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15 TH OCT 2023 CULTURE Gazelle Twin, a composer, producer, and musician, opens up about being a conceptual artist and establishing a unique identity ahead of the release of her new album (专辑), Black Dog. Q: Would you describe your music as conceptual? A: Conceptual is a good term. I don’t make music just for the sake of making music. My records are inspired by themes. I spend a considerable amount of time before writing the music, learning about subjects related to the theme. Then I work on the structure of the album. Ideas can change. For example, Black Dog was originally about ghosts (幽灵), but I ended up with an album about my childhood experiences, through to adulthood and parenthood, and the anxiety and fear that has been with me during that time. Q: Throughout the album, there is a sense of an observer. Is that person yourself, or another presence? A: Both. There is the voice of depression and anxiety, and also this other person you know is always there. I thought of having this ominous presence (不祥之兆) around you. There is also that sense of being out in the world, as a woman, aware of my vulnerability (脆弱). For example, just going for a walk is never simple. We have to build protective instincts around ourselves. Q: When you started out, did you have any idea of the kind of artist you wanted to be? A: I knew I didn’t want to fit a fixed style or be restricted by being female. I wanted to be flexible. I like to think in scale and of more than I can achieve as one person. I like artists with unique identities. Q: What would be your advice to anyone with ambitions to become a musician? A: Follow your instincts. Put yourself out there without pressure to be “finished”. Absorb things, experiment, and allow yourself to follow a journey where you don’t know where you will end up. Being successful commercially takes a team and time. You have to love it and be in it for the long journey. Q: Fast forward ten years, where do you want to be? A: I would love to carry on following my instincts and making albums. I would like more of a collection of TV and film scores because I enjoy writing scores and cooperative work.

1. Why is Gazelle Twin’s music conceptual?

A．Her records are usually about ghosts.	B．The album’s structure is a top priority.
C．The word “conceptual” itself is attractive.	D．Her music is highly motivated by themes.

2. In the second part of the interview, “this other person” most likely represents __________.

A．spiritual growth	B．vivid imagination
C．inner self-awareness	D．external intervention

3. Which of the following can be inferred from Gazelle Twin’s response in the interview?

A．She tends to take the bigger picture into account.

B．Her future planning is profit-driven to some extent.

C．Black Dog has already become a hit album worldwide.

D．She expresses willingness to help the potential musicians.

2 . Zhang Daqian was born in 1899 in Sichuan province. Brought up in an artistic family, Zhang was first taught to paint by his mother and older siblings. He went on to copy as many masterpieces as he could set his eyes on, and was especially influenced by the individualistic masters Shitao (石涛) and Bada Shanren (八大山人). In the early 1940s, Zhang spent two years studying the Buddhist mural paintings at Dunhuang, which proved to be a crucial experience in his artistic development.

In particular, Zhang’s works are noteworthy for the many painting styles that he mastered, from highly meticulous (注意细节的) and detailed portraits to bold and expressive splashed-ink landscapes (泼墨风景画). While he was highly innovative as he developed his own unique style, he always ensured that his art was firmly rooted in Chinese tradition. As is usually the case with ink artists, his later works, especially his vibrant splashed-ink landscapes, are the most sought after.

Zhang mastered the art of painting “from heart to hand” late in his life. In 1971, he selected this particular phrase to carve into a seal (印章). The phrase probably conveyed a twofold message. First, it was Zhang’s proud claim that he had developed a stylistic versatility (多才多艺) for depicting the endless variations of the natural world. He acquired this ability by imitating the works of previous masters, which led to a grand combination of historical styles in his art. He also enriched his personal experience with his extensive travel and enhanced his artistic vocabulary in order to capture the beauty of the world. Second, the phrase communicates Zhang’s belief that an artist should follow his heart to convey their “spirit resonance (气韵生动),” a historical principle in judging the beauty of Chinese painting. Before applying his brush to paper, Zhang had already conceived (构思) the forms he wanted to depict and the inspiration he wished to convey through the painting. He would be fully aware of the most effective means by which to inspire awe and wonder in his audience.

Blessed with a long life—he was 83 when he died in 1983—and filled with an enormous amount of passion and energy for life, the artist produced a huge number of paintings over his lifetime. He is estimated to have completed an average of about 500 per year.

In 2011, Zhang became not only the most popular Chinese artist at auction but the best-selling artist in the world as well, surpassing Pablo Picasso. And demand for his works has remained high since then.

1. What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?

A．The characteristics of Zhang Daqian’s art.

B．The most sought-after works by Zhang Daqian.

C．Where Zhang Daqian got inspiration for his paintings.

D．The reason why Zhang Daqian’s artworks are so popular.

2. Based on information from Paragraph 3, what does the phrase “from heart to hand” refer to?
①How Zhang Daqian became aware of the most effective means to inspire his audience.
②How Zhang Daqian was able to put what he wanted on the canvas without thinking about it.
③How Zhang Daqian learned to freely convey the principle of “spirit resonance” through his approach to painting.
④How Zhang Daqian was able to depict the endless variations of the natural world using a combination of different styles.

A．①②

B．①③

C．②③

D．③④

3. According to the article, Zhang Daqian’s artistic style was mainly influenced by ____________.
①the beauty of the natural world
②the Buddhist mural paintings at Dunhuang
③masters in the likes of Shitao and Bada Shanren
④the rich nature of his travels and personal experiences

A．①②③

B．①②④

C．②③④

D．①②③④

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。

Qiao Yu is a songwriter who penned timeless classics that     1     (sing) from generation to generation in China for decades. He wrote more than 1,100 lyrics all his life, many of     2     are being remembered even today.

Qiao is said to have started his     3     (enthusiastic) with words from the early age of 4. He could also recite ancient poems from the Tang and Song dynasties. But it wasn’t     4     his late teens that he penned his first own poem.

Qiao rose to fame in 1955 after writing “Let’s Pull on Our Oars (桨)” known to most Chinese children. “Our boat is     5     (gentle) drifting on the lake/ A cool breeze is rustling for our sake/ Our homework has been well done/ Let’s heartily have a lot of fun,” says the song.

But Qiao’s greatest hit came in 1956,     6     “My Motherland” becoming a patriotic tune in the movie Battle on Shangganling Mountain. “A great river     7     (flow), its waves are wide/ Wind blows the scent of flowers to both shores/ My family lives on the shore/ I am used to hearing the punters’(艄公) call/And seeing the white sails on the boats,” says the start of the song.

Genius as these lines now are,     8     movie director at first asked Qiao to clearly spell out the “great river” as the Yangtze itself. “However,” Qiao said, “the ‘great river’     9     (refer) to in the lines is always there in front of your home, and the stories and memories along the river make up     10     it is to make you feel close to your hometown.”

4 . About 20 years ago, Daniel Hoffman, a classically trained violinist met a young musician playing in the town square in Marrakech, an ancient city in Morocco. They communicated in the little French they both knew, but their main common language was music. On the back of a motorbike of the fellow violinist, Hoffman weaved through the back streets of the city and then learned his first lessons in Andalusian music, the classical music of North Africa.

That experience gave birth to an idea: What would it be like to try to learn how to play different violin styles around the world in just one week? Oh. yes, and at the end of that week, play a concert. He even got a name for the concept “musical extreme sports”.

It took him almost two decades to launch that dream with a friend, who introduced him to the wonders of Kickstarter, a funding platform for creative projects. Up to now, the dream has taken the form of a new documentary currently airing on American public television stations called “Otherwise, It’s Just Firewood.”

In the documentary, Hoffman travels to County Clare, Ireland, where he takes lessons with James Kelly, a master Irish violin player, for less than a week and then performs together with him in front of an audience, many of whom are star Irish musicians.

The film is what Hoffman hopes will be the first of an eventual series of short documentaries, showing him learning to play the violin in a variety of styles, including the folk music of south India, Sweden, Greece, Romania, and West Virginia.

That would add to his extensive repertoire (全部曲目), which already includes Balkan, Middle Eastern, and Turkish styles. “The big joke is what’s the difference between the fiddle and the violin? It’s the person who plays it,” says Niall Keegan, a traditional flute player. “It’s the music you make on it that makes it Irish or English or French or classical or jazz or whatever else. It’s how we imagine it and how we create through it that make it and give it character.”

“Otherwise, it’s just firewood,” he says, words that became the film’s title.

1. Where does Hoffman’s idea of musical extreme sports come from?

A．His exploration of the local music.

B．His cooperation with the young violinist.

C．His sightseeing tour on a motorbike seat.

D．His constantly changing taste in violin styles.

2. According to the passage, the series of documentaries ________.

A．help Hoffman to become a master violin player

B．are funded by American public television stations

C．introduce different styles of musicians around the world

D．record Hoffman’s experience in learning various violin styles

3. The title of the documentary “Otherwise, It’s Just Firewood” is used to emphasize ________.

A．the power of diversified artistic expression

B．the pleasure in learning traditional music

C．the technique of instrument playing

D．the importance of famous artists