1 . 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

2 . 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

3 . 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.

China’s Explosive Artist

Cai Guoqing’s practice spans from gunpowder drawings to ephemeral sculptures and monumental installations, all of     1     are rich with references to Chinese history, Taoist cosmology and current political events. Cai deals with the latter in a spectacular installation for I Want to Believe, his 2008 retrospective in New York, from the centre of the Guggenheim rotunda the artist —a     2    (train) set designer, by the way —suspended Inopportune: Stage One (2004), consisting of a series of nine cars     3     (hover) in mid air to represent in cinematic progression the effect of a car bomb.

Since the 1980s, Cai has been working on drawings realized by     4     (ignite)explosive powder on large sheets of paper. These works possess an aura     5     evokes both the vivid gestures of abstract expressionism and the quieter surfaces of Chinese traditional painting. Gunpowder is also at the centre of a series of environmental works, begun in 1989,     6     combine the tradition of Land Art with     7     of Chinese fireworks. For his explosion events, Cai stages pyrotechnical choreographies that sketch temporary drawing space.

Cai’s     8    (participate) in many international events, imposes himself as one of the strongest in the sky. These events are also meant to act as social, festive collective experiences that the artist— not without irony— believes could be perceived even from outer artists to emerge from China. At the Venice Biennale 1999 he     9    (award) the Golden Lion for Venice’s Rent Collection Courtyard (1999), a series of unfired clay sculptures    10    (depict)heroes in history. Cai also organized the opening ceremony for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

4 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

The eleven-year-old had just arrived in famous Carnegie Hall. He was to appear as a violin performer with the New York Symphony Orchestra. On his way from the stage entrance to the artists’ room, he saw a large fire ax (斧子) on a wall. “What’s that for?” he asked a guard.

“To cut the heads off the performers who don’t play well,” was the reply.

“And how many heads have you already cut off?”

“Oh, quite a few,” said the guard, with a friendly smile.

Some in the audience that night, especially the music critics, expected the boy’s head to roll. He was to play a difficult violin piece by Beethoven. Critics felt that this great piece should be attempted only by a mature artist. For a child, the complicated fingering would be impossible, they added.

It was November 25, 1927. That night Carnegie Hall was packed. All eyes in the audience watched for Yehudi Menuhin, the eleven-year-old violin performer, to appear on the stage. News of his talent had already excited the public imagination. There was an outburst of applause when he came out in his white silk shirt and black pants.

In a businesslike manner, Yehudi took his place near the conductor and handed his violin to the first violinist to be tuned. There was a breathless silence in the hall. When the kettledrum (定音鼓) announced the opening of the music, Yehudi stood calmly, so absorbed in the music that some people feared he would not come in on time. But, with only seconds to spare, he adjusted his violin and raised his bow. At the great singing tone that filled the hall, there was a slight excitement, and then a silence.

注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Listeners were impressed by his pure tone, expert fingering and wonderful skill.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Even the newspaper critics stayed on to applaud Yehudi.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . John Myatt is an artist. He may not be the greatest artist in the world, but he is possibly the world’s greatest forger (伪造者). He is able to paint pictures in the style of famous artists like Monet and Matisse.

    1     This unusual skill got Myatt into a lot of trouble in the 1990s. For many years he taught art at a secondary school, but then he got divorced (离婚) and he gave up his job to spend more time with his children. In order to make some money he started painting pictures in the style of famous artists and selling them.

    2     He was honest about his work—he wrote his name on the back, and he sold them for ￡150 each. However, one of his customers, John Drewe, started to resell Myatt’s paintings as genuine, original works. Drewe had sold one of Myatt’s paintings for￡25,000. He contacted Myatt and suggested that they go into business together. Myatt agreed. He continued to paint and Drewe sold his paintings to art collectors around the world.     3    

The amazing thing is that Myatt painted his pictures with decorator’s paint.     4     But it soon came to an end. Drewe was divorced too, and his ex-wife found out about the forgeries. She went to the police and they arrested Dewe and Myatt. At their trial Drewe was sent to prison for six years and Myatt for less than one year.

    5     When he came out he started to produce pictures in the style of famous artists again. But he put his name on the back, as he’d done before he met Drewe. Myatt is now famous and instead of charging￡150 for a painting, he can charge￡40-50,000.

A．It wasn’t illegal.

B．Then he decided to stop copying famous paintings.

C．It was the same paint that people use to paint houses!

D．Myatt only spent four months in prison for good behavior.

E．That’s more than Drewe gave him for his ‘genuine’ paintings!

F．His pictures are so good that experts can’t tell that they are not originals.

G．Between 1986 and 1994 they sold about 200 paintings and made over a million pounds.

6 . How Did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Die?

On November 20th, 1791, Mozart suddenly came down with fever and was wracked with pain. His arms and legs were severely swollen. In the following days his health significantly deteriorated. He died on December 5 after lapsing into a coma. The death certificate states he died of “severe miliary fever”. Exactly which disease led to Mozart’s death has been a mystery for the last 200 years.

Speculations

Many myths —some more plausible than others — entwine (缠绕) Mozart’s early demise. One of the most popular myths — that Mozart was poisoned by his rival Antonio Salieri — rose to prominence due to the popularity of the film Amadeus. This theory is supported by the fact that Mozart had been living through a phase of depression before his death, suffering from paranoia and existential fear. Mozart himself suspected that the cause of his deteriorating health was being poisoned over a long time. However, it is highly likely that this was just his subjective view of reality.

Many other speculations circulate. Syphilis and trichinellosis are frequently mentioned. In 1905, a French physician assumed uric acid poisoning due to a never fully healed nephritis. In 1961, lead poisoning was suggested as a possible cause of death.

Scientific attempts to explain Mozart’s death

In 2000, a group of American scientists proposed rheumatic fever caused by a strep infection after conducting meticulous detective work. The symptoms stated in literature and the reports of Mozart’s contemporaries yielded the clues. Without antibiotics, such an infection would inevitably lead to death. Rheumatic fever causes a weakening of the heart, which could explain Mozart’s swollen limbs.

In 2009, the Dutch scientist Richard Zegers extensively studied surviving documents and concluded that Mozart had been suffering from pharyngitis, a throat infection with symptoms including cramps, fever, rashes and a swollen neck. Mozart’s sister-in-law Sophie Haibel had described these symptoms. The death registry of Vienna for winter 1791 lists several deaths caused by this disease.

Whatever the cause of Mozart’s death, it came far too early. Let us thank him for his manic urge to create art and remember him on December 5th!

1. Which of the following is similar in meaning to the underlined word “deteriorate” (Paragraph 1)?

A．To become worse.	B．To change greatly.
C．To recover quickly.	D．To be harmed rapidly.

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．It is generally believed that Mozart was poisoned by his friend.

B．Mozart’s depression paranoia and existential fear led to his death.

C．Mozart had been poisoned sustainably for a long time before he died.

D．Mozart once got a nephritis and it was never healed.

3. What can we infer from Paragraph 4?

A．Mozart’s disease was recorded in contemporary literature and reports.

B．Antibiotics were not discovered at that time.

C．Rheumatic fever can only be caused by strep infection.

D．Mozart’s illness cannot be cured even today.

4. What is the author’s purpose mentioning Mozart’s sister-in-law’s words?

A．To back up the Dutchman’s study.

B．To prove they were common symptoms causing death in 1791.

C．To prove Mozart did have such symptoms before his death.

D．To emphasize her special identify as a witness to Mozart’s death.

7 . Throughout history, many of the world’s greatest artists never achieved tremendous fame until after their death. That’s the case of Vivian Maier, who’s now considered to be one of the most important American street photographers of the last century, alongside famous names like Diane Arbus and Henri Cartier-Bresson. But she remained unknown for much of her life, and it was only a chance encounter with a box of negatives that put her in the spotlight.

Details of her life are unclear, but she was born in New York City in the 1920s to European parents. Maier grew up in France before returning to the U. S., where she spent several decades working as a nanny in Chicago to wealthy families. During her days off Maier is thought to have taken more than 100, 000 photographs of people and city scenes in Chicago, yet she kept the photos to herself-many of them never developed.

Skip ahead to 2007, a Chicago historian and collector, John Maloof, came across Maier’s work by accident after purchasing a box of tens of thousands of undeveloped negatives for $380 Sat an auction (拍卖) . As he developed them, Maloof realized they were more than just photos. He was looking at evocative (唤起) art illustrating a Chicago of the mid-20-century that nobody had never seen. Maloof worked to uncover who the photographer was, acquiring more and more of her work. But before he could locate her, Maier had already passed away in 2009, having slipped on ice and never recovering from her head injury.

While Maloof researched Maier’s work, more details emerged. She kept to herself, her employers said, and she would spend her free days taking photos on the streets of Chicago with a Rolleiflex camera. According to Maloof, the children Maier took care of knew she was constantly taking photos, yet she never showed her photos to anyone. Maier also traveled around the world, as indicated by some of her photos.

Other collectors began to acquire Maier’s photos, but Maloof owns much of her work. He released a book, Vivian Maier: Street Photographer, in 2011, and his documentary, Finding Vivian Maier, came out in 2013.

1. Which word can be used to describe Vivian’s life?

A．Risky.

B．Wealthy.

C．Mysterious.

D．Miserable.

2. What do we know about Vivian Maier?

A．She was born in France.

B．She never developed her photos.

C．She enjoyed great fame in her life.

D．She took photos of Chicago and other cities.

3. What did Maloof do after he found Maier’s photos?

A．He approached Maier’s former employers.

B．He managed to meet the artist in the flesh.

C．He released a collection of Maier’s work.

D．He purchased more developed negatives.

4. What can be inferred about Vivian Maier’s photos?

A．They were presented to her employers.

B．They were meant to earn her a fortune.

C．They were taken by a professional artist.

D．They were of artistic and historical value.

8 . Mariah Reading is an environmentalist, who grew up with an early appreciation for nature. While studying art at Bowdoin College, she saw the vast amounts of_______from her painting and sculpture classes. She began to seriously consider her footprint as a(n)_________“How can I paint landscapes if I’m _________them?” she thought. Then she started using the refuse as her canvas (画布).

After graduation, Mariah travelled throughout the country,_________ rubbish to bring to her studio. One day, a_________ hubcap (轮毂盖) she found by the side of the road gave her a new ___________ . She noticed the half hubcap had cracked off to_________the line of the mountain range that she was in. So she_________ the mountain landscape on it and held it up in front of the real _________ and took a photo. It became the first in her __________ series.

Over the years, she has painted more than 100 pieces of rubbish and photographed her transformations__________matching real-life landscapes. It’s like __________ new life into forgotten objects. Her practice__________the principle of “leaving no trace” by __________ painting with sculpture and photography.

Mariah hopes people see themselves and their own habits __________ into her works and make small changes in their everyday lives.

1.

A．paper

B．waste

C．power

D．work

2.

A．artist

B．cleaner

C．journalist

D．mechanic

3.

A．exploring

B．forgetting

C．harming

D．shaping

4.

A．taking out

B．learning about

C．complaining of

D．picking up

5.

A．broken

B．lost

C．new

D．hidden

6.

A．medium

B．idea

C．reason

D．life

7.

A．damage

B．connect

C．form

D．cross

8.

A．protected

B．enjoyed

C．changed

D．painted

9.

A．car

B．range

C．picture

D．road

10.

A．ongoing

B．outdated

C．energy-consuming

D．self-centered

11.

A．from

B．without

C．against

D．as

12.

A．forcing

B．turning

C．attracting

D．breathing

13.

A．highlights

B．replaces

C．compromises

D．ignores

14.

A．surrounding

B．filling

C．combining

D．comparing

15.

A．trapped

B．reflected

C．added

D．admitted

9 . Najma Hashi (also named Nujuum) is a respected female artist, whose paintings are winning a global following. But Nujuum is not your _________ next-generation rising star. Nujuum, 26, grew up in Somalia, where new artists, especially female ones, are _________ from pursuing art.

This young artist grew up in a _________ living environment, which she has _________ to watching a horror movie: war, drought, poverty and hunger. Since Nujuum was seven, _________ Nujuum went, she felt moved to paint. As a child, on her way home from school, she would sit by the _________ and draw pictures in the sand. “I was thinking of creating my own little world, getting away from the _________. Art has always been a form of _________ for me.” As she went through school, she drew a whole city on her bedroom wall using her school pencils.

However, Nujuum was _________ that art isn’t a respected profession in her country. “Art, __________, in the Somalian community is not a good thing to do,” she says. Her mother did not share her dreams, nor did her neighbors who considered them __________.

This __________ made her give up art for a while. However, she realized that she had a __________: “Either I continue drawing and painting and create a beautiful life or I stay unhappy for the rest of my life.” Finally, Nujuum turned her __________ in art into something she could make a living from.

She __________ opening a school one day for other talented local artists, enabling them to choose art as a career too.

1.

A．strange

B．intelligent

C．ambitious

D．typical

2.

A．protected

B．discouraged

C．helped

D．kept

3.

A．peaceful

B．comfortable

C．terrible

D．civilized

4.

A．compared

B．refused

C．determined

D．failed

5.

A．somewhere

B．nowhere

C．everywhere

D．where

6.

A．shore

B．table

C．station

D．store

7.

A．imagination

B．extinction

C．reality

D．danger

8.

A．survival

B．relief

C．excellence

D．reward

9.

A．concerned

B．likely

C．optimistic

D．aware

10.

A．in general

B．in person

C．in shock

D．in secret

11.

A．normal

B．confusing

C．useful

D．strange

12.

A．pressure

B．shame

C．consequence

D．extent

13.

A．advantage

B．opportunity

C．intention

D．choice

14.

A．tendency

B．appreciation

C．interest

D．entertainment

15.

A．approves of

B．dreams of

C．consists of

D．knows of

10 . Matilda Browne (1869-1947) was a successful artist in the early 20th century. Unfortunately, few people know her name or her art today.

Matilda Browne showed promising artistic talent early in her life. Growing up in Newark, New Jersey, she got an introduction to art by watching her neighbor, painter Thomas Moran. Her parents supported their budding young artist.     1    And it paid off. Matilda Browne participated in her first major exhibition when she was just twelve years old.

Browne loved to paint animals, especially cows and other animals.     2     Her bold brushwork gave her paintings a live appearance. Her style is best described as Impressionism.

Matilda Browne quickly became a respected and successful artist. Her list of honours opened doors that would have been otherwise inaccessible for a female artist of her time. As an adult, she moved to Connecticut, where she painted in Old Lyme.     3    She even had the honor of painting a door of their workshop. Some sources say that her good sense of humor helped her fit in with the boys, while others claim that her seriousness is what won them over.     4    

Browne was a successful artist throughout her life. She won numerous awards and exhibited in many important shows. However, very few people know about her today. This is a more common story for female artists than one might think. So, why has Browne faded into being unknown?     5    She was American, while books about American Impressionists tend to focus on the male artists.

A．She was the only woman accepted into the male artists’ circle there.

B．It was her artistic style that hadn’t aroused people’s interest.

C．Her impressive skill brought her under everyone’s notice.

D．She also painted many flowers in colorful garden landscapes.

E．It could result from her double minority — in gender and nationality.

F．Her mother took her to Europe for training while she was quite young.

G．Either way, her great skill as a painter made these other artists take notice.