1 . It’s hard to say goodbye to your favorite jeans even if they’re worn out. However, an English artist Ian Berry has found a modern way to _______ throwing them away by changing them to make beautiful works of art.

The artist swept the art world with his _______ artistic style and became famous for his talent. The _______ of using old jeans for his _______ came after a call from his mother, asking him to _______ his room. It was about six or seven years ago that his mum was clearing out his old room _______ and she wanted him to _______ all his old and useless things.

Ian Berry said, “I found loads of old jeans with _______ colors and shades. They were old but colourful, so I still kept them. But it was about 18 months later that I _______ to do something with them.” Little did he know his art __________ would soon make him and his art famous all over the world.

Ian Berry __________ his full-time job in advertising to focus all his __________ on art. It was a risky try. But his adventure __________ and soon his artworks were the __________ of sell-out shows in Sweden and the US, and his pieces were __________ at a high price to private and public collections all over the world.

Old jeans art is __________ but it is beautiful. Ian Berry just uses old jeans, a pair of scissors and some glue to __________ all his unbelievable detailed works of art. After 12 years of working with __________ , the English artist has managed to __________ only seven closets with old pairs of jeans, so it’s safe to say he has plenty of __________ for his future works.

1.

A．admit

B．avoid

C．appreciate

D．postpone

2.

A．limited

B．native

C．unique

D．average

3.

A．idea

B．advantage

C．error

D．doubt

4.

A．youth

B．insurance

C．principle

D．art

5.

A．decorate

B．tidy

C．leave

D．paint

6.

A．sincerely

B．slightly

C．approximately

D．thoroughly

7.

A．deal with

B．take with

C．buy up

D．give up

8.

A．various

B．single

C．identical

D．ridiculous

9.

A．refused

B．began

C．hated

D．pretended

10.

A．attitude

B．weakness

C．experiment

D．load

11.

A．balanced

B．quit

C．took

D．combined

12.

A．survey

B．question

C．attention

D．topic

13.

A．paid off

B．came back

C．turned up

D．died out

14.

A．partners

B．failure

C．stars

D．pain

15.

A．delivered

B．lent

C．donated

D．sold

16.

A．simple

B．antique

C．conventional

D．shabby

17.

A．collect

B．advertise

C．beautify

D．create

18.

A．shoes

B．artists

C．jeans

D．customers

19.

A．waste

B．fill

C．cover

D．fix

20.

A．energy

B．means

C．courage

D．material

2 . Buster Keaton was born on October 4, 1895 in Piqua, Kansas, to Joe and Myra Keaton. At six months, he fell down a flight of stairs. Reaching the floor unhurt, he was picked up by magician Harry Houdini who said the kid was a real buster. The word “buster” means an unusually strong child. From then on, his parents and the world knew him as Buster Keaton. By the age of three, Keaton had joined the family's vaudeville (杂耍) act. It was this training in vaudeville that prepared him for the fast-paced comedy of the silent movies.

In 1917, Keaton moved to Hollywood, where he met another former vaudevillian. Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, a famous comic actor of the time, took Keaton on and showed him the ropes of the movie industry. Keaton regarded Arbuckle as one of his closest friends and his greatest influence. With his remarkable acrobatic (杂技般的) acts, the thin Keaton was a perfect partner for Arbuckle. Within a few years, Keaton became an increasingly popular comic star.

Most of Keaton's famous movies were made during the 1920s. Writing, directing, and starring in these films, Keaton created a crazy funny world. He often found himself in the same difficult situations as Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, but he always kept a sense of stillness throughout, without showing joy, anger, or sadness at all. No matter how lost or unlucky Keaton seemed to be, he was never one to be pitied. The New York Times said of him, “In a film world that exaggerated everything, ... he remained expressionless and serious, his stone face holding back all emotion.”

Though he acted in a number of films in the 1930s, Keaton began to lose his popularity with audiences, partly because of the appearance of the films with sound. It was not until the 1950s that the public liking for Keaton's work returned. The great skills needed to complete his heart-stopping acts amazed people who had become used to simple, flat physical comedy and he was considered one of the greatest comic actors of the silent age.

1. How did Keaton get his first name?

A．From his excellent skills.

B．From his parents' love for him.

C．From a story about a magician.

D．From a harmless fall accident.

2. What did Arbuckle mean to Keaton?

A．He was a big fan of Keaton.

B．He acted as Keaton's guide to the movies.

C．He was one of Keaton's main competitors.

D．He became Keaton's vaudeville instructor.

3. What made Keaton unusual according to paragraph 3?

A．His care about society.

B．His understanding of films.

C．His unemotional coolness.

D．His heart-warming stories.

4. What excited people's interest in Keaton's films again?

A．His great acrobatic skills.

B．The rise of physical comedy.

C．The influence of silent movies.

D．His achievements in films with sound.

3 . Growing up in rural Jiangsu Province, Yu Jigao showed a strong interest in fine arts at an early age and studied on his own for years. His hard work paid off later. In the early 1950s, he made his way to Nanjing Normal University, where he learned painting theories and techniques from some famous artists. It was then that Yu found his lifelong artistic passion for gongbi. Gongbi paintings usually describe birds and flowers, symbols of beauty and joy, in an artistic way with intense color.

After graduation from the art school in 1957, Yu began his professional career at the Chinese Painting Institute of Jiangsu. He has since published a series of art collections. Since 1959, Yu has contributed a series of works to many important sites. Yu’s works have also been displayed in a range of national and international exhibitions. From 1986 to 1997, he held his exhibitions in such places as Beijing, Guangzhou and New York. Both the themes and artistic techniques have won widespread praise in the past years.

While observing traditional rules, he uses accurate lines, powerful brush movements as well as the interplay between dark and light to represent the harmony of nature. Though he adopts a realistic style, he tries to enrich his works with spiritual beauty through his brush. Yu says, “That feeling turns into the images of singing birds and elegant flowers in my paintings.” Thanks to his careful observation of nature and artistic sensitivity, Yu is able to combine realistic description with artistic expression in his brushwork.

Now as deputy director of the Academy of Chinese Gongbi Painting of Flowers and Birds and a national top-level artist, Yu maintains a simple and easy-going style. In addition to artistic creation, Yu has devoted himself to promoting his painting style as the cultural heritage of China. “Art is part of my life,” Yu says. “I am proud to be a flower-bird painter. I hope to create a bright future for it through my efforts.”

1. Where did Yu discover his love for gongbi?

A．In Beijing.	B．In New York.
C．At Nanjing Normal University.	D．At the Chinese Painting Institute of Jiangsu.

2. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us about Yu?

A．His school life.	B．His painting techniques.
C．His contributions to the art school.	D．His artistic achievements in painting.

3. Which is Yu’s painting feature?

A．Adopting abstract objects.

B．Excluding plants and animals.

C．Combining traditional rules with a realistic style.

D．Representing the imbalance between nature and humans.

4. What does Yu expect of his painting style?

A．It will change a lot.	B．It will be passed on.
C．It will look more complicated.	D．It will reach the top international level.

4 . Life can sometimes seem like endless series of exhibitions. For those of us involved in the art world, there are times when we’re constantly visiting gallery after gallery, taking in as much as possible and getting to know the works of artists from far and wide. But there are some artists whose works consistently stand out. Some artists’ works stay in the thought and heart of an audience long after the show is over. I’ve noticed over the years that these are often the artists who have understood fully the skill of telling the story behind their art. These artists aren’t just selling paintings—they’re selling an experience.

Roxanna Kibsey is one of these artists. Her paintings are often exact description of frozen tundra(冻原)or autumn trees—so bright that they could nearly burn a hole in the canvas. When I met her at an exhibition she couldn’t wait to tell me about the place in her paintings. “Where I grew up we had nine months of winter every year. It’s really quite a tough place,” she said. She relived a part of her childhood when we chatted in front of her paintings. The image brought to my mind memories of driving through the snow-covered countryside during my own first winter in Canada. I could almost hear the crunching ice under my feet as she described to me the countryside she grew up in.

Businessmen may have their elevator pitch, but artists, too, need their 30-second story which rolls freely off the tongue. That’s why it’s so important that for each piece you might be exhibiting, you can conjure up(唤起)a story behind it, and tell that story to your audience in a way that helps them connect with your work, and makes them want to buy a piece.

1. What kind of artists does the author like?

A．Those who have great skills.	B．Those who have held many exhibitions.
C．Those who paint scenes of their own home towns.	D．Those who tell their experiences through their paintings.

2. Through Roxanna Kibsey’s painting, the author ________.

A．had a beautiful imagination	B．thought of a serious question
C．brought back his own memories	D．thought of his own home town

3. We can learn from Paragraph 2 that ________.

A．Kibsey’s work reflects her own life	B．Kibsey had an unhappy childhood
C．Kibsey doesn’t like her home town	D．Kibsey’s home town is beautiful in winter

4. What does the underlined part “elevator pitch” probably refer to?

A．A sales introduction.

B．A wise choice.

C．A small mistake.

D．A modern tool.

5 . 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。

People in New York could always see an ordinary-looking man     1    (ride) a bicycle with a relatively cheap camera around the streets. He was Bill Cunningham,     2     was one of the most important American photographers of the last 50 years. He found     3    (inspire) where others could not, in simple, everyday scenes. These things were real and     4     was within their reality that he saw both beauty and potential. He thought that fashion belonged to the people, not just to high society and big     5    (brand).

Cunningham hardly ever took a day off and not once stayed home sick. This devotion and hard work is     6     makes his photos so special.

Although he was world-famous, his approach to life was     7    (complicated) . He valued his integrity and would not     8    (buy) by anyone. This lack of self-interest and promotion kept him     9    (focus) on his craft, enabling him     10    (capture) New York’s unique street style. His passion for photography lasted until he passed away.

Bill Cunningham was an observer, and not one of the observed, a worker not a star. This was how he wanted it.

6 . 语法填空

Florentijin Hofman turns to his children's toys     1     inspiration. Hofman's inspiration for Floating Fish came from Chinese folk     2     (tale)，which is about a fish     3     (jump) through the “Dragon Gate”．Tan Dun，who is     4     (wide) known for composing music for a famous film and the 2008 Beijing Olympics，    5     (think) “There is no territory in the world of music”．Tan Dun combines Chinese music and sounds from all over the world     6     (tell) stories. Yang Liping has been known     7     “Peacock Princess”，winning a national     8     (compete) with her Spirit of the Peacock dance. She feels grateful for the years in Xishuangbanna. Her dance comes from the traditional     9     (believe) of Dai people and aims to bring     10     the beauty of Dai women.

7 . For many people, moths are dust - colored pests that eat our clothes and disturb us by flying around lights after dark. Not for artist Joseph Scheer. The pictures he creates bring out the beauty of moths, with colors, shapes, and patterns that have never been seen before so clearly. “Digital tools let you see things you'd never see just looking with your eyes,” Scheer says. Scheer's pictures have been displayed around the world, and one reaction is heard everywhere: “People insist, ‘No, that can't be a moth,’” says Scheer.

Scheer's work began with a moth hunt in the state of New York. Scheer would leave the lights on and the windows open overnight at his university office, and then collect the moths that had flown in. When the building cleaners at the university complained, he moved the hunt to his friend Mark Klingensmith's yard. They set up two lights shining over a plastic container on a white sheet. Then moths appeared from the darkness, flew into the sheet, and fell into the plastic container. “We got a different species every night,” Scheer says. “The patterns and colors were unbelievable.”

After the hunt, they used a powerful scanner to get detailed pictures of moths. Small moths presented special challenges.

The scanner records so much information that a single moth can take 20 minutes to scan. A scan of just two small moths fills an entire CD. All that information means the size of the picture can be increased by 2, 700 percent but still keep all the details and appear perfectly clear. You'd need a microscope to see the details shown in Scheer's prints.

Scheer's work is not only a new form of art. He has also made a valuable contribution to the record of the moths around him. He has helped identify more than a thousand different species. “Not from Alaska or the Amazon,” Klingensmith says. “All from one backyard.”

1. What do people mean by “No, that can't be a moth”?

A．Scheer is highly skilled at drawing	B．They don't like the pictures of moths
C．The moths in the pictures are too strange	D．The pictures seem too beautiful to be moths'

2. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．How Scheer caught moths	B．Scheer's working environment
C．How Scheer found moths' beauty	D．Scheer's friendship with Klingensmith.

3. The figures mentioned in Paragraph 4 show that ________ .

A．local moths have bright colors and clear patterns

B．a microscope should be used to prepare the pictures

C．clear pictures result from much detailed information

D．high quality paint must be used to create the pictures

4. What does the author think of Scheer's work?

A．It is a common form of art.	B．It benefits research on moths.
C．It'll get popular in Alaska or the Amazon.	D．It needs to overcome regional limitations.

8 . As it turned out, it not only shocked the US actress, but also brought criticism from those who believed Fanning was too young compared to other veterans in the industry. But Fanning’s acting experience was in fact a good argument for her jury membership. In fact, Fanning has been a Hollywood fixture for longer than you realize.

What does the underlined word “veterans” probably mean?

A．shocked actresses	B．green hands
C．experienced people	D．music producers

9 . But even then, what he had wasn't quite what he wanted. Nielsen always felt he should be doing comedy but his good looks and distinguished voice kept him busy in dramatic roles. It wasn't until1980-32 years into his career-that he landed the role it would seem he was made for in Airplane! That movie led him into the second half of his career where his comedic presence alone could make a movie a financial success even when movie reviewers would not rate it highly.

What do we know about Nielsen in the second half of his career?

A．He directed some high quality movies.	B．He avoided taking on new challenges.
C．He focused on playing dramatic roles.	D．He became a successful comedy actor.

10 . 课文语法填空

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer He is regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of music.One day in February 1824, at    1     (he) little house in Vienna, Austria, Ludwig van Beethoven sat back in his chair and    2     (smile) The famous German composer's ninth symphony was finally completed.As he proudly signed his name at bottom of the page, Beethoven tried    3     (imagine) how people would respond when they heard it for the first time.

At a very famous theatre in Vienna, the audience didn't hesitate    4     (applaud) loudly as the famous composer walked out onto the stage for the first time in 12 years.For more than an hour, Beethoven jumped about in front of the orchestra,     5     (wave) his arms wildly in the air, and madly turning the pages of his score.Finally, the    6     (joy) note signaled the end of the symphony, and the audience umped, clapping, cheering and waving their hats    7    Beethoven continued conducting.his head buried in the score.It was not until Caroline Unger one of the    8     (singer ) took his arm and turned him to face the audience that the great man realised symphony was    9    success.

However, most of them had no idea that he was deaf! The one person in the room    10    didn't hear symphony-and never would-was the very man who composed it.