1 . For Vishwanath Mallabadi from Bangalore, India, there is no such thing as a useless object or “waste”. Give him anything—abandoned metal or plastic items, old devices, dysfunctional printed circuit boards — and he’ll create art out of it.
Vishwanath’s passion is particularly relevant in the current age, where India generates more e-waste than it can recycle. From 2019 to 2020, the country generated a total of more than 1 million tonnes of e waste. Of this, only 22.7 percent was collected, taken apart and recycled. The eco-artist has upcycled and transformed nearly 200 kg of e-waste into usable products and proposes eco-art as a means to deal with waste management.
Vishwanath’s father, D M Shambhu, was a famous sculptor and painter, but he wanted his son to choose medicine and become a doctor. However, Vishwanath, who was interested in upcycling second-hand objects right from childhood, decided to pursue a BFA in Applied Art. He later went on to work in a company as a high-level administrator and retired two years ago. “In my free time and during the weekends. I used to conduct experiments in e-waste and try to develop something unique,” he recalled.
So far, the eco-artist has created more than 500 objects. These include a six-foot tall sculpture made from upcycled computer keyboard keys, and a painting inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, using upcycled resistors (电阻器) on wood. Among his other artworks are a 42×38 inch figure statue created from upcycled keyboard keys on a sun board finished with plastics, a deer made of colorful used wires, plants and flowers from computer parts, and eco jewellery from upcycled digital wrist watch parts.
“The work involves selecting the e-waste objects—the texture, shape, and colour etc, and visualising and conceptualising the final product. It might take weeks and months for sculptures. However, sustainable initiatives and upcycled art are nowadays in demand in multinational companies opting for a sustainable culture,” he said.
1. What does the author try to convey in paragraph 2?A.The seriousness of e-waste in India. |
B.Vishwanath’s passion for environment protection. |
C.The achievements of waste management in India. |
D.Vishwanath’s attitude towards dealing with e-waste. |
A.A passionate eco-artist. | B.A private doctor. |
C.A famous sculptor. | D.A senior manager. |
A.The deer and the plants. | B.The sculpture and the figure statue. |
C.The painting and the flowers. | D.The deer and the eco jewellery. |
A.Exciting but unprofitable. | B.Creative but useless. |
C.Demanding but worthwhile. | D.Efficient but costly. |
As one of the top contemporary Chinese painters
Fan Yang
After graduating from high school, Fan chose to work at the Nantong Arts and Crafts Research Institute. He applied
In 1978, Fan Yang
During his four years of college life, Fan absorbed the skills and knowledge of his predecessors (先辈)
After many years of
3 . Do you have a hobby that you have loved for a long time? Carlos Santana does! Carlos Santana has loved music from a young age. Music has been his passion. At age 5, he started playing the violin. At age 8, he began playing the guitar. Santana worked hard to develop his musical talent, especially on the guitar. He became one of the most famous Mexican American musicians in history.
Santana grew up in Tijuana, Mexico, playing music in many bands. Even though his family moved to San Francisco in the 1960s, he visited Mexico often. He was inspired by Mexican blues music as well as American rock music. He combined many different types of music to create a unique style.
He got his big break in 1969 at the Woodstock music festival.Woodstock was a huge music festival that around 400,000 people attended. Many people did not know who Santana was before his performance. But they knew who he was after it! Many people said Santana was one of the highlights of the three-day festival. They said his guitar playing was incredible! It was full of passion and soul.
Santana and his band began producing hit after hit, including “Oye Como Va” and “Evil Ways”. The band’s songs show off a unique musical style, combining Latin and rock rhythms. Santana has won 10 Grammy Awards throughout his career. He has had or contributed to many great songs and impressive performances.
Carlos Santana wanted children to have the opportunity to discover their passions, like he did. He and his family created the Milagro Foundation, which helps children succeed by giving money to the arts, education, and health. Today, Carlo s Santana continues sharing his musical talent with people all over the United States and beyond.
1. Carlos Santana’s career began to take off after __________.A.his family moved to San Francisco | B.the Woodstock music festival |
C.he started to play the violin | D.he began playing the guitar |
A.The band’s songs became very popular. |
B.The band went through a lot of failures. |
C.It took the band much time to produce songs. |
D.The band’s performances were different from others. |
A.To support children to succeed in education. |
B.To help children explore their hobbies. |
C.To share his musical talent with others. |
D.To raise money for organizing music festivals. |
A.Music: A Lifelong and Important Hobby |
B.The Unique Musical Journey of a Guitar Legend |
C.The Rise of Mexican American Music Talents |
D.Milagro Foundation: Inspiring the Next Generation |
4 . 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. |
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. |
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. |
A.He is talkative. | B.He is patient. | C.He is determined. | D.He is humorous. |
Every day at 9 am, Zhang Canjin, 58, comes to Drum Tower Street in Ningbo and walks into a small house
In ancient times, copper coins
Zhang learned the skill from his dad
Since starting his copper coin knitting store in 2014, Zhang
This success gave him more confidence to continue with his work. Even now, Zhang uses his we alth of creative ideas to make more copper coin products and shares the skill with a
6 . For many people, music helps them escape reality. The musician Carter Hulsey is taking a different approach. He’s using his stage to help people face reality. He performed a selection of songs and then talked about some valuable financial (财务的) knowledge at Burkley Fine Arts Center recently. The rock artist gave a presentation (演讲) covering topics such as balancing a budget, making buying decisions, and how to spend money and save for the future.
“The message from Hulsey would be important for our students to hear,” the teacher Mrs. Dux said. “I believed listening to the band would be an interesting way to communicate that message. As I found out more information, I couldn’t pass up the chance our students to have this experience.”
Hulsey managed the budget for his band when they went on a tour years ago. But at that time, he didn’t know much about being smart with money. He shared his own experience with money management and the troubles that came with it.“When I was your age, we didn’t talk about money in school. We didn’t talk about it at home. I didn’t think about it,” Hulsey told students.“I just started heading around the country and learned all these things the hard way.” He hopes by showing students that even those who live the rock-star life need to understand financial wellness, he can help students to form good spending habits.
Terron Johnson, a teacher at Shiloh High School, is making sure students learn the lesson before they may go into debt. “It’s a real-world thing. A lot of times students will say, ‘Why do I need to know this math? How am I going to use this in real life?’ Well, you will use financial knowledge down the line,” Johnson said. If students understand how to effectively use their money to achieve their goals, they can make their dreams come true.
1. What can be learned about the musician Carter Hulsey?A.He encourages people to enjoy life. |
B.He shares financial knowledge with the audience. |
C.His focus has moved from music to financial work. |
D.His music is inspired by the life of young people. |
A.Positive. | B.Doubtful. | C.Negative. | D.Uncertain. |
A.To prove the success of his band. |
B.To tell students how to find a hobby at a young age. |
C.To explain the influence of artistic taste on students. |
D.To show the necessity of learning money management early. |
A.A musician becomes popular with students |
B.Young students talk with a great musician |
C.A concert brings more than music to students |
D.Teachers advise students to be smarter with money |
7 . Most artists have to wait decades for their talents to be recognized. Some, like Dutch painter Van Gogh, only achieve
Andres’ parents are art lovers and collectors. They began
By age six, the
Bernie Chase, a family friend and owner of an art gallery, recognized Andres’
When not painting, Andres is a
A.victory | B.progress | C.fame | D.effect |
A.case | B.model | C.lesson | D.honor |
A.wasted | B.paid | C.spent | D.earned |
A.showing | B.leading | C.exposing | D.adapting |
A.learning | B.appreciating | C.analyzing | D.copying |
A.watch | B.make | C.help | D.find |
A.generous | B.ambitious | C.honest | D.brave |
A.variety | B.sort | C.mixture | D.system |
A.attached to | B.aimed at | C.recognized as | D.impacted by |
A.gift | B.courage | C.effort | D.intelligence |
A.discovered | B.visited | C.admired | D.analyzed |
A.ceremony | B.celebration | C.exhibition | D.party |
A.marked | B.restored | C.framed | D.displayed |
A.regular | B.wise | C.hardworking | D.naughty |
A.millionaire | B.kid | C.genius | D.master |
1. Why did the lady want the pianist to sing?
A.She was tired of listening to the piano. |
B.She knew he could sing well. |
C.She wanted to make him famous. |
A.After he became a famous pianist. |
B.Long before he played the piano in the bar. |
C.That night after his first singing. |
A.He became a well-known singer in America. |
B.He continued to play the piano in the bar. |
C.He had his own piano bar. |
A.People will succeed if they have talent. |
B.Few people have real talent. |
C.Everyone should make full use of his talent. |
9 . “Do what you love, not what others tell you is right,” says Georgia Lines of New Zealand.
I spoke with the 24-year-old singer-songwriter earlier this month about her rise to fame. In 2022, Lines was named breakthrough artist of the year at the annual Aotearoa music awards ceremony. Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand, an island country in the Pacific Ocean that is home to more than 5.1 million people.
Lines makes success look easy, but she has worked hard to perfect her skills. “I love what I do,” she told me. “I love it when I get lost in music, and everything works together.”
Already, Lines has opened for pop singer George Ezra. She hopes “to open for Harry Styles one day,” she added.
Lines has written more than 20 songs and worked together with several top artists, including Jack Burton, Alex James and Cassie Henderson. “I love working with other people and cooperating,” Lines said. “I find I work better when I’m with others, because we can exchange ideas with each other.”
When asked about her musical ambition growing up, Lines smiled. “I was never a musical genius as a child,”she said. “But I always loved singing and music.”
In recent years, Lines has drawn enthusiastic crowds for her concerts. The video for her hit song, “No One Knows”, won best music video of the year in New Zealand in 2021.
As for her future goals, Lines said that she wants “to have a promising career and to keep doing what I love.” That means focusing on her own career and artistic achievements. “Comparison is the robber of success, “she said. “If I had stopped to compare myself with others, I wouldn’t have made it as far as I have.”
1. What is the main topic of the author’s conversation with Lines?A.Her childhood. | B.Her family. |
C.Her style of music. | D.Her way to success. |
A.She likes teamwork. | B.She respects top artists most. |
C.She has a gift for music. | D.She always loves music. |
A.Valuing money too much. | B.Ignoring her future career. |
C.Comparing herself with others. | D.Taking others’ suggestions. |
A.Honest. | B.Knowledgeable. | C.Hard-working. | D.Kind-hearted. |
10 . 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. |
A.Annoyed. | B.Fearful. | C.Excited. | D.Regretful. |
A.He is generous. | B.He is demanding. | C.He is humorous. | D.He is productive. |
A.Business. | B.Science. | C.Culture. | D.Health. |