1 . For those who are deaf or have hearing loss, making and enjoying music can be a challenge. However, that hasn’t stopped Dame Evelyn Glennie from achieving success.
Scottish-born Dame Evelyn Glennie is one of the world’s most recognized percussionists (打击乐器乐手). However, she started going deaf at the age of eight due to a nerve disease. At 12, she totally lost her hearing.
At first, Glennie was desperate. But her percussion teacher at school taught her to feel particular notes. For example, she had to place her hands on a wall, and he would play two notes on two timpani. He would then ask her which was the higher note and where she felt the vibration. Through trials and errors, she managed to distinguish the pitch of notes by associating where on her body she feels the sound. Thanks to her perfect pitch and the fact that she performs barefoot, Evelyn “hears” the sound. Together with her lip-reading skills, and amazing musicianship, she has conquered any troubles and inconvenience caused by her impairment.
Till now, Glennie has performed with almost all the major orchestras (管弦乐队) globally. Besides classical music, she is famous for partnerships with pop and rock artists like Sting and Bjork. Glennie’s works has earned her over 100 music awards, including two Grammys. She even led 1,000 drummers in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
At the age of 58 this year, Glennie’s mission now is to “teach the world to listen” to improve communication by encouraging everyone to discover a new way of listening. “It’s important to grab on to any opportunity that comes your way, but you also need to create your own opportunities,” says Evelyn. “It’s a personal time to reflect on the impact you might have on other people as well. I don’t know if age plays a part in it, because I feel as though I haven’t really achieved very much and there’s still so much to do!”
1. How could Glennie identify different notes as a deaf person?| A．By reading her teacher’s lips. | B．By putting her hands on a wall. |
| C．By applying her amazing musicianship. | D．By feeling the vibration through her body. |
| A．Sorrow. | B．Mismatch. | C．Abnormality. | D．Fear. |
| A．faithful and tolerant | B．cheerful and practical |
| C．determined and kind | D．considerate and dutiful |
| A．A Dream Pursued by Evelyn Glennie | B．A Deaf Musician Heard by the World |
| C．Evelyn Glennie: Teach the World to Listen | D．Talented Percussionist: Say “No” to Age |
2 . The question of whether it is possible to dissociate the artist from their work has been debated for a long time. Even though positive critical reviews about an artist’s behavior can improve their artistic accomplishments, people should treat artists as individuals who have lived apart from their work.
One of the reasons is that even artists have shortcomings. Like any other human being, an artist can err, and we cannot be severely judgmental of every person that falls into error. Cancel culture with endless criticism is concerned more with how we should disregard the artists when they make mistakes than with how their weaknesses can be used by the artists to create art that is unique.
Perhaps Kevin Hart’s words support this thought. He asks, “When did we get to a point where life was supposed to be perfect? Where people were supposed to operate perfectly all the time?” When people start seeing artists as human beings, they’ll see them for who they are and review their behavior not on the basis of their art but on the basis of their humanity.
It should be also noted that there are works of art that are inspired by the artist’s experience. For example, the themes in the Harry Potter books are so connected with J. K. Rowling’s wicked worldview that it is virtually impossible to distinguish the two from each other. Since canceling artists based on their worldview would mean the reception to their art will suffer, artists become tense and unwilling to express themselves, which will kill creativity, eventually leading to the death of art. Comedians, singers or painters who should be integrating contemporary issues with their works become boring, and art stops functioning as the social mirror it ought to be.
An artist who makes mistakes still has art with intrinsic (内在的) value, benefiting entire communities or cultures. For instance, when Kendrick Lamar launched his album and frequently used the F-slur in one of his songs, there was much-heated discussion. He was entirely mistaken in using the F-slur, but as an artist, he still had a wide-reaching impact on society. Similarly, one can respect the late Michael Jackson because of how he impacted pop music and the inclusion of black musicians in mainstream media despite his personal weaknesses, opinions, worldviews and associations.
While these artists may engage in their terrible behavior, the art they produce today may serve as an example for others to produce outstanding work in the future. Some would refer to this process as a cycle. Good art should, therefore, be judged due to its value and not the value of the artist.
1. Which would Kevin Hart probably agree with?| A．People should perform perfectly all the time. |
| B．Artists’ shortcomings might be their inspiration. |
| C．If artists have weaknesses, we’d better cancel them. |
| D．Artists should be evaluated based on their humanity. |
| A．Artists will be unwilling to create any artwork. |
| B．Artists will stop concerning with contemporary issues. |
| C．Artists will lose their desire for expression and creativity. |
| D．Artworks are unavoidably inspired by artists’ experiences. |
| A．The artist may make some new words popular. |
| B．The artist’s opinions may provoke heated discussion. |
| C．The artist will benefit entire communities or cultures. |
| D．The artist’s art may give others ideas of artistic creation. |
| A．Judge Art Due to Its Value |
| B．Separate the Art From the Artist |
| C．Regard Artists as Human Beings |
| D．Stop Criticizing Artists’ Behavior |
Dean Stanton has been making art his entire life. A 1990 graduate of Alberta University of the Arts, Stanton has a huge following in Canada. His work is
I recently interviewed the
Actually,
“Art can bring people together,” Stanton says, “by
Without Stanton’s brightly-colored murals in the heart of Calgary, the city would be gray. Stanton’s work can
“Everyone in the whole world can appreciate art,” Stanton says. “It’s free and easy to carry out.”
4 . There is more to Vincent Van Gogh’s body of works than sunflowers. His complete painting life as an artist, short as it was, can be seen on June 27 during an exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts(MFA) Texas.
This exhibit leans heavily on the Kröller- Müller Museum’s lending Van Gogh’s works. The Kröller- Müller Museum, which is in Otterlo, Netherlands, is well-known for its works by Van Gogh in the world. The MFA, Texas serves as the only site for the exhibit presenting more than 50 works from Van Gogh’s early sketches(素描) to late oil paintings.
“There has been no major Van Gogh exhibition in Texas for decades, and few of this degree and ambition anywhere in the country. ” David Bomford said. “The upcoming exhibition covers the whole of Van Gogh’s all-too-brief ten-year career. It offers people in Texas and even people all over the country a chance to step into the world of Van Gogh. The works selected for exhibit shows Van Gogh’s career which began in dark, realistic style reflecting mid-19th century France and concluded in the wild, psychological paintings of his final years. ”
Van Gogh successfully experimented with artistic techniques from the Barbizon-school’s (巴比松画派的) representative, Millet, whose works he liked above all others, to Cezanne. Van Gogh didn’t care for Cezanne before landing on Cezanne’s unique style which continued amazing audiences for more than 125 years after his death. Cezanne’s style is hard to ignore in many of Van Gogh’s works.
Van Gogh wasn’t a lone talent working in isolation(隔离). He was influenced. He was a great student of art. In order to enable visitors to have a good knowledge of his private thoughts about the works he created, the exhibit will present the extraordinarily rich letters which existed between him and his brother Theo. “In some 820 letters, Van Gogh described his projects and his whole attention. All letters were dotted with sketches of his paintings, ” a worker said. “The MFA uniquely admits us to the workings of his mind and his motivations. And this has inviting appeal to us today. ”
So, take the chance and go to buy a ticket for the upcoming exhibition.
1. What can learn about the MFA’s exhibition on June 27?| A．It is specially held to show many great painters’ works. |
| B．It will present all the works of Van Gogh. |
| C．It will soon be held in Otterlo, Netherlands. |
| D．It gets big support from the Kröller- Müller Museum. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Critical. | C．Neutral. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．they created a painting style with Van Gogh |
| B．they played a big role in Van Gogh’s paintings |
| C．they admired Van Gogh’s paintings |
| D．they learnt painting techniques from Van Gogh |
| A．To express the public’s admiration for Van Gogh’s talents. |
| B．To show Van Gogh’s good relationship with his brother. |
| C．To help the public better understand Van Gogh’s paintings. |
| D．To search for the cause of Van Gogh’s short painting career. |
5 . Quick Talk
In the exciting thriller Baby Driver, the actor and DJ, Ansel Elgort, 23, plays a music-obsessed (对音乐着迷的) getaway driver trying to escape from a life of crime.
Your character gets turned on to new music from iPods he finds in stolen cars. Who has influenced your taste?
Eve Beglarian, a composer (作曲家) and friend of my mother’s, made me my first iPod (playlist). One of the songs was Easy by the Commodores. The auditions (试演) for Baby Driver weren’t going well, and director Edgar Wright said, “Do you know any songs that you know every word to?” I remembered Easy. He said, “When you’re ready, I want you to sing it.” He told me that that was what got me the role. I guess I have to thank Eve.
At times the movie plays like a very complex music video.
They filmed very rhythmically. If I wasn’t wearing earphones, I was wearing an earwig — like a radio, but it’s tiny and you can hear things in your ear. Whatever the audience hears, we heard while filming.
How much did you get to drive?
They only let me drive when no one else was in the car, so that wasn’t often. They didn’t want me to kill Jamie Foxx.
You’re known for your brave and confident fashion choices. When did you start caring about style?
I must have been in the sixth grade. I wore the same red Adidas sweatpants every day, a white T-shirt and blue shoes. I was like a cartoon character.
After young-adult films like The Fault in Our Stars and Divergent, were you eager to be in a more adult film?
I don’t look at The Fault in Our Stars as a teenage movie. I looked at it like, this is a great script (剧本) and a good character, and I was excited to do it. But of course I was looking forward to being part of a “real” movie. If it meant working with Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm, sign me up.
1. What helped Ansel get the role in Baby Driver?| A．Edgar’s suggestion. | B．Eve’s recommendation. |
| C．His excellence in driving. | D．His performance of a song. |
| A．He is pretty stylish. | B．He likes cartoon films. |
| C．He is a driving enthusiast. | D．He has starred in two films. |
| A．It’s encouraging. | B．It’s worth seeing. |
| C．There’s no film worse than it. | D．There’s room for improvement. |
