1 . During the 19th and 20th centuries, Qi Baishi (1864-1957) was one of the best-known Chinese artists. He grew up in a poor peasant family, but this did not prevent him from pursuing his interest in painting.
Qi was schooled for less than a year due to illness, and he dropped out of school. However, he was too weak to do much of the work and this was why he became a carpenter. As a carpenter, he showed his creativity. He could carve figures of animals, woodblock prints, and sniff-boxes. At the age of 20, he taught himself to paint with Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting. He met many mentors who greatly influenced his painting skills through his painting journey, among whom are the renowned artists Zhu Da and Xu Wei. When he was 28, he became a student of the famous artist Hu Qinyuan, and he began to study Chinese painting.
Qi arrived in Beijing in 1917. While he was in Beijing, he stayed devoted to painting. Most of his paintings represented Chinese tradition. Qi’s works are now found in several famous museums, including National Gallery Prague and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. His works now are the most expensive ever sold at auctions.
Qi got noticed by many institutions, one of which is the Ministry of Culture. In 1954 he was selected as the representative of the Chinese people. Also, in 1956, he was awarded the World Peace Prize by World Peace Council. A college was also named after him, the Baishi School of Art in Hunan University of Science Technology.
1. Why did Qi Baishi drop out of school?| A．He suffered from illness and was too weak. |
| B．He wanted to devote himself to painting. |
| C．He wasn’t interested in what he learned at school. |
| D．His family was too poor to afford his schooling fees. |
| A．He learned Chinese painting on his own. |
| B．He showed great creativity of art since childhood. |
| C．His works are one of the costliest ever sold at auctions. |
| D．At first he learned to paint from some renowned artists. |
| A．His painting style. | B．His painting works. |
| C．His achievements. | D．His contributions to his hometown. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By using data. |
| C．By raising questions. | D．By following the order of time. |
2 . Maria Martinez is remembered today as the maker of beautiful pottery (陶器) , Her pottery is in museums all over the world: The pots she made are black with shiny designs on them.
Maria Martinez was a Tewa Native American. She was born around 1887. As a young woman, Maria was known for fine pots she made. Maria and the other village women made pots for their families. They also sold pots to visitors. Compared to the pots made by the other women, young Maria’s were lovelier. But they were not outstanding. They were not the pots that would make the name Maria Martinez known around the world.
In 1908, some archaeologists came to Maria’s village. They finally found broken bits of pottery. The pots had belonged to a group of Native Americans who had lived there seven hundred years before. These finds changed Maria’s life.
One of the archaeologists showed Maria the pieces of broken pots. They were thinner than the pots Maria was making. They had an odd, shiny black finish (抛光) . He asked Maria if she could make such a pot. Maria said she would try.
Maria’s husband, Julian, helped her. First they had to find a way to make the wall of the pot thinner. Maria knew that the clay (黏土; 陶土) she was using would not work. A thin pot made out of that clay would crack (破裂) when it was fired. Maria ‘mixed different amounts of clay, sand, and. water. At last, she discovered a mix that would not crack.
Maria and Julian then had to find out how the shiny black finish had been made. They discovered that it took two steps. First, Maria began by polishing the dried clay surface of the pot. She used a smooth stone as her polishing tool. It was slow work. Then, when the pot was polished, she placed it in a fire that was built in a certain way. The fire and ashes worked their magic on the pot. Its finish was now shiny and black.
Maria and Julian had discovered the secrets of the early pottery makers. Then Maria produced many pots. Under Maria’s direction, her son and grandson are keeping the old ways alive just as Maria had done before them.
1. What can we learn about Mara from paragraph 2?| A．She donated her pots to museums. | B．She was good at making lovely pots. |
| C．She was a world-famous pottery maker. | D．She taught other women villagers to make pots. |
| A．When her husband helped her. | B．When she met an archaeologist. |
| C．When a new mix was discovered. | D．When broken pottery bits were found. |
| A．Polishing the dried surface. | B．Gluing the broken pieces. |
| C．Placing the pot into the fire. | D．Mixing clay and other materials. |
| A．She discovered a special clay mixture. | B．She spent a lifetime making many pots. |
| C．She passed down the way of making pots. | D．She could make pots with a shiny black finish. |
3 . “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. |
4 . A year after Walt Disney made history with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, its artists were struggling to find the right design for Bambi, the tale of a young deer. The film’s production team realized they needed a style that highlighted almost all of the leaves, flowers and mushrooms in their first feature-length animated(动画的)film.
Soon they got their inspiration from Tyrus Wong, whose work was on display as a new exhibit at New York City’s Museum. In 1938, the Walt Disney Studio hired him to draw the frames between the main drawings of the animators. After reading the story of Bambi, he saw an opportunity to break out of his humdrum job. He said to himself “This is all outdoor scenery. And I’m a landscape painter. This will be great!”
Inspired by Chinese landscape paintings, he used watercolor and pastels(蜡笔)to make sketches that bring the feeling of forest scenes with simple strokes of color and special attention to light and shadow. Wong’s sketches attracted Disney and became the guide for Bambi’s background artists, who were later trained to imitate his style. “His expression was a great leap forward for the medium,” writes John Lasseter, the chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. “Where other films were literal, Bambi was expressive and emotional.” In 2001,Wong was named “Disney Legend”, and he received the recognition as the true lead artist.
He pursued art all his life and still made art during his retirement, including toy animals from recycled materials and handmade kites that he regularly flew off the Santa Monica Pier in California. “People admire his works because of Bambi, but Bambi was just a really small part of his life,” says his youngest daughter. “He considers himself not a great artist but a lucky artist, who was at the right place at the right time.”
1. Why did Walt Disney’s artists notice Tyrus Wong?| A．He was good at drawing cartoon characters. |
| B．He won a prize at a museum in New York. |
| C．His style was suitable for the animated film Bambi. |
| D．His work could be used to advertise Walt Disney’s films |
| A．They were literal and detailed. |
| B．They conveyed thoughts effectively. |
| C．They showed the legend of Walt Disney. |
| D．They displayed the progress of the medium. |
| A．He was devoted to art during his lifetime. |
| B．He had been busy his whole life. |
| C．He gave up art after retirement. |
| D．He liked to purchase toys and kites. |
| A．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By following time order. |
| D．By listing examples. |
5 . Giorgio Morandi was one of the greatest artists in the history of Italy. He was the eldest of five children born into a middle-class family in Bologna, Italy. His early love of art upset his father, who wanted his son to work with him in his export business. Morandi attempted the business unsuccessfully in 1906.
After that, Morandi entered the Bologna Academy of Fine Arts in 1907. He continued his study with the support of his mother when his father suddenly passed away in 1908, forcing him to support his mother and younger sisters. During that time, he was introduced to Cubism and Futurism, which influenced his early work.
After he graduated from the Bologna Academy of Fine Arts in 1913, Morandi continued his study by traveling around Italy, especially to the Venice Biennale. Those tours would finally prove important, as Morandi seldom traveled overseas after the 1920s, and much of his future exposure (接触) to painters came from published art works. He was especially interested in the work of Impressionists like Claude Monet, as well as following greats such as Georges Seurat and Paul Cezanne. He also traveled within Italy, especially to see galleries and exhibitions, and was far more well-traveled than some historical sources show him to be.
After Morandi finished his traveling, he returned home and lived with his family. For many years, Morandi kept a peaceful daily routine. And he did most of his work in his workshop, a small room in a flat he shared with his mother and sisters.
Life wasn’t easy for him at first, but he quickly established himself as an important modern artist. His skills of color, light and arrangement began to gain notice, shining in the face of current painting in the manner of abstraction (抽象). And he was named “one of the greatest painters living” by Roberto Longhi in 1934.
1. What did Morandi’s father think of his love of art?| A．He was against it. | B．He showed a great interest. |
| C．He had mixed feelings about it. | D．He was neither for nor against it. |
| A．He needed to make money in this way. |
| B．He wanted to learn more about painting. |
| C．He chose to relax after studying for years. |
| D．He was looking for works of Impressionists. |
| A．Learning different skills. | B．Keeping himself very busy. |
| C．Working quietly in his workshop. | D．Thinking for hours in his workshop. |
| A．He was an important modern artist at first. |
| B．He didn’t like creating works of abstraction. |
| C．He was good at color, light and arrangement. |
| D．He didn’t become known until after his death. |
6 . 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. |
7 . “Do what you love, not what others tell you is right,” says Georgia Lines of New Zealand.
I spoke with the 24-year-old singer-songwriter earlier this month about her rise to fame. In 2022, Lines was named breakthrough artist of the year at the annual Aotearoa music awards ceremony. Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand, an island country in the Pacific Ocean that is home to more than 5.1 million people.
Lines makes success look easy, but she has worked hard to perfect her skills. “I love what I do,” she told me. “I love it when I get lost in music, and everything works together.”
Already, Lines has opened for pop singer George Ezra. She hopes “to open for Harry Styles one day,” she added.
Lines has written more than 20 songs and worked together with several top artists, including Jack Burton, Alex James and Cassie Henderson. “I love working with other people and cooperating,” Lines said. “I find I work better when I’m with others, because we can exchange ideas with each other.”
When asked about her musical ambition growing up, Lines smiled. “I was never a musical genius as a child,”she said. “But I always loved singing and music.”
In recent years, Lines has drawn enthusiastic crowds for her concerts. The video for her hit song, “No One Knows”, won best music video of the year in New Zealand in 2021.
As for her future goals, Lines said that she wants “to have a promising career and to keep doing what I love.” That means focusing on her own career and artistic achievements. “Comparison is the robber of success, “she said. “If I had stopped to compare myself with others, I wouldn’t have made it as far as I have.”
1. What is the main topic of the author’s conversation with Lines?| A．Her childhood. | B．Her family. |
| C．Her style of music. | D．Her way to success. |
| A．She likes teamwork. | B．She respects top artists most. |
| C．She has a gift for music. | D．She always loves music. |
| A．Valuing money too much. | B．Ignoring her future career. |
| C．Comparing herself with others. | D．Taking others’ suggestions. |
| A．Honest. | B．Knowledgeable. | C．Hard-working. | D．Kind-hearted. |
8 . Best known as an author of fairy tales (童话), Hans Christian Andersen (1805—1875) wrote such children’s stories as The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, and The Emperor’s New Clothes. However, he was also an actor, a singer, and an artist. As an artist, he was particularly good at paper cutting.
Andersen had many reasons for making his paper cuttings, but the main one was to give pleasure. Andersen loved to tell his interesting stories to anyone who would listen. As he spoke, he would take out his scissors (剪刀) and make a wonderful paper cutting to help his words.
He also found that his paper cuttings helped with a better communication between himself and others. Although a shy man, he still loved to tell his stories face to face with his listeners. His stories and paper cuttings helped him to communicate when he would have otherwise felt uncomfortable.
The paper cuttings also became great gifts for friends and families. He would give his cuttings not only to children but also to grown-ups. When his writing became famous, these gifts were even more valued.
Now more than 100 years old, many of Andersen’s fine paper cuttings still exist in a museum in Denmark devoted to his works. While Andersen will always be remembered for his fairy tales, his beautiful works of art also remain for all to enjoy.
1. This passage mainly discusses Hans Christian Andersen as a(n) .| A．singer | B．artist | C．actor | D．writer |
| A．1500s | B．1600s | C．1700s | D．1800s |
| A．live quite a busy life | B．become a well-known writer |
| C．get along well with others | D．write wonderful stories for children |
| A．Why he was fond of paper cutting. |
| B．Which fairy tales he had published. |
| C．How he became good at paper cutting. |
| D．When he became famous as a story-teller. |
9 . Former Disney child star Jennifer McGill recently shared how, after her mother passed away, she went through an extremely dark period in her life.
Jennifer was born ready for the stage. She grew up in a loving home in Texas. And by age 7, she begged her mom to let her enter contests. Jennifer’s mom was uncertain. But seeing her daughter’s high energy and unshakable love of the stage, she finally supported her daughter’s wish.
Jennifer won many contests, and soon her parents were advised to have her audition (试演) for The New Mickey Mouse Club, a Disney show. Jennifer tried out and landed her dream job.
Many of Jennifer’s costars on the show went on to run after their careers. But after many years as a Disney child star, Jennifer didn’t feel ready for Hollywood just yet.
“I just needed to grow up and grow wiser in order to be the artist I thought I was meant to be,” she said. Instead, Jennifer chose to go on to college — a decision her mother fully supported.
Jennifer’s parents were supportive throughout her career and schooling. But her mom was her champion — a constant source of support. Unfortunately, when Jennifer was 24 years old, her mom passed away.
“The biggest light and fan was gone, the person who’d reminded me that I was unique and valuable. I was kind of lost,” she said. The next several years grew very dark. She began feeling herself lonely. She felt lifeless and purposeless.
Much as Jennifer still missed her mother, she realized she should get her life back to normal. She’s now pursuing a new career in music. She also spends her time coaching young artists. She encourages them to put fame at the bottom of their list.
1. What do we know about Jennifer from Paragraph 2?| A．She loved her mother deeply. | B．She had a natural talent for acting. |
| C．Her parents didn’t support her acting career. | D．Her mother was for her decision from the very beginning. |
| A．She was much wiser than them. | B．She kept practicing her acting skills. |
| C．She got herself ready for Hollywood. | D．She decided to continue her education. |
| A．The death of her mother. | B．The loss of support from her family. |
| C．The failure to become a Hollywood star. | D．The lack of courage to pursue her career. |
| A．Never forget the social duty. | B．It is important to earn fame in the career. |
| C．Never think too much about being famous. | D．Get away from sorrow as soon as possible. |
10 . 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. |
