1 . For Vishwanath Mallabadi from Bangalore, India, there is no such thing as a useless object or “waste”. Give him anything—abandoned metal or plastic items, old devices, dysfunctional printed circuit boards — and he’ll create art out of it.
Vishwanath’s passion is particularly relevant in the current age, where India generates more e-waste than it can recycle. From 2019 to 2020, the country generated a total of more than 1 million tonnes of e waste. Of this, only 22.7 percent was collected, taken apart and recycled. The eco-artist has upcycled and transformed nearly 200 kg of e-waste into usable products and proposes eco-art as a means to deal with waste management.
Vishwanath’s father, D M Shambhu, was a famous sculptor and painter, but he wanted his son to choose medicine and become a doctor. However, Vishwanath, who was interested in upcycling second-hand objects right from childhood, decided to pursue a BFA in Applied Art. He later went on to work in a company as a high-level administrator and retired two years ago. “In my free time and during the weekends. I used to conduct experiments in e-waste and try to develop something unique,” he recalled.
So far, the eco-artist has created more than 500 objects. These include a six-foot tall sculpture made from upcycled computer keyboard keys, and a painting inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, using upcycled resistors (电阻器) on wood. Among his other artworks are a 42×38 inch figure statue created from upcycled keyboard keys on a sun board finished with plastics, a deer made of colorful used wires, plants and flowers from computer parts, and eco jewellery from upcycled digital wrist watch parts.
“The work involves selecting the e-waste objects—the texture, shape, and colour etc, and visualising and conceptualising the final product. It might take weeks and months for sculptures. However, sustainable initiatives and upcycled art are nowadays in demand in multinational companies opting for a sustainable culture,” he said.
1. What does the author try to convey in paragraph 2?A.The seriousness of e-waste in India. |
B.Vishwanath’s passion for environment protection. |
C.The achievements of waste management in India. |
D.Vishwanath’s attitude towards dealing with e-waste. |
A.A passionate eco-artist. | B.A private doctor. |
C.A famous sculptor. | D.A senior manager. |
A.The deer and the plants. | B.The sculpture and the figure statue. |
C.The painting and the flowers. | D.The deer and the eco jewellery. |
A.Exciting but unprofitable. | B.Creative but useless. |
C.Demanding but worthwhile. | D.Efficient but costly. |
As one of the top contemporary Chinese painters
Fan Yang
After graduating from high school, Fan chose to work at the Nantong Arts and Crafts Research Institute. He applied
In 1978, Fan Yang
During his four years of college life, Fan absorbed the skills and knowledge of his predecessors (先辈)
After many years of
3 . Four Self-Portraits (自画像) by Famous Artists
Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino)—“Self-Portrait”, 1506
One of the beautiful self-portraits by famous artist Raphael was drawn at the age of 23. It measures around 45cm×33cm and is located at the world-famous Uffizi Gallery. The Italian painter used oil on board to draw his self-portrait, which was the clearest and the most recognizable self-portraits of Raphael himself.
Leonardo da Vinci—“Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk”, 1512
“Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk”is a self-portrait of da Vinci at the age of 60 and measures around 33.3cm×21.6cm, which is on display in Biblioteca Reale, Turin, Italy. It is drawn with red chalk on paper and represents the head of an elderly man in a three-quarter view. In the portrait, the length of the hair is uncommon in Renaissance (文艺复兴) portraits.
Rembrandt van Rijn—“Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-up Collar”, 1659
Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn painted his self-portrait in 1659 when he was 53 years old. It shows his worried expression that clearly portrays the troubled condition of his mind at that point of his life since the year 1659 was a year of anxiety for him. This self-portrait found its place among the Benjamin Altman Collection, which has been exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art since 1913.
Edgar Degas—“Degas Au Porte-Fusain’”, l855
Edgar Degas made this self-portrait only when he was twenty-one years old. It was one of the most remarkable of his fifteen self-portraits. Degas was seated as seemingly without fear and anxiety. The pose in the painting was formal and academic. The painting is located in the musée d’Orsay, Paris, France.
1. Where should visitors go if they want to admire Raphael’s self-portrait in 1506?A.Uffizi Gallery. | B.Biblioteca Reale. |
C.The musée d’Orsay. | D.The Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
A.The red clothing. | B.The formal pose. |
C.The long hair. | D.The worried expression. |
A.Raphael. | B.Edgar Degas. |
C.Leonardo da Vinci. | D.Rembrandt van Rijn. |
4 . Artist Tom Campbell has exhibited his work at Outlaw Studios at Marina Commercial Park. The exhibition is Tom’s largest one to date and includes affordable art. The interactive show is made up of drawings, paintings, sculptures and live performances. Throughout the exhibition, Tom is working, giving the public an opportunity to watch inside his studio and have their portraits drawn. People can also commission a piece of their choosing.
Wall painting is part of Tom’s output. He has created a wall painting for Electric Picnic, along with four other artists invited to take part in this commission. His wall painting has a special theme, portrayed by doves (鸽子). As well as his anti-war standpoint, he is doing something meaningful. Tom is a founding member of a tree planting project called Trees Please. The group has distributed 10,000 trees in about four years across Ireland.
Humour is also important for Tom in his art. He can treat heavy subjects with irony, often employing an aggressive combination of lively colors and animals with wistful expressions communicating the importance of respect, peace, understanding and love. He has done creative work for mental health charities.
Tom was born with a love for art. He enjoys playing musical instruments in public, like the violin. He gets lots of smiles from people. He also sings and has an online channel featuring his songs, which are very improvised (即兴的). All this creativity is a lifeline for him, who believes that art is a necessity rather than a luxury.
Art is something everybody can do. If creativity was embraced by people in an open way, it could transform society. Art can bring a lot of joy. Everyone is creative and enjoys creativity whether it’s music or visual art or whatever.
1. What do we know about Tom’s exhibition?A.It is targeted at the rich. |
B.It takes on a variety of forms. |
C.It is the largest one throughout art history. |
D.It offers an opportunity to practise drawing. |
A.His sense of humor and creativity. |
B.His effort to protect plants and animals. |
C.His advice on painting and planting trees. |
D.His passion for peace and the environment. |
A.He has creative talent. | B.Art is a luxury. |
C.Art has no boundaries. | D.He is popular in public. |
A.Literature. | B.Finance. | C.Figure. | D.Society. |
5 . Famous People Who Begin With Difficulties
Oprah Winfrey
Probably having one of the most famous success stories, Oprah was born into a poor family in Mississippi, raised by a single mother living on welfare. She was physically, and mentally abused during her childhood. Despite her initial struggles as a young girl, she turned herself into one of the most successful talk show hosts of our time.
Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey has been the star of some of the most successful movies of all time. But Carrey grew up extremely poor in Canada. When he was a teenager, his family took security jobs in a factory to help pay the bills. And during his first stand-up comedy performance, he was booed off (喝倒彩) the stage. Not shortly after, he made it big on In Living Color and then went on to star in Dumb & Dumber, The Mask, and Ace Ventura in the same year!
James Dyson
If you thought Thomas Edison’s failures were bad, let me introduce you to James Dyson, the famous inventor of the Dyson vacuums (真空吸尘器) you see all over the television. Dyson developed over 5,000 failed prototypes (原型) before finding the bagless vacuum brand. Not only that, he put his entire savings account into his prototypes over fifteen years! Luckily, the bagless vacuum worked.
Stephen King
Before Stephen King became known as a great living writer—having written over 60 novels, many of which have been adapted for film and television—King was rejected over and over again. In his memoir, On Writing, King describes how he used to post his rejection letters on the wall for inspiration. His first novel, Carrie, was rejected 30 times.
1. What do Oprah and Jim have in common?A.They were abused by parents. | B.They grew up in poor families. |
C.They were hired as comedians. | D.They found jobs in a factory. |
A.He repaired the failed prototypes. | B.He developed over 5,000 brands. |
C.He put all efforts into marketing. | D.He invented the bagless vacuum. |
A.Oprah Winfrey. | B.Stephen King. | C.James Dyson. | D.Jim Carrey. |
As victor Hugo once said, “Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face”, and up to now nobody has been able to do this
7 . Many people want to look away from injustice and other troubling issues. But visual artist Siyan Wong has chosen not to look away. Through her art, she helps us see what is right before our eyes.
Wong, who lives in New York City, was born in China. Her art focuses on women, the elderly, people who are experiencing homelessness, and clothing industry workers.
Wong has loved art since she was a child. Her family didn’t have much money, so she and her sister would draw and cut out paper dolls to play with. This early experience provided Wong with a creative outlet for her emotions.
After graduating from Stuyvesant High School, she went on to college and law school. She is now a workers’ rights lawyer, but her belief in the healing (治愈) power of art remains. “Whenever I’m stressed or sad, I draw,” Wong said. “I express my feelings through art. Art is a comfortable way to bring people together to talk about difficult issues.”
One of Wong’s series is called “Five Cents a Can: Making Visible the Invisible”. I was inspired by the artist’s meetings with an Asian-American woman in her neighborhood. During early morning runs, Wong noticed the woman, who was more than 90 years old, collecting deserted cans and bottles in the dustbins behind her apartment building.
She is currently working on a painting for her “Home and Homeless” series. In the painting, she describes both a person who is homeless and an elderly canner. “The difference between someone who collects cans and someone who is homeless is hope,” Wong said. Her goal is to highlight the difference between the two and bring about questions for the viewer. Why does the elderly canner have hope, while the homeless person doesn’t? How did these individuals end up here?
1. What does Wong’s art focus on?A.Social problems. | B.Charity projects. |
C.Natural environment. | D.Her childhood life. |
A.It can improve her emotions. |
B.It needs much money to achieve. |
C.It helps the world present itself clearly. |
D.It is what people should pay attention to. |
A.Her profession as a lawyer. | B.Cans and bottles in dustbins. |
C.Poverty in her neighborhood. | D.An old lady leading a hard life. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Grateful. | C.Favorable. | D.Uncaring. |
8 . Gong Linna, a famous Chinese musician and founder of Chinese New Art Music, put her music teaching methods into practice for the first time at the Tracing Roots(寻根)practice concert of the Affiliated High School of Peking University on May 23.
The first song of the concert, Search High and Low, refers to the classical poem Li Sao, “The road ahead will be long. I shall search high and low.” “It’s arranged to be sung in the beginning by all performers, showing that we should all search high and low for our roots,” Gong Linna says.
To explore the education and popularization of Chinese music, in 2017, Gong Linna established a research and development team, which includes musicologist(音乐学家), Du Yaxiong, and music historian, Zhao Zhongming, to discuss her music teaching methods and summarize the vocal skills of Chinese music.
Gong Linna believed that popularization of Chinese music should depend on primary and secondary schools rather than music schools. The children’s strong love for music and their outstanding performance amazed Gong Linna, “When singing, they are completely concentrated on the music. Music brings light and richness to one’s spiritual world. So, learning to sing is never about passing examinations, but about enjoying the music.”
Lu Yueming, a teacher of the school’s art center, said, “The children worked really hard and kept in mind Gong Linna’s instructions(讲授).Seeing their performance, I know that they truly fell in love with traditional Chinese music. I hope more Chinese students can benefit from the teaching practice in the near future.”
“Seeing the children perform my pieces, I realized I should write more songs for them,” Lao Luo, Gong Linna’s husband said proudly. “It’s a great encouragement for me to see how much they like the songs,and they really need content related to Chinese culture.” Speaking about her future plans, Gong Linna told the reporter she would like to further popularize her teaching methods and Chinese music.
“Children should learn about the beauty of Chinese music. Only when you know about your own sounds, can you have cultural confidence,” she said at the end of the interview.
1. Why is the song Search High and Low arranged first at the concert?A.To stress the subject of the concert. |
B.To recommend the song to the public. |
C.To show Gong Linna’s teaching method is practical. |
D.To prove Gong Linna is the best performer of the song. |
A.Students of music schools. |
B.Officials of the government. |
C.Primary and secondary schools. |
D.Famous musicians across the country. |
A.It is refused by her husband. |
B.It is well received at college. |
C.It helps students love Chinese music. |
D.It gets support from local government. |
A.To write more songs for children. |
B.To perform concerts around the world. |
C.To establish more music training centers. |
D.To promote her teaching methods among children. |
9 . This painting Spring Bouquet has a precise structure. The flowers spill over into the lower left-hand corner, with an imbalance as free and as wild as nature. But at once the artist responds to this unbalance. To the right of the vase, Renoir has developed a heavy shadow area, rich in purples and sharply contrasted with the light below it. The placing of the straight line in the lower right side is necessary. If the reader covers this line, he will see that the composition becomes unbalanced.
The Impressionist technique had not yet developed when Renoir painted this picture. Yet the painting with light and color indicates Impressionism is around the corner; there is something of that school in the feeling of the out-of-doors that Renoir has acquired. The texture (纹理) of the flowers is described. Above all, one can’t help saying the very nice smell of the flowers is there, too.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born in 1841. He began working as a young painter of porcelain and textiles. At age 21, Renoir entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and went on to study under the instructions of painter Charles Gleyre’s. Even though his paintings had been initially rejected by the Academy and the public, with time he became one of the most admired artists of his generation.
Unfortunately, in 1899, he was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (风湿性关节炎). It is a disease that causes a lot of pain. In addition, the person affected by it may also have deformities (畸形). Consequently, his movements became very limited and each movement was a big and certainly painful effort.
His son, Jean Renoir, writes in the book Renoir, My Father after his father passed away, the reaction of the people to the painting of the father, after seeing his hands:
Visitors who were unprepared for this could not take their eyes off his deformity. Though they did not dare to mention it, their reaction would be expressed by some such phrase as “It isn’t possible!” With hands like that, how can he paint those pictures? There’s some mystery somewhere.
1. What can readers see in the painting?A.A vase in the left corner. | B.A shadow to the vase’s right. |
C.A straight line at the bottom. | D.A natural light in the middle. |
A.The painting material. | B.The color choice. |
C.The smelly flower taste. | D.The impressive feeling. |
A.Renoir, My Father. | B.Spring Bouquet. |
C.Rheumatoid arthritis. | D.Renoir’s bravery. |
A.Patience Is a Lifetime Practice | B.Pain Passes, but Beauty Remains |
C.Impressionism Is a Unique Technique | D.Work hard, and You Will Catch Up |
10 . Born in a musical family in 1925 in New Orleans, Renald Richard spent his childhood filled with music. At the age of 13, he went to see a band perform at a church where he fell in love with trumpet. So he started lessons on it, and later played it in the high school band. After high school, he was sent into military service and played his trumpet in the United States Navy Band. After ending up studying music at Xavier University of Louisiana, he played clubs on the famous Bourbon Street and also toured with many bands.
In 1954, Richard was approached by Jeff Brown, the manager of musician Ray Charles. He invited Richard to join Ray Charles’ new band. “To be selected by Ray Charles was an honor to me. Ray Charles was exacting.” said Richard, “He was a perfectionist and was rather demanding about his music.”
Renald Richard toured all over the South and West with Ray Charles. Sitting in the back seat of the car on the way to a concert, Richard wrote the song “I Got a Woman” for Charles, which became Ray Charles’ first number one radio hit. In 1954,Renald Richard left Ray Charles’ band. However, he stayed friendly with Ray Charles over the years. He became the high school’s band director in his hometown until 1962. Four years later, he moved again to New York City. Over the years, Richard has written many other songs that have been recorded by artists including Joe Turner, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley to name a few. Living now in Southern Florida, Richard is still active at the age of 92. As you can see, Renald Richard’s musical days are by no means near an end.
That is today’s Celebrity Introduction. Any comments? Please write to us in the Comments Section on this page.
1. How is the text organized?A.In order of time. | B.In order of frequency. |
C.In order of preference. | D.In order of importance. |
A.devoted | B.careful | C.strict | D.enthusiastic |
A.A Life Filled with Music | B.Active at an Advanced Age |
C.The Influence of a Musician | D.Renald Richard and Ray Charles |
A.In a textbook. | B.In a brochure. | C.In a newspaper. | D.On a website. |