1 . Celebrating Beethoven: The Genius of Symphony Exhibition
To commemorate the 254th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, the Vienna Philharmonic, renowned for its exceptional collection of classical music instruments, is presenting a special exhibition titled Beethoven: The Genius of Symphony, running from February 1 to June 30.
More than two centuries ago, on December 16, 1820, in the heart of Vienna, Ludwig van Beethoven, a musical legend, composed his Symphony No. 9 in D minor, a masterpiece that marked a milestone in the history of classical music.
The exhibition will transport visitors back to the era of Beethoven’s genius. Through a series of interactive displays and multimedia presentations, visitors will have a chance to explore Beethoven’s creative process and dive into the inspiration behind his most famous works. The highlight of the exhibition will be a copy of Beethoven’s piano, on which he composed many of his masterpieces.
“This exhibition offers a unique and immersive experience, allowing visitors to step into Beethoven’s world and appreciate the depth and breadth of his musical genius,” said Dr. Schmidt, head of the Vienna Philharmonic. “We aim to recreate the magic of Beethoven’s music and inspire a new generation of music lovers.”
Please note the following guidelines for the exhibition:
* Children under 6 years old are not recommended due to the complexity of the content.
* We advise caution for visitors with hearing impairments as some sections of the exhibition involve audio components.
* For safety reasons, large bags and photographic equipment are not permitted inside the exhibition hall. Hand-held cameras are allowed for personal use.
1. What is the central theme of the exhibition?| A．Exhibiting the changes of western musical instruments. |
| B．Exploring the life and works of Ludwig van Beethoven. |
| C．Showcasing the history of classical music in Vienna. |
| D．Highlighting the influence of Beethoven on music. |
| A．Magic shows of Beethoven’s music. |
| B．A reproduced piano of Beethoven. |
| C．Hands-on experience of composition. |
| D．Digital presentation of musical works. |
| A．A journalist carrying mobile phones. |
| B．A senior citizen with poor eyesight. |
| C．A historian with a passion for music. |
| D．A preschooler fascinated by pianos. |
2 . Szilajka Erzsebet is a Hungarian artist who turns ordinary pebbles into amazing works of art. The artist says she’s inspired by the pebbles’ shape, the richness of their patterns, and the beauty of nature. “I use all the pebbles in their original form shaped only by nature itself.” says Szilajka.
When Szilajka is creating her art, she lets her feelings shape the details. “This way the completed picture becomes dynamic in spite of the fact that the pebbles themselves play a static role in the work of art,” explains the artist. “It’s like a photo taken in the perfect time. It includes the movement, the feeling, the story which can be continued. This way there are not only pebbles in the pictures but invisible fingerprints and ‘soul-prints’ as well.”
When creating her art, Szilajka often relies on her customers’ ideas but uses her artistic freedom as well. “If I only listen to myself, I do think that the most essential elements in life stand on the simplest things,” says the artist. “For me, art is adding that little something extra to simple subject matters.”
The artist believes that the completed work of art is not only her own but a common creation of the artist and the receiver. “These two things together is pebble art,” explains Szilajka. “It only becomes a real work of art if it really means something to the receivers as they have the opportunity to add their own feelings and thoughts as well. Pebbles have no face, so anyone can enter and play a part in a pebble picture…”
1. What’s the feature of her work according to Szilajka?| A．It’s original and dynamic. | B．It’s creative and picturesque. |
| C．It’s imaginative and static. | D．It’s emotional and inspiring. |
| A．A pebble. | B．A pebble picture. | C．A photo. | D．Nature itself. |
| A．The inspiration of Szilajka’s creation. | B．The concept of Szilajka’s creation. |
| C．The significance of Szilajka’s creation. | D．The rewards of Szilajka’s creation. |
| A．A feature. | B．An argumentative essay. |
| C．A biography. | D．A personage introduction. |
3 . Hungarian artist Zoltan Viczan has revealed his love and memories of his homeland in a series of new glass artworks at the exhibition, Layers of Hungary, which is taking place at Picnic Gallery in downtown Shanghai from Oct 13 to Nov 15.
Born in Hungary in 1979, Viczan began his studies in glass art at an early age in Budapest.
Traditional glassmaking in the West originated in Italy, where the royal court forced master crafts people to live on an island and create fine goods, Viczan says.
Viczan came to Asia 10 years ago, spending four years in Japan and two years in Hong Kong before moving to Shanghai in 2016. Generally many expatriates socialized with people from their countries to overcome homesickness.
In the exhibition, visitors will see a map of Hungary sculpted in cast glass and decorated with traditional Hungarian glass patterns, and works describing the city of Budapest and Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe.
| A．He has practiced the art form for nearly 30 years. |
| B．This is the first time he has presented his creations. |
| C．The works on show reflect Viczan’s unique methods. |
| D．Some managed to escape despite of the risks of death. |
| E．Viczan chose to represent memories of his homeland through his art. |
| F．The artist believes this is a good way to show idea about people’s viewpoints of reality. |
| G．It recalled the beauty of the calm, flat water which starts rippling after throwing a pebble in it. |
4 . Louis Wain’s Cute Cats
Louis Wain was one of the most popular illustrators (插画师) in the history of England. Born in 1860, Wain was well-known for his anthropomorphic (拟人化的) pictures of cats and his work helped to upraise the profile and popularity of our feline (猫科的) friends to extraordinary heights. Before Wain, cats in England were often thought of without respect but his work humanised them and helped to show them as something to be liked, admired and even loved. “He made the cat his own,” H. G. Wells once remarked. “He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world.”
In his early years, Wain aimed at becoming a press artist. He specialised in drawing animals and country scenes and had work published in several journals including the popular Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News. It wasn’t until 1884, when Wain was twenty-four, that he sold his first drawing of a cat to The Illustrated London News. Two years after this he got his first real taste of success when he was appointed to illustrate a children’s book. His illustrations seem a lot more traditional when compared to his later work. Yet even in these early examples, we can see signs of his ability to give a cat a personality and a playful nature.
Despite the happiness seen throughout his work, the tale of Wain’s interest in cats is sadly a heartbreaking one. In 1883, Wain married Emily Richardson. Not long after the couple married, Emily became unwell. Over the course of her illness, Wain drew their cat as a way to keep her spirits up. There must have been even more reason for joy when a few months later Wain was appointed again by The Illustrated London News to draw more illustrations based on their cat. His work, A Kitten’s Christmas Party was hugely popular and a great success. It set Wain on the road to artistic greatness and wealth but sadly he was unable to enjoy this achievement as a few months later Emily passed away.
The loss of his wife had a huge impact on Wain and he became increasingly more inward-looking. As his success went from strength to strength, he continued to struggle with anxiety and depression, and despite his professional accomplishments, his personal life was never quite the same again.
1. What did people in England think of cats in early times?| A．They thought cats were respectful. | B．They saw cats as their great friends. |
| C．They thought cats were like humans. | D．They regarded cats as negative creatures. |
| A．He created persons like cats. |
| B．He achieved his first success at the age of 26. |
| C．He had always dreamt of being a cat illustrator. |
| D．He drew animals and country scenes for The Illustrated London News. |
| A．She made Wain earn a lot of money. |
| B．Her death changed Wain’s mental state. |
| C．She married Wain because she liked his illustrations. |
| D．She became unwell after A Kitten’s Christmas Party was released. |
| A．Ability | B．fortune | C．emotion | D．personality |
5 . It's hard to say goodbye to your favorite pair of jeans, even when they're way beyond wearable.
Netherton-born artist Ian Berry has made quite a name for himself after his unique art took the art world by storm. It's hard to believe the idea of using old denim (牛仔布) as medium for his art came after a call from his mother, Christine, asking him to clean out his room. “It was about six or seven years ago, my mum was clearing out my old room and she wanted me to go through my things. I found loads of old jeans and denims and I noticed the different colors and shades. I kept hold of them but it was only about 18 months later that I began to do something with them.”
Ian Berry quit his full-time job in advertising to focus all his attention on art.
Iain Barratt, director of the Catto Gallery, told the Examiner, “what Ian Berry does is extraordinary.
| A．So many people would rather put their jeans away than throw them away. |
| B．He didn't know his experiment would soon make him and his denim art famous all over the world. |
| C．It was a risky move. |
| D．He thought he would earn a lot of money in his new career. |
| E．But English artist Ian Berry has found a way to use denim to create beautiful works of art. |
| F．Denim art is as simple as it is beautiful. |
| G．People can't see how he's created these wonderful scenes until they see it close up and touch it. |
6 . Christo Javacheff the artist who worked to turn landscapes and buildings into massive, temporary works of art, died on March 2021 at age 84. Christo surprised the world again and again with the imagination and size of the artworks he created.
Christo, born in Bulgaria in 1935, met his wife Jeanne-Claude in Paris in 1959. Together, the two formed a strong partnership that lasted the rest of their lives. They worked as a team to create huge works of art called installations. In these installations, Christo and Jeanne often changed the way buildings or large areas of land looked — a kind of art known as "land art”.
The two were most noted for “wrapping” things so large that most people would never think to wrap them. Many of their projects used huge pieces of cloth or plastic. For example, in 1969, they wrapped 1.6 miles of rocky coastline near Sydney, Australia and it was the largest artwork ever made. In 1995, they used cloth to wrap up the Reichstag, a famous and historic building in Berlin, Germany.
Being extremely large, their art works cost a fortune to create. The artists paid for the projects themselves by selling the plans, drawings, and models they made for each installation. Many projects seemed so unusual that the couple had to work very hard to get permission to create them.
But, like almost all of the artist's work, it was only meant to last a short time. Most of the installations only stayed up for a few weeks or months before being taken down.
“I am an artist, and I have to have courage," Christo said. "Do you know I don't have any artworks that exist? They all go away when they're finished." Christo himself has gone away, leaving behind an art world forever changed by the memory of his huge and daring artworks.
1. For what were the couple best known?| A．Overcoming financial problems. |
| B．Tearing down old-fashioned buildings. |
| C．Inventing innovative building materials. |
| D．Packaging huge landscapes and buildings. |
| A．Considerate and humble. | B．Creative and courageous. |
| C．Enthusiastic and careful. | D．Demanding and generous. |
| A．His artworks were temporary. |
| B．His hard work didn't pay off at last. |
| C．He regretted exhibiting his artworks. |
| D．He didn't expect his works to last long. |
| A．Christo's Collection of Massive Artworks |
| B．Christo's Enormous Influence on Architecture |
| C．Christo: an Artist Who Dreamed and Built Big |
| D．Christo and Jeanne: a Couple Who Warmed the World |
7 . The following are some of the most recognizable names in art history.
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci, born in 1452 in Tuscany, Italy, was a genius. His one-of-a-kind gift was expressing human emotions, which earned him a name from an early age. He kept painting until his death in France in 1519. His Mona Lisa is a painting that was originally left incomplete but has become the world’s most famous picture.
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh, born in the Netherlands in 1853, is widely regarded as one of the finest post - impressionist painters of all time. He did not become an artist until he was in his late twenties. In 1886, he traveled to Paris, where he met Paul Gauguin, who encouraged Van Gogh to develop his own style. He died in 1890 after suffering from mental health problems. Van Gogh became famous after his death.
Claude Monet
Claude Monet, born in Paris in 1840, was a talented French artist who is widely considered as one of the most important painters. He was recognized for his talents when he was young and he was the first to employ oil and outdoor methods. The word “impressionism” was created after his picture Impression, Sunrise. Monet died at age 86.
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain, in late 1881. He began drawing at a young age and had gotten his first lessons in the use of oil paints from his father by the time he was seven. In 1900, he moved to Paris and sold his first painting there. He made significant contributions to the progress of modern art. He passed away in 1973.
1. Which of the following painters lives the longest?| A．Leonardo da Vinci. |
| B．Vincent van Gogh. |
| C．Claude Monet. |
| D．Pablo Picasso. |
| A．He inspired Van Gogh. |
| B．He was taught by his father. |
| C．He suffered mental health problems. |
| D．He led to the birth of impressionism. |
| A．They are all impressionists. |
| B．They liked painting outdoors. |
| C．They all had experiences in France. |
| D．They were recognized in their life time. |
8 . No one knows exactly when jazz was invented, or by whom. But it is said that it began in the early 1900s. Jazz was a new kind of music, for America and the world, and New Orleans was its birthplace.
Who were the jazz pioneers? Most were blacks. This music was not written down, and at first only blacks played it. It was hard for white musicians to learn the new style. But soon they, too, were playing jazz.
The popularity of this music spread. From New Orleans, it traveled up the Mississippi to Chicago, then to Kansas City and New York. By the 1920s, there were many jazz musicians, both black and white. Many of them were famous. One man was better than the rest. His name was Louis Armstrong.
Louis Armstrong was a born musician. He was not only talented but also hard—working. He also had a good sense of humor and a big, good—natured smile. These personal qualities were valuable in his rise to fame. After he became famous, he traveled around the world. It seemed that everyone wanted to hear Louis play. But life was not always easy, especially at the beginning.
Louis Armstrong was born in 1900 in New Orleans. His father never went to school and his mother could hardly read. When Louis was still a kid, his parents separated, and Louis lived with his mother. How hard their life was can readily be imagined. And yet Louis smiled through everything. He later wrote, "My whole life has been happiness. Life was there for me and I accepted it. Whatever happened has been beautiful to me. I love everybody."
1. The underlined word "they" in Paragraph 2 refers to ________.| A．New styles | B．Jazz pioneers |
| C．White musicians | D．Black musicians |
| A．His family background. | B．His big, good- natured smiles. |
| C．His good sense of humor. | D．His talent and hard work. |
| A．The development of jazz. |
| B．The development of jazz and its best musician. |
| C．The achievements of Louis Armstrong. |
| D．The influence of jazz on Americans. |
