Since its creation in the 12th century, Qianli Jiangshan Tu, or A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, has been held up as     1     masterpiece of traditional Chinese painting.

But perhaps just as     2     (amaze) as the work itself is the fact that it     3       (create) by a teenager. A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains is the only existing work from Wang Ximeng, a talented painter of the Northern Song dynasty.

Wang entered the Imperial Painting Academy when he was in his early     4     (teen). Emperor Huizong, himself an accomplished painter and calligrapher, is said to have discovered the boy’s special talent     5     a brush and taken charge of his education     6     (personal) as a painter.

    7     (measure) about 12 metres long and 0. 5 metres high, A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains displays running rivers     8     (cover) with fog with the background of rolling mountains in the     9     (distant). In the painting, there are not only facilities such as fishing villages, pavilions (亭子) and grass houses, but also persons such as fishermen     10       drift (漂流) on the river, and sellers and buyers in a crowded market. Wang Ximeng demonstrated Chinese people’s love for life, their homes and the country.

6 . Growing up in rural Jiangsu Province, Yu Jigao showed a strong interest in fine arts at an early age and studied on his own for years. His hard work paid off later. In the early 1950s, he made his way to Nanjing Normal University, where he learned painting theories and techniques from some famous artists. It was then that Yu found his lifelong artistic zeal for gongbi. Gongbi paintings usually describe birds and flowers, symbols of beauty and joy, in an artistic way with intense color.

After graduation from the art school in 1957, Yu began his professional career at the Chinese Painting Institute of Jiangsu. He has since published a series of art collections. Since 1959, Yu has contributed a series of works to many important sites. Yu’s works have also been displayed in a range of national and international exhibitions. From 1986 to 1997, he held his exhibitions in such places as Beijing, Guangzhou and New York. Both the themes and artistic techniques have won widespread praise in the past years.

While observing traditional rules, he uses accurate lines, powerful brush movements as well as the interplay between dark and light to represent the harmony of nature. Though he adopts a realistic style, he tries to enrich his works with spiritual beauty through his brush. Yu says, “That feeling turns into the images of singing birds and elegant flowers in my paintings.” Thanks to his careful observation of nature and artistic sensitivity, Yu is able to combine realistic description with artistic expression in his brushwork.

Now as deputy director of the Academy of Chinese Gongbi Painting of Flowers and Birds and a national top-level artist, Yu maintains a simple and easy-going style. In addition to artistic creation, Yu has devoted himself to promoting his painting style as the cultural heritage of China. “Art is part of my life,” Yu says. “I am proud to be a flower-bird painter. I hope to create a bright future for it through my efforts.”

7 . In high school Norman Greenstein was a productive doodler(涂鸦手), and created lots of paintings. When he ________ his works to his teacher, the teacher responded, “The problem with modern art is that you can ________ on a canvas and call it art.” Norman felt so disappointed, but he ________ parted with art over the years.

After his ________, Norman spared no efforts to ________ his wife and three children with devotion. Although life was sometimes hard for him, it didn’t ruin his ________ for creative expression. After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the 65-year-old social worker, decided to turn his ________ diagnosis into a positive opportunity to ________ a lifelong dream.

With the help of his son, Norman was able to start a ________ involving his whole family, in order to make his own works ________ by all people around him, as well as his ________ experience of fighting against Parkinson’s disease.

In 2021, an online ________ was launched to feature the colorful canvases and he also ________ a memoir called Spit on a Canvas: the Journey of the Parkinson’s Painter. Meanwhile, Norman began selling his first paintings, with galleries exhibiting his works. The team is also ________ releasing Norman’s first digital NFT art collection. 20% of the ________ has been donated to two Parkinson’s research foundations.

8 . Most people get rid of their leftover foods, but in Nigerian-born visual artist Haneefah Adam’s kitchen, they’re put to good use.

Adam, 28, is famous for _______ food in creative ways, using it to make portraits and other works of art. She has _______ been artistic. Her mother said she had a _______ for art.

Now, she's building a career out of changing food into art. “I do _______ portraits and also often sew and paint, but what _______ me the most is food,” she says.

Adam is inspired by_________ things, including life experiences and culture. She _______ everything around her as something that can be made into art.

In 2016, she _______ the TechMeetsArtNG exhibition, which was_______ and funded by Samsung Nigeria and Rele Gallery. The __________ was a culinary (烹饪的) exhibition aimed at __________ the artistic presentation of some of Nigeria’s local __________.

Her winning entry was__________by one of her favorite childhood meals — Ogbono soup which was__________ the dried seeds of mangoes. “Before the competition, my art was mostly random, and I was just __________ food art on social media. But after winning, I started to think about __________ making a living from food art,” she says.

Winning the competition kick-started Adam’s __________ and her full-time job is now __________ art for food brands such as Maggi and Dangote Salt. “I want to __________ in more exhibitions. I currently live in Kwara, northern Nigeria; it is difficult to make a __________in the country’s art scene from here,” she says.

9 . Have you ever been to France before? It is not only a country of great food, fashion and art. It’s also home to the most influential painters in the world.

Edouard Manet

He was one of the first artists to paint modern life. He began to paint in his own style, but still used some of Couture’s techniques like thick lines and dark colors. He was greatly influenced by Claude Monet and Berthe Morisot, which can be seen in his use of light shades. Most of his paintings had scenes of daily life on the streets of Paris. His works include Olympia and The Absinthe Drinker.

Camille Pissarro

In his early years, Pissarro painted scenes of a river or a path from memory. After meeting Claude Monet and Paul Cezanne, who painted in a more realistic style, he changed his course to Impressionism. During his career, he experimented with various styles, and finally formed his own one. His works include Old Market at Rouen and Sunset at St. Charles.

Vincent van Gogh

He had a huge influence on art in the 20th century. His early works were most painted in somber tones. However, influenced by Monet, Pissarro, and Bernard, he adopted brighter colors in his works, and started creating his own techniques. Although he had produced more than 2,000 works of art, the artist sold only one painting during his lifetime — Red Vineyard at Arles. His works include The Potato Eaters, Starry Night and Bedroom in Arles.

Claude Monet

He was the founder of the Impressionist movement and completely changed the French painting in the 19th century. Although he first started by selling charcoal caricatures（木炭讽刺画）in Paris, he soon started painting with oil after meeting Eugene Boudin, who taught him to use oil paints and also encouraged him to paint outdoors. And then he painted with his own style. His works include Impression, Sunrise and The Water Liles.