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 . 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。

Tang Xianzu is a great dramatist, writer and educationalist in the Ming Dynasty. Also regarded as “the Shakespeare of Asia”, he created many classic dramas, of which The Peony Pavilion(亭子) is the     1    (well) known. Today, the drama     2    (come) to the hometown of William Shakespeare.

Tang and Shakespeare have much in common. Both lived in the same time and died in 1616. Although they could never have met, there are common     3    (theme) within their works. “What Tang reflected in his works were also Shakespeare’s concerns. It occurs to me     4     Tang’s play The Peony Pavilion is similar in some ways to Romeo and Juliet,” said Edmondson,     5     researcher of the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham.

A statue in memory of Shakespeare and Tang     6    (build) at Shakespeare’s birthplace garden in 2017. Two years later, a six-meter-tall pavilion, inspired by The Peony Pavilion, stood in a garden near Shakespeare’s birthplace. Visitors walking through the Shakespeare’s birthplace garden want     7    (explore) the connection between the two famous writers.

Edmondson appreciates China’s efforts in     8    (promote) cultural exchanges between China and Britain over the years. When referring     9     Shakespeare’s play Richard III performed in Shanghai, Edmondson thinks     10    (high) of the performance.

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 . 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.

5 . You may have heard of Dude Perfect. They are 5 guys who make crazy trick (技巧) shots and have fun for a living! They are so good at what they do. They have one of the top 10 channels (频道) on YouTube. It all sounds good. But their real story is much deeper and better. It is a story of trust, friendship, hard work, passion and giving back.

Dude Perfect is made up of 5 best friends who met while at college at Texas A&M University. Their names are Coby, Cory Cotton, Garrett Hilbert, Cody Jones, and Tyler Toney. At college, they became friends through their love of sports. They enjoyed spending time with each other so much that they all became roommates.

One day, in their backyard, they said they could make a trick basketball shot. They started to take video of their crazy shots. Within one week, the video received over 200,000 views! Soon, they received a call from the TV show Good Morning America who wanted to interview them. That was their first interview, the one that started everything! As Dude Perfect started to catch on, they started to attract star athletes to shoot videos with them.

Despite all their success, they have never taken their eyes off their bigger goal to spread good worldwide. Their message of the power of faith and friendship is at the heart of what they do.

Their videos show the history of Dude Perfect and the values that drive them. There is a great example of how they use their fame (名声) to spread good. They also show how they invite children from the Make a Wish Foundation to be a “Dude for a Day”!

Dude Perfects tricks are so good that some people question whether they are real. Well, they are. The secret is simply hard work and persistence (坚持). Their videos show how they do what they do!

1. What is the key to setting up Dude Perfect?

A．The star athletes’ love for it,

B．The members’ common interest.

C．The popularity of social media.

D．The trust between different people.

2. Which of the following can best describe Dude Perfect?

A．Strong but shy.	B．Humorous but crazy.
C．Kind and hard-working.	D．Handsome and easy-going.

3. What can we learn from Dude Perfect?

A．It is never too old to learn.	B．Never forget why you started.
C．You can’t judge a book by its cover.	D．Be prepared for danger in times of peace.

4. What may be the best title for the text?

A．Dude Perfect, an amazing team	B．Dude Perfect’s tricks are real
C．Dude Perfect built on friendship	D．Dude Perfect achieved their goal

6 . 课文填空

    1     that Charlie's own life was easy! ... He was born in a poor family 1889. You may find it     2     that Charlie was taught to sing as soon as he could speak. Unfortunately, his father died,    3     the family even worse off. ...This character, the little tramp, was a social     4     but was loved for his optimism and determination to overcome all difficulties.

7 . Walk around the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and you may see a green animal named Sluggo and a flying pig named Philomena. You might even see street artist David Zinn drawing them using only sidewalk chalk and charcoal (炭笔).

At the age of 12, David began working as an artist. His dad was writing a computer instruction and worried that it would be boring to read. So he asked David to draw pictures of turtles (the name of the computer program) to explain it. The publisher liked his drawings, and soon David had the job of drawing more turtles in action. “I learned a great lesson, which was that, to make money as an artist, I couldn't always draw what I wanted,” he says. “I had to figure out how to draw a turtle drinking tea and other things like that.”

David worked for 20 years as a commercial (商业的) artist, but he often felt cooped up (禁锢) sitting at a computer for 10 hours a day. Then, on a sunny afternoon about ten years ago, he brought some chalk and started drawing on the sidewalk. That's when Sluggo came to life.

“One of the reasons I like to put art on the street is to take people by surprise,” he says. “I can have fun drawing, and knowing it will be washed away helps me not think too much. It frees me up.”

It takes David about two hours to complete one drawing. He uses a lot of sidewalk characteristics in his street art. It can be difficult to draw on surfaces that are not flat. He has to notice where shadows will land so they won't destroy the 3D drawings he creates.

Today, more and more people are accepting and looking for his work. David's artwork can also be found across the country and even throughout the world. Photos of his drawings have been shown at many universities and museums.

1. What did David learn from drawing turtles for his father?

A．Work hard.	B．Follow your heart.
C．Draw what you like.	D．Draw in a creative way.

2. How does David feel when knowing his drawing will be washed away?

A．Relaxed.	B．Worried.
C．Unhappy.	D．Surprised.

3. In what way is David's art special?

A．It shows his real life.

B．It is drawn on the flat sidewalk.

C．It needs a very long time to finish a drawing.

D．It is 3D street art created by simple painting tools.

4. What do we know about David's drawings?

A．They are becoming popular.

B．They are too difficult to understand.

C．They are found mainly at museums.

D．They are hardly accepted by adults.