1 . The question of whether it is possible to dissociate the artist from their work has been debated for a long time. Even though positive critical reviews about an artist’s behavior can improve their artistic accomplishments, people should treat artists as individuals who have lived apart from their work.

One of the reasons is that even artists have shortcomings. Like any other human being, an artist can err, and we cannot be severely judgmental of every person that falls into error. Cancel culture with endless criticism is concerned more with how we should disregard the artists when they make mistakes than with how their weaknesses can be used by the artists to create art that is unique.

Perhaps Kevin Hart’s words support this thought. He asks, “When did we get to a point where life was supposed to be perfect? Where people were supposed to operate perfectly all the time?” When people start seeing artists as human beings, they’ll see them for who they are and review their behavior not on the basis of their art but on the basis of their humanity.

It should be also noted that there are works of art that are inspired by the artist’s experience. For example, the themes in the Harry Potter books are so connected with J. K. Rowling’s wicked worldview that it is virtually impossible to distinguish the two from each other. Since canceling artists based on their worldview would mean the reception to their art will suffer, artists become tense and unwilling to express themselves, which will kill creativity, eventually leading to the death of art. Comedians, singers or painters who should be integrating contemporary issues with their works become boring, and art stops functioning as the social mirror it ought to be.

An artist who makes mistakes still has art with intrinsic (内在的) value, benefiting entire communities or cultures. For instance, when Kendrick Lamar launched his album and frequently used the F-slur in one of his songs, there was much-heated discussion. He was entirely mistaken in using the F-slur, but as an artist, he still had a wide-reaching impact on society. Similarly, one can respect the late Michael Jackson because of how he impacted pop music and the inclusion of black musicians in mainstream media despite his personal weaknesses, opinions, worldviews and associations.

While these artists may engage in their terrible behavior, the art they produce today may serve as an example for others to produce outstanding work in the future. Some would refer to this process as a cycle. Good art should, therefore, be judged due to its value and not the value of the artist.

1. Which would Kevin Hart probably agree with?

A．People should perform perfectly all the time.

B．Artists’ shortcomings might be their inspiration.

C．If artists have weaknesses, we’d better cancel them.

D．Artists should be evaluated based on their humanity.

2. Why will “cancel culture” lead to the death of art?

A．Artists will be unwilling to create any artwork.

B．Artists will stop concerning with contemporary issues.

C．Artists will lose their desire for expression and creativity.

D．Artworks are unavoidably inspired by artists’ experiences.

3. How can an artist with mistakes benefit others?

A．The artist may make some new words popular.

B．The artist’s opinions may provoke heated discussion.

C．The artist will benefit entire communities or cultures.

D．The artist’s art may give others ideas of artistic creation.

4. Which would be the best title of the passage?

A．Judge Art Due to Its Value

B．Separate the Art From the Artist

C．Regard Artists as Human Beings

D．Stop Criticizing Artists’ Behavior

2 . 语法填空

Since the     1    (emerge) of the Italian Renaissance, the history of Western art began a fascinating course through different     2    (style) genres. While 15th-century painting focused on portraying     3     ideal, the subsequent movements explored many other aesthetics and ideas, often in reaction to their historical predecessor. Although there are many remarkable paintings to study from these different art movements, we     4    (narrow) down the expansive list to 30 iconic     5    (work) that span from the end of the 15th century all the way to the first half of the 1900s.

Among this list of masterpieces are some that are so well known that they’ve become a part of popular culture, as well as others that,     6     famous in art circles, may not be as familiar. For instance, René Magritte’s Surrealist painting Treachery of Images, which features a rendering of a brown pipe     7    (accompany) by the recognizable phrase “This is not a pipe,” has been referenced in film as well as video games.     8    (similar), Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa continues to inspire authors and filmmakers from around the world. On the other hand, some paintings that have eluded the same attention     9    (inclusion) Pierre Auguste Renoir’s Impressionist gem, Bal du Moulin de la Galette,     10     Marcel Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase.

3 . Ask an art historian about 15th-century Italian art and they’ll probably bring up Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera, Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper or the early career works of Michelangelo. Meanwhile, assessments of the Florentine sculptor Donatello often pale in comparison with praise of his superstar contemporaries. Donatello deserves better, argues an ambitious new exhibition. On view through July 31 at two museums in Florence, Italy, “Donatello: The Renaissance” tries to place the sculptor at the center of the era, writes reporter Elisabetta Povoledo for The NewYork Times.

“This is an extremely unusual exhibit, since Donatello is a father of the Renaissance,” Donatello scholar Francesco Caglioti tells The Times. Arturo Galansino, director of the Palazzo Strozzi, takes the argument one step further, telling The Wall Street Journal’s J. S. Marcus that the exhibition identifies Donatello as “the inventor of the Renaissance.”

Donatello’s masterpieces we repaired with works by Filippo Brunelleschi, Giovanni Bellini, Michelangelo and Raphael to showcase his significant impact on generations of Italian artists. “Some exhibitions are once in a lifetime, but this show is the first time in history,” said Galansino earlier this month.

While some people think of Michelangelo’s marble (大理石) David (1501―1504) as an incomparable work, Donatello actually sculpted one of the statue’s key inspirations: a bronze (青铜) David. Created between 1435 and 1450, likely for the Medici family, the sculpture was conceived (构思) independently of any architectural surroundings. Scholars, therefore, consider Donatello’s David the first of such a style in Renaissance history.

Besides, Donatello’s Madonna influenced similar works by Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi. Just as Donatello has been relatively overlooked in favor of his contemporaries, Gentileschi and a handful of other Renaissance women artists are just starting to get their due—a trend evidenced by a recent exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

“Donatello: The Renaissanc” follows the artist’s life and work, moving through his early years in his native city and a long-term residency in Padua. By the end of his life, Donatello’s work was primarily financed by the powerful Medici family.

1. What does the new exhibition intend to do?

A．Restress Leonardo da Vinci’s achievements.

B．Retell the stories of artists in the Renaissance.

C．Rediscover Italian art in the contemporary context.

D．Rethink the key role Donatello played in his time.

2. What does Galansino say about the exhibition?

A．It is historically significant.	B．It is more comprehensive than others.
C．It has met with lots of criticism.	D．It has presented a completely new art form.

3. What can be inferred about the bronze David?

A．It disappointed the Medici family.	B．It was a copy of the marble David
C．It was created two hundred years ago.	D．It inspired Michelangelo to some extent.

4. What do the underlined words “get their due” mean in paragraph 5?

A．Fall into disfavor.	B．Receive recognition.
C．Reshape their styles.	D．Suffer discrimination.

4 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. When did Mozart begin to compose music?

A．At the age of four.

B．At the age of five.

C．In his early teens.

2. Where was Mozart’s first major opera performed?

A．In Milan.

B．In Vienna.

C．In Salzburg.

3. What did Mozart do when he stopped performing?

A．He did business.

B．He taught for a living.

C．He composed music.

5 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

The Great Voice Actor

Since the creation of animated (动画的) motion pictures, the use of actors supplying voices     1    (be) invaluable. Behind every famous cartoon character’s personality is the actor standing in the recording booth and     2     (stretch) their manner of speaking in unrecognizable ways. For some of these performers, the voices they’ve provided have far surpassed them as people in both recognizability and adoration.

Mel Blanc, known as “The Man of Thousand Voices”,     3     (regard) as the most prolific actor to ever work in Hollywood with over a thousand screen credits. He developed and performed nearly 400 distinct character voices. Whether in legendary shorts or lesser-known commercials, Mel Blanc walked so the voice actors of today     4     run.

Mel Blanc lent his voice to many classic characters, but the one he is best known for is Bugs Bunny. There is little that can be said about Bugs’ impact     5     hasn’t already been said for decades. The character is     6     helped launch Warner Bros. animation into the mainstream. Bugs was even the face of Warner Bros. Family Entertainment, appearing at the beginning of many films.     7     a character may not talk, that doesn’t mean a fair bit of voice acting isn’t involved. Mel provided the various noises of the beloved pet dinosaur, Dino, in The Flintstones. While obviously not as quotable as his caveman companions, every fan knows the excited bark of Dino when he sees his master, Fred, arrive home. In January 1961, at the age of 52, Blanc was severely injured in a car accident and had to tape his part at home with a microphone     8     (suspend) over his bed.

Mel Blanc paved the way for voice acting as a true art, though it’s a skill that often goes unrecognized when praise is focused on movies and TV. The characters we all love wouldn’t be where they are in the public eye without     9     who put a voice to them. Many recognizable or popular voice actors of our modern era have Blanc     10     (thank) for their start, and hope to reach his level of unmatched expertise at bringing countless characters to life the way no one else can.

6 . “Painters, do not fear perfection. You will never achieve it! Just try as you will if you are ordinary. Even if you paint terribly, badly, people will still see that you are ordinary. ”

-Salvador Dali

“Every morning when I awake,” wrote the artist of the soft watches and burning giraffes, “the greatest of joys is mine: that of being Salvador Dalí. . .” The Spanish artist, so famous and so rich, was creative not only in his art. He talked nonstop too; his favorite topic was how to be a genius. “Oh Salvador,” he concluded, “now you know the truth: that if you act the genius, you will be one!”

Had he lived during the Renaissance (文艺复兴), Dalí would have been recognized sooner as a genius. In our age, though, which he felt was growing increasingly stupid, Dalí represented an air of challenging and annoying everyone else. Today he is ranked alongside Picasso as one of the modernist greats, and the general public quite clearly loves his art as well; therefore, it is difficult to understand why he should still be seen as so challenging and annoying, and why many people should still consider him as mad. Dalí himself declared: “The only difference between myself and a madman is the fact that I am not mad!” Writer Michel Déon once said, “His personality -whether it is loved or hated-is based on something deep and appealing, and that is his roots and his feelings. Roots that reach deep into the earth, absorbing everything that has been produced in four thousand years of painting, architecture and sculpture. Feelings that are picking up things to come, from the future, expecting it and flying to it at lightning speed. It cannot be emphasized enough that Dalí is a man of tireless scientific curiosity.” One might say that Dalí was typical of his age: he had grasped how to make himself a star.

1. What does Dali actually want to say to other painters?

A．“Be brave to show yourself.”

B．“Be honest to yourself.”

C．“Be pleased to stay ordinary.”

D．“Be respectful to the public.”

2. How does the author look at Dalí?

A．He was too proud of himself.

B．He was undoubtedly a genius.

C．He was too challenging and annoying.

D．He was unfairly understood.

3. What can we learn from the last paragraph about Dalí?

A．He was not only learned but advanced.

B．He was not only honest but emotional.

C．He was a scientist rather than an artist.

D．He was a star rather than a genius.

4. What aspect of Dalí is the text mainly about?

A．His amazing achievements in art.

B．His special ability in learning.

C．His extraordinary belief in himself.

D．His annoying behavior in public.

7 . 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

8 . “The arrow shot is so straight that it hits the bull’s eye, the young people will have good luck…” Dargye sang as he worked on his handmade bag.

Dargye, 56, an artist who excels at traditional craftsmanship and Tibetan folk music in Drinba village in Dragyib district, Nyingchi, Tibet autonomous region, remembers many folk songs he learned from his father and uncle. Now, it’s his turn to pass them on.

“I have liked traditional songs and dances since I was a child,” said Dargye, who has four apprentices (学徒).“The songs tell the histories of our ancestors and carry our unique culture, and-it’s always a lot of fun to perform these traditional songs and dances at various gatherings.” The song topics vary from archery, love, to labor and praise for the land. In addition to teaching these songs to/his family members and apprentices, he also uses social media platforms such as WeChat to teach songs.

His daughter, Chok Butri, also admires the folk culture. After posting a video of her daughter, Tsering Kyi, dancing on Douyin, she gained a lot of new fans on the popular short-video platform. “We are modern people living in a modern era, so it’s important and our responsibility that we use modern tools to pass on our traditional culture to make it last forever.” said Chok Butri, adding that she often posts songs and dances on WeChat and Douyin.

Dargye and his fellow villagers also recreate songs, adding modern elements such as aircraft and trains to the lyrics. Besides singing and dancing, Dargye makes handicrafts decorated with Tibetan cultural elements, including various hide and hair ropes, bags made of leather and cloth, and knife sheaths.

The local government encourages villagers to inherit (继承) and develop folk songs and other forms of traditional culture. Dargye’s efforts to preserve folk culture have been acknowledged by the government. In 2014, he was chosen as a county-level intangible (无形的) cultural inheritor and receives funds every year.

1. Why does Dargye want to pass the culture on?

A．He wants to satisfy his interest.	B．He wants to learn from the seniors.
C．He wants to bring people fun.	D．He wants to inherit and develop it.

2. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning Dargye’s daughter?

A．To show folk music’s effect on her.	B．To stress Dargye’s influence on her.
C．To emphasize her love for folk culture.	D．To reveal the popularity of folk culture online.

3. Which of the following best describes Dargye?

A．Ambitious and honest.	B．Talented and curious.
C．Devoted and creative.	D．Generous and determined.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．All efforts to preserve culture pay off

B．Craftsman carries tunes to preserve culture

C．An artist prefers traditional songs and dances

D．Tibetan culture is being protected and passed on

9 . 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。

With simulated splits in the air, a man     1     (dress) in black jumps high and shows different poses before     2     (graceful) landing on the ground. So eye-catching is his dance    3     it often attracts crowds that take pictures and ask what he is doing.

He is Chinese dancer-choreographer Ma Jiaolong, who     4     (make) and shared short videos of his dances in London since 2020. Ma has nearly 5 million followers on Douyin,     5    major short-video platform known as TikTok overseas.

After Ma’s videos circulated widely online, he received lots of messages from people around the world, many of     6     were impressed by his ability     7     (dance) his moves perfectly. “I was fascinated by the dancers who portray roles of ancient     8     (hero) through the movements of Chinese classical dance. I wanted to be like     9     (they), who could bring ancient characters alive.”, recalls Ma. His devotion to dancing did lead him to a new approach    10     creating dance.

10 . 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.”