1 . Michelle Yeoh won best actress at the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday night becoming the first Asian woman to win the award.

Yeoh, who earned the award for her excellent performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, is the fifth Asian to win an Oscar in an acting category and the first to win in a lead acting category. “For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is an example of hope and possibilities. This is evidence to dream big, and dreams do come true,” Yeoh said while accepting her Oscar.

In Everything Everywhere All at Once, Yeoh played Evelyn Wang, an immigrant mother and laundromat owner who’s unexpectedly tasked with saving the multiverse (多元宇宙) from destruction. “And, ladies, don’t let anybody tell you that you are ever past your prime. Never give up.” Yeoh said in her acceptance speech. “I have to dedicate this to my mom—all the moms in the world. Because they are really the superheroes, and without them, none of us would be here tonight.”

Yeoh first made a name for herself in Hong Kong cinema, becoming a prolific and respected martial arts action star in the late 1980s and the 1990s. As an actor who managed not to play the typical “damsel in distress” stereotypes in action movies and instead often played crime-fighting heroes, Yeoh became known as a feminist pioneer in entertainment.

“We believe in our Asian talent. We believe all of us have stories that need to be told and need to be embraced,” Yeoh said in an interview with NBC.

1. What is Everything Everywhere All at Once?

A．A book.

B．An actress.

C．A film.

D．An award.

2. Who does Michelle Yeoh owe her success to?

A．Her friend.

B．Her mother.

C．Her superhero.

D．Her teacher.

3. Where does the text probably come from?

A．A news report.

B．A business report.

C．A science magazine.

D．A research plan.

2 . Emma Towers-Evans first picked up a pencil when she was just two years old and said her love for drawing originated from Free Willy, a film about killer whales. Emma loved drawing as a hobby during her childhood and teens, but never thought it could be a future career. But after attending the University of Surrey for music and sound-recording, she began drawing portraits (肖像) of people’s pets. Now she creates incredible portraits of people and animals which are so realistic that they look like photos.

As her success continued, Emma decided to focus on drawing full-time and set up her own website. Now the pencil artist sells her own original work and 25 percent of earnings from sales of her big cat series of prints go toward conservation charities like the Born Free Foundation and LionAid.

The 29-year-old often completes the drawings on a large piece of Al or A0 paper and estimates each piece of artwork can have upwards of 0.5 million individual pencil strokes (笔画). And it takes her up to 100 hours to draw an excellent hyper-realistic pencil drawing.

Since the pandemic lockdown, Emma has been making videos of her painting process and sharing them on TikTok, which have got 265,000 followers and 4.5 million likes. “The first one I posted was a time delay video of a portrait and I can’t believe how popular it has become. The comments and support I get are amazing,” the self-taught artist said. “It’s really exciting to see something come alive on the paper. It took me years of practice, patience, and dedication to get to where I am today. I think anyone can get to that level as long as they have the same determination and self-belief.”

1. What can we learn about Emma Towers-Evans?

A．She desired to be a painter as a little child.

B．She was especially good at drawing whales.

C．She majored in painting during her college years.

D．She managed to turn her hobby into a career.

2. What do the figures in paragraph 3 show?

A．Good artwork is physically demanding.

B．Pencil drawings come in various sizes.

C．Pencil drawing requires much patience.

D．Pencil drawing needs professional skills.

3. How did people react to Emma’s videos on TikTok?

A．They showed little interest in them.

B．They welcomed and enjoyed them.

C．They were confused by her drawing techniques.

D．They were disappointed by the long drawing process.

4. What message does Emma try to convey in the last paragraph?

A．Rome wasn’t built in a day.

B．Time and tide wait for no man.

C．Where there is life, there is hope.

D．All things are difficult before they are easy.

3 . John Myatt is an artist. He may not be the greatest artist in the world, but he is possibly the world’s greatest forger (伪造者). He is able to paint pictures in the style of famous artists like Monet and Matisse.

    1     This unusual skill got Myatt into a lot of trouble in the 1990s. For many years he taught art at a secondary school, but then he got divorced (离婚) and he gave up his job to spend more time with his children. In order to make some money he started painting pictures in the style of famous artists and selling them.

    2     He was honest about his work—he wrote his name on the back, and he sold them for ￡150 each. However, one of his customers, John Drewe, started to resell Myatt’s paintings as genuine, original works. Drewe had sold one of Myatt’s paintings for￡25,000. He contacted Myatt and suggested that they go into business together. Myatt agreed. He continued to paint and Drewe sold his paintings to art collectors around the world.     3    

The amazing thing is that Myatt painted his pictures with decorator’s paint.     4     But it soon came to an end. Drewe was divorced too, and his ex-wife found out about the forgeries. She went to the police and they arrested Dewe and Myatt. At their trial Drewe was sent to prison for six years and Myatt for less than one year.

    5     When he came out he started to produce pictures in the style of famous artists again. But he put his name on the back, as he’d done before he met Drewe. Myatt is now famous and instead of charging￡150 for a painting, he can charge￡40-50,000.

A．It wasn’t illegal.

B．Then he decided to stop copying famous paintings.

C．It was the same paint that people use to paint houses!

D．Myatt only spent four months in prison for good behavior.

E．That’s more than Drewe gave him for his ‘genuine’ paintings!

F．His pictures are so good that experts can’t tell that they are not originals.

G．Between 1986 and 1994 they sold about 200 paintings and made over a million pounds.

4 . The question of whether it is possible to dissociate the artist from their work has been debated for a long time. Even though positive critical reviews about an artist’s behavior can improve their artistic accomplishments, people should treat artists as individuals who have lived apart from their work.

One of the reasons is that even artists have shortcomings. Like any other human being, an artist can err, and we cannot be severely judgmental of every person that falls into error. Cancel culture with endless criticism is concerned more with how we should disregard the artists when they make mistakes than with how their weaknesses can be used by the artists to create art that is unique.

Perhaps Kevin Hart’s words support this thought. He asks, “When did we get to a point where life was supposed to be perfect? Where people were supposed to operate perfectly all the time?” When people start seeing artists as human beings, they’ll see them for who they are and review their behavior not on the basis of their art but on the basis of their humanity.

It should be also noted that there are works of art that are inspired by the artist’s experience. For example, the themes in the Harry Potter books are so connected with J. K. Rowling’s wicked worldview that it is virtually impossible to distinguish the two from each other. Since canceling artists based on their worldview would mean the reception to their art will suffer, artists become tense and unwilling to express themselves, which will kill creativity, eventually leading to the death of art. Comedians, singers or painters who should be integrating contemporary issues with their works become boring, and art stops functioning as the social mirror it ought to be.

An artist who makes mistakes still has art with intrinsic (内在的) value, benefiting entire communities or cultures. For instance, when Kendrick Lamar launched his album and frequently used the F-slur in one of his songs, there was much-heated discussion. He was entirely mistaken in using the F-slur, but as an artist, he still had a wide-reaching impact on society. Similarly, one can respect the late Michael Jackson because of how he impacted pop music and the inclusion of black musicians in mainstream media despite his personal weaknesses, opinions, worldviews and associations.

While these artists may engage in their terrible behavior, the art they produce today may serve as an example for others to produce outstanding work in the future. Some would refer to this process as a cycle. Good art should, therefore, be judged due to its value and not the value of the artist.

1. Which would Kevin Hart probably agree with?

A．People should perform perfectly all the time.

B．Artists’ shortcomings might be their inspiration.

C．If artists have weaknesses, we’d better cancel them.

D．Artists should be evaluated based on their humanity.

2. Why will “cancel culture” lead to the death of art?

A．Artists will be unwilling to create any artwork.

B．Artists will stop concerning with contemporary issues.

C．Artists will lose their desire for expression and creativity.

D．Artworks are unavoidably inspired by artists’ experiences.

3. How can an artist with mistakes benefit others?

A．The artist may make some new words popular.

B．The artist’s opinions may provoke heated discussion.

C．The artist will benefit entire communities or cultures.

D．The artist’s art may give others ideas of artistic creation.

4. Which would be the best title of the passage?

A．Judge Art Due to Its Value

B．Separate the Art From the Artist

C．Regard Artists as Human Beings

D．Stop Criticizing Artists’ Behavior

5 . Nearly 200 years after Ludwig van Beethoven’s death, researchers have pulled DNA from his hair, searching for clues about his health problems and hearing loss.

They weren’t able to solve the mystery of the German composer’s deafness or stomach problems. But they did find a genetic risk for liver disease, plus a liver-damaging hepatitis B(乙型肝炎 ) infection in the last months of his life. These factors, together with his frequent drinking, were probably enough to cause the liver failure that is widely believed to have killed him, according to a study published in the journal Current Biology.

March 26 marked the 196th anniversary of Beethoven’s death in Vienna in 1827, at the age of 56. The composer himself wrote that he wanted doctors to study his health problems after he died. Since his death, scientists have long tried to put together Beethoven’s medical history and have suggested various possible explanations for his many health problems.

Now, with advanced DNA technology, researchers have been able to pull genetic clues from some samples of Beethoven’s hair that were cut off and kept in his memory. Using almost 3 meters of Beethoven’s hair, scientists were able to pull out pieces of DNA and put together a genome that they could study for signs of genetic disease.

The researchers didn’t find any clear signs of what caused Beethoven’s hearing loss or stomach problems. However, they found two things probably weren’t causes: celiac disease(腹泻病)— a health problem caused by eating the gluten protein — and lactose ( 乳 糖 ) intolerance — a health problem caused by the lactose sugar in milk.

The researchers also made a surprising discovery: when they tested DNA from living members of the Beethoven family, scientists found a difference in the Y chromosomes (染色体) that get passed down on the father’s side. The Y chromosomes from five men in Beethoven’s family matched each other — but they didn’t match the composer’s. This suggests that sometime before Beethoven was born, a child in the composer’s family was born from an extramarital relationship.

1. What is the purpose of the research?

A．To fulfill Beethoven’s wishes of studying for signs of genetic disease.

B．To introduce the advantages of DNA technology in medical researches.

C．To prove that Beethoven’s hearing loss was not caused by celiac disease.

D．To figure out the reasons for Beethoven’s deafness and health problems.

2. According to paragraph 2, what is generally considered to be the cause of Beethoven’s death?

A．A liver-damaging infection and hearing loss.

B．The liver disease and too much drinking.

C．The lung cancer together with alcohol drinking.

D．A genetic risk of liver disease and stomach problems.

3. What can be inferred from the article?

A．All the men in Beethoven’s family have the same Y chromosome.

B．Frequent drinking will definitely cause liver failure and even death.

C．Scientists pull out pieces of DNA by using more than 3 meters of Beethoven’s hair.

D．Celiac disease is not the probable cause of Beethoven’s hearing or stomach problems.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Lactose Sugar in Milk Can Cause Celiac Disease.

B．DNA from Hair Offers Clues for Beethoven’s Disease.

C．Advanced DNA Technology Help Make New Discovery.

D．Researchers Have Solved Mystery of Beethoven’s deafness.

6 . 阅读下面课内节选文本，从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出一个或多个正确的选项。

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of music. In his twenties, he had been very famous for his skills on the piano, but then he began to lose his hearing. Beethoven thought about giving up, but in the end he continued to write music. Inspired by his struggles with deafness, the composer produced some amazing pieces, including his Symphony No.9 in D minor, whose debut(首次演出)was conducted by Beethoven himself.

Before the performance, the backstage atmosphere at a very famous theatre in Vienna was tense. Beethoven was afraid that the performance would be a disaster. After all, what use is a conductor who could not hear his orchestra-even if he is a musical genius?

The audience didn’t hesitate to applaud as the famous composer walked onto the stage for the first time in 12 years. Despite being deaf, Beethoven energetically conducted the orchestra, together with the musical director, Michael Umlauf. To his surprise, the symphony was so successful that all the audience couldn’t help clapping and cheering.The audience was equally shocked to learn that the composer was deaf and still able to create such amazing music.

1. What was the inspiration for Beethoven’s works according to the text?

A．His great skills on the piano.

B．The recognition from others.

C．The atmosphere in Germany.

D．His struggles with hearing loss.

2. How did Beethoven feel before the performance?

A．Excited.

B．Worried.

C．Unconfident.

D．Disappointed.

7 . Four People Pushing Anamorphic (变形) Art to New Limits

Adry del Rocio

Mexican street artist Adry del Rocio creates 3D murals (壁画). In a piece for Den Helder City in the Netherlands, a playful seal intertwines (缠绕) between impossible column structures that reminds people of the mind-bending imaginings of the classic modernist artist MC Escher. In 2019, she created the award-winning “Swimming in red” for the International Street Art Festival in Brande, Denmark. The killing of whales in the Faroe Islands is marked by her work, where these beautiful mammals jump and play out of a sea of crimson, their tails changing into flowers.

Jonty Hurwitz

Using a variety of materials, the London artist/scientist performs a number of computer calculations, enabling him to warp (扭曲), say, an endangered frog or horse or even, basketball players into unrecognizable objects.

James Nizam

James Nizam works with light to transform a space. In 2016’s “Frieze”, a single beam of sunlight enters a common room through a carefully made hole. The resulting flood of light into the space creates an almost dreamlike feel, with the shining beams creating captivating lines and divisions in what cannot now be described as an empty room. Nizam is also known for transforming rooms by removing walls and floorboards to create anamorphic effects like in “Orthodrome”.

John Pugh

In a career extending over 30 years, world-famous American artist John Pugh has been creating show-stopping trompe L’oeil murals ( French for “deceiving the eye”) on a grand scale, whether it be giant snakes crashing through solid walls or revealing hidden temples and buildings by “peeling away” completely flat surfaces.

1. Who created the work “Frieze”?

A．Adry del Rocio.

B．Jonty Hurwitz.

C．James Nizam.

D．John Pugh.

2. What’s the nationality of John Pugh?

A．He is French.

B．He is American.

C．He is Mexican.

D．He is British.

3. What do the four artists have in common?

A．Their works won many awards.	B．They are fond of creating 3D murals.
C．Their works have reached a new height.	D．They are famous for transforming rooms.

8 . Have you ever thought of being an actress and having to finish a show you started and at the same time, battling a life-threatening illness? That is what Emilia Clarke did. You may know her for her famous role of Daenerys Targaryen from the hit TV series Game of Thrones. This role skyrocketed her to stardom and made a big impact on her life. However, behind the scenes, Clarke had been battling a life-threatening illness for most of the first few seasons.

Just after finishing the first scazon of Game of Thrones, she faced an awful situation following the events of being rushed to the hospital after a workout session at the gym. Her worst fears were realized when she was diagnosed with subarachnoid hemorrhage, a kind of disease that kills once out of three people diagnosed with it. She was immediately told that she needed to undergo surgery to remove her brain aneurysm (动脉瘤) but she was a bit skeptical about it since she had a busy life and a busy schedule.

Ultimately, she had to go under the knife and the recovery was very miserable for her. She felt so hard to memorize and remember that it came to the point that she couldn’t even remember her name. At that point, she was extremely desperate since she believed that her life depended on communication and memorization so her life wasn’t worth anything. Luckily, a month later, Clarke recovered well and was able to go home just a few weeks before the start of filming for the 2nd season of Game of Thrones.

After the third season, doctors found out that there was another brain aneurysm that needed immediate surgery. Recovery had been more painful than before and Clarke spent a month in hospital experiencing all sorts of anxiety and depression. Fortunately, she overcame this adversity again. She recovered well and was able to finish all eight seasons of Game of Thrones. Right now, she’s just waiting for all the beauty and surprises that life can bring.

1. What can we know about Emilia Clarke?

A．She hesitated about the first surgery.

B．She suffered less during the second recovery

C．She fought the disease for eight seasons of Game of Thrones.

D．She missed the filming of the 2nd season of Game of Thrones.

2. Why was Emilia Clarke frustrated by the first diagnosis?

A．She wasn’t sure of her sports ability.

B．She was afraid of her upcoming surgery.

C．She wasn’t confident of her acting skills.

D．She was worried about her career development.

3. What words can be used to describe Emilia Clarke?

A．Decent and talented.

B．Diligent and tough.

C．Daring and thoughtful.

D．Dedicated and trustworthy.

4. Which entry can help you access the text?

A．Fashion.

B．Science.

C．Health.

D．Celebrity.

9 . To the music of Verdi’s Ave Maria, Bulgarian-born soprano Raina Kabaivanska opened the funeral service for her longtime friend and colleague Luciano Pavarotti in the cathedral of Modena. Archbishop Benito Cocchi read a message of condolence from Pope Benedict. In it, the pope said Pavarotti had “honored the divine gift of music through his extraordinary interpretative talent.”

Pavarotti’s white maple casket was covered in sunflowers-his favorite-and laid before the altar. Since his death on Thursday, some 100,000 people of all ages have filed past his coffin in the cathedral, paying last respects to the maestro. Music resounded throughout the service. Tenor Andrea Bocelli sang Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus.” Family members, close friends as well as dignitaries and celebrities attended the invitation-only service. Among those attending were Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, U2 lead singer Bono, and film director Franco Zeffirelli.

Across Italy, admirers watched the service live on television, and thousands of ordinary citizens gathered in the square outside the cathedral and followed the service on a giant screen. One admirer outside the church said Pavarotti would never die. He’s said he is convinced that Pavarotti is not dead because he will continue to live with his voice, with his songs, and he will always remain in our hearts.

Applause broke out as the casket was carried outside the church as loudspeakers amplified a recording of Pavarotti singing arias by Verdi.

As a special honor for a man of humble origins who became Italy’s greatest cultural ambassador, an air force team flew over the cathedral, streaking the sky in the white, red and green colors of the Italian flag.

1. The music played throughout the service was sung by         .

A．Raina Kabaivanska	B．Tenor Andrea Bocelli
C．Bono	D．Verdi

2. All attended Pavarotti’s funeral service except         .

A．People of all ages filing past his coffin in the cathedral.

B．family members and close friends of Pavarotti.

C．Italian Prime Minister and former U.N Secretary General.

D．dignitaries and celebrities invited.

3. Which of the following sentences is Not True?

A．Pavarotti is Italy’s greatest cultural ambassador with extraordinary talent.

B．Pavarotti will always remain in the heart of his admirers across the country.

C．Tenor Andrea Bocelli attended Pavarotti’s funeral solemnly and respectfully.

D．To show people’s respect, the funeral was completed with an air force gun salute.

10 . Quintet Garden Concerts for Kids is a free outdoor music series for kids and their families in the Getty Center’s Central Garden.

Inez Quintet

May 13 and 14, 2023

Miami native Inez celebrates Haitian art and culture through energetic drumming and singing, traditional dances, and visual art. Songs and phrases explore themes of community and gratitude. Joined onstage by her father Jan Sebon and other talented young artists, Inez leads children on a journey to a land rich with history.

The Lucky Band

May 16 and 17, 2023

The Lucky Band creates music sounds rooted in their child-friendly imaginations, with fresh pop beats. Lucky Diuz and Aisha Gaddis have put out six award-winning records that aim at exploring all the wonder and joy of a young person’s life. Spanish and English language his earned them several awards.

Okee Dokee Brothers

May 20 and 21, 2023

As childhood friends growing up in Denver, Colorado, Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing were always exploring the outdoors, rafting down their neighborhood river or discovering hiking trails through the Rocky Mountains. Now, as the Grammy Award-winning Okee Dokee Brothers, they have put this passion for the outdoors at the heart of their American folk music.

Elena Moon Park and Friends

May 23 and 24, 2023

Elena is the leader of Elena Moon Park and Friends, a band that celebrates folk and children’s music from all over East Asia, mixed with various musical traditions, languages, styles, and stories. She leads a fun and adventurous group of musicians for this cross cultural musical event. Expect to dance and sing tunes in Asian languages !

1. What does the Inez Quintet inspire the audience to do?

A．Explore a young person’s life.

B．Learn about Haitian history.

C．Dip into American folk music.

D．Build cross-cultural music bond.

2. Who had a childhood connected with the Rocky Mountains?

A．Elena.

B．Jan Sebon.

C．Joe Mailander.

D．Alisha Gaddis.

3. When can you attend a concert about children’s music from East Asia?

A．May 13, 2023.

B．May 17, 2023.

C．May 21, 2023.

D．May 24, 2023.