1 . Art is a universal language. Music is a universal language. Love is a universal language. Now, it’s the turn of sand to be mentioned in such terms. In her work, sand artist Kseniya Simonova mixes art, music and love to create her own medium which can be understood and appreciated by everyone.
According to Simonova, she fell in love with sand art “absolutely accidentally.” Her husband, a theatre director, advised her to give it a try. “I never thought I could perform; I was always a classical artist,” reveals Simonova. “I just started it as a hobby and I never thought it would turn out to be what it is now.” In 2009, Simonova won the “Ukraine’s Got Talent” TV contest. Since then her fame has skyrocketed, and she has become a real sensation (引起轰动的人).
The art Simonova creates is magical; however, the medium she uses is quite common. “It is ordinary river sand. There was a time when I did use the volcanic one, but actually it makes no difference,” says Simonova. “In sand art it is an idea and its visualisation that matters. What I do is create a theatre in my mind. The sand is a very convenient medium that is very flexible and responds to speed well. It can show what is going on in my head.”
The images created by the artist live only for a few seconds. However, Simonova is not in any way alarmed by the momentary aspect of sand art. “I know that my creations exist only for a while, but I believe that to be absolutely normal because art mirrors life. We live every moment of our life, but it’s not possible to repeat those. The same is the case with what I do,” Simonova concludes.
Sand art helps the artist to see the world in a new way, painting ever-changing life in every grain of sand.
1. How does Simonova feel about her achievements in sand art initially?| A．Confident. | B．Amused. | C．Confused. | D．Surprised. |
| A．The medium. | B．The story. | C．The theatre. | D．The audience’s response. |
| A．It reflects our life. | B．It is a kind of regret. |
| C．It encourages repetition. | D．It alarms many sand artists. |
| A．Love: a universal language |
| B．Sand art: a new form of performance |
| C．Kseniya Simonova: painting the world with sand |
| D．Sand artists: impressing the world with awesome work |
Han Gan, a famous artist, was born
Chinese writers shine at prestigious sci-fi awards
Chinese sci-fi writers and artists had a
Hai created the story
The Hugo Awards, first presented in 1953 and presented annually since 1955, are science fiction’s prestigious awards. The awards
Chinese artist Zhao Enzhe won the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist,
4 . Black and white mountains and rocks covered in colorful mist—the combination of Chinese and Western painting styles—attracts Michela Millstein at an art exhibition in San Francisco.
“I think there are a lot of meanings behind the paintings. You can tell that it’s trying to show cultural things and not just a picture,” Millstein says. Having studied Chinese for three years, Millstein, a high school student in the San Francisco Bay Area, says she loves Chinese culture.
The exhibition, The Flying Colors, presented more than 60 pieces of Chinese ink paintings by a local artist, Arthur Ku, at San Francisco City Hall recently.
“Arthur Ku is a well-known painter, calligrapher, and artist; his endless devotion to the art community has undoubtedly contributed to the vitality (活力) of San Francisco,” the mayor said in the announcement.
Ku was born in Guangdong province in 1941 and settled down in the United States in 1977. He has been exploring the “splash ink and color” style, which is a technique of working with splashy (泼墨), colorful washes to create an abstract, expressive style. Ku’s artistic talent in traditional Chinese brush and ink painting inspired a unique style of down-to-earth and creative freedom, which created a critical attempt of traditional Chinese brush painting into modern and contemporary art, according to mayor’s statement.
Ku is also keen to promote cultural and artistic exchanges between China and the US to improve art and friendship. He has successfully held several joint painting exhibitions in the US for artists from China.
“I think inclusiveness brings unity and diversity brings vitality. We are now living in the most challenging times. So, I think it’s important for us to embrace more inclusiveness and diversity, to have more cultural dialogue, so that we can communicate better and respect each other more.” said Arthur Ku.
1. What can we learn from Millstein’s words in paragraph 2?| A．The exhibition held recently. |
| B．The beauty of artistic works. |
| C．The passion for artistic works. |
| D．The cultural significance of the works |
| A．Innovative. | B．Traditional. | C．Costly. | D．Inimitable. |
| A．To promote cultural and artistic exchanges. |
| B．To found an international charity organisation. |
| C．To enhance the reputation of some Chinese artists. |
| D．To introduce the history of Chinese traditional arts. |
| A．The learning process of a Chinese artist. |
| B．An artist furthering cultural communication. |
| C．The guidance on communicating and respecting. |
| D．An art exhibition held at San Francisco City Hall. |
5 . Born in Pennsylvania in 1894, Martha Graham was one of the most famous dancers in the world. She brought modern dance to a new level of popularity in American culture.
Earlier in her life, however, she did not know that she would become a dancer. Her family was very religious and were members of the upper class. She saw a dance performance accidentally when she was 16, and then decided to become a dancer. Martha’s parents, however, did not approve of her desire to dance. At that time, people saw American dance as a lower art form. Yet Graham chose to follow her dream in her early twenties, even though she was considered too old to begin dancing.
In school, Graham worked very hard to improve her ability to dance. She performed for several years before moving to New York City where she wanted to make greater experiments with dance. She cooperated with music composer L.H. until 1964.Later, Graham created “Chronicle,” one of her most significant dances. It was influenced by current events including the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War. At that time, displaying strong emotions in dance was very rare. Graham also created dances based on ancient Greek tragic stories and famous heroines.
At first, people did not react well to Graham’s style of dancing for it was quite: distinct from European ballet, which was more commonly accepted. Graham’s dances were powerful, with strong and sharp movements. In 1951,Graham established the dance program at the Juilliard School in New York City. Many of her students became famous dancers. She also taught movement to many famous people, including singers, actresses and film directors.
Martha Graham received many awards during her lifetime. She was the first dancer to receive the country’s highest civilian honor. In 1998, Time magazine listed her as The “Dancer of the Century”. Her dances are still performed in New York and around the world.
1. Why did Martha’s parents oppose her dream to be a dancer?| A．Their religion forbade any art form. |
| B．It was too late for her to begin dancing. |
| C．Their family belonged to the upper class. |
| D．They didn’t consider dance as an art form. |
| A．It focuses on current events. |
| B．It conveys intense human feelings. |
| C．lt talks about ancient Greek heroines. |
| D．It was created by Graham and L.H. |
| A．They enjoyed popularity once they appeared. |
| B．They were well accepted by celebrities. |
| C．They were mainly designed at the Juilliard School. |
| D．They have common features with European dancing. |
| A．Not all that shines is gold. |
| B．Actions speak louder than words. |
| C．when in Rome, do as the Romans do. |
| D．Nothing is impossible to a willing mind. |
6 . Painting Master Class examines 100 of the most fascinating paintings by the world’s greatest artists, exploring the way they were made, and how and what we can learn from them with detailed analyses. Below are the four masterpieces students prefer.
The Empire of Light is a series of paintings by Belgian artist René Magritte. Between 1953 and 1954, he painted the same scene 27 times. It shows a beautiful house lit by lights from inside, surrounded by the darkness of night. What is strange is that above the house and the tree, we see a daytime sky full of brightness and soft white clouds.
Racing Horse is a painting by Xu Beihong. In 1941 he painted a racing horse running at a high speed like a missile across the sky. The horse in the masterpiece is painted with a typical Western perspective but very traditional Chinese ink brushwork. Xu cleverly drew in black ink to show the moving hair on the horse’s mane and tail.
The Starry Night was painted in June 1889 when Vincent van Gogh was staying at a home for the mental illness. Van Gogh painted what he saw from his window — the night sky with clouds, stars and a moon. Influenced by Impressionism, he also painted the massive circles of white and yellow racing across the sky. Beneath this amazing sky, we see a sleeping village and a dark, lonely tree. His unusual use of colour has led experts to think that Van Gogh’s mental illness may have affected his sense of sight.
The Scream was painted by Edvard Munch in 1893. What makes it striking is that it shows a thin figure with an expression of fear — the figure’s mouth is wide open and letting out a powerful scream. This figure is set on a bridge above a dark, stormy sea, and against an orange-red sky. Many experts say that The Scream is connected to Munch’s mental health problems, which caused him a lot of pain.
1. Which of the following was painted latest?| A．The Scream. | B．The Starry Night. | C．Racing Horse. | D．The Empire of Light. |
| A．Edvard Munch’s. | B．Vincent van Gogh’s. | C．Xu Beihong’s. | D．René Magritte’s. |
| A．An ink painting of stars. | B．A series of paintings about the night sky. |
| C．A painting inspired by Impressionism. | D．A figure painting of Vincent van Gogh. |
7 . Accompanied by typical Jin opera music, a red-faced performer with a long beard showed up at the hall of a high school in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province. All the students in the hall stood up and craned (伸长) their necks to get a better look. In their eyes, Jin opera was something from the past.
They are not alone. It goes without saying that kids nowadays are much more familiar with popular music than traditional opera, which is why performing artist Wu Lingyun, together with his colleagues, goes to campuses to promote the art.
Wu Lingyun is best known for his role as Guan Gong, a general during the late Han Dynasty period.
Wu began playing the role in 1985, at the age of 21, and has been associated with it ever since.
Wu was significantly influenced by his parents, both of whom are also famous Jin opera performers. With a natural talent for performing and great effort, Wu was soon recognized by audiences and later awarded the Chinese Drama Plum Blossom Award in 2000, the highest award for Chinese drama performing arts.
Given Wu’s considerable fame, one might think he would now prefer to enjoy a life of leisure. However, this is far from the case. Deep down, Wu has a big dream. He pictures a growing future for Jin opera. Wu expected more chances for more people to get to know about the art, hoping Jin opera could become a worldwide art.
Wu has also made some changes to the traditional art to bring it up-to-date.“Jin opera should keep pace with the times if we want to bring it back to life and get the young generation to accept it,“ he says. “An art without life can never survive”“
1. How did the students react to the performance at the hall?| A．They became bored. | B．They got disappointed. | C．They felt curious. | D．They looked casual |
| A．He got a top award in 2000. | B．He started his performance in his teens. |
| C．He now enjoys a leisure life. | D．He became famous because of his parents. |
| A．It’ll be studied as a college major. | B．It’ll be officially recognized. |
| C．It’ll have an easier performing form. | D．It’ll be popular across the world. |
| A．Humorous. | B．Kind-minded. | C．Cautious. | D．Devoted. |
8 . Daughter of an opera singer, Pat Benatar first studied opera at Juilliard before dropping out to marry her high school sweetheart. Together they moved to New York, but the two soon separated. In the hope of living happily ever after, she remembered her earlier dream of becoming a professional singer and started trying hard to realize it. At night, Benatar worked as a singing waitress. During the day, she knocked at the doors of record companies with her demo tape(样带).
For three years, she was met with nothing but rejections(拒绝) from record companies. These record companies were fond of her voice but they said that she was too feminine(女性的)for the style of music she performed. Then, on Halloween night 1977, Benatar gave a performance dressed as a modern vampire(吸血鬼). The audience went wild. This experience led Benatar to change her looks. In her later performances, she usually wore black tights and a short black top.
The new style made her performances more popular, and gave her a chance to work for Chrysalis Records. Her first single, Heartbreaker, headed the Top 40 charts, as did several of her other songs. Benatar won four Grammy Awards for Best Rock Vocal performance, from 1980 to 1983. Benatar was also the winner of three American Music Awards: Favorite Female Pop/Rock Vocalist of 1981 and 1983, and Favorite Female Pop/Rock Video Artist of 1985.
In 2010, Pat Benatar wrote a book, Between a Heart and a Rock Place, discussing her early life and success in the music business.
1. Benatar wanted to realize her dream of being a professional singer after ________.| A．she ended her marriage | B．she had a daughter |
| C．she lost her job as a singer waitress. | D．she finished her studies at Julliard |
| A．her voice | B．her looks | C．her experience | D．her songs |
| A．crazy | B．quiet | C．impatient | D．nervous |
| A．a modern vampire | B．a new style of music |
| C．a rock star | D．an opera singer |
9 . Will Smith jumped into a live volcano and kayaked (划皮艇) down an Icelandic whitewater river for his latest project. But he wasn’t making an action movie. It was personal.
Smith, a Hollywood leading man who admits that he’s far from enjoying outdoor activities, has put himself in danger while filming Welcome to Earth, a Disney original series from National Geographic. He was afraid at that time, but he says “It’s really difficult to enjoy things if you’re scared. I think the ability to see how beautiful things are is directly connected to your openness to them and fear closes you down.”
Smith says he was once scared of everything and hated water, but he learns to read the rapids (急流) while whitewater kayaking, rescues turtles near the Great Barrier Reef and goes 3,000 feet below the sea in a deep-water submarine.
Dr. Albert Lin, an engineer and explorer who has uncovered lost cities previously for National Geographic, was astonished to find that Smith was able to control his fears even in the face of real danger. While diving in the underground lake in Namibia, Smith got into trouble and Lin watched him “dropping at a rate that felt like maybe we wouldn’t see him again.” But Smith was able to control his mind and deal with the situation. “I respected Will Smith, the actor, before, but now I definitely have grown to truly respect Will Smith, the human being,” says Lin.
Produced by famous filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, the series carries on the tradition of National Geographic pushing the exploring envelope (极限) and employing the latest technology to help us understand our world. “I hope this can help people out there get a sense of how absolutely incredible our planet is,” says Lin.
The experts Smith has paired with teach him about speed, smell and sound and the colors out there he might miss. “You can’t really want to protect something that you don’t understand. And you can’t want to protect something that you can’t recognize as beautiful,” Smith says.
1. What enables you to enjoy beautiful things according to Smith?| A．Spirit of adventure. | B．Ability to find beauty. |
| C．Respect for nature. | D．Openness to change. |
| A．He found a lost city. | B．He nearly lost his life in a lake. |
| C．He entered a diving competition. | D．He went deep under the sea in a submarine. |
| A．It explains the origin of our planet. | B．It targets potential explorers. |
| C．It won important film awards. | D．It applied advanced technology. |
| A．A guidebook. | B．A book review. | C．A magazine. | D．A diary. |
10 . Four Most Famous Paintings in the World
The Starry Night
Artist: Vincent Willem van Gogh
Where to see it: the Museum of Modern Art (New York, US)
Being treated for mental illness in hospital and inspired by the view from the window of his room, Van Gogh painted The Starry Night. The painting is famous for Van Gogh’s creative use of thick brushstrokes (笔画). The painting’s striking blues and yellows and the dreamy atmosphere have attracted art lovers for decades.
The Scream
Artist: Edvard Munch
Where to see it: the National Museum and the Munch Museum (Oslo, Norway)
The Scream is not a single work of art. According to a British museum’s blog, there are two paintings, two pastels (彩粉画) and a number of prints, The paintings are in the National Museum and the Munch Museum, and in 2012, one of the pastels was sold for almost 120 million.
Mona Lisa
Artist: Leonardo da Vinci
Where to see it: the Louvre Museum (Paris. France)
It should come as no surprise that one of the most famous paintings in the world is a woman with a mysterious smile. It is the earliest known Italian painting to focus closely on the sitter in a half-length portrait (像) , according to the Louvre, where it was first exhibited in 1804.
The Last Supper
Artist: Leonardo da Vinci
Where to see it: Santa Maria delle Grazie (Milan, Italy)
Leonardo is the only artist to appear on this list twice. The Last Supper is about the last time Jesus had dinner with his followers. The painting is actually a huge wall painting-4. 6 meters high and 8. 8 meters wide, which makes for a memorable viewing experience.
1. Where is The Starry Night exhibited?| A．In the Louvre Museum. |
| B．In the Munch Museum. |
| C．In the Museum of Modern Art. |
| D．In Santa Maria delle Grazie. |
| A．It is exhibited in three museums. |
| B．It includes a series of works of art. |
| C．It is famous for a smile in the painting. |
| D．It was painted in a mental hospital. |
| A．They feature religious figures. |
| B．They both belong to wall paintings. |
| C．They are exhibited in the National Museum. |
| D．They were painted by Leonardo da Vinci. |
