1 . “He is a giant of the 20th-century art, but that doesn’t mean he only did big paintings, said Lynn Miller, director of Rochester Central Gallery, in an interview last Thursday.
Entitled “Picasso and His Drafts”, a special exhibit marking 50 years since the death of Pablo Picasso is held at the gallery this month. Instead of his paintings, the notebooks on which the Spanish legendary artist drew drafts are shown to the public for the first time.
Matchbox covers, postcards, restaurant napkins all served as drafting notes for the artist at moments of inspiration. It is important to know that each of the 14 notebooks presented reflects what was going on in his life.
For example, a tiny notebook whose size is just 3 by 5 inches stands out among the exhibits. Inside the little book was a self-portrait of the artist finished roughly in pencil, with deep and thoughtful eyes. It was done in 1918 and Picasso, then in his mid-30s, had just got married. He produced big-sized artworks but he also kept this tiny notebook around, filling it with scenes of his wife, their friends, the beach and the town, and drafts of upcoming paintings. Actually, many of the draft drawings are early versions of famed paintings like Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) and Dora Maar in an Armchair (1939).
“He is a great artist of the modern period, and we see practice and determination in his notebooks,” said Lynn Miller, referring to Picasso’s efforts in improving his skills through copious drawing. Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, a grandson of Picasso’s, remembered him always drafting until the last piece of paper available. “My grandpa was permanently drawing something,” Ruiz-Picasso said.
In a documentary film shown at the gallery, Picasso, shirtless and in shorts, was standing on a ladder to reach the top of his canvas (画布). It reminds visitors of the real size of his masterworks.
1. What are the key features of the recent exhibit at the gallery?| A．Notebooks for sale. | B．Picasso’s artworks. |
| C．Priceless artistic drafts. | D．Masterpieces of the 20th century. |
| A．His life experience. | B．The love for his country. |
| C．The content of his books. | D．His education background. |
| A．Creative. | B．Diligent. | C．Optimistic. | D．Humorous. |
| A．Picasso used to mind his appearance. | B．The gallery exhibits real masterworks. |
| C．The documentary movie is worth seeing. | D．Picasso’s artworks are actually of great size. |
2 . 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. |
3 . 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. |
4 . Olivia de Havilland, the honorable and strong-willed Oscar-winning actress and last surviving star of Gone with the Wind died in her sleep on Saturday, July 25, 2020. She was 104.
During a screen career that lasted for more than 50 years, de Havilland won two Best Actress Oscars, her first for 1947’s To Each His Own and then for 1950’s The Heiress.
De Havilland and Fontaine, a Best Actress winner for 1942’s Suspicion, claimed a statue in the lead-acting categories. De Havilland was nominated (提名) for a total of five Academy Awards. Other notable awards include The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Snake Pit.
Her most famous screen image was Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind. Released in 1939 when de Havilland was just 23, the Civil War epic won eight Oscars and remained as the all-time box-office champ for more than 25 years. The movie remains Hollywood’s top money-maker, though this year it has been at the center of controversy regarding its description of slavery.
Born July 1, 1916, in Tokyo to British parents, de Havilland first made an impression as the girl to Errol Flynn’s arrogant boy in a series of films, starting with 1935’s Captain Blood, and including the early color entry 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood.
In 1944, a de Havilland complaint against Warner Bros resulted in a court ruling that said studios couldn’t unilaterally (单方面的) keep their stars under contract for longer than seven years. After challenging the situation then, de Havilland saw career grow to greater heights. Both of her Oscars and three of her nominations came in the wake of the court case.
In the 1950s, de Havilland moved to Paris for a marriage that didn’t last. And while she returned to Hollywood for work, she never returned to the industry town to live.
Like many actresses of her time, de Havilland turned to thrillers and horror in the 1960s. The 1970s saw turns in the all-star disaster movies Airport’77 and The Swarm. Audiences of 2017’s Feud saw de Havilland acted by Catherine Zeta-Jones.
1. In which film did de Havilland win Best Actress Oscars first?| A．Gone with the Wind. | B．The Heiress. |
| C．The Adventures of Robin Hood. | D．To Each His Own. |
| A．It reflects the life of slaves. | B．It describes the Civil War. |
| C．It remains box-office champ for 25 years. | D．It proves the cruelty of war. |
| A．She was disappointed at her social status. |
| B．She made greater achievements in her career. |
| C．She lost interest in living in Hollywood. |
| D．She stopped contact with studios. |
| A．Love. | B．Horror. | C．Disaster. | D．War. |
5 . In March 2020, as the snowstorm held steady, David Hockney released a painting of bright yellow daffodils (黄水仙) titled “Do Remember They Can’t Cancel the Spring”. In the midst of such depression, it offered a burst of optimism, reminding us that nature, with rebirth and renewal, could still offer hope.
Hockney has long appreciated the natural world. “We can only refresh ourselves by looking at nature,” he has said. A mere 20 minutes in a natural environment has been proven to lower stress levels. Even looking at paintings of nature can produce the same effect, so it is no surprise that visitors have been crowding into Hockney-Van Gogh: The Joy of Nature at The Museum of Fine Arts. “The freeze brought everything to a pause and people’s faces just light up when they walk into the museum,” says Ann Dumas, planner of the Houston show.
The exhibition explores the two artists’ response to nature as well as Van Gogh’s obvious influence on Hockney. The response to nature for both artists was influenced by a switch of scene. When Van Gogh moved to France, he made the colour breakthroughs that led to the vividly coloured landscapes. Similarly, Hockney’s return to Yorkshire gave him a renewed appreciation for the local landscapes that he has depicted (刻画) in his own unique colors.
Hockney has said: “I’ve always found the world quite beautiful. And there’s an important thing I share with Vincent Van Gogh: we both really, really enjoy looking at the world.” Perhaps unsurprisingly their themes frequently overlaps (交叠), “We have a beautiful painting by Van Gogh of some tree trunks: he seems to be lying on the ground and in front of him is a great carpet of wildflowers,” says Dumas. Hockney explored the same theme in his The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire, 2011, in which “all the wildflowers are really lively”. says Dumas. The painting, with its thick greens and branches tipped with leaves, is one of the highlights of the show. “People are spellbound.” says Dumas, “They see it very much as about hope.”
1. What effect would “Do Remember They Can’t Cancel the Spring” have on viewers?| A．Thrilling. | B．Disturbing. | C．Shocking. | D．Inspiring. |
| A．Because paintings of nature help to reduce pressure. |
| B．Because Van Gogh’s masterpieces are on show. |
| C．Because the freeze outside is unbearable. |
| D．Because visitors tend to follow the crowd. |
| A．They were deeply influenced by others. |
| B．They were good at painting tree trunks. |
| C．They found the world quite beautiful. |
| D．They reacted actively to nature with the change of scene. |
| A．Dumas thinks highly of Hockey. | B．Van Gogh is famous for the Starry Night. |
| C．Hockey’s work brings hope to people. | D．Both of the artists enjoy observing the world. |
6 . Tod Morgan was born blind, mentally challenged, and autistic. So he couldn't see, he could not learn like other children, and he didn't interact with people very much. He did not seem to have much of a chance. Then, when he was two years old, he began to play little songs on his tiny toy piano. He could play perfectly some of the children's tunes he had heard.
Today, Tod works as a professional pianist. He plays jazz, Broadway songs, and classical pieces. After hearing a tune, he can imitate it almost perfectly the first time he plays it. He doesn't only imitate; Tod is creative too. He can change a classical piece to a jazz, a jazz to a polka, and a polka to a waltz. In addition to the p1ano, Tod plays 13 other instruments and also sings. Tod's list of musical heroes includes Louis Armstrong, Mozart, and Beethoven. How can this be? How can such a severely challenged person be so musically talented?
Tod has what is called “savant syndrome'' — a condition in which a mentally challenged person has a tightly developed talent of a specific kind. Savant syndrome is a mystery to medical researchers. One person who is studying savant syndrome is Dr. David Brighton. He says that he has never seen a musical savant like Tod. Most musical savants are limited to simply repeating tunes they hear. Dr. Brighton points out that Tod's ability to come up with his own tunes is a giant step beyond memorization.
As for Tod, after studying jazz piano at the Music School at Rivers in Massachusetts, he attended and graduated from the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston. Tod is encouraged by his parents as he performs all over the world, appearing on TV and radio shows.
1. What does the author mean by saying that Tod “did not seem to have much of a chance"?| A．Tod was not likely to be completely cured. |
| B．Tod's chances of success in life were small. |
| C．Tod's ability to learn music was very limited. |
| D．Tod would have few opportunities to meet others. |
| A．mentally disabled but specially gifted |
| B．socially inactive but musically talented |
| C．physically disabled but highly intelligent |
| D．psychologically challenged but physically gifted |
| A．His memory. | B．His creativity. |
| C．His sociability. | D．His learning speed. |
| A．Tod is a typical case of a serious disease. |
| B．Family support is vital to Tod's recovery. |
| C．Music connects Tod to the world around him. |
| D．Music education is a cure to the mentally disabled. |
