1 . To say that Spanish painter Pablo Picasso was a leader in Western art in the 20th century is to repeat an accepted fact, according to Time magazine. “No painter before him had enjoyed such a large following in his own lifetime.”

This year marks the 140th anniversary of Picasso’s birth. Born on Oct. 25, 1881, Picasso had created more than 20,000 paintings, drawings, sculptures and other pieces of art by the time he died at 91.

That’s a long time to paint! The result is not only a lot of art, but a lot of different phases in Picasso’s work. On its website, Christie’s auction (拍卖) house lists eight different periods in the course of his painting career.

Over a century ago, the painter once said that, “Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.” So the eight periods are all very different in their choice of subjects and yet unmistakably drawn by Picasso’s hands. Financial Express called his style unusual.

As his style changed over time, it became more simplistic. A common joke is that Picasso forgot how to paint. After all, he was classically trained at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona.

Now he is best known for leading an artistic movement known as “Cubism (立体派)”. It used geometric shapes to create human and animal figures. With this method, Picasso tried to show his figures from multiple perspectives (视角) in two-dimensional space. For example, a person’s left eye may be shown from straight ahead while his right eye and nose are shown from the side. The result is strange and beautiful, frightening and funny.

Picasso often said that he admired primitive art and drawings made by youngsters. “When I was the age I could draw like Raphael, but it took me a lifetime to learn to draw like them,” he said. Maybe that’s why Picasso is still so popular. We look at his work and think, “Maybe I could do that!”

1. Which of the following best describes Pablo Picasso?

A．Productive.

B．Optimistic.

C．Traditional.

D．Generous.

2. Why did Financial Express call Picasso’s style unusual?

A．His act of creation was destructive.	B．He created a series of simple images.
C．His painting style remained unchanged.	D．He drew different subjects in different periods.

3. What is special about a cubist painting according to the text?

A．It is rather difficult to understand.	B．It shows figures from various perspectives.
C．It covers different subjects at the same time.	D．It reflects the relationship between humans and animals.

4. What does the underlined word “them” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．Raphael’s works.

B．Artists.

C．Drawings.

D．Youngsters.