1 . Xu Beihong was born in 1895 in Yixing, Jiangsu province. When he was only six, he began to learn the Chinese classic works and calligraphy under the direction of his father, who was a local portrait painter. At the age of nine, his father taught him art. His family was poor and at the age of eleven, young Xu had to leave home with his father and sell paintings to make a living. After several years, Xu achieved local success and recognition, but his father developed a serious illness and died shortly afterwards. Xu's early experiences of hardship and loss became the basis of the realism in his artistic creations.
In 1917, he went to Japan and studied art in Tokyo, and later, he was able to spend eight years studying art in Europe. He then returned to China to teach. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Xu became president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and chairman of the Chinese Artists' Association.
Xu was primarily known for his Chinese ink paintings of horses and birds. However, his experiences in Europe drove his desire to create a new form of national art that combined the traditional Chinese paintings techniques with Western perspective and methods of composition to reflect a modern China. His talent and hard work led to the development of a new style of Chinese painting and an approach to art that is still taken by art institutions across China.
1. What has shaped Xu Beihong's realistic artistic creations?
| A．His overseas study. | B．His talent in art. |
| C．His boyhood experiences. | D．His father's instructions. |
2. What is the most distinctive feature of Xu's works?
| A．The traditional Chinese style of painting. |
| B．Reflecting Chinese theme in traditonal national style. |
| C．Painting horses in the Western painting techniques. |
| D．Joining Chinese art techniques with Western skills. |
3. Which of the following words can best describe Xu Beihong?
| A．Determined. | B．Creative. |
| C．Old-fashioned. | D．Imaginative. |
4. What type of writing is this text?
| A．A biography. | B．A news report. |
| C．A book review. | D．A short story. |
