1 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What did Peter learn from his grandfather?

A．How to appreciate art works.

B．How to deal with artists.

C．How to run a museum.

2. What did Peter do in Chicago?

A．He served in the army.

B．He studied at a college.

C．He worked in a gallery.

3. Whose works did Peter like best?

A．Rembrandt’s.

B．Botticelli’s.

C．Ruben’s.

2 . For more than 40 years, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has annually selected a group of Jazz Masters. Here are the NEA Jazz Masters selected for 2024.

Amina Claudine Myers

Amina Claudine Myers grew up in Dallas, Texas. She moved to New York City in the 1970s. The former elementary school teacher also worked in theaters and cooperated with musicians around the world.

Willard Jenkins

Willard Jenkins is familiar to jazz fans in New Orleans and Washington, D. C., where he’s hosted radio programs on stations such as WWOZ and WPFW. The Pittsburgh native first started writing about jazz for the Black student newspaper as an undergraduate at Kent State University. He also taught at various universities and contributed to leading jazz publications.

Gary Bartz

Gary Bartz has played with generations of jazz stars. In the 1960s, after graduating from Juilliard, he joined the Max Roach/ Abbey Lincoln Group and the Charles Mingus Jazz Workshop. In the 1970s, he played with Miles Davis and founded the Ntu Troop, which united jazz with African folk and other kinds of music. He has published more than 40 personal albums.

Terence Blanchard

It’s almost amazing that Terence Blanchard was named the NEA Jazz Master. He is only 61. It’s relatively young for the recognition.

Born in New Orleans to an opera-loving father, Blanchard started playing the trumpet (小号) as a child. Over the years, he has won multiple Grammys and a Peabody Medal. He made history in 2021 when his opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones became the first by a Black composer to be staged by the Metropolitan Opera.

1. Who was born in Pittsburgh?

A．Gary Bartz.	B．Terence Blanchard.
C．Willard Jenkins.	D．Amina Claudine Myers.

2. When did Gary Bartz found the Ntu Troop?

A．In the 1950s.

B．In the 1960s.

C．In the 1970s.

D．In the 1980s.

3. Why does the author say that Terence Blanchard made history in 2021?

A．He is the first Black composer to be the NEA Jazz Master.

B．He is the youngest to be selected as the NEA Jazz Master.

C．He won a Grammy and a Peabody Medal in the same year.

D．One of his works was performed by the Metropolitan Opera.

3 . For many people, music helps them escape reality. The musician Carter Hulsey is taking a different approach. He’s using his stage to help people face reality. He performed a selection of songs and then talked about some valuable financial (财务的) knowledge at Burkley Fine Arts Center recently. The rock artist gave a presentation (演讲) covering topics such as balancing a budget, making buying decisions, and how to spend money and save for the future.

“The message from Hulsey would be important for our students to hear,” the teacher Mrs. Dux said. “I believed listening to the band would be an interesting way to communicate that message. As I found out more information, I couldn’t pass up the chance our students to have this experience.”

Hulsey managed the budget for his band when they went on a tour years ago. But at that time, he didn’t know much about being smart with money. He shared his own experience with money management and the troubles that came with it.“When I was your age, we didn’t talk about money in school. We didn’t talk about it at home. I didn’t think about it,” Hulsey told students.“I just started heading around the country and learned all these things the hard way.” He hopes by showing students that even those who live the rock-star life need to understand financial wellness, he can help students to form good spending habits.

Terron Johnson, a teacher at Shiloh High School, is making sure students learn the lesson before they may go into debt. “It’s a real-world thing. A lot of times students will say, ‘Why do I need to know this math? How am I going to use this in real life?’ Well, you will use financial knowledge down the line,” Johnson said. If students understand how to effectively use their money to achieve their goals, they can make their dreams come true.

1. What can be learned about the musician Carter Hulsey?

A．He encourages people to enjoy life.

B．He shares financial knowledge with the audience.

C．His focus has moved from music to financial work.

D．His music is inspired by the life of young people.

2. What is Mrs. Dux’s attitude towards Hulsey’s presentation?

A．Positive.

B．Doubtful.

C．Negative.

D．Uncertain.

3. Why did Hulsey talk about his own experience?

A．To prove the success of his band.

B．To tell students how to find a hobby at a young age.

C．To explain the influence of artistic taste on students.

D．To show the necessity of learning money management early.

4. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．A musician becomes popular with students

B．Young students talk with a great musician

C．A concert brings more than music to students

D．Teachers advise students to be smarter with money

4 . Most artists have to wait decades for their talents to be recognized. Some, like Dutch painter Van Gogh, only achieve _______ after they die. But this is not the _______ for Andres Valencia. The 11-year-old boy has already _______ millions selling his contemporary paintings to art collectors.

Andres’ parents are art lovers and collectors. They began _______ Andres to modern paintings when he was just a kid. The young boy soon began _______ famous artworks with great accuracy. His father, Lupe, says, “When he was 4 or 5, my wife and I would _______ him paint and do sketches(素描), and we were really surprised at what he would do.”

By age six, the _______ artist was selling his watercolor paintings to family and friends for $20 a piece. Over time. Andres began creating large-scale paintings with a _______ of oil stick and oil and acrylic paints. His masterpieces were all _______ contemporary artists like Picasso.

Bernie Chase, a family friend and owner of an art gallery, recognized Andres’ __________ from the start. He bought the young boy’s artwork every time he __________ and even paid $5,000 for one. In 2022, the young boy held his first __________ at Chase’s gallery. The 35 paintings __________ were sold for between $50,000 and $125,000 each.

When not painting, Andres is a __________ fifth-grader with math homework. “My son is an artist, but he is a __________ first.” His mother said. “He is a child, not a celebrity.”

1.

A．victory

B．progress

C．fame

D．effect

2.

A．case

B．model

C．lesson

D．honor

3.

A．wasted

B．paid

C．spent

D．earned

4.

A．showing

B．leading

C．exposing

D．adapting

5.

A．learning

B．appreciating

C．analyzing

D．copying

6.

A．watch

B．make

C．help

D．find

7.

A．generous

B．ambitious

C．honest

D．brave

8.

A．variety

B．sort

C．mixture

D．system

9.

A．attached to

B．aimed at

C．recognized as

D．impacted by

10.

A．gift

B．courage

C．effort

D．intelligence

11.

A．discovered

B．visited

C．admired

D．analyzed

12.

A．ceremony

B．celebration

C．exhibition

D．party

13.

A．marked

B．restored

C．framed

D．displayed

14.

A．regular

B．wise

C．hardworking

D．naughty

15.

A．millionaire

B．kid

C．genius

D．master

5 . “Do what you love, not what others tell you is right,” says Georgia Lines of New Zealand.

I spoke with the 24-year-old singer-songwriter earlier this month about her rise to fame. In 2022, Lines was named breakthrough artist of the year at the annual Aotearoa music awards ceremony. Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand, an island country in the Pacific Ocean that is home to more than 5.1 million people.

Lines makes success look easy, but she has worked hard to perfect her skills. “I love what I do,” she told me. “I love it when I get lost in music, and everything works together.”

Already, Lines has opened for pop singer George Ezra. She hopes “to open for Harry Styles one day,” she added.

Lines has written more than 20 songs and worked together with several top artists, including Jack Burton, Alex James and Cassie Henderson. “I love working with other people and cooperating,” Lines said. “I find I work better when I’m with others, because we can exchange ideas with each other.”

When asked about her musical ambition growing up, Lines smiled. “I was never a musical genius as a child,”she said. “But I always loved singing and music.”

In recent years, Lines has drawn enthusiastic crowds for her concerts. The video for her hit song, “No One Knows”, won best music video of the year in New Zealand in 2021.

As for her future goals, Lines said that she wants “to have a promising career and to keep doing what I love.” That means focusing on her own career and artistic achievements. “Comparison is the robber of success, “she said. “If I had stopped to compare myself with others, I wouldn’t have made it as far as I have.”

1. What is the main topic of the author’s conversation with Lines?

A．Her childhood.	B．Her family.
C．Her style of music.	D．Her way to success.

2. What do we know about Lines from paragraph 5?

A．She likes teamwork.	B．She respects top artists most.
C．She has a gift for music.	D．She always loves music.

3. What is Lines trying to avoid doing?

A．Valuing money too much.	B．Ignoring her future career.
C．Comparing herself with others.	D．Taking others’ suggestions.

4. Which word best describes Lines?

A．Honest.

B．Knowledgeable.

C．Hard-working.

D．Kind-hearted.

6 . 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

7 . Beethoven was a great musician. One evening, young Beethoven was out for a walk. As he was passing a wooden house, he ________ someone inside practicing one piece of his music. He stopped to listen, and a girl said that she wished she could hear a real ________ play it.

Beethoven went into the house, ________ the young lady at the piano was blind. A young man stood beside her. Beethoven asked ________, “Would you mind me playing for you?” ________ they didn’t know who the stranger was, the lady and the man said yes happily. Beethoven sat at the piano and began to play. He played so well that all of them lost themselves in the beautiful music. Even when the lonely candle in the room ________ and the moon shone brightly through the window, he was ________ playing!

When Beethoven left the house, the moon seemed even ________ in the night sky. He was deeply ________ by the young lady’s love for his music and was greatly encouraged by the beautiful night. He rushed back home ________ and spent the whole night writing down the music that he had played at the blind girl’s house.

This is a story of “Moonlight Sonata”, one of the classics in the history of music.

1.

A．tasted

B．heard

C．felt

D．looked

2.

A．dancer

B．teacher

C．musician

D．singer

3.

A．imagining

B．describing

C．checking

D．noticing

4.

A．politely

B．angrily

C．rudely

D．proudly

5.

A．But

B．Although

C．When

D．Because

6.

A．went over

B．went on

C．went out

D．went by

7.

A．hardly

B．almost

C．even

D．still

8.

A．brighter

B．darker

C．heavier

D．lighter

9.

A．hit

B．knocked

C．beat

D．touched

10.

A．at once

B．at last

C．at first

D．at most

8 . About the year 1900, a small, dark-haired boy was often seen waiting outside the back entrances of theatres in London. His name was Charlie Chaplin. He looked thin and hungry but his blue eyes were determined. He was hoping to get work in show business(娱乐界).

When Chaplin couldn’t get_________, he wandered about the city_________. He found food and shelter(栖身之处)_________he could. Sometimes he was sent away to a home for children who had no parents. He was cold and miserable there and the children were beaten for the_________fault.

By the time he was thirty, Charlie had been the greatest, best-known and best-loved_________in the world. Chaplin’s films have_________a large audience in various countries. Anyone who visited the cinema_________must have seen some of Charlie Chaplin’s funny films. People everywhere who have seen them would_________until tears run down their faces. Even people who don’t understand English can enjoy Chaplin’s films because they are mostly_________. It isn’t what he says that makes people laugh. It depends upon little____________that mean the same thing to people all over the world.

Having lived in America for 40 years, Chaplin____________to Switzerland. There he died on Christmas Day of 1977. He once described himself____________a citizen of the world, rather than of any____________country.

He once wrote, “You have to believe in yourself. That’s the____________of success. Even when I was in the children’s home, when I was wandering about the streets trying to find enough food to____________to keep alive, I still thought of myself as the greatest actor in the world.”

1.

A．chances

B．opportunity

C．work

D．tasks

2.

A．shops

B．streets

C．factories

D．homes

3.

A．whenever

B．however

C．whatever

D．wherever

4.

A．most

B．fewest

C．least

D．slightest

5.

A．comedian

B．tragedian

C．singer

D．artist

6.

A．attacked

B．attracted

C．paid

D．enjoyed

7.

A．daily

B．regularly

C．rarely

D．occasionally

8.

A．cry

B．complain

C．laugh

D．satisfy

9.

A．silent

B．noisy

C．quiet

D．still

10.

A．sounds

B．language

C．activities

D．actions

11.

A．arrived

B．reached

C．moved

D．got

12.

A．as

B．for

C．into

D．with

13.

A．other

B．particular

C．special

D．more

14.

A．truth

B．fact

C．reason

D．secret

15.

A．eat

B．sleep

C．hide

D．drink

9 . 语法填空

Mr Bean, a classic character in comedies,     1    (recognise) for meeting endless ridiculous situations in his daily life. He gets his humour across to the audience purely by a series of universal body language without any words. In one of the most popular episodes, Mr Bean comes to a fancy restaurant in celebration of his birthday, only     2    (astonish) that the only dish he can afford is one named “steak tartare”, which is actually raw hamburger. The moment the dish is served, he attempts to chew it.     3    , he finds it is too disgusting to swallow, and he has no alternative but to hide his real feelings. During all the dinner time, he occupies     4    (him) with hiding the raw meat, and even throws some down the trousers of the restaurant’s violinist. What a funny but     5    (embarrass) birthday!

Contrary to Mr Bean, Rowan Atkinson, the actor of Mr Bean, lived a normal life.     6    (born) into an ordinary family, he was treated in such a strict manner     7     he stood out well in his study and even     8    (attain) his degree at Oxford. Besides, he was     9    (convince) he would be a successful actor with his talent for acting. Years later, it is obvious that his hard work has paid     10     in the end.

10 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. inspired            B. detail          C. art          D. marker          E. sculptor        F. stared G. considerably     H. approach       I. worthy     J. gradually       K. widened

Tom Friedman

Those who believe that art is simply handicraft taken to the extreme might find confirmation upon a first glance at     1     and installation artist Tom Friedman’s work. He creates sculptures and drawings with obsessive attention to     2     and handiwork, and then combines them to make installations. His materials can be picked up at any supermarket: paper, wire, cardboard, foam, foil and     3     pens. Friedman is influenced by 1960s conceptual art and minimalism. The Fluxus movement is     4     of special mention here, as its humorous, art-conscious work    5     him for pieces such as 1000 Hours of Staring (1992-1997). an empty sheet of paper that — as the title suggests — the artist     6     at for 1000 hours. In his new collages and sculptures (see his 2008 Monsters and Stuff exhibition), Friedman has stayed true to his choice of materials and painstakingly elaborate production process, but the gulf between the banality of the material and the spectacular forms that emerge from it has    7     , for example in the sculpture Green Demon (2008). The field of reference is also     8     broader here, with Frankenstein and voodoo associations slotting in easily next to African sculpture, Miro and Picasso. However, the question remains as to whether the harmless material removes the horror aspect or whether the artist has drawn hidden horror out of the material. And thus the question of art as handicraft comes full circle. As soon as handicraft is supported by a conceptual    9     and — in the true spirit of the surrealist idea of the miraculous-mundane everyday material is transformed to something astounding, then you have     10     .