1 . 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.

2 . Joao Carlos Martins is a famous pianist and conductor. However, his career has been ________ and his life has taken him in many different ________.

As a teenager Martins began to perform in concerts. But in his late twenties, he had to ________ after badly breaking his arm. It was really a terrible time. He couldn’t look at a piano or ________ listen to music. ________, he decided to become the manager of a boxer, who won the world championship later. This ________ Martins to take up the piano and practise much harder. Six years later, he gave his first concert at the Carnegie Hall, which was the most ________ moment of his life. He performed in concerts for years before he had to quit because of the unbearable ________ in his hands caused by too much ________.

Martins, in his forties, became a politician. However, he couldn’t stand this ________, so once again, he went back to the piano. All was going well until something unexpected ________ while leaving a concert. He ________ a serious brain injury and lost all the movement in his right hand. Again, with great ________ he played just with his left hand. Years later he lost the use of the left hand and ________ himself a conductor. Now, in his late seventies, Martins is still taking ________ to work and has conducted over a thousand concerts.

1.

A．smooth

B．tough

C．flexible

D．interesting

2.

A．cultures

B．forms

C．directions

D．levels

3.

A．give up

B．set out

C．turn up

D．hold out

4.

A．still

B．just

C．ever

D．even

5.

A．Generally

B．Ultimately

C．Occasionally

D．Naturally

6.

A．forced

B．promised

C．motivated

D．forbade

7.

A．realistic

B．emotiona1

C．struggling

D．striking

8.

A．pain

B．cuts

C．tension

D．sensitivities

9.

A．conducting

B．playing

C．instruction

D．competition

10.

A．career

B．popularity

C．condition

D．behavior

11.

A．existed

B．remained

C．occurred

D．continued

12.

A．found

B．suffered

C．cured

D．nursed

13.

A．patience

B．care

C．pleasure

D．determination

14.

A．fancied

B．considered

C．made

D．chose

15.

A．measures

B．chances

C．courage

D．trouble

3 . As the saying goes, “Interest is the seed of everything”. Since childhood, Cantero had been living with football that had a _________ effect on her. She had always loved football as well as art, and fortunately she found a way to _________ the two things.

Lili Cantero prepared a new colorful show of her works to take to the World Cup in Qatar. The 29-year-old artist was famous for _________ soccer shoes for stars. Her new artworks included shoes and balls with pictures and designs. Many of them were _________ by the Middle Eastern nation, Qatar, and especially its capital Doha brought her lots of _________ ideas. The city welcomed national teams from the world to _________ in the World Cup.

Cantero _________ sent a pair of shoes to Argentine star Lionel Messi. The shoes had fancy details with black and white image of the _________ and his family. She didn’t know if Messi would even receive the shoes. But _________, she received a photo of Messi holding them. That marked a turning point in her__________. Then her colorful designs __________ other stars. She even met a famous former Brazilian star and gave him a pair of __________ and a football showing a kiss his mother had given him after winning an award in 2005.

In Qatar, Cantero planned to show eight footballs with designs that showed her __________ for eight countries winning the World Cup, thinking that they were __________ of the admiration of all. Finally, the footballs were the centerpiece of the World Cup exhibition, while the boots were presented within three-dimensional __________ looking like the stadiums that Qatar built for the World Cup.

1.

A．slight

B．limited

C．significant

D．temporary

2.

A．compare

B．explain

C．investigate

D．connect

3.

A．making

B．painting

C．purchasing

D．donating

4.

A．inspired

B．checked

C．sponsored

D．arranged

5.

A．narrow

B．conventional

C．novel

D．literary

6.

A．turn

B．compete

C．speak

D．explore

7.

A．still

B．never

C．often

D．ever

8.

A．artist

B．judge

C．player

D．photographer

9.

A．in surprise

B．in vain

C．on time

D．on hand

10.

A．plan

B．career

C．team

D．stadium

11.

A．confused

B．hurt

C．changed

D．drew

12.

A．sweaters

B．glasses

C．boots

D．socks

13.

A．respect

B．insurance

C．debt

D．cost

14.

A．aware

B．worthy

C．ignorant

D．suspicious

15.

A．maps

B．rocks

C．movements

D．structures

4 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement     1     the 80th Venice Film Festival on Sept 2. He made history as the first Chinese actor     2     (win) the award.

The news created much     3    (excite) in the film industry and across social media. It reflected the global     4    (recognize) of Hong Kong cinema,     5     has been an important force in the film world.

    6     62-year-old actor said he wanted to share the award with all who have helped him during his 40-year acting career. The lifetime award recognizes the actor’s rich collection of famous works. Since he became an actor in the early 1980s, Leung     7    (become) famous globally for his performances in director Wong Kar-wai’s award-winning films.

Famous director Ang Lee described Leung     8     “a director’s dream”,     9    (say)Leung can show complicated emotions simply through his eyes. “He can say more in one look than many actors can with a full monologue (独白),” Lee added.

Leung’s next film, Silent Friend, will start filming in April 2024. Leung will play a scientist and work with a top film     10     (produce)to show a story across different countries. The world’s audience is looking forward to another fresh and touching performance by Leung.

5 . The Chinese written language originated very early. However, people began to like the art of writing, and pay attention to the creator’s thinking and spirit since the period between the Late Han Dynasty and Wei Jin Dynasty. The Chinese calligraphy fonts(字体) gradually evolved from oracle, Chinese bronze inscriptions and silk manuscripts to the following five main schools:

School	Representative Master	Feature
Seal Script	Li Si	There are Big Zhuan and Small Zhuan. The Big Zhuan includes all the ancient Chinese calligraphy fonts before Qin Dynasty. The Small Zhuan are the characters commonly used by officials after Qin united China. These characters feature balanced left and right parts and a bit complicated structures.
Official Script	Cai Yong	A simplified form of script since seal characters were too complicated for officials to use when copying documents.
Regular Script	Ouyang Xun, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan	Also named Zhenshu or Zhengshu, Kaishu is regular with a tight structure and fluent strokes.
Cursive Hand	Zhang Xu, Huai Su	Caoshu is characterized by sketchy, simplified forms of characters, often distorted or exaggerated to achieve an internal rhythmic appearance within the compositions of characters.
Running Hand	Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing; Su Shi	Xingshu is something between the regular script and the cursive scripts in the initial period and now is between the official script and cursive(草写体的)hand. Chinese masters have always compared the three styles of writing, Kaishu, Xingshu, Caoshu to people standing, walking and running respectively.

1. The difference between Seal Script and Official Script lies in ______.

A．the difficulty to write	B．their function in use
C．who often wrote them	D．how cursive they are

2. Which school is compared to people walking according to the text?

A．Official Script.	B．Running Hand.
C．Cursive Hand.	D．Regular Script.

3. If you want to practice both Regular Script and Running Hand, who is a better choice to choose based on this article?

A．Ouyang Xun.	B．Yan Zhenqing.
C．Zhang Xu.	D．Wang Xizhi.

6 . The exact location in France where Dutch master Vincent van Gogh painted his last work of art has been discovered.

A Dutch researcher figured out that a scene described in the artist’s last work, Tee Root, was visible on a postcard showing a man standing next to a bicycle on a back street of the village Auvers-sur-Oise. Van Gogh spent the last weeks of his life in the village. Helpfully, the card even included the name of the street.

Researchers were given a unique glimpse (体验) into the famous painter’s final hours. He was at work right up to the end.

Wouter van der Veen, scientific director of the Van Gogh Institute in France, made the discovery. While stuck at home, van de Veen used the extra time to organize the numerous files and documents on van Gogh, including images such as the old postcard from Auvers-sur-Oise. One day in late April, he saw the card on his computer screen and it suddenly struck him that he was looking at the location of Tree Roots. Next to the man and his bicycle, roots and trees are clearly visible. He took a virtual trip down the site using Google’s Street View.

“Villagers know the spot and the main tree root well, even giving it the name ‘the elephant’ because of its shapes,” van der Veen said. “It was really hiding in overt sight.”

The discovery provides tourists with an extra reason to visit Auvers-sur-Oise. “They travel a lot just for one reason — to walk in the footsteps of Vincent van Gogh. Now they can stand at the very place where he painted his last painting,” van der Veen said. “And that’s a very moving thing for a lot of people. So I’m very happy to be able to share that with all those who love van Gogh.”

1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．What the postcard revealed.	B．How Tree Roots was discovered.
C．Why Auvers-sur-Oise became known.	D．Where van Gogh painted his works.

2. How did van der Veen confirm his discovery?

A．He studied a picture of Auvers-sur-Oise.

B．He organized his data on van Gogh.

C．He traveled to France to see for himself.

D．He paid a visit to the spot online.

3. What does the underlined word “overt” in paragraph 5 mean?

A．Mixed.

B．Obvious.

C．Lovely.

D．Strange.

4. What can we infer about tourists to Auvers-sur-Oise?

A．They enjoy exploring how to paint.	B．They share their love for van Gogh.
C．They admire van Gogh very much.	D．They want to experience the life there.

7 . “He is a giant of the 20th-century art, but that doesn’t mean he only did big paintings, said Lynn Miller, director of Rochester Central Gallery, in an interview last Thursday.

Entitled “Picasso and His Drafts”, a special exhibit marking 50 years since the death of Pablo Picasso is held at the gallery this month. Instead of his paintings, the notebooks on which the Spanish legendary artist drew drafts are shown to the public for the first time.

Matchbox covers, postcards, restaurant napkins all served as drafting notes for the artist at moments of inspiration. It is important to know that each of the 14 notebooks presented reflects what was going on in his life.

For example, a tiny notebook whose size is just 3 by 5 inches stands out among the exhibits. Inside the little book was a self-portrait of the artist finished roughly in pencil, with deep and thoughtful eyes. It was done in 1918 and Picasso, then in his mid-30s, had just got married. He produced big-sized artworks but he also kept this tiny notebook around, filling it with scenes of his wife, their friends, the beach and the town, and drafts of upcoming paintings. Actually, many of the draft drawings are early versions of famed paintings like Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) and Dora Maar in an Armchair (1939).

“He is a great artist of the modern period, and we see practice and determination in his notebooks,” said Lynn Miller, referring to Picasso’s efforts in improving his skills through copious drawing. Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, a grandson of Picasso’s, remembered him always drafting until the last piece of paper available. “My grandpa was permanently drawing something,” Ruiz-Picasso said.

In a documentary film shown at the gallery, Picasso, shirtless and in shorts, was standing on a ladder to reach the top of his canvas (画布). It reminds visitors of the real size of his masterworks.

1. What are the key features of the recent exhibit at the gallery?

A．Notebooks for sale.	B．Picasso’s artworks.
C．Priceless artistic drafts.	D．Masterpieces of the 20th century.

2. What is reflected in the notebooks of Picasso?

A．His life experience.	B．The love for his country.
C．The content of his books.	D．His education background.

3. Which of the following best describes Picasso according to his grandson?

A．Creative.

B．Diligent.

C．Optimistic.

D．Humorous.

4. What can we learn from the author’s words in the last paragraph?

A．Picasso used to mind his appearance.	B．The gallery exhibits real masterworks.
C．The documentary movie is worth seeing.	D．Picasso’s artworks are actually of great size.

8 . 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。

Israeli singer-songwriter Gilad Segev has devoted himself to an ambitious project to present different views of China through music, because of his love for the country. In June 2020, he launched Project 34, through    1    he will release a song for each of the 34 provincial-level regions in China every month.    2    (combine) Chinese music and global folk music, he    3    (post) 17 videos so far on social media platforms, gaining millions of views.

“My    4    (inspire) for the project was the great beauty I discovered in China’s culture, landscapes, and more    5    (important) , the hearts of Chinese people.” says Segev. He calls    6    (he) a “passer-by” — a traveling artist who tells stories from his encounters with people from various cultures, through music.

Over the past decade, the award-winning musician has travelled to most of the 34 provincial-level regions, and plans to go to    7    rest when travel is not restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For each music video, he cooperates actively    8    a Chinese singer or musician, to include characteristics from their own home region. He and his team have listened extensively to various types of Chinese music    9    (figure) out what suitable elements can be used in his works. “I believe when all of our voices    10    (hear) together, true harmony can happen,” Segev says.

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.

A black slate (石板), an alloy steel needle and decades of practice are     1     Li Yahua needs to create the perfect Huihe stone shadow carving work of art. With her left hand     2     (gentle) leaning against the mirror-like stone to support the heavy chisel (凿子) she’s holding in her right hand, the artist creates a black-and-white landscape by intensively chiseling dots in various sizes and density on the stone.

    3     (difference) from traditional Chinese art types that emphasize the beauty of lines, stone shadow carving highlights the size and     4     (deep) of dots.

“We use an alloy steel needle to chisel white dots to create images on a polished and smooth black slate,” Li explained, adding the pressure     5     (use) to chisel them was the key to getting the carving right.

“On an A4-paper-size black slate, we need to chisel about 100 million dots     6     (create) an image,” she continued, adding it would take 7 to 20 days to complete the work depending on its level of complexity.

Born into a family of stone carvers, stone and alloy steel needles     7     (be) Li’s best friends since childhood and the sound of chisel     8     (knock) on the slate is the soundtrack to her life.     9     56-year-old has devoted nearly 40 years to the craft. For her, shadow carving is about preserving history, culture and art,     10     recording the stories of the times.

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。

Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer only created 37 known works during his lifetime. Now, art history    1     (lover) have the opportunity to see 28 of these pieces in the    2    (large) exhibition of Vermeer paintings ever.    3    (host) at the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam, the exhibition features a series of well-known pieces from the artist’s works that prove why he    4     (know) as the “Master of Light.”

Museums from around the world lent their Vermeer paintings for the exhibition that opened on February 10,2023. Johannes Vermeer is famous around the world     5     his paintings of calm scenes in domestic settings, and for his    6    (impress) use of light, according to the museum.

Additionally, Vermeer’s most famous painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring,    7     (normal) held at the Maritshu is museum in The Hague, is on display at the Rijks Museum for    8       limited time, while the rest of the exhibition continues until June.

The Rijks Museum is also offering a digital Vermeer experience for those who are    9     (able) to see these pieces in person. Titled Closer, this online gallery features the voices of Stephen Fry (in English) and Joy Delima(in Dutch),     10     give an overview of Vermeer’s life and art.