1 . Frederick Phiri, known as the junk-art king of Zambia, set out on a remarkable journey at the age of 22 when he began earning an international reputation for being able to make complex and elegant sculptures from deserted metal found in his community.

Phiri’s path to artistic recognition was filled with challenges. His childhood was marked by the loss of his father and his mother leaving him behind, making him under the care of his grandfather. While his grandfather provided for his basic education, Phiri faced financial struggles when he entered secondary school, forcing him to take on various jobs to fund his studies. Yet, despite these obstacles, his passion for art remained growing, and he dedicated his free time to drawing and crafting in the classroom.

Upon completing his education, Phiri sought to support himself by creating wire animal sculptures (雕塑品), which he sold to tourists. It was during this period that his exceptional talent caught the attention of Karen Beattie, the director of Project Luangwa, a nonprofit organization committed to education and economic development in central Africa.

Teaming up with local welder (焊接工) Moses Mbewe in 2017, Phiri contributed to the creation of a complex set of doors for Project Luangwa during the rainy season. Impressed by his work, Beattie presented Phiri with a challenge: to create art from abandoned waste metal. Undiscouraged, Phiri embraced the opportunity, transforming forgotten keys, broken bike chains, and old metal bottles into attracting abstract animal sculptures, including elephants, cranes, giraffes, and monkeys.

Today, Phiri’s artistic pursuits continue to flourish as he transforms deserted junk into striking sculptures showcased at the Project Luangwa headquarters. His talent has earned recognition and admiration from the community, fueling his dreams of pursuing formal art education at the Evelyn Hone College in Lusaka and creating even more magnificent sculptures in the future. Through creativity and determination, Phiri has turned adversity (逆境) into artistic success, leaving a lasting impact on Zambia’s art scene.

1. What is Phiri distinguished for?

A．Serving his community.	B．Collecting works of art.
C．Being the king of Zambia.	D．Turning trash into treasure.

2. What aspect of Phiri’s childhood shaped his early life?

A．His struggle to pay for primary schooling by himself.

B．The loss of his father and abandonment by his mother.

C．His dedication to part-time jobs while attending school.

D．His responsibility to support his grandfather financially.

3. What challenge did Karen Beattie present to Phiri?

A．To create sculptures from wire.

B．To sell his sculptures internationally.

C．To create art from deserted waste metal.

D．To design a complex set of doors for Project Luangwa.

4. What attitude does Phiri exhibit towards his future?

A．Uncertain.

B．Confident.

C．Depressed.

D．Confused.

2 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Was Air Pollution Monet’s Muse (灵感之源)?

Claude Monet was a French painter who lived at the turn of the 20th century, from 1840 to 1926. He is credited as the founder of impressionism, a painting style characterized by its use of many thin brushstrokes     1    (create) a dream-like quality. Impressionist paintings are celebrated for the way     2     seem to capture a sense of life in motion. Monet didn’t just simply paint landscapes; he wanted to convey the sensations he experienced when he saw them.

Many of Monet’s paintings portray the passage of time, like clouds     3     (drift) through the sky. The landscapes in his paintings often have a misty appearance,     4     fog is clouding edges, and concealing objects that are far away. Some researchers have suggested the mist of Monet’s landscapes     5     have actually been air pollution.

Monet was painting at a time when heavy industry was starting to seriously impact the environment. This was especially true in urban centers like London and Paris. The supposition is that Monet’s works reflect the increasing levels of air pollution that Europe       6     (witness) in the late 19th century and early 20th century.     7     Monet’s painting career progressing, background visibility in his paintings seems to gradually decrease.

In letters to his wife, Monet sometimes described the smoke and fog in London, for     8     he obviously had a preference. Evidence suggests that     9     significant number of Monet’s works were influenced, or even inspired, by the way air pollution affected light and vision.     10     air pollution was the muse for one of modern history’s greatest artists might be true.

3 . 阅读下面短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词， 在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

Zhao Chuang is a science artist working in Beijing,    1     job bridges science and art by painting and sculpturing ancient extinct species. Zhao reproduces each element described in papers on the history of life in an artistic way, and the     2     (blank) in scientific research are filled by his logic and imagination. His painting of a prehistoric flying animal became the cover of important scientific journal Nature in 2006, a highlight in his career     3     a science artist.

4 . That day when Ludwig van Beethoven died was one of the saddest of my life. I had stayed with him for more than twenty years and lived through many of his happiest moments and his triumphs as well as his most unhappy times.

He wasn’t, however, the easiest of men to work for. His moods were changeable so that he could be reasonable at one moment but most impatient and intolerant at the next. All these problems began in 1802 when he discovered his loss of hearing was not temporary.

The loss of hearing brought him to a crossroads in his life. It was then that he realized that his future lay in composing music. Luckily, although his deafness brought him fear and anxiety, he was able to use these emotions to inspire his work.

Dealing with his inner problems and worries, his music was obviously subjective, which was not the most popular type of its time. But people recognized his greatness. They did so even when they knew he could not acknowledge it. When he was conducting his ninth and last symphony on its first performance he was totally deaf. So he just didn’t realize that the music had finished and continued to conduct the orchestra. One of the singers had to turn him round so he could receive the cheers of the audience. From one angle it was a sad moment but from another it was an even greater triumph. That a man with such a condition could have written such dynamic music was overwhelming! It brought tears to my eyes to think that I had contributed in some small way by looking after him.

He dressed rather like a wild man himself. His hair was always untidy, his skin marked with spots and his mouth set in a downward curve. He took no care of his appearance and walked around our city with his clothes carelessly arranged. This was because he was concentrating on his next composition.

Helping him move house many times, preparing his meals and looking after his everyday comforts were my reward for a life living so close to such a musical genius. I consider myself a lucky man!

1. The author was most likely to be Beethoven’s _______.

A．student

B．doctor

C．servant

D．relative

2. What can be learned from this passage?

A．Beethoven’s music was underestimated at that time.

B．Beethoven’s work was inspired by his fear and anger.

C．Beethoven’s music stayed in step with the mainstream music of the time.

D．Beethoven lost his ability to hear when first conducting his ninth symphony.

3. Why did the author tear in Paragraph 4?

A．Because the performance was a complete success.

B．Because he played a part in Beethoven’s success.

C．Because Beethoven was completely deaf then.

D．Because the audience cheered for Beethoven.

4. According to the author, Beethoven could be described as ________.

A．intolerant but cheerful

B．stubborn but reasonable

C．changeable but dedicated

D．unsociable but easy-going

5 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. When did Albert Bierstadt move to America?

A．In 1830.

B．In 1831.

C．In 1832.

2. What did Albert Bierstadt do in 1854?

A．He focused on improving his drawing skills.

B．He held exhibitions in different countries.

C．He started to work as an art teacher.

3. Why did Albert Bierstadt go to the Bahamas yearly in his old age?

A．To visit his sick family member.

B．To get inspiration for his paintings.

C．To engage in environmental protection.

6 . Norman Rockwell didn’t create his celebrated images using only brush and paint. They often took shape first as scenes that Rockwell literally acted out, not only for his editors at the Saturday Evening Post, but for his real-life models, too. “It was difficult,” he once explained, “but I felt it was the best way to get across my meaning.” And so he would enthusiastically play out his visions and ideas, a one-man show packed with just the right expressions, giving enough details of each character in the scene to inspire his models and more importantly, get his editors to buy his ideas.

Now, more than 30 years after his death, Rockwell is still acknowledged for skillfully documenting the best of 20th century American life with drawings of simple emotions inspired by everyday people. To create his detailed recollections of everyday American life, Rockwell worked much like a film director, not just acting out the scenes in his imagination, but looking for locations, casting everyday people from his town for particular parts.

The recognition he received strongly proves Rockwell’s superior skills as a storyteller and is the subject of another kind of one-man show: the upcoming exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., titled Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. The exhibit, gathered together from the private collections of these two popular film directors, will feature rarely viewed pieces of Rockwell’s artworks.

That concentration of information as well as emotion is something essential in Rockwell’s art. Emotion certainly spoke to Steven Spielberg when he first saw one of his favorite Rockwell paintings, High Dive, the August 16, 1947 Post cover that describes a boy at the top of what must be a towering diving board. He crouches (蹲伏) high above a swimming pool, too afraid to either jump or climb back down. The painting hangs in Spielberg’s office at Amblin Entertainment because it holds a great deal of meaning for the filmmaker.

1. How did Norman Rockwell successfully influence his editors?

A．By performing his ideas.	B．By hiring more models.
C．By donating his paintings.	D．By drawing actual events.

2. What were the subjects of Rockwell’s works?

A．Film directors.	B．Folk storytellers.
C．Natural landscapes.	D．Ordinary citizens.

3. What may the boy in the painting High Dive inspire the viewers to do?

A．Develop artistic skills.	B．Learn how to act out.
C．Appreciate nature.	D．learn to swim.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To introduce an exhibit.	B．To recommend a painting.
C．To remember an artist.	D．To explain a cultural phenomenon.

7 .

“By removing needless details in pursuit of perfection, Van Den followed in the footsteps of many great artists, writers, composers, and painters.”

Juhani Murros made an unexpected discovery during his visits to art galleries when he worked for an organization in Ho Chi Minh City in 1990. A small still life in an unnoticeable gallery commanded the Finnish physician’s attention. “It was not an eye-catching oil painting, yet its dark, mysterious colors and the emotional tension of its disciplined composition set it apart.” Thus began a long journey of discovering the art and life of Van Den, a Buddhist of mixed Chinese and Vietnamese ancestry who studied in Paris for less than two years during the first French Indochina War.

Murros’ biography is, by necessity, brief because there is limited knowledge of the artist, mostly in oral way by family and friends. Many of his paintings did not survive the damp Southeast Asian climate nor the political chaos of his lifetime. However, the author’s research appears to be extensive, as much a years-long spiritual examination of Van Den as a historical one. The artist’s love for country life is apparent in his work, and it is said by those who knew him that he preferred to paint countryside scenes close to his heart and worked as an outsider. He is uninterested in the more elegant work of academically recognized painters. Despite these limitations, Van Den won Vietnam’s most honorable art award in 1960.

Murros gives an in-depth look into the life of this little-known unsung master. The book introduces the readers to Van Den’s art with photographs of his paintings, accompanied by short stories behind them. The book is as quiet as the artist’s work, but it is a satisfying read. Each stroke of words in the book connects to the readers; the narrative awakens the artistic spirit in each one of us, encouraging us to follow our heart.

1. What of Van Den first impressed Juhani Murros?

A．His life story.	B．His painting style.
C．His birth place.	D．His emotional stale.

2. What can we learn about Van Den?

A．His works are rarely available today.	B．He showed great love for his country.
C．He works were of mysterious themes.	D．He ever travelled in China and Vietnam.

3. Why is Murros’ biography brief?

A．Van Den’s art wasn’t well accepted.	B．Murros had limited knowledge of art.
C．Murros had gained little primary data.	D．Van Den’s family kept everything back.

4. Which of the following can describe this book?

A．Amusing.

B．Detailed.

C．Objective.

D．Inspirational.

8 . One of the most productive architects of the 20th century, Frank Lloyd Wright had no shortage of ideas. Throughout his life, he designed 1,171 architectural works. Many of them, like the Guggenheim Museum and Fallingwater, were eventually built. But over half — 660 to be exact — never moved beyond paper. Now, thanks to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, we are finally getting a look at what his unbuilt architecture would have looked like. Working with digital artist David Romero, the organization has been building an impressive library of works that show Wright’s creative genius.

The reasons that these pieces of incredible architecture were never built vary. Wright’s homage to his adopted home state of Arizona was rejected for several reasons. While Wright considered his avant-garde (前卫的) design for the Arizona State Capitol Building to be a gift to the city, officials felt otherwise. With a price of $5 million, too costly, he was passed over for the project.

In the case of the cliffside (悬崖边) Morris House, it’s not completely clear why the family did not go with Wright’s design. But, in examining his ideas for the home, it’s clear that Wright successfully combines the architecture and nature. The design uses rounded forms that fit into the cliffs and merge the home and the natural surroundings.

In 1947, he was asked to rebuild Roy Wetmore’s service station. What Wright provided was a futuristic design that included a ramp (斜坡) allowing a car to be displayed on the roof. Unfortunately, Wetmore wished to simply remodel the existing structure rather than demolish it and start over, so the project was never done. Later, Wetmore did incorporate the car ramp on the roof.

Romero has been able to bring these ideas to life and give a new generation of architecture lovers a reminder of why Wright had such a long, influential career.

1. Why was the design for Arizona State Capitol Building refused?

A．The government wanted a perfect design.

B．It was originally designed for other states.

C．It needed much more money than expected.

D．The design didn’t go with the surroundings.

2. What’s the author’s attitude toward Wright’s design about Morris House?

A．Favorable.

B．Intolerant.

C．Doubtful.

D．Unclear.

3. What does the underlined word “demolish” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Redesign.

B．Pull down.

C．Improve.

D．Put up.

4. What’s the text mainly about?

A．Wright’s productive architecture wasn’t recognized.

B．Many good productive architects didn’t come to light.

C．Wright’s excellent designs for some famous buildings.

D．Modern technology makes a genius’ designs come true.

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

In a wooden fan workshop in Jiangxi Province, China, Yu Xiuying is     1     (busy) than usual, and as she paints, delicate flowers appear across the fan.

“Now I decorate at least 120 fans a day,” says the artist,     2     has 14 years of fan painting experience under her belt. “As the market recovers, orders for this kind of handicraft (手工艺) wooden fans have been     3     the increase,” she adds.

The fans Yu has painted in Ganzhu Township in Guangchang County     4     (export) to Spain next month. The small town owns a flourishing (繁荣的) handicraft fan industry,     5     its annual output of fans is over 70 million with an output value of over 300 million yuan.

The fans are     6     elegant that they attract more and more European buyers. “At the end of each year, the     7    (prepare) for the coming year begins. The fans are shipped to Spain,     8     (distribute) all over Europe,” one owner of a fan company says. He also adds that the wooden fans needed by Spanish traders     9     (become) the main products of his enterprise so far. The handicraft fan craze fanned by the success motivates a large number of locals     10     (work) in the industry now.

10 . He is a Chinese superstar, a piano genius who has sold millions of albums worldwide. Lang Lang has also used his fame and fortune to help state schools around the world that lack music, warning at a 2019 awards ceremony in London that such lessons had become “a real challenge” for children in the most disadvantaged communities.

Now he is bringing music to British state schools in an ambitious project that will set up modern “piano labs” in needy schools across the nation. Each lab will have 20 to 30 keyboards. The plan is inspired by his programmes in the US and China, in which he has invested tens of millions of pounds.

In the US, he has set up piano labs in 86 schools, giving 70,000 kids access to keyboards. In China, he has installed them in 104 schools, enabling 110,000 children to make music. This is primarily for pupils aged seven to 12.

The first UK school to benefit is the Winns primary school in Waltham Forest, London’s 12th poorest area. It will receive 30 keyboards within the next few weeks. Every lab is accompanied by a curriculum created by the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto and Lang Lang, with ongoing teacher-training, financial support, and headphones, allowing group piano classes.

Asked what inspired him to support UK schools, Lang told the reporter: “We were able to identify many similarities between state schools in the UK and public schools in the US in terms of the way access to music and arts can be extremely limited when budgets are cut…I was so surprised by how music classes are never guaranteed. The schools and teachers are incredible, and are so dedicated to providing their students with everything they can. But it shocked me how access to music education can be so limited.”

His charity quotes the Greek philosopher Aristotle: “Music has the power of producing a certain effect on the moral character of the soul, and if it has the power to do this, it is clear that the young must be directed to music and must be educated in it.”

Lang Lang said: “When I visit our partner schools and see the joy on the students’ faces or hear from our teachers about the progress students are making, I’m reminded of why we created this programme—to give children an opportunity to discover what they’re capable of achieving and to find their voices through music.”

1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To offer background information.	B．To introduce an argument.
C．To discuss Lang Lang’s plans.	D．To highlight Lang Lang’s reputation.

2. Which schools will Lang Lang help in Britain?

A．Private schools.	B．Ambitious schools.
C．Remote schools.	D．Disadvantaged schools.

3. Why did Lang Lang decide to support schools in Britain?

A．The teachers are doing a good job.

B．Music classes aren’t always available.

C．The budgets are always being cut.

D．The schools are dedicated to helping students.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．Lang Lang—a kind and caring pianist

B．Lang Lang teaches the world to play piano

C．Chinese superstar brings music to British kids

D．Chinese piano genius looks for future piano stars