Recently, Ma Xiaohui, a famous Chinese erhu
Attendees from different backgrounds and participants in the World Madam Global Awards Ceremony were
The concert began
In the next three
“This beautiful and
1. When did Albert Bierstadt move to America?
A.In 1830. | B.In 1831. | C.In 1832. |
A.He focused on improving his drawing skills. |
B.He held exhibitions in different countries. |
C.He started to work as an art teacher. |
A.To visit his sick family member. |
B.To get inspiration for his paintings. |
C.To engage in environmental protection. |
3 . A pencil drawing of a broken old man, head in hands, looking extremely exhausted, has been identified as a newly-discovered work by Vincent Van Gogh.
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam said yesterday that it had
The drawing has been titled Study for
He called these models his “orphan men” and “orphan women”. A favourite was the man in the newly discovered drawing, Adrianus Jacobus Zuyderland, the only one of these models whose name is known.
Van Gogh used a thick carpenter’s pencil on rough watercolour paper. The sheet
Experts have
Van Gogh talked about the two drawings in a letter to his brother, Theo. “Today and yesterday I drew two
At the time Van Gogh was
The drawing, which has been in a
Meedendorp recalled his
“Whenever you have a
A.denied | B.doubted | C.recognized | D.concealed |
A.expensive | B.extraordinary | C.impossible | D.useless |
A.Worn Out | B.Reach Out | C.Hands Up | D.On the Way |
A.animals | B.people | C.buildings | D.nature |
A.lent | B.protected | C.showed | D.paid |
A.costs | B.values | C.measures | D.weighs |
A.traced | B.favoured | C.displayed | D.withdrew |
A.squares | B.figures | C.triangles | D.servants |
A.design | B.scenery | C.sight | D.drawing |
A.talented | B.ambitious | C.modest | D.pessimistic |
A.fine | B.new | C.private | D.public |
A.annoyance | B.disappointment | C.excitement | D.indifference |
A.absolutely | B.barely | C.hardly | D.instantly |
A.ruins | B.classifies | C.handles | D.accompanies |
A.purchase | B.laugh | C.scream | D.peer |
4 . Passing the Cities through the Lens (镜头) of Women, a solo exhibition by Swiss artist Catherine Gfeller, is being held at the Swiss embassy in Beijing.
Between 2016 and 2019, Swiss artist Catherine Gfeller embarked on a journey to a number of Chinese cities, weaving a narrative as she engaged with the stories of women from different backgrounds. Her vision of the women, the challenges they confront, and their distinctive spirit are the focuses of the artist’s subsequent explorations.
In the bustling streets of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, Hong Kong, Beijing and Kunming in Yunnan province, Gfeller found a means of exploring the essence of these urban landscapes by focusing her lens on women. On Saturday, the Swiss embassy in Beijing launched a solo exhibition, Passing the Cities through the Lens of Women, which spotlights the perspectives and voices of women with photographs, texts, and videos. Through her lens, Gfeller skillfully establishes a dialogue and builds a bridge between the narratives of the women and the liveliness of the cities they inhabit.
For Gfeller, women’s voices are very important in modern Chinese society. During shooting, she learned how the women perceive the new ways of life and how they find an anchor in their cities. “The moment I pressed the shutter, I felt like I became part of the city,” Gfeller says.
Ambassador of Switzerland to China Jurg Burri said at the opening ceremony, “Ms Gfeller cares very much about people, especially women in cities. Women’s issues are a global topic and I hope that more women’s voices will be heard.”
The exhibition is open to the public until the end of March. The 58-year-old artist is known for her focus on landscape photography. Using techniques like montage, collage, and superimposition, she creates unique photographic artworks.
1. Where is the passage probably taken from?A.A leaflet. | B.A newspaper. | C.A brochure. | D.A research paper. |
A.Chinese women’s viewpoints. | B.Chinese urban landscapes. |
C.Chinese traditional roles of women. | D.Chinese women’s status in society. |
A.Jurg Burri is the Ambassador of Switzerland to China. |
B.The theme of Catherine Gfeller exhibition is a global topic. |
C.Jurg Burri is in favor of Catherine Gfeller’s means of exploring cities. |
D.Catherine Gfeller attaches great importance to women’s perspectives. |
A.To introduce an exhibition. | B.To educate readers. |
C.To persuade readers. | D.To advertise an exhibition. |
5 . Joseph Bologne, also known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, is perhaps the most famous musician and composer you’ve never heard of.
Bologne was born in 1745 on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, son of an enslaved (使成为奴隶) Senegalese woman and a white plantation owner. Bologne’s father was eager for him to acquire a good education and he was sent to France to be schooled in literature and fencing. As well as showing great skill in sport, Bologne was intelligent and appealing.
As if being handsome, clever and a champion athlete wasn’t enough, Bologne was also a seriously skilled musician and composer. His main instrument was the violin, and in 1761, he was made a member of the Royal Guards as a soldier and musician. It is around this time that he became known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges in recognition of his skill as a fencer and horseman. He was then invited to join the incredibly distinguished Concert des Amateurs as the first violinist and became its leader in 1773.
Although things were going very well for Bologne, he still experienced apparent racism. Some of the opera s leading women campaigned against having what they called “a mixed-race person” in charge of the opera. Despite this attempt to undermine his career, he fell into favour with the influential playwright Madame de Montesson, who put him in charge of her private theatre and introduced him to her husband, the Duke of Orleans. When the French Revolution (革命) broke out in 1789, Bologne sided with the revolutionaries. However, he was later imprisoned for 18 months and ultimately died in 1799 due to a severe leg injury.
Shortly after Bolognes death, Napoleon reinstated slavery in the French colonies and also banned Bologne’s music in an attempt to erase him from French history. However, Afro-Caribbean communities in France, and on Guadeloupe and Martinique have been working tirelessly to keep his legacy alive and Joseph Bologne is now enjoying a long overdue and richly deserved revival.
1. What can we learn from paragraph 2 about Bologne?A.He was a man of determination. |
B.He was passionate about literature. |
C.He received great support from his father. |
D.He had a difficult and troubled childhood. |
A.His military service. |
B.His exceptional athletic abilities. |
C.His noble birth. |
D.His musical achievements. |
A.Bologne faced significant discrimination. |
B.Bologne’s talents were a threat to the opera. |
C.Bologne shouldn’t have joined the private theatre. |
D.Bologne’s leadership suffered from a lack of foresight. |
A.It’s being recognized and celebrated. |
B.It’s receiving conflicting opinions. |
C.It’s leading to a revolution in music. |
D.It’s still being overlooked in France. |
6 . Isadora Duncan is considered by many to be the progenitor of modern dance. To Duncan, classical ballet, with its strict rules of posture and formation, was “ugly and against nature”. She refused to accept traditional ballet steps, preferring to emphasize improvisation(即兴创作), emotion, and the human form. She said, “I spent long days and nights in the studio seeking that dance which might be the expression of the human spirit through the body’s movements.” By making connections between human emotion and the movements of dance, Duncan hoped to make dance a form of high art rather than simple entertainment. She developed free and natural movements inspired by the classical Greek arts, folk dances, social dances and natural forces. She drew on a number of sports moves, including skipping, running, jumping, leaping, and tossing. The athleticism and classical roots of her style are reflected in her innovative costume choice of a Grecian tunic(束腰外衣) and bare feet, which allowed for a physical freedom that could not be achieved in the traditional ballet costumes and pointed shoes that limited dancers. With time, she gained a very wide following and set up several schools in Europe and the United States.
Duncan’s fame, however, did not bring her wealth. In the later years of her life, her financial situation worsened, and finally she had to live in apartments rented by friends and supporters. Duncan also received criticism for some of her personal opinions.
In spite of the problems, Duncan is remembered today for her artistic achievements: the creation of modern dance and its high place among the arts. While Duncan’s own schools no longer exist, her style of dance continues to be practiced. Her life inspired novels, ballets, and films, and her likeness was included in the sculpture created by Antoine Bourdelle over the entrance of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
1. What does the underlined word “progenitor” Paragraph 1 probably mean?A.Sponsor. | B.Originator. | C.Instructor. | D.Competitor. |
A.It allowed dancers to move naturally and freely. |
B.It included newly designed pointed shoes. |
C.It was white and extremely simple. |
D.It was introduced from Greece. |
A.To explore the connection between art and wealth. |
B.To characterize Duncan as a dishonorable person. |
C.To prove Duncan was adored by friends and relatives. |
D.To show Duncan lived a hard life in her declining years. |
A.Her inspiration for artists. | B.The invention of a new-form dance. |
C.Her special personal views. | D.The foundation of many dance schools. |
Thomas Eakins, a painter, photographer,
Apart from his art, Eakins
1. Which date was Van Gogh born on?
A.March 30. | B.March 20. | C.March 13. |
A.He began to learn French. |
B.He decided to be an artist. |
C.He started to work. |
A.France. | B.Germany. | C.Britain. |
A.He made paintings for Van Gogh. |
B.He sold Van Gogh’s paintings to others. |
C.He bought Van Gogh’s works from others. |
9 . Adding to the achievements of a remarkable year, Taylor Swift has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2023.
Already a superstar before 2023, Swift’s career has reached new heights thanks to the beginning of her Eras Tour that brought her 3.5-hour performance to 66 shows in 23 cities across North America, Argentina and Brazil. Promoted by her tour, Swift has been named the most-streamed female artist in the history of Spotify and Apple Music. According to Billboard, the tour made about $900 million (about 6.4 billion yuan) in 2023. In addition, the tour’s movie Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour became the biggest concert movie of all time, taking more than $250 million globally.
As she was declared (宣布) a billionaire by Bloomberg in November, a hidden “Taylor Swift economy” also promoted sales for business owners across the US. From soaps to a cruise inspired by her different “eras”, interest in Swift-related products went way up.
Apart from her financial contributions, Swift made a significant cultural impact by taking back control of her music. In 2019, her old record label, Big Machine, sold the master tapes of her first six albums (专辑) to Scooter Braun. The sale meant that she didn’t have the rights to the albums. In response to this, Swift began re-recording her first six albums, tagging (加标签于) them “Taylor’s Version”. This move stressed her belief that artists deserve to own their work. “It’s all in how you deal with loss,” she told Time. “I respond to extreme pain by resisting.”
Heading into 2024, Swift will start the Eras Tour again in Japan and Australia. As USA Today noted, “Her current top has been a long time coming, but it may also be just beginning.”
1. What do we know about Taylor Swift?A.She broke a new record on her tour. |
B.She toured South America before 2023. |
C.Her achievements received great recognition. |
D.Her performance began with the Apple Music. |
A.She proved herself to be an artist. |
B.She learned to make some products. |
C.She got rich and regained album rights. |
D.She sold her master tapes to a company. |
A.She will end her music career. |
B.She will continue her Eras Tour. |
C.She will reach her top in Japan. |
D.She will make a record in Australia. |
A.Admirable. | B.Uncaring. |
C.Doubtful. | D.Critical. |
10 . Uygur musician, Sanubar will give two concerts in Beijing and Shanghai on Jan. 13 and 14, featuring songs with dutar — a traditional folk instrument, which her father loved playing at home. “The instrument was hanging on the wall at my home and my father often played it for fun. My mother always sang along and we danced together,” recalls Sanubar, who was born into a Uygur family in Xinjiang. When her father died, Sanubar, who was 8 years old, composed her first song to honor him.
One of the songs she will perform is White Horse, adapted from an old Xinjiang folk song and telling a love story. “I get inspired by poems. Poems are as rhythmic as music. So when I read a beautiful poem, I easily connect it with its sounds, which allows me to turn the poem into a song,” says Sanubar. Some other songs are selected from the Xinjiang Uygur Muqam recorded on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008 by UNESCO, which includes songs, dances, folk and classical music.
Sanubar learned to play dutar at Xinjiang Arts University and, after graduation, she joined the Xinjiang Art Theater Muqam Art Troupe. From 2003 to 2005, she came to Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music to study music production. In 2010, at the age of 39, Sanubar enrolled in the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she spent four years learning to compose and got her Bachelor’s degree.
So far, Sanubar has written over 100 songs and released about 10 albums. She teaches dutar at an art school in the regional capital Urumqi. Sanubar and other folk musicians sang and danced with smiling faces. “I notice that many young people in Xinjiang are learning traditional instruments and singing old songs, which makes me very happy.” says Sanubar.
1. What originally inspired Sanubar’s music career?A.The rhythm of poems. | B.The impact of her father. |
C.The honor of her first song. | D.The company of her mother. |
A.She promoted the beauty of traditional folk art. | B.She wrote many beautiful poems from old songs. |
C.She gained reputation both at home and abroad. | D.She helped complete the Xinjiang Uygur Muqam. |
A.Sanubar’s main achievements. | B.Sanubar’s learning experiences. |
C.The composition of folk songs. | D.The preservation of local music. |
A.Intelligent and sensitive. | B.Elegant and reliable. |
C.Energetic and productive. | D.Motivated and cautious. |