The famous historical painting “Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy (使团)”，created by remarkable painter Yan Liben(601-673),
The painting
Princess Wencheng
In addition to this painting, the exhibition showcased
2 . Many people want to look away from injustice and other troubling issues. 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 cut out and draw 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.” It was inspired by the artist’s meetings with an Asian American woman in her neighborhood named Choi Yi. During early morning runs, Wong noticed the woman, who was more than 90 years old, collecting deserted cans and bottles in the trash cans 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 cans and someone who is homeless is hope,” Wong said.
Her goal is to highlight the difference between the two and spark questions for the viewer. Why does the elderly canner have hope, but the homeless person doesn’t? How did these individuals end up here?
1. What does Wong’s art express?| A．Social issues. | B．Charity projects. |
| C．Her artistic style. | D．Her childhood life. |
| A．It is her childhood dream. | B．It makes her feel good. |
| C．It is artwork to be seen clearly. | D．It is her hobby in her spare time. |
| A．Her early morning runs. | B．Cans and bottles in dustbins. |
| C．Poverty in her neighborhood. | D．An old female living a hard life. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Grateful. | C．Praiseful. | D．Supportive. |
With simulated splits in the air, a man
He is Chinese dancer-choreographer Ma Jiaolong, who
After Ma’s videos circulated widely online, he received lots of messages from people around the world, many of
4 . Wang Fang, a Suzhou native, has given her heart and soul to Kunqu Opera. Wang, who has twice won the Plum Performance Award — China’s top award for theater and opera performances-started to learn the traditional art form in 1977.
Born with a melodic voice, Wang loved to sing and dance when she was little. She performed frequently, and was recruited by the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Troupe (剧团) when she was in middle school. However, her parents refused the troupe’s invitation, insisting that she should concentrate on her studies and not drop out of school. After members of the troupe visited the parents repeatedly and showed great sincerity,Wang’s parents finally agreed.
Learning the traditional art form was never easy. She started to learn how to pronounce words, sing them lyrically and make gestures gently. As an actress playing martial artists roles at first, she had to spend extra time practicing kung fu movements. Years later, Wang used the word “unimaginable” to describe how hard the days were when she first learned Kunqu. She was soaked in sweat when practicing movements in summer, while in winter she often had chilblains (冻疮) on her hands when training in shabby classrooms with broken windows. “But I was young and determined at the time. No matter how difficult, I always got up early the next morning to practice,” Wang recalls.
Wang says she did not love Kunqu at first, but in her early 20s,when she watched the show Peony Pavilion performed by Zhang Jiqing, a master of the art form, it clicked. “I was shocked,” Wang says. “Her every movement was full of elegance and delicacy. Each of her lines and songs was perfect. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of Kunqu for the first time in my life, and it has stayed with me since.” Now, Wang has herself become a master of Kunqu. Her performances have impressed generations and helped to promote the art form among young people.
1. Why did Wang’s parents turn down the troupe’s invitation at first?| A．They didn’t think Wang had artistic talent. |
| B．They saw no future in learning Kunqu Opera. |
| C．They didn’t want Wang to ignore her studies. |
| D．They regarded members of the troupe as insincere. |
| A．Wang has made great efforts to learn Kunqu well. |
| B．Artists should be given more attention and care. |
| C．Traditional culture needs to be further promoted. |
| D．Wang has played a key role in the development of Kunqu. |
| A．Winning the Plum Performance Award. |
| B．Joining the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Troupe. |
| C．Watching Zhang’s masterly performance. |
| D．Being greatly admired by the audience. |
| A．It is never too late to learn. | B．Rome was not built in a day. |
| C．Doing is better than saying. | D．Don’t judge a book by its cover. |
