell a fairy tale. |
B.To give an example. |
C.To talk about a scientist. |
D.To introduce the topic. |
A.Our noses will grow when we tell a lie. |
B.Our noses will shrink when we tell a lie. |
C.The temperature of the forehead falls if we lie. |
D.The temperature of the student rises for anxiety. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Surprised. |
C.Confident. | D.Puzzled. |
A.A lie will travel very hard. |
B.Many ways to bring a liar to light. |
C.A lie never lives to be old. |
D.Once a liar always a liar for sure. |