1 . Many visual artists have a signature style, as unique and identifiable as a fingerprint. For Amoako Boafo, who often paints with his fingers, this seems doubly true. His distinctive paint strokes (笔画) combine the complex skin tones of his chosen subjects, many of whom are, like himself, Africans with global life experiences.

Boafo, whose first solo museum exhibition runs at the Seattle Art Museum, was born and raised in Accra, Ghana, and moved to Vienna, Austria, in 2014, where he ran into difficulties, with gallerists unwilling to show his works due to his focus on Black figures. He continued making an effort to create self-portraits (自画像) and people he knew or admired-African people and Black people who have African ancestry, painting a community of sorts during a time of hardship. He also developed his standout approach to figurative painting, which combines areas of bright and noticeable color with his soft and deep fingerpainting.

He began posting his art online and caught the attention of artists like Kehinde Wiley, the celebrated American artist. The word started to spread.

Boafo is now a global art star, with numerous shows at galleries and art fairs, working with fashion house Dior, and several paintings selling for over a million dollars. In 2021, with three of his paintings being launched into space by Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ Kent-based spaceflight company, you might even say Boafo has rocketed to success.

And yet a recent phone conversation with the artist from his studio in Accra, which is once again his home base, revealed a well-mannered person who appreciated his success while pointing out all of the luck and preparation that led to it. Seeing so many of his paintings -created from 2016 to 2022-gathered together in an exhibition has helped him remember that “I did not ‘just happen. ‘I did not expect this success but I was hopeful and ready for it.”

1. What makes Boafo’s paintings different from other artists’ works?

A．His finger strokes.	B．His home country. ss-ess
C．His life experiences.	D．His traditional style.

2. How did Boafo deal with the difficult situation in Austria?

A．By turning to celebrated artists for help.	B．By developing a unique painting style.
C．By running his art exhibition at home.	D．By working with local art galleries.

3. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning the spaceflight company?

A．To indicate the price of space travel.	B．To show the value of Boafo’s works.
C．To introduce an international brand.	D．To tell us the advances in technology.

4. What can we learn about Boafo?

A．He is talkative.

B．He is patient.

C．He is determined.

D．He is humorous.

2 . Westminster Abbey is one of the most famous religious buildings in the world. Here are some of the famous people buried at Westminster Abbey.

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens, who died in 1870, is buried in Poets’ Corner, the resting place and remembrance location for writers of all kinds.

Dickens is known for many of his works, and A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities are two of his most widely known works. It was popular opinion among the people and his fellow writers that Dickens should be buried in Westminster Abbey.

Stephen Hawking

Hawking was a scientist, physicist, and author, who died in 2018. Carved onto his stone is a series of rings, surrounding a darker central ellipse (椭圆). The ten characters of Hawking’s equation express his idea that black holes in the universe are not entirely black but send out a glow that would become known as Hawking radiation.

His epitaph (墓志铭) reads, “HERE LIES WHAT WAS MORTAL OF STEPHEN HAWKING”.

Laurence Olivier

Famous actor Laurence Olivier is also buried in Westminster Abbey. Born in 1907, his career began on the stage in England, and he eventually became a film legend until his death in 1989.

It’s well known that he had won Academy Awards, while also being honoured with special Oscars. Olivier’s grave is located in the South Transept in Poets’ Corner of the Abbey, in front of Shakespeare’s memorial.

Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton is considered one of the most important scientists of all time. He was a physicist, mathematician, and astronomer. He formulated the Law of Motion as well as the Law of Universal Gravitation.

Artist William Kent designed Newton’s complex funerary monument, and it was sculpted by Michael Rysbrack.

1. When did the author of A Christmas Carol die?

A．In 1870.

B．In 1907.

C．In 1989.

D．In 2018.

2. What do Charles Dickens and Laurence Olivier have in common?

A．They won Academy Awards.	B．They were buried in Poets’ Corner.
C．They were praised by Shakespeare.	D．They were famous actors and writers.

3. Whose funerary monument was designed by William Kent?

A．Charles Dickens’s.	B．Stephen Hawking’s.
C．Laurence Olivier’s.	D．Isaac Newton’s.

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The music in Full River Red was sung by Zhang Xiaoying, a well-known Yuju Opera actress in Henan Province.     1     40 years of experience, she is a household name in the industry, but the film marked the first time she had attempted such a “    2    (complete) odd combination” of electronic music and Yuju Opera.

“I was very nervous at first since I wasn’t sure     3     this song would sound like. However, since the movie     4    (release), dozens of people have called me every day to ask me if the singer was me or to congratulate me. Their     5    (recognize) has been greatly encouraging.” the 52-year-old said in an interview.

Zhang is       6     actress with the Henan Opera and Drama Troupe(剧团), which traveled around the country until 2019 when the pandemic hit the world From October to the end of 2022, Zhang traveled to Beijing several times     7    (do) recordings for the film. However, she was a little     8    (concern) that her fans would object to the combination of styles. After the movie came out, it turned out to be a great success. Her phone exploded with messages     9     (congratulate) her.

“I don’t think the movie has made me more popular, but it     10    (popularize) Yuju Opera. It is my responsibility and mission to spread this art form.” she said.

4 . Artists with a Green Message

Chris Jordan

Photographic artist Chris Jordan takes pictures of ordinary objects like bottle caps, light bulbs and aluminum cans and turns them into art by digitally rearranging them to construct one central image. However, it’s the tiny pieces that drive home then environmental message. For example, his 2008 work “Plastic Cups” shows 1 million plastic cups, the number used on airline flights in the U. S. every six hours.

Nele Azevedo

Visual artist Nele Azevedo is best known for her “Melting Men” interventions that she stages in cities across the globe. Azevedo carves thousands of small figures for to watch them melt. Her ice Sculptures are meant to question the role of monuments in cities, but Azevedo says she’s glad her art can also “speak of urgent matters that threaten our existence on this planet.”

Agnes Denes

One of the pioneers of environmental art and conceptual art, Agnes Denes is best known for her land art project, “Wheatfield- A Confrontation.” In May 1982, Denes planted a two-acre wheat field in Manhattan on Battery Park Landfill. The land was cleared of rocks and garbage by hand. Denes harvested more than 1,000 pounds of wheat She says her works are “intended to help the environment and benefit future generations with a meaningful legacy.”

John Fekner

John Fekner is known for his street art and the more than 300 conceptual works. Fekner’s art typically consists of words or symbols spray painted on walls, buildings and other structures that highlight social or environmental issues. His stenciled (用模板印的) message, “Wheels Over Indian Trails, “was painted on the Pulaski Bridge Queens Midtown Tunnel in 1979. It remained there for 11 years until Earth Day 1990，when Fekner painted over it.

1. What kind of art is Chris Jordan known for?

A．Photographic art.	B．Visual art.
C．Conceptual art.	D．Street art.

2. Which works probably reflects the effect of global warmth on our existence?

A．Plastic Cups.	B．Melting Men.
C．Wheatfield-A Confrontation.	D．Wheels Over Indian Trails.

3. Who grew wheat in a landfill?

A．Chris Jordan.	B．Nele Azevedo.
C．Agnes Denes.	D．John Fekner.

5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入一个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Zheng Chunhui, a wood carving craftsman for nearly four decades, has recently been busy     1     a new creation — a wood carving 100 meters long and 2.6 meters high，depicting (描绘) the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. In his carving, Zheng hopes to show local traditions and customs of the     2     (area) along the canal’s route.

Born in 1968, Zheng became a wood carving craftsman in 1983. His birthplace, Putian, Fujian Province, is known for     3     (it) Putian wood carving. “I was really interested in painting and other arts during childhood, so I     4     (choose) to become a craftsman,” Zheng said.

His love of painting can     5     (see) in his wood carvings. Similar to     6     landscape themes of traditional Chinese paintings, Zheng’s artworks are also about nature. “I often draw my     7     (inspire) from the poems and paintings of ancient artists, and then express my understanding of them by     8     (create) new works with different types of wood,” Zheng said.

    9     (exhibit) his works and promote the craft, Zheng opened a wood carving gallery in Putian in 2015,the first run by an individual artist and free to the public.

Zheng plans to finish the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal wood carving in three years. “It will take a lot of time and energy to complete,     10     I am confident in my skills and experience,” he said.