Over eighty years ago, the internationally praised Chinese-French painter
Now, on the 10th anniversary (周年) of his death, Zao’s famous art works have found their way back to their home before.
Exhibition of Zao Wou-Ki opened at the Art Museum of China Academy of Art in Hangzhou last month. Divided
As
“His works create a modern Eastern style by
Zao’s work has found a proper place in the collections of 150 major
In 2017, Zao’s painting “29.01.64” (1964)
In the history of Chinese painting, the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties was a very important period. Gu Kaizhi, a painter of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was
Gu kaizhi was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu province in the year 344 and
As the first painter
The story of Nymph of the Luo River
Inspired by Cao Zhi’s poem, Gu Kaizhi set out to illustrate the charming nymph. His painting exhibits the soul of the poem,
Wei Chunrong has built a reputation as a leading actress of Kunqu Opera,
She started learning at 10 and
“I played different roles during the past four decades. For Lady Xu Mu, I have to put aside all my experiences and start afresh
“The role, Lady Xu Mu, was written for Wei Chunrong
4 . As a physically fit 89-year-old big band singer, Tony Bennett performed timeless ballads (民歌,情歌) perfectly. He was an exception to the belief of aging and decline.
However, the trouble with his
After receiving the diagnosis, Bennett insisted on continuing to perform. “Tony has always had a very
As one of only a few artists to produce chart-topping records every decade since the 1950s —
In February 2021, Bennett
As the disease
A.memory | B.appearance | C.finance | D.origin |
A.charged | B.assigned | C.diagnosed | D.choked |
A.negative | B.positive | C.professional | D.confident |
A.as | B.like | C.except | D.if |
A.adopting | B.discounting | C.packing | D.totaling |
A.beats | B.instances | C.plots | D.hits |
A.Though | B.Unless | C.Despite | D.Unlike |
A.incredible | B.honorable | C.convincing | D.dynamic |
A.publicly | B.secretly | C.instantly | D.critically |
A.response | B.priority | C.influence | D.resolution |
A.how | B.why | C.when | D.what |
A.topic | B.title | C.theme | D.model |
A.spreads | B.exposes | C.progresses | D.explodes |
A.hopeful | B.original | C.faithful | D.merciful |
A.moving the goalposts | B.walking on air | C.taking no notice | D.leading the way |
5 . Art museums allow you to see some of the greatest paintings in the world. Viewing art can be inspirational for adults but children who are used to more hands-on activities can be easily bored with this passive experience.
That’s why the Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is partnering with Pokémon in Japan to teach children about this Netherland’s most renowned (有名的) artist. “This collaboration will allow the next generation to get to know Vincent Van Gogh’s art and life story in a refreshing way. The Van Gogh Museum and the Pokémon Company intend to create a special experience for children,” said Emilie Gordenker, general director of the Van Gogh Museum.
Vincent Van Gogh was a Dutch impressionist painter who lived from 1853 to 1890. This productive artist created over 2,100 artworks including 860 oil paintings. The museum that bears his name contains some of his most famous paintings as well as works by Van Gogh’s contemporary artists.
While a collaboration between a Dutch museum and the Pokémon Company seems strange, the artist admired Japanese art with its strong colors, use of everyday objects, as well as the detailed depictions of nature. Japanese art inspired Van Gogh and this connection is stressed in the educational materials created for the special program.
In their collaboration, artists made new art inspired by Van Gogh’s famous paintings, incorporating Pikachu into a version of Self-portrait with Grey Felt Hat and hiding Pokémon Sunflora within a variant of Sunflowers.
There are also hands-on activities for kids aged 6 and up, which include teaching the young visitors how to draw Pikachu. Other activities include a treasure hunt and once a child has completed all the activities, they’ll get a Pokémon collection with a special Van Gogh Museum card.
Art offers so many benefits for children including stimulating creativity, enhancing problem-solving skills, helps fine motor skills, as well as visual-spacing development. The new collaboration at the Van Gogh Museum will encourage kids to grow and to appreciate fine art at the same time. And that is a win-win.
1. Why are the Van Gogh Museum and Pokémon collaborating?A.To showcase Van Gogh’s art. | B.To teach children about Pokémon. |
C.To offer engaging education for kids. | D.To promote fine motor skills through art. |
A.It led to a focus on European landscapes. |
B.It strengthened his connection with nature. |
C.It encouraged the creation of over 2,100 artworks. |
D.It inspired his use of strong colors and everyday objects. |
A.A Pokémon collection. | B.A treasure hunt map. |
C.A Pikachu drawing lesson. | D.The Pokémon Sunflora. |
A.Increasing creativity. | B.Promoting kids’ growth. |
C.Developing motor driving skill. | D.Improving problem-solving ability. |
6 . For Vishwanath Mallabadi from Bangalore, India, there is no such thing as a useless object or “waste”. Give him anything—abandoned metal or plastic items, old devices, dysfunctional printed circuit boards — and he’ll create art out of it.
Vishwanath’s passion is particularly relevant in the current age, where India generates more e-waste than it can recycle. From 2019 to 2020, the country generated a total of more than 1 million tonnes of e waste. Of this, only 22.7 percent was collected, taken apart and recycled. The eco-artist has upcycled and transformed nearly 200 kg of e-waste into usable products and proposes eco-art as a means to deal with waste management.
Vishwanath’s father, D M Shambhu, was a famous sculptor and painter, but he wanted his son to choose medicine and become a doctor. However, Vishwanath, who was interested in upcycling second-hand objects right from childhood, decided to pursue a BFA in Applied Art. He later went on to work in a company as a high-level administrator and retired two years ago. “In my free time and during the weekends. I used to conduct experiments in e-waste and try to develop something unique,” he recalled.
So far, the eco-artist has created more than 500 objects. These include a six-foot tall sculpture made from upcycled computer keyboard keys, and a painting inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, using upcycled resistors (电阻器) on wood. Among his other artworks are a 42×38 inch figure statue created from upcycled keyboard keys on a sun board finished with plastics, a deer made of colorful used wires, plants and flowers from computer parts, and eco jewellery from upcycled digital wrist watch parts.
“The work involves selecting the e-waste objects—the texture, shape, and colour etc, and visualising and conceptualising the final product. It might take weeks and months for sculptures. However, sustainable initiatives and upcycled art are nowadays in demand in multinational companies opting for a sustainable culture,” he said.
1. What does the author try to convey in paragraph 2?A.The seriousness of e-waste in India. |
B.Vishwanath’s passion for environment protection. |
C.The achievements of waste management in India. |
D.Vishwanath’s attitude towards dealing with e-waste. |
A.A passionate eco-artist. | B.A private doctor. |
C.A famous sculptor. | D.A senior manager. |
A.The deer and the plants. | B.The sculpture and the figure statue. |
C.The painting and the flowers. | D.The deer and the eco jewellery. |
A.Exciting but unprofitable. | B.Creative but useless. |
C.Demanding but worthwhile. | D.Efficient but costly. |
Vincent van Gogh was one of the most gifted artists of his generation. He began working in
In 1880, he took up painting, from which he
8 . “Do what you love, not what others tell you is right,” says Georgia Lines of New Zealand.
I spoke with the 24-year-old singer-songwriter earlier this month about her rise to fame. In 2022, Lines was named breakthrough artist of the year at the annual Aotearoa music awards ceremony. Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand, an island country in the Pacific Ocean that is home to more than 5.1 million people.
Lines makes success look easy, but she has worked hard to perfect her skills. “I love what I do,” she told me. “I love it when I get lost in music, and everything works together.”
Already, Lines has opened for pop singer George Ezra. She hopes “to open for Harry Styles one day,” she added.
Lines has written more than 20 songs and worked together with several top artists, including Jack Burton, Alex James and Cassie Henderson. “I love working with other people and cooperating,” Lines said. “I find I work better when I’m with others, because we can exchange ideas with each other.”
When asked about her musical ambition growing up, Lines smiled. “I was never a musical genius as a child,”she said. “But I always loved singing and music.”
In recent years, Lines has drawn enthusiastic crowds for her concerts. The video for her hit song, “No One Knows”, won best music video of the year in New Zealand in 2021.
As for her future goals, Lines said that she wants “to have a promising career and to keep doing what I love.” That means focusing on her own career and artistic achievements. “Comparison is the robber of success, “she said. “If I had stopped to compare myself with others, I wouldn’t have made it as far as I have.”
1. What is the main topic of the author’s conversation with Lines?A.Her childhood. | B.Her family. |
C.Her style of music. | D.Her way to success. |
A.She likes teamwork. | B.She respects top artists most. |
C.She has a gift for music. | D.She always loves music. |
A.Valuing money too much. | B.Ignoring her future career. |
C.Comparing herself with others. | D.Taking others’ suggestions. |
A.Honest. | B.Knowledgeable. | C.Hard-working. | D.Kind-hearted. |
9 . The Malaysian actress, Michelle Yeoh, 60, shared some wisdom with the American Film Institute’s newest graduating class in a speech as she accepted an honorary doctorate of fine arts at the class of 2022 graduation ceremony.
She recalled her early years in the industry. After an injury dashed her dreams of going into ballet, Yeoh bounced back at a gym where several stuntmen (特技替身演员) trained and ended up learning some tricks of the trade from them.
“The first thing they taught me what to do was to tuck and roll, then how to fall on my side, and then how to fall on my back. And after a while, it dawned on me that they were teaching me how to fall,” she recalled. “And they said to me, ‘How are you going to go up if you don’t know how to come down?’” “That lesson sticks with me to this day. I had to learn how to fall. Well, you could say I learned it in my bones, literally,” Yeoh added.
The actress mentioned jumping off a 20-foot highway overpass for one stunt, in which she over-rotated (旋转), causing her back to fold in half and a stunt went wrong. “I didn’t land properly, but I completed the scene,” she said.
“These moments taught me perseverance, courage and humility,” she said. “They also taught me to hone my skills and eventually progress to the point where I was running on rooftops and jumping onto moving trains. I’m not asking you all to do that, okay? What I want to share with you today is that our slips and stumbles(绊跌)are the secrets to our flight. Trust me, that’s part of the deal. Success without failure is called luck. It cannot really be repeated or relied upon. It is from failure that we learn and grow,” Yeoh continued.
The Crazy Rich Asians star concluded her speech: “Be courageous, take chances, break barriers, be proud of what makes you unique.” “And most importantly, don’t be afraid to fall, for you are learning to fly,” Yeoh said.
1. What can we learn about Michelle Yeoh from the first two paragraphs?A.She was tricked by several stuntmen. |
B.She was passionate about working out in a gym. |
C.She won a doctor’s degree in fine arts despite her old age. |
D.She was terribly defeated by an injury and discouraged in her early years. |
A.God helps those who help themselves. |
B.Misfortune might be a blessing in disguise. |
C.Successful people are learning experiences with others. |
D.The greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. |
A.Believe. | B.Sharpen. | C.Restore. | D.Dominate. |
A.Mistakes and failure. | B.Luck and humility. |
C.Courage and pride. | D.Opportunities and skills. |
10 . Do you know what you’d like to be when you grow up? It takes most people many years to find out. For the young artist Alexandra Nechita, it never really seemed to be a question. From the day she began drawing at the age of two, she was an artist. Alexandra Nechita was born in Romania in 1985 and moved to California when she was still a baby. As a little child, she loved colouring in her colouring books. Her parents hoped she could spend more time playing with other children, so they took away her colouring books. Alexandra began drawing her own pictures and colouring them in.
By the time Alexandra was seven years old, she had begun painting with oil paints. When Alexandra took a local art class, her teacher was amazed at the young artist’s unusual style of painting. Alexandra’s work was similar in some ways to the paintings by famous artists like Picasso. These artists did not use a realistic style of painting. They allowed their imaginations to play an important part in their work. The interesting thing was that little Alexandra had never seen the work of these artists. People called her “Little Picasso”. This was a great honour, but Alexandra’s style of painting was all her own.
Alexandra’s first public show was held at a Los Angeles public library when she was only eight years old. People were amazed at how young Alexandra was, but mostly they loved her imaginative artwork. It did not take long for Alexandra and her work to become famous. She appeared on television programmes and in newspapers and magazines all over the world. The sale of a single piece can earn the young artist thousands of dollars. But that is not why Alexandra creates artwork. She just cannot imagine doing anything else that would bring her such joy and satisfaction.
Today, Alexandra is a full-time artist. She also works to help support the arts in schools. Alexandra is a strong believer in the power of art as a tool of communication and a bridge to building peace throughout the world.
1. When did Alexandra begin drawing pictures?A.At the age of eight. | B.At the age of seven. |
C.At the age of two. | D.In the year of 1985. |
A.she learned to paint from Picasso |
B.her style of painting was like Picasso’s |
C.she was one of Picasso’s big fans |
D.her style of painting was unusual |
A.Only painting can make her so happy and satisfied. |
B.Only money can make her so happy and satisfied. |
C.Anything can make her feel happy and satisfied. |
D.Nothing can make her feel happy and satisfied. |
A.Polite. | B.Generous. | C.Patient. | D.Creative. |