1 . Chinese ink paintings once were on the edge of being forgotten-at least according to a paper of Li Xiaoshan, a postgraduate art student.
At the time, many Chinese painting professionals passed away without finding younger artists to fill their shoes. Young artists were left on their own to find breakthroughs and define themselves as artists. While extremely exaggerated (夸张), Li’s comment sent shock waves through the Chinese painting community. Since then, many experimental painters have taken to their studios in China, creating many astonishing and inspirational ink paintings using new methods and concepts, marking an important step for the development of contemporary Chinese paintings.
Shao Ge is a representative of this new form. Born to an ordinary family in Beijing in 1962, Shao was keen on traditional Chinese paintings. As a child, he spent much of his time staring at the ink masterpieces in the Palace Museum. There was an elder neighbor, who was good at Chinese painting and calligraphy. In his spare time, the kind elder talked about traditional Chinese culture to young Shao. Some years later, Shao decided to study painting after graduating from high school. After graduating in the Beijing Arts and Crafts School in 1978, Shao was sent to work at a small crafts factory. Before long, the factory went bankrupt. Shao later passed an exam and became a painter for RongBao Zhai, a famous Chinese art gallery established in 1672.This career jump allowed Shao to springboard into a lifetime of ink paintings.
“At first, I just drew everything-landscapes, figures, flowers, birds, and fish,” Shao said. “But I soon found sticking to traditional thoughts and skills of Chinese paintings would be a brake on my development as a professional painter. For this reason, I decided to innovate my own style.”
1. What do the underlined words “fill their shoes” mean in Paragraph 2?| A．Calm them down. |
| B．Ask them for help. |
| C．Focus on themselves. |
| D．Take over their roles. |
| A．His journey to art. |
| B．His family background. |
| C．His neighbor’s influence. |
| D．His passion for learning. |
| A．People’s view of Shao’s painting. |
| B．Shao’s impact on Chinese painting. |
| C．The development of traditional painting. |
| D．Shao’s successful experiment in painting. |
| A．Fashion. | B．Feature. | C．Education. | D．Literature. |
2 . João Carlos Martins, the 80-year-old Brazilian classical pianist, had lost the ability to play for almost 20 years due to a series of unfortunate events in his life. But everything changed thanks to a pair of special bionic (仿生的) gloves.
He is one of the best pianists alive today. He had already won a contest playing Bach when he was only 8 years old. Then at the peak of his skills, he could play 21 notes per second. However, luck wasn’t always on his side. At 24 years old, he suffered an accident that caused nerve damage to his arm, atrophying (使萎缩) three of his fingers. Then when he was 55, an accidental brain injury completely paralyzed (使瘫痪) his arm.
João went through 24 surgeries, but nothing could help his hands, forcing him to stop playing the piano, seemingly for good.
However, João didn’t give up on his musical career. He became a conductor in 2003. He couldn’t turn the pages in the score, so instead, he just tried his best to memorize every score, note by note. He still played the piano sometimes, but extremely slow, since he could play only one note per second.
That might have been his life, were it not for an engineer who saw the pianist playing live and decided to work out something to help him. After a concert, he approached João with the first pair of special bionic gloves. Yet, they didn’t work. When the engineer first showed João the gloves, he joked that they were for boxing, not to play the piano.
But neither of them gave up, and after testing out several models, the perfect match was created. The gloves provide the necessary support for each finger and can even “tune” to what he plays.
João knows that he might never recover his speed of the past. But he’s starting over, as though he were an 8-year-old again. João says, it can take years, but he will keep pushing. He won’t give up.
1. What can we learn about João Carlos Martins from the second paragraph?| A．He lost three fingers during an accident. |
| B．He showed great talent for the piano as a child. |
| C．He went through many hardships to succeed. |
| D．He suffered brain injuries when he was young. |
| A．He asked engineers for help. | B．He lost hope for his future life. |
| C．He prepared to give up his dream. | D．He struggled to continue his career. |
| A．They should be improved. | B．They cost too much money. |
| C．They were too heavy to carry. | D．They could bring fun to his life. |
| A．Smart and helpful. | B．Gifted and confident. |
| C．Determined and positive. | D．Creative and generous. |
3 . Eric Ravilious was one of the greatest watercolorists of the 20th century, loved for his paintings of famous English landmarks. While he was a master painter and designer, his another great role was as a war artist. Among the finest and most productive of his generation, he died while on active duty during World War II. 2022 marks the 80th anniversary of his death, which raises the question: What makes a great war artist?
Ravilious’s war art is famous for its innocence and purity. Ravilious’s soft colors, cartoon-like figures, tranquil tide pools and sky ease the apparent danger and threat on the battle field. Staying true to his style was one of Ravilious’s greatest strengths. From his paintings we can see his firm control of the watercolor, his calm expression and attention to detail, showing his extraordinary insight and expression. He did not focus on style, but rather on his attitude and way of expression. He added a strong personal touch to the themes. That is why he is great. He often worked in very dangerous situations: sometimes painting on the deck of a military ship with fighters flying overhead or moving at such speed that his paints might be flying everywhere.
One of his friends said, “His war paintings are very much like children’s description of war. I saw a lot of paintings by refugee (难民) children and adults in Iraq. They are very similar to Eric Ravilious’s paintings. In their respective ways, they all describe war in an innocent and almost naïve (幼稚的) manner. In fact, the cruelty of war cannot be understood by everyone because it is in human and in humane.” He concludes, “Seen in this light, what Eric Ravilious did enables us to look at war with a calm mind. This is truly special.”
1. What does the underlined word “tranquil” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Pure. | B．Peaceful. | C．Dangerous. | D．Extraordinary. |
| A．His painting theme. | B．His innocence and purity. |
| C．His control of the watercolor. | D．His attitude and strong personal style. |
| A．They described war in a similar manner. |
| B．They could only be understood by children. |
| C．They were painted in similar shades of color. |
| D．They helped people to know the cruelty of war. |
| A．War Art: Cruel Beauty | B．War Art: Pure and Innocent |
| C．Eric Ravilious: A Great War Artist | D．Eric Ravilious: An Innocent Man |
4 . Deafblind artist Tony Giordano led an adventurous life, traveling and playing sports, before completely losing his sight and hearing in 2018. “I was into everything. I loved adventures.” the Brooklyn native said during a Newsday interview on Tuesday.
After learning to communicate using sign language, Giordano wondered what to do next after his sight and hearing losses. While reinventing his life, Giordano said getting into art was not something that crossed his mind at first. But after taking a creative arts class at the North Shore facility, Giordano began to discover he enjoyed it. Drawing on his nearly 30 years of experience as an auto mechanic, his welding(焊接) skills and various bursts of inspiration, Giordano began pouring himself into what’s become his specialty — designing metal sculptures.
More than a year later, Giordano now is getting recognition for his art pieces. In December, Giordano made his first sale of a sculpture, a larger-than-life hand made of copper pipes and titled “I Love You” to artist and collector Jennifer Contini for $1,000. While proud of selling his first art piece, Giordano — who also repairs bicycles at a bike repair shop in St. James — admitted it made him a bit sad.
“His work ethic is really incredible,” said Antonia Isnardi, Giordano’s art teacher. “Learning sculpture is really tough, requiring enormous attention and patience. He could easily say ‘I lost my vision. I can’t do this’, but he keeps fighting. He perseveres in everything and is willing to try something new to improve in any way.”
Giordano will leave the Port Washington center this year and return to his home in the South. But he said he considers art his next adventure and hopes his sculptures will be a way to spread a positive message about the capabilities of the deafblind community.
1. What inspired Giordano to go into art?| A．Artistic inspiration. | B．A teacher’s encouragement. |
| C．A creative art class. | D．Previous working experience. |
| A．Frustrations in his life. | B．Difficulties for him in sculpturing. |
| C．His strong will in learning. | D．The art teacher’s remarks on him. |
| A．Wealthy and honest. | B．Creative and determined. |
| C．Grateful and generous. | D．Adventurous and humorous. |
| A．An art textbook. | B．A local newspaper. |
| C．A travel brochure | D．A literature review. |
5 . The Chinese written language originated very early. However, people began to like the art of writing, and pay attention to the creator’s thinking and spirit since the period between the Late Han Dynasty and Wei Jin Dynasty. The Chinese calligraphy fonts(字体) gradually evolved from oracle, Chinese bronze inscriptions and silk manuscripts to the following five main schools:
| School | Representative Master | Feature |
| Seal Script | Li Si | There are Big Zhuan and Small Zhuan. The Big Zhuan includes all the ancient Chinese calligraphy fonts before Qin Dynasty. The Small Zhuan are the characters commonly used by officials after Qin united China. These characters feature balanced left and right parts and a bit complicated structures. |
| Official Script | Cai Yong | A simplified form of script since seal characters were too complicated for officials to use when copying documents. |
| Regular Script | Ouyang Xun, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan | Also named Zhenshu or Zhengshu, Kaishu is regular with a tight structure and fluent strokes. |
| Cursive Hand | Zhang Xu, Huai Su | Caoshu is characterized by sketchy, simplified forms of characters, often distorted or exaggerated to achieve an internal rhythmic appearance within the compositions of characters. |
| Running Hand | Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing; Su Shi | Xingshu is something between the regular script and the cursive scripts in the initial period and now is between the official script and cursive(草写体的)hand. Chinese masters have always compared the three styles of writing, Kaishu, Xingshu, Caoshu to people standing, walking and running respectively. |
| A．the difficulty to write | B．their function in use |
| C．who often wrote them | D．how cursive they are |
| A．Official Script. | B．Running Hand. |
| C．Cursive Hand. | D．Regular Script. |
| A．Ouyang Xun. | B．Yan Zhenqing. |
| C．Zhang Xu. | D．Wang Xizhi. |
6 . Cimabue, the greatest painter in medieval(中世纪的)Italy, was surprised one day when he came back from his lunch break and discovered a fly was under the nose of a character he had been working on. So he reached out to touch the insect. To his surprise, he found only wet paint. Turning around, he saw that his apprentice(学徒), Giotto di Bondone, was doing everything he could to keep from laughing. Giotto had painted the fly when Cimabue was away, and it looked so real that Cimabue had been completely fooled.
Giotto was born into a poor farming family. Legend has it that one day when Cimabue was walking around the countryside, he spotted a young shepherd(牧羊人)boy. The boy was not tending his sheep. Instead, he was drawing pictures of them, and the sheep he drew were so lifelike that Cimabue stopped to ask the boy his name. The boy replied that it was Giotto, and Cimabue immediately asked him to come to Florence so that the young shepherd could learn how to paint.
In the Middle Ages, an artist not only had to concern himself with things like design and technique, but he also had to learn how to make paints. Almost all artists were men, and they began their apprenticeships at an early age. An apprentice’s job was to copy his master as exactly as he could. The unfortunate result of this imitation(模仿)was a lack of new ideas.
In fact, art in the Middle Ages remained the same for hundreds of years. The people in paintings didn’t look like real people, and the symbolism of art was often so remote that it must have been difficult for viewers to connect with it on a personal level. Giotto used many techniques that were uncommon at the time to bring the paintings to life for viewers. He painted people the way he saw them, instead of the overly tall people that other artists painted. He created three-dimensional space by using perspective, something that had not been done since Roman times. Finally, he threw out parts of the symbolism associated with medieval painting.
1. Why does the author mention the fly event in paragraph 1?| A．To indicate Giotto drew better than Cimabue. |
| B．To indicate Giotto liked making fun of others |
| C．To show the fly painted by Giotto looked real. |
| D．To show Cimabue disliked painting flies very much. |
| A．He was taking a walk. | B．He was feeding sheep. |
| C．He was playing with a shepherd boy. | D．He was drawing pictures. |
| A．Lacking creativity. |
| B．Having an unhappy childhood. |
| C．Having a short period of apprenticeship. |
| D．Supporting themselves by making paints. |
| A．Giotto’s study on medieval painting. |
| B．The competition between medieval artists. |
| C．Giotto’s efforts to change art in the Middle Ages. |
| D．The most popular forms of painting in the Middle Ages. |
7 . Throughout history, many of the world’s greatest artists never achieved tremendous fame until after their death. That’s the case of Vivian Maier, who’s now considered to be one of the most important American street photographers of the last century, alongside famous names like Diane Arbus and Henri Cartier-Bresson. But she remained unknown for much of her life, and it was only a chance encounter with a box of negatives that put her in the spotlight.
Details of her life are unclear, but she was born in New York City in the 1920s to European parents. Maier grew up in France before returning to the U. S., where she spent several decades working as a nanny in Chicago to wealthy families. During her days off Maier is thought to have taken more than 100, 000 photographs of people and city scenes in Chicago, yet she kept the photos to herself-many of them never developed.
Skip ahead to 2007, a Chicago historian and collector, John Maloof, came across Maier’s work by accident after purchasing a box of tens of thousands of undeveloped negatives for $380 Sat an auction (拍卖) . As he developed them, Maloof realized they were more than just photos. He was looking at evocative (唤起) art illustrating a Chicago of the mid-20-century that nobody had never seen. Maloof worked to uncover who the photographer was, acquiring more and more of her work. But before he could locate her, Maier had already passed away in 2009, having slipped on ice and never recovering from her head injury.
While Maloof researched Maier’s work, more details emerged. She kept to herself, her employers said, and she would spend her free days taking photos on the streets of Chicago with a Rolleiflex camera. According to Maloof, the children Maier took care of knew she was constantly taking photos, yet she never showed her photos to anyone. Maier also traveled around the world, as indicated by some of her photos.
Other collectors began to acquire Maier’s photos, but Maloof owns much of her work. He released a book, Vivian Maier: Street Photographer, in 2011, and his documentary, Finding Vivian Maier, came out in 2013.
1. Which word can be used to describe Vivian’s life?| A．Risky. | B．Wealthy. | C．Mysterious. | D．Miserable. |
| A．She was born in France. |
| B．She never developed her photos. |
| C．She enjoyed great fame in her life. |
| D．She took photos of Chicago and other cities. |
| A．He approached Maier’s former employers. |
| B．He managed to meet the artist in the flesh. |
| C．He released a collection of Maier’s work. |
| D．He purchased more developed negatives. |
| A．They were presented to her employers. |
| B．They were meant to earn her a fortune. |
| C．They were taken by a professional artist. |
| D．They were of artistic and historical value. |
8 . Artists with a Green Message
Chris Jordan
Photographic artist Chris Jordan takes pictures of ordinary objects like bottle caps, light bulbs and aluminum cans and turns them into art by digitally rearranging them to construct one central image. However, it’s the tiny pieces that drive home then environmental message. For example, his 2008 work “Plastic Cups” shows 1 million plastic cups, the number used on airline flights in the U. S. every six hours.
Nele Azevedo
Visual artist Nele Azevedo is best known for her “Melting Men” interventions that she stages in cities across the globe. Azevedo carves thousands of small figures for to watch them melt. Her ice Sculptures are meant to question the role of monuments in cities, but Azevedo says she’s glad her art can also “speak of urgent matters that threaten our existence on this planet.”
Agnes Denes
One of the pioneers of environmental art and conceptual art, Agnes Denes is best known for her land art project, “Wheatfield- A Confrontation.” In May 1982, Denes planted a two-acre wheat field in Manhattan on Battery Park Landfill. The land was cleared of rocks and garbage by hand. Denes harvested more than 1,000 pounds of wheat She says her works are “intended to help the environment and benefit future generations with a meaningful legacy.”
John Fekner
John Fekner is known for his street art and the more than 300 conceptual works. Fekner’s art typically consists of words or symbols spray painted on walls, buildings and other structures that highlight social or environmental issues. His stenciled (用模板印的) message, “Wheels Over Indian Trails, “was painted on the Pulaski Bridge Queens Midtown Tunnel in 1979. It remained there for 11 years until Earth Day 1990，when Fekner painted over it.
1. What kind of art is Chris Jordan known for?| A．Photographic art. | B．Visual art. |
| C．Conceptual art. | D．Street art. |
| A．Plastic Cups. | B．Melting Men. |
| C．Wheatfield-A Confrontation. | D．Wheels Over Indian Trails. |
| A．Chris Jordan. | B．Nele Azevedo. |
| C．Agnes Denes. | D．John Fekner. |
9 . Matilda Browne (1869-1947) was a successful artist in the early 20th century. Unfortunately, few people know her name or her art today.
Matilda Browne showed promising artistic talent early in her life. Growing up in Newark, New Jersey, she got an introduction to art by watching her neighbor, painter Thomas Moran. Her parents supported their budding young artist.
Browne loved to paint animals, especially cows and other animals.
Matilda Browne quickly became a respected and successful artist. Her list of honours opened doors that would have been otherwise inaccessible for a female artist of her time. As an adult, she moved to Connecticut, where she painted in Old Lyme.
Browne was a successful artist throughout her life. She won numerous awards and exhibited in many important shows. However, very few people know about her today. This is a more common story for female artists than one might think. So, why has Browne faded into being unknown?
| A．She was the only woman accepted into the male artists’ circle there. |
| B．It was her artistic style that hadn’t aroused people’s interest. |
| C．Her impressive skill brought her under everyone’s notice. |
| D．She also painted many flowers in colorful garden landscapes. |
| E．It could result from her double minority — in gender and nationality. |
| F．Her mother took her to Europe for training while she was quite young. |
| G．Either way, her great skill as a painter made these other artists take notice. |
10 . The studio of the Lyon-based artist known as Ememem received an urgent call from an architectural firm close to Place Sathonay last year. Someone was in the process of removing a mosaic (马赛克) he had fixed on the road in front of their offices. By the time he arrived, the man was gone.
Part of that artwork may have disappeared, but many of Ememem’s creations remain dotted (分散的) throughout the city streets...about 350 and counting.
Ememem calls himself “the road’s surgeon”. He has written that the works are “a memory notebook of the city”. His works have been drawing more and more attention. “He’s a star of local street art,” says Lisa Mambre, the mayor of Lyon.“His work is so noticeable. Everyone you ask seems to know about it.”
Yet while Ememem’s works may be visible, he prefers to remain unknown to the Public. He refuses to be photographed and doesn’t give either phone or face-to-face interviews. Ememem’s agent, Guillaume Abou, who has known him for 15 years, can offer some insight. “He’s someone with a great urge to give,” says Abou. “He’s quite laid-back.“
Whoever he is and whatever his growing popularity brings, one thing is for sure: Ememem will continue to go out at night to beautify Lyon’s damaged roads. He sees his interventions not only as a service to the community, but also as a means of bringing beauty to daily life. “The goal,” he writes, “is to spread a touch of poetry under our shoes, to generate a moment of amazement, a smile.”
1. What did Ememem do after he received the call?| A．He called the police immediately. |
| B．He went to have a check himself. |
| C．He began repairing the artwork. |
| D．He set off to search for the thief. |
| A．Priceless. | B．Puzzling. | C．Inspiring. | D．Impressive. |
| A．He considers fame to be insignificant. |
| B．Many of his artworks have disappeared. |
| C．He is called the city’s memory notebook. |
| D．Street art becomes noticeable thanks to him. |
| A．To make his daily life colorful. |
| B．To share his understanding of art. |
| C．To fill people with surprise and delight. |
| D．To raise public awareness of community service. |
