1 . Famous American performer Chita Rivera died on January 30 in New York. She was 91 years old. The famed dancer, singer and actor won many awards and honors in her long career on Broadway and beyond.

Rivera first gained wide notice in 1957 as Anita in the original production of the musical play West Side Story. She was still dancing on New York’s Broadway stages a half century later in 2015’s The Visit.

“I wouldn’t know what to do if I wasn’t moving or telling a story to you or singing a song,” she said at the time. “That’s the spirit of my life, and I’m really so lucky to be able to do what I love, even at this time in my life.”

Rivera was born on January 23, 1933, in Washington, D.C. Her father was a musician. He died when Rivera was seven. Her mother was of Scottish and Italian ancestry(血统).

Rivera studied dance as a young girl and was accepted into a highly respected school for ballet. She was 17 when she won her first part in a musical.

She won two Tonys, the highest award for live theater in the United States. Her first came in1984 with the production of The Rink. She won again in 1993 for the play Kiss of the Spider Woman.

The second Tony was an especially sweet victory for the star. Just five years earlier, Rivera had been in a serious car accident that broke her right leg. It could have ended her career. After months of physical treatment to regain her dancing skills, she returned to the stage singing and dancing as energetically as ever. She said, “It never entered my mind that I wouldn’t dance again.”

When accepting a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2018, Rivera said, “I wouldn’t trade my life in the theater for anything, because theater is life.”

1. Why does the author mention the two plays West Side Story and The Visit?

A．To show respect for late Rivera.	B．To stress Rivera’s long art career.
C．To indicate why Rivera won honors.	D．To introduce the plays Rivera performed.

2. What can we learn from Rivera’s words in paragraph 3?

A．Art is everything to her.	B．She was sorry for her old age.
C．Art lifts her spirits when she’s in trouble.	D．She received good training in art.

3. What does the underlined word “It” in paragraph 7 refer to?

A．Her leg.

B．The musical.

C．The accident.

D．Her award.

4. Which words can best describe Rivera?

A．Independent and thoughtful.	B．Caring and curious.
C．Determined and talented.	D．Proud and confident.

2 . 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。

Shao Lujie, a 28-year-old craftsman from Zhejiang Province, has created multiple works of art for the upcoming 19th Asian Games. His craft is known     1     quilling, an art of creating decorative designs from thin strips of curled paper.

Since Shao     2     (be) a child, he has loved painting and handicrafts. In 2016, he started to learn quilling from a master of the art and has been devoting     3     (he) entirely to it ever since.

“During this process, I found that this paper art handicraft can     4     (combine) with painting and different design elements. I hope to find breakthroughs in this handicraft,” Shao said.

In an era     5     AI-generated art and other commercial works are entering the art market, Shao still insists on     6     (stick) to this ancient craft. In recent years, Shao has begun to develop cultural and creative products with local characteristics. “One     7     (innovate) is changing the theme of a wedding celebration from flowers to ‘China-chic’ and local features,” Shao said.

    8     (attract) young people’s interest in this art form, Shao has gone online, creating accounts on social media such as Xiaohongshu. “    9     (normal), I would like to write articles about this art and post pictures of my latest works on Xiaohongshu,” he said.

Shao hopes to open     10     exhibition hall in the future so that more people can learn about his craft and, ideally, pass it down to future generations.

3 . A recent study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society suggests that Leonardo da Vinci was more experimental with his well-known “Mona Lisa” than previously thought and was likely the creator of a technique seen in works used a century later.

A team of scientists in France and Britain has detected a rare mineral compound (矿物化合物), plumbonacrite, within the piece. Plumbonacrite forms when lead oxides (铅氧化物) combine with oil. Mixing these two substances is the technique that later artists like Rembrandt used to help the paint dry, according to the study.

Detecting the rare compound in the “Mona Lisa” suggested that Leonardo could have been the original user of this approach, said Gilles Wallez, an author of the study. “Everything that comes from Leonardo is very interesting, because he had lots of ideas, and he was an experimenter, attempting to improve the knowledge of his time,” Wallez said, “Each time you discovered something in his processes, you discovered that he was clearly ahead of his time.”

The “Mona Lisa”, like many other paintings from the 16th century, was created on a piece of wood that required a thick base layer. The researchers believed that Leonardo had made his mixture of lead oxide powder with linseed oil to produce the thick coat of paint needed for the first layer, while unknowingly creating the rare compound.

Nowadays, researchers aren’t allowed to take samples from the masterpiece, which resides at the Louvre in Paris and is protected behind glass. Using a microsample that had been taken from an area of the artwork just behind the frame, however, scientists were able to analyze the paint by using a high-tech machine. “These samples have a very high cultural value,” Wallez said. “You can’t afford to take big samples on a painting.”

1. Why is Rembrandt mentioned in paragraph 2?

A．To demonstrate his unique talent for painting.

B．To explain how he used the technique correctly.

C．To stress what made him different from other painters.

D．To show the technique was useful for drying the paint.

2. What did Wallez think of Leonardo da Vinci?

A．Independent.

B．Strict.

C．Pioneering.

D．Friendly.

3. How did researchers think Leonardo da Vinci created the rare compound?

A．By accident.	B．With other painters’ help.
C．By reading many books.	D．Through various attempts.

4. What can be learned about the “Mona Lisa” from the last paragraph?

A．It didn’t contain plumbonacrite.	B．Analyzing its paint is invaluable but costly.
C．It was created in the 17th century.	D．Taking its samples is an easy task now.

4 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. How many brothers and sisters did Grandma Moses have?

A．Five.

B．Nine.

C．Ten.

2. What did Grandma Moses spend most of her life doing?

A．Housekeeping.

B．Farming.

C．Working at a local drugstore.

3. Why did Grandma Moses paint in her old age?

A．To pass the time.

B．To make money.

C．To exhibit her artworks.

4. When did Grandma Moses have her first exhibition in New York?

A．In 1930.

B．In 1940.

C．In 2000.

5 . For the creatively minded, snow represents a large blank canvas (空白画布) for art. But often, it’s limited to snowmen or other snow statues. Simon Beck had a different idea, and over the course of a decade he has carved a path for himself in the snow art world. He creates large land art by walking across soccer-field-sized areas covered in untouched snow. Combined with light and shadow (影子) , his artistic designs can only be fully appreciated when viewed from above.

Beck, 59, a former map maker turned into a snow artist, thanks to his decision late in life to pursue his hobby.

            “It started just as a joke one day really,” Beck explained. “After skiing one day, I decided to make a drawing on snow to seek pleasure...”

“I really had no idea how good it would look when I made that first drawing, but it really went beyond my expectation,” he said of his first ever creation that he looked down on from a ski lift.

To create this work, Beck stepped his way through the snow using only snowshoes and a ski pole for measurement with nothing else but the image of a design idea in his head. It was not challenging at all due to his previous work experience. But as his designs developed and became more complex(复杂的), Beck said he began to start drawing them on paper first.   

Beck’s paintings have become a huge hit since his work was first shared.

“Most of the time I had been doing failed careers, and people around me are asking what's the quickest way of getting rid of (摆脱) this person,” Beck said. “And for the first time, I felt people actually wanted me. I felt like a more valued member of society.”

1. Where does Simon Beck create art?

A．On maps.

B．On canvas.

C．On soccer fields.

D．On snowfields.

2. Why did Beck create his first drawing?

A．To have fun.	B．To prove his talent.
C．To entertain the skiers.	D．To develop a new hobby.

3. How did Beck feel about his first artwork?

A．Surprised.

B．Unsatisfied.

C．Annoyed.

D．Indifferent.

4. What contributed to Beck’s art creation?

A．His passion for skiing.	B．His competitive nature.
C．His dream to be an artist.	D．His experience of making maps.

6 . A year after Walt Disney made history with the release of Snow While and the Seven Dwarfs, his artists were struggling to find the right design for the woodland backgrounds of Bambi, the coming-of-age tale of a young deer. The film’s production team realized they needed an alternative to the style in their first feature length animated film. Soon they got their inspiration from Tyrus Wong, whose work was on display at New York City’s Museum of Chinese in American Wong, an immigrant (移民) from Taishan, China, arrived in California at 9 with his father in 1919. Wong eventually settled near Los Angeles, where he developed his passions for art and drawing and got trained at the Otis Art Institute.

In 1938, The Walt Disney Studio hired him to draw the frames between the main drawings of the animators. Wong soon learned that the studio was trying to turn Felix Salten’s novel Bambi into an animated film. After reading the story, he saw an opportunity to break out of his boring job.

Inspired by Chinese landscape paintings, he used watercolor and crayons that created the forest scenes with simple strokes (笔画) of color and special attention 10 light and shadow. Wong’s skills caught Disney’s eye and became the guide for Bambi s background artists, who were later trained to mimic (效仿) his style.

By the time Bambi hit theaters in 1942, a strike at The Walt Disney Studio had left Wong jobless after three years of working on the project. He later became an illustrator for Warner Bros, where he worked for more than two decades.

“People admire his work because of Bambi, but Bambi was just a rally small part of his art life,” said Wong’s youngest daughter. “He considers himself not a great artist but a lucky artist, who was at the right place at the right time.”

1. Why did Tyrus Wong catch the attention of The Walt Disney Studio?

A．His painting style fitted Bambi.	B．He impressed the studio with honors.
C．He was fond of taking photos.	D．His work won popularity with students.

2. How did Tyrus Wong probably feel about filming Bambi?

A．Annoyed.

B．Fearful.

C．Excited.

D．Regretful.

3. What can we infer about Tyrus Wong from the text?

A．He is generous.

B．He is demanding.

C．He is humorous.

D．He is productive.

4. In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?

A．Business.

B．Science.

C．Culture.

D．Health.

7 . Born in 1975 in a poor neighbourhood in Sao Paulo, Eduardo Kobra began his career at 12 years old and, since then, has become one of the most recognized street artists in the world.

With more than 5,000 murals(壁画) over five continents, he currently holds the record for the largest mural in the world, first for creating his famous mural Las Etnias (The Ethnicities) for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Then a year later he beat his previous record with his monumental work at Cacau Show Headquarters, a masterpiece that took 700 hours to complete and more than doubled his 2016 record. Influenced by the pop-art movement and modern artists, the realism in his designs makes his flat-surfaced extremely colourful wall paintings appear 3-D and alive with life.

With his project Greenpincel(2011), Kobra showed his strong will to the environmental cause. Climate change, water pollution, deforestation, predatory(掠夺性的) fishing, and mistreatment of animals became strong themes present in his work .In Stars of Peace, Kobra describes individuals who have given hope to the world through their lives, such as Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Malala Yousafzai, and Anne Frank.

Kobra is involved in social causes, such as food collection campaigns and activities aimed at bringing art to poor communities, especially children who have no access to basic facilities.

In 2021, he started the Kobra Institute, which aims to bring art to vulnerable(脆弱的) people in Brazil.During the pandemic(大流行病), he led an activity together with the private sector to raise funds to build oxygen plants for COVID-19 patients.

1. Which of Kobra’s works made him set the second world record?

A．Las Etnias.	B．The Ethnicities.
C．Stars of Peace.	D．A work at Cacau Show Headquarters.

2. What did Kobra concern much about in his project Greenpincel?

A．Social causes.	B．Famous individuals.
C．Painting skills.	D．Environmental protection.

3. What do we know about Eduardo Kobra?

A．He was born into an artistic fanily.

B．He specializes in romantic painting.

C．He devoted himself to helping the poor learn art.

D．He made a great fortune in 2016 Rio Olympics.

4. Which of the following words can best describe Kobra?

A．Sensitive.

B．Admirable.

C．Humorous

D．Adaptable.

8 . 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。

Qi Baishi, one of China’s greatest painters, followed the     1    (tradition) Chinese style of painting. Chinese painting is known     2     its brush drawings in black ink and natural colours. Qi Baishi observed the world of nature very carefully, and his paintings are special because of this.

Xu Beihong was one of China best-known twentieth-century artists. Like Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong painted in the traditional Chinese style. Both painters have a beautiful brush line. Xu Beihong believed that artists should show     3     (real), but not just imitate it. Instead, a picture should try to show the “life” of its subject. He is most famous for his     4     (live) paintings of horses.

Pablo Picasso is the twentieth-century greatest western artist. He was born in Spain and at the age of ten was already     5     excellent artist. He first had his works of art     6     (exhibit) at the age of 16. Picasso studied art in Spain, but moved to France     7     his early twenties. From 1902 to 1904 he painted a series of pictures where the main colour was blue. These pictures showing poor,     8     (happy) people are known as Picasso’s “blue period”. From 1904 to 1906 Picasso painted much happier pictures in the colour pink. This period was known as Picasso’s “pink period”. With another Spanish artist     9     (call) George Braque, Picasso then started an important new     10     (art) movement called Cubism (立体派).

9 . 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，并将答案填写在答题卡上。

An art show focusing     1     Chinese ink paintings and featuring many important painters from the 20th century opened at the Art Museum of the Guangzhou Fine Arts Academy in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province on Thursday, aiming at    2    (provide) a visual feast for visitors from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The show features 66 ink paintings created by 52 artists,     3     influenced the advance of China’s ink painting over the last century, including big names like Qi Baishi, Lin Fengmian, Xu Beihong, Li Keran,Wu Guanzhong and Cuan Shanyue.

The     4    (subject)of the paintings cover landscapes, birds, flowers and portraits. The show gives visitors a glance into the development of modern Chinese art in the first half of the 20th century.

Guan, an iconic(标志性的)master of Lingnan-style painting, is     5     ( particular )loved by people in southern China’s Guangdong and Fujian provinces. Many of the     6    ( origin )works have long been known and loved by the public. This time visitors are lucky     7    (see)the real works in the exhibition.

The show is co-organized by China Arts and Entertainment Group Ltd, and many works on show     8     (choose)from the group’s bolection last week.

The exhibition is part of     9     second Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival which started on Aug. 31. It will run until Oct. 8     10     be displayed (展示) at a museum in Dongguan, Guangdong Province.

10 . In 1988, Tracy Chapman fascinated(迷住)a crowd of 60, 000 with her performance of Fast Car at Wembley Stadium in London. It wasn’t until this performance that the ________became a huge hit. Here’s the amazing story behind this moment.

Stevie Wonder ________ England on the Saturday morning of the concert and went straight to Wembley Stadium, where a room was ________ for him and his team to ________ before the performance. He was organized to perform in the evening after UB40. But his ________ had not been announced.

UB40 were finishing their set on the main stage. Wonder’s equipment was set up, plugged in (插入)and________to be rolled on after a 10-minute act on a side stage. He was about to walk up the steps to the stage when it was________that his hard disk(硬盘), carrying all 25 minutes of synthesized(合成的)music for his act, was________. He said he could not play without it, turned round, walked down the steps ________, with his band and other ________ following him, and went out of the stadium.

The concert organizer was restless and ________. There was a great need to fill the ________ Stevie Wonder had left and at that moment, Tracy Chapman, who had already performed her act, ________ to appear again. Because the audience didn’t know Stevie Wonder would appear, the organizer ________. Tracy Chapman decided to play two new songs, Fast Car and Talkin. Before the concert, she had sold about 250, 000 albums. In the following weeks, she sold two million more.

Sometimes. an inadvertent(不经意的)action can lead to ________ results, and opportunities are always given to those who are prepared.

1.

A．game

B．movie

C．song

D．book

2.

A．searched

B．landed in

C．left

D．escaped to

3.

A．prepared

B．bought

C．repaired

D．decorated

4.

A．drop in

B．go through

C．move around

D．warm up

5.

A．accident

B．appearance

C．experience

D．explanation

6.

A．ready

B．quick

C．enough

D．easy

7.

A．decided

B．warned

C．ensured

D．discovered

8.

A．safe

B．missing

C．expensive

D．special

9.

A．regretfully

B．excitedly

C．hopefully

D．carelessly

10.

A．competitors

B．fans

C．members

D．strangers

11.

A．moved

B．worried

C．excited

D．bored

12.

A．lesson

B．gap

C．form

D．chance

13.

A．offered

B．happened

C．haled

D．pretended

14.

A．admitted

B．ignored

C．agreed

D．hesitated

15.

A．similar

B．unnecessary

C．awkward

D．unexpected