1 . Sofonisba Anguissola is considered to be a Late Renaissance child because she was born in 1532. During the Renaissance young men received formal schooling. Young women, however, were not provided with the same educational opportunities. Young Italian women were expected to learn homemaking skills and marry by the time they were thirty. Sofonisba was extremely fortunate that her father recognized her artistic talents and arranged for her to be taught painting along with female skills of needlework and homemaking.
At the age of fourteen she began classes with Bernardino Campi, a Cremona portrait (肖像) painter. When Sofonisba was twenty-two, her father arranged for her to study in Rome, and through his contacts, Sofonisba was introduced to Michaelangelo. She met with Michaelangelo informally so he could critique her work and provide her with some of his sketches (速写) for copying.
While Sofonisba was studying in Rome, Spain’s King Philip II invited her to move to Madrid and become the Queen’s art instructor, which was a milestone (转折点) in Sofonisba’s painting career. From then on, she could paint full time. Sofonisba lived there for fourteen years, giving the Queen lessons in drawing and completing portraits of the King, Queen and their children.
Sofonisba is considered a Mannerist painter. Mannerist paintings show complex compositions (构图) and emotions. Often painted in informal settings, Sofonisba’s portraits were realistic and showed expression, natural emotion, and interpersonal relationships. Several of her portraits were self-portraits, painted at various stages in her life by using a mirror to perfect different methods of painting. Sofonisba gave many of her paintings as gifts because her social status would have made it inappropriate for her to sell her works of art. Unfortunately, most of her works have been destroyed or lost over the years but several still survive in Western Europe. Sofonisba was fortunate to have had the advantage of her family’s wealth and support to learn, practice, and develop the art of portrait painting.
1. What can be learned about Sofonisba?| A．She could not receive any education. | B．She was born in the Early Renaissance. |
| C．She showed no interest in female skills. | D．She followed a different course from other girls. |
| A．Unconventional. | B．Optimistic. | C．Fashionable. | D．Strict. |
| A．He invited her to join the royal family. | B．He offered her a well-paid teaching job. |
| C．He provided her with a home in Madrid. | D．He gave her a chance to paint as a professional. |
| A．She was a kind-hearted person. | B．She was unable to sell them. |
| C．Her friends spoke highly of her works. | D．Her friends wanted to learn her drawing skills. |
1. When did Albert Bierstadt move to America?
| A．In 1830. | B．In 1831. | C．In 1832. |
| A．He focused on improving his drawing skills. |
| B．He held exhibitions in different countries. |
| C．He started to work as an art teacher. |
| A．To visit his sick family member. |
| B．To get inspiration for his paintings. |
| C．To engage in environmental protection. |
3 . Joseph Bologne, also known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, is perhaps the most famous musician and composer you’ve never heard of.
Bologne was born in 1745 on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, son of an enslaved (使成为奴隶) Senegalese woman and a white plantation owner. Bologne’s father was eager for him to acquire a good education and he was sent to France to be schooled in literature and fencing. As well as showing great skill in sport, Bologne was intelligent and appealing.
As if being handsome, clever and a champion athlete wasn’t enough, Bologne was also a seriously skilled musician and composer. His main instrument was the violin, and in 1761, he was made a member of the Royal Guards as a soldier and musician. It is around this time that he became known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges in recognition of his skill as a fencer and horseman. He was then invited to join the incredibly distinguished Concert des Amateurs as the first violinist and became its leader in 1773.
Although things were going very well for Bologne, he still experienced apparent racism. Some of the opera s leading women campaigned against having what they called “a mixed-race person” in charge of the opera. Despite this attempt to undermine his career, he fell into favour with the influential playwright Madame de Montesson, who put him in charge of her private theatre and introduced him to her husband, the Duke of Orleans. When the French Revolution (革命) broke out in 1789, Bologne sided with the revolutionaries. However, he was later imprisoned for 18 months and ultimately died in 1799 due to a severe leg injury.
Shortly after Bolognes death, Napoleon reinstated slavery in the French colonies and also banned Bologne’s music in an attempt to erase him from French history. However, Afro-Caribbean communities in France, and on Guadeloupe and Martinique have been working tirelessly to keep his legacy alive and Joseph Bologne is now enjoying a long overdue and richly deserved revival.
1. What can we learn from paragraph 2 about Bologne?| A．He was a man of determination. |
| B．He was passionate about literature. |
| C．He received great support from his father. |
| D．He had a difficult and troubled childhood. |
| A．His military service. |
| B．His exceptional athletic abilities. |
| C．His noble birth. |
| D．His musical achievements. |
| A．Bologne faced significant discrimination. |
| B．Bologne’s talents were a threat to the opera. |
| C．Bologne shouldn’t have joined the private theatre. |
| D．Bologne’s leadership suffered from a lack of foresight. |
| A．It’s being recognized and celebrated. |
| B．It’s receiving conflicting opinions. |
| C．It’s leading to a revolution in music. |
| D．It’s still being overlooked in France. |
4 . Uygur musician, Sanubar will give two concerts in Beijing and Shanghai on Jan. 13 and 14, featuring songs with dutar — a traditional folk instrument, which her father loved playing at home. “The instrument was hanging on the wall at my home and my father often played it for fun. My mother always sang along and we danced together,” recalls Sanubar, who was born into a Uygur family in Xinjiang. When her father died, Sanubar, who was 8 years old, composed her first song to honor him.
One of the songs she will perform is White Horse, adapted from an old Xinjiang folk song and telling a love story. “I get inspired by poems. Poems are as rhythmic as music. So when I read a beautiful poem, I easily connect it with its sounds, which allows me to turn the poem into a song,” says Sanubar. Some other songs are selected from the Xinjiang Uygur Muqam recorded on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008 by UNESCO, which includes songs, dances, folk and classical music.
Sanubar learned to play dutar at Xinjiang Arts University and, after graduation, she joined the Xinjiang Art Theater Muqam Art Troupe. From 2003 to 2005, she came to Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music to study music production. In 2010, at the age of 39, Sanubar enrolled in the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she spent four years learning to compose and got her Bachelor’s degree.
So far, Sanubar has written over 100 songs and released about 10 albums. She teaches dutar at an art school in the regional capital Urumqi. Sanubar and other folk musicians sang and danced with smiling faces. “I notice that many young people in Xinjiang are learning traditional instruments and singing old songs, which makes me very happy.” says Sanubar.
1. What originally inspired Sanubar’s music career?| A．The rhythm of poems. | B．The impact of her father. |
| C．The honor of her first song. | D．The company of her mother. |
| A．She promoted the beauty of traditional folk art. | B．She wrote many beautiful poems from old songs. |
| C．She gained reputation both at home and abroad. | D．She helped complete the Xinjiang Uygur Muqam. |
| A．Sanubar’s main achievements. | B．Sanubar’s learning experiences. |
| C．The composition of folk songs. | D．The preservation of local music. |
| A．Intelligent and sensitive. | B．Elegant and reliable. |
| C．Energetic and productive. | D．Motivated and cautious. |
5 . Zheng Xiaoying was born in Shanghai in September 1929. Her youth and passion for music helped her become a conductor in an art troupe (巡回演出团). In the early 1960s, Zheng was sent to the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory to study opera and symphony conducting, becoming the first professionally trained female conductor in China at that time.
As a student, she conducted the Italian opera “Tosca” in public at a large opera house in the Soviet Union and won great applause not only for the wonderful performance, but also for the Chinese woman on the stage. Recalling this experience, Zheng said it was of great importance for her to become an opera symphony conductor and served as one of the turning points in her life.
After return to China, she did her best to combine Western and Oriental music. In addition to lectures and performances, in 1998, she founded the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra. With the concept of “attracting more audiences to the concert hall to enjoy the beauty of music,” the musical orchestra has now gained worldwide recognition. It has also become a popular travel destination in the city of Xiamen.
Besides being a conductor, Zheng is also a teacher. As one of the most famous Chinese conducting professors, she has taught many famed musicians. Many of them are still active on stage, both in China and abroad. Still, as a daughter of the Hakka people, she follows the tradition of valuing education. The Hakka culture enabled her to create a Chinese symphony called “The Echoes of Hakka Earth Building” which promotes China’s cultural achievements in music. So far, the symphony has been performed 80 times in over 12 countries and regions.
Zheng not only promotes the Chinese symphony to the world, she also presents traditional Chinese music. She said the thought of spending her last few seconds on the conductor’s podium (乐队指挥台) would be what she calls “the most romantic” of a desirable career. Now in her 90s, Zheng Xiaoying is still active on the stage, sharing China with the world through her music.
1. What’s a turning point in Zheng’s life?| A．Joining in an art troupe. |
| B．Studying conducting in Moscow. |
| C．A job at a large opera house in Italy. |
| D．A public performance in the Soviet Union. |
| A．It is a characteristic of Xiamen. |
| B．Its concept is to draw people’s attention. |
| C．It combines Western and Oriental music. |
| D．Its aim is to inspire people’s music talent. |
| A．By asking questions. | B．By listing examples. |
| C．By analyzing reasons. | D．By making comparisons. |
| A．Her desire for romanticism. | B．Her ideal of spreading musical ideas. |
| C．Her enthusiasm for music career. | D．Her achievement in music field. |
Wei Chunrong has built a reputation as a leading actress of Kunqu Opera,
She started learning at 10 and
“I played different roles during the past four decades. For Lady Xu Mu, I have to put aside all my experiences and start afresh
“The role, Lady Xu Mu, was written for Wei Chunrong
7 . Selom Sunu is a successful illustrator (插画家), but his path of becoming an illustrator was a long one.
When he was young, Sunu went to school for a while in Ghana. a country in the west Africa. He remembered that there were not many books with Ghanaian children in them, so he wanted to create his own book and illustrate it. “It is important to draw everyone, so everyone feels included.” Sunu says. Then, he moved to America with his family. To start a new and stable life, everyone in the family had to work hard, leaving him little time to paint. After college, Sunu gave up drawing and didn’t draw for eight years.
Then, one day, he came up with an idea for a book and the wish of his youth reoccurred to him. To sharpen his drawing skill, Sunu applied for a course at university but did not get it. The staff told him to draw every day for a year and reapply. So he drew every day, improved, and got accepted onto the course. Through this experience, he realized that one could learn how to draw by coping other drawings that one liked.
“Sometimes it might look like nothing is happening but, if you keep going, you could get opportunities unexpectedly,” Selom Sunu tells The Week Junior. “So don’t give up.”
Recently, Sunu has worked with Disney and illustrated a book called Christmas Carrolls, which he describes as very funny and warm. Sunu is judging this year’s Christmas cover competition. His advice is, “Stay on the brief, but put your own understanding on it. I’m keen to see that people enjoyed drawing the covers, because enjoyment shines through.”
1. Why did Sunu want to create his own book?| A．Because he desired to work with Disney. |
| B．Because he dreamt to become a great illustrator. |
| C．Because he felt like making his enjoyment shine. |
| D．Because he wanted to illustrate Ghanaian children. |
| A．By teaching himself only. | B．By copying other staff’s drawings. |
| C．By depending on his solid foundation. | D．By combining internal effort and external help. |
| A．Selfless and friendly. | B．Talented and stubborn. |
| C．Ambitious and devoted. | D．Strong- willed and humorous. |
| A．Fancy and funny works. | B．Abstract and pleasing works. |
| C．Simple and personalized works. | D．Serious and educational works. |
8 . “Never Again” sits at the intersection of art and craft. The object is both a basket, made from sweetgrass and palmetto (棕榈), and an abstract sculpture. Much wider than it is tall, from a distance “Never Again” seems to be of one hue, but on closer inspection you can see that its brown, cream and green fibers change into purposeful patterns of color. Such details encourage viewers to study the work slowly, the way you might examine one of Jackson Pollock’s paintings carefully.
The piece was made by Mary Jackson, an African-American artist, in 2007. In 2008 Mrs Jackson received $500,000 to support the creation of work that both preserved “the centuries-old craft of sweetgrass basketry” and moved “the tradition in amazing new directions”.
Born in 1945, Mrs Jackson grew up in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. She is Gullah, a member of an ethnic group who preserve the African roots of their distinct language and culture. Mrs Jackson was introduced to traditional weaving (编织) techniques by her mother and grandmother at the age of four.
In the 1960s, after finishing school, Mrs Jackson moved to New York to find work. There, she visited the city’s museums and discovered Minimalism and Pop Art, which had a deep effect on her. When she returned to South Carolina in 1972, she picked up basketmaking again, but with a new feeling.
Her works show clear shapes and innovative dimensions. Early works, such as “Cobra with Handle”, are complex, but still usable baskets. Mid-career pieces, including “Two Lips”, reveal a delicate turn away from utility towards aestheticism (唯美主义). It is a delicate work that is ill-suited to holding rice or produce.
“I wanted to do something that was very different from what my ancestors made,” she says. “Never Again” is perhaps the best representation of her work; Mrs Jackson says she named the piece to reflect her belief that she would not be able to create another object as striking. (It took her three years to complete.) “I don’t think I’ll continue to make these baskets like how I used to, she says. Instead, approaching her 80s, she is “working on new things”.
1. What is “Never Again”?| A．It’s an appealing abstract sculpture. |
| B．It’s a basket made by an African farmer. |
| C．It’s patterns of color mixed for no purpose. |
| D．It’s a painting created by Jackson Pollock. |
| A．Prehistoric items. | B．Contemporary arts. |
| C．Minimalism and Pop Art. | D．Jackson Pollock’s paintings. |
| A．It’s simple and practical. | B．It’s traditional and costly. |
| C．It’s aesthetic and complex. | D．It’s functional and economical. |
| A．Shy and confident. | B．Brave and strong. |
| C．Talented and innovative. | D．Ambitious and successful. |
9 . Art museums allow you to see some of the greatest paintings in the world. Viewing art can be inspirational for adults but children who are used to more hands-on activities can be easily bored with this passive experience.
That’s why the Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is partnering with Pokémon in Japan to teach children about this Netherland’s most renowned (有名的) artist. “This collaboration will allow the next generation to get to know Vincent Van Gogh’s art and life story in a refreshing way. The Van Gogh Museum and the Pokémon Company intend to create a special experience for children,” said Emilie Gordenker, general director of the Van Gogh Museum.
Vincent Van Gogh was a Dutch impressionist painter who lived from 1853 to 1890. This productive artist created over 2,100 artworks including 860 oil paintings. The museum that bears his name contains some of his most famous paintings as well as works by Van Gogh’s contemporary artists.
While a collaboration between a Dutch museum and the Pokémon Company seems strange, the artist admired Japanese art with its strong colors, use of everyday objects, as well as the detailed depictions of nature. Japanese art inspired Van Gogh and this connection is stressed in the educational materials created for the special program.
In their collaboration, artists made new art inspired by Van Gogh’s famous paintings, incorporating Pikachu into a version of Self-portrait with Grey Felt Hat and hiding Pokémon Sunflora within a variant of Sunflowers.
There are also hands-on activities for kids aged 6 and up, which include teaching the young visitors how to draw Pikachu. Other activities include a treasure hunt and once a child has completed all the activities, they’ll get a Pokémon collection with a special Van Gogh Museum card.
Art offers so many benefits for children including stimulating creativity, enhancing problem-solving skills, helps fine motor skills, as well as visual-spacing development. The new collaboration at the Van Gogh Museum will encourage kids to grow and to appreciate fine art at the same time. And that is a win-win.
1. Why are the Van Gogh Museum and Pokémon collaborating?| A．To showcase Van Gogh’s art. | B．To teach children about Pokémon. |
| C．To offer engaging education for kids. | D．To promote fine motor skills through art. |
| A．It led to a focus on European landscapes. |
| B．It strengthened his connection with nature. |
| C．It encouraged the creation of over 2,100 artworks. |
| D．It inspired his use of strong colors and everyday objects. |
| A．A Pokémon collection. | B．A treasure hunt map. |
| C．A Pikachu drawing lesson. | D．The Pokémon Sunflora. |
| A．Increasing creativity. | B．Promoting kids’ growth. |
| C．Developing motor driving skill. | D．Improving problem-solving ability. |
10 . If you like to laugh your head off, don’t miss “Mark Twain Live”, starring Mike Randall. Luckily, it will make a much anticipated return. This year, Randall is celebrating his 50th year of performing in his one-man show that brings America’s greatest author and humorist to life.
The bond between Mike Randall (born in 1953) and Mark Twain began when Randall started playing Mark Twain at the age of 17. At that time, Randall was a student at Rosary Hill College. At age 20, he performed at the State Department in Washington, D. C. , where John F. Kennedy gave his State of the Union address. And one year later, he brought his interpretation of the “Celebrated Humorist” to New York City.
Randall is the only Mark Twain impersonator (扮演者) to be formally acknowledged by the Daughters of the American Revolution for his impressive performance and the only Mark Twain actor to be a member of the famous National Speakers Association. “Mark Twain Live” is supported by the Mark Twain Museum of Buffalo. Randall is also the “official Mark Twain” of the Huck Finn Jubilee (an annual event), and the Annual Mark Twain Birthday Bash & Symposium.
In five decades of “being” Mark Twain, Randall has given more than 2,000 performances. To transform himself into Twain, Randall needs to spend over three hours at the make-up table. Removing all the make-up is more time-consuming and painful. But he never complains and tries to do well in every performance. Audiences nationwide agree that watching “Mark Twain Live” is a delightful experience, which brings Randall much motivation.
Randall is also brilliant in other areas. He recalled the person that was supposed to report the weather called in sick, so the director of WKBW-TV (a TV station in Buffalo) insisted he do it. “I have no choice but to accept the challenge,” Randall said. Afterwards, he signed a long-term contract with WKBW-TV. To do his job better, he received the approval from the National Weather Association. Also as an award-winning dramatist, Randall’s dramas have been produced at Buffalo’s Alleyway Theatre.
1. What effect would “Mark Twain Live” have on audiences?| A．Calming | B．Amusing | C．Heartbreaking | D．Embarrassing |
| A．He interviewed John F. Kennedy. |
| B．He learned acting at Rosary Hill College. |
| C．He gave a speech at the State Department. |
| D．He impersonated Mark Twain in New York. |
| A．To encourage Randall to host more shows |
| B．To recall Mark Twain’s impact on Americans |
| C．To highlight Randall’s reputation in the art field |
| D．To indicate Randall’s special bond with Buffalo |
| A．Confident and caring | B．Open-minded and frank |
| C．Cautious and independent | D．Committed and strong-willed |
| A．A forecaster | B．ATV director | C．A theatre operator | D．A drama reviewer |
