1. How many Grammy Awards has John Legend won?
| A．One. | B．Six. | C．Nine. |
| A．At age four. | B．At age seven. | C．At age eight. |
| A．He met Lauryn Hill. |
| B．He graduated from college. |
| C．He released two albums of his own. |
| A．His college teacher. | B．A famous songwriter. | C．A poet named J. Ivy. |
2 . Rebecca Williams, 42, from Australia, has been doing dubbing (配音) work in Beijing for many years. When she was very young, she would unconsciously imitate other peopled voices, not to make fun of them, but more out of habit. “My voice has always been very changeable, depending on who I’m talking to,” she said. She never expected this habit to land her a dubbing job in China in the future.
At 18, Williams was an exchange student at the University of the Nations in Hawaii, the U. S. Like most new adults, she was thinking about what to do with her life. Then, a group of exchange students from China visited the school. “They were sharing everyday life in China. As they were talking, something inside me got lit on fire,” she said. At that time, she realized her future would lie in China.
After graduation, Williams came to China and got into dubbing by chance. At this point, she has dubbed for nearly 100 English teaching films, TV shows and movies. Williams has cooperated with the StarTimes. The StarTimes has a TV network in more than 30 African countries. Most of the TV shows she has dubbed for are shown in African. “I think it’s a really great way to bridge cultures, to allow people abroad to watch some of the plays that Chinese people watch, and have a better understanding of Chinese life, but in a language they can understand,” Williams said.
Williams has lived in China for twenty years. She used to visit Australia once every two years. Luckily, there’s no time difference between her hometown of Esperance and Beijing. And thanks to advanced mobile networks, she can just pick up her phone and video chat with her family whenever they feel like it. “That helps me a lot,” Williams said.
Williams has become more and more at home in China and she sees China as her second hometown.
1. Why did Williams imitate other people’s voices?| A．It was her usual behavior. |
| B．She expected to find a dubbing job in China. |
| C．She enjoyed showing her unique talent. |
| D．She did it just to make fun of them. |
| A．Embarrassed. | B．Bored. | C．Excited. | D．Confused. |
| A．It calls for teamwork. |
| B．It’s helpful to cultural exchanges. |
| C．It’s more attractive to foreigners. |
| D．It requires a set of excellent skills. |
| A．Williams’ connection with her family. |
| B．Williams’ plans for the next few years. |
| C．Williams’ best wishes to her hometown. |
| D．Williams’ addiction to the mobile phone. |
3 . In high school Norman Greenstein was a productive doodler(涂鸦手), and created lots of paintings. When he
After his
With the help of his son, Norman was able to start a
In 2021, an online
| A．showed | B．offered | C．conveyed | D．assigned |
| A．set | B．spit | C．sneeze | D．skip |
| A．still | B．occasionally | C．never | D．frequently |
| A．retirement | B．exhibition | C．graduation | D．marriage |
| A．support | B．remove | C．judge | D．replace |
| A．calling | B．longing | C．praying | D．waiting |
| A．unbelievable | B．dark | C．embarrassing | D．unsolved |
| A．restore | B．refresh | C．realize | D．release |
| A．project | B．request | C．competition | D．reform |
| A．spotted | B．recommended | C．developed | D．regarded |
| A．thrilling | B．plain | C．tough | D．stressful |
| A．drama | B．contest | C．programme | D．gallery |
| A．published | B．copied | C．revised | D．examined |
| A．ending with | B．working on | C．relying on | D．paying for |
| A．salary | B．reward | C．sale | D．allowance |
1. When did Beethoven pass away?
| A．In 1756. | B．In 1770. | C．In 1827. |
| A．His music is still popular. |
| B．He worked hard to spread his music. |
| C．He made his works when he was deaf. |
| A．Mozart. | B．Haydn. | C．Bach. |
| A．Quiet and frank. | B．Serious and exact. | C．Wild and emotional. |
A delicate pottery-making video made a hit on TikTok, the global version of the Chinese app DouYin, leading to the
Wang Wen hua,
6 . Arun Kumar Bajaj has a very unusual skill——he can paint with a sewing machine. Technically, it’s embroidering(刺绣), not painting, but his artworks are so detailed that they can pass paintings to the untrained eyes. And the fact that he does it all with a sewing machine just makes it that much more impressive.
Arun was really good at drawing and painting while growing up and dreamed of becoming a famous painter, but his father died suddenly 15 years ago, which destroyed his plans and forced him to give up school in order to run the family business. His father was a tailor and he became one too, but he didn’t let the artist in him die. He started “painting” with needle and thread, but instead of using his hands, he decided on a rather unusual tool—-the sewing machine. It took him a while to master this unique art form, but today he is recognized as the world’s only sewing machine artist. His works become very popular both in India and abroad. It’s easy to see why, just by looking at them, but what really makes his embroideries special is the tool he uses.
“You need to be very careful because once you’ve stitched the cloth, there’s no way you can repair it, ” Arun said. “It’s all done in a single layer to give the painting a neat look. ”
Some of Arun’s most impressive works include a 4x2 feet painting of the court of Ranjit Singh which took the artist over a year to finish. Arun runs a tailoring business in the Adalat Bazar of Patiala, but he devotes a lot of his time to his artistic dream as well.
1. Why do Arun's paintings leave a deep impression on people?| A．They have rich content. | B．They take many years to finish. |
| C．They give people a sense of satisfaction. | D．They are finished with a sewing machine. |
| A．His father’s sudden death. | B．His father’s serious illness. |
| C．His love for sewing machines. | D．Lack of managers in his family business. |
| A．Keep stitching the cloth without interruption. |
| B．Stitch the cloth again when making a mistake. |
| C．Be very careful to make sure paintings look neat. |
| D．Make sure the cloth he uses is very strong. |
| A．Arun’s Wonderful Life Journey | B．Arun’s Most Interesting Works |
| C．Constant Effort Needed to Succeed | D．The World’s Only Sewing Machine Painter |
7 . In London a painting show was on in Frida’s honor. Her workings were described as “a ribbon around a bomb”, which suggests Frida had a big influence on the art of her time. Unfortunately, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City, Frida was attacked by polio (小儿麻痹症) at the age of seven. Her spine (脊柱) became bent as she grew older. Then, a severe school-bus crash broke her back in several places. Throughout her life, despite many operations on her, nothing can be able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Frida learned to paint by herself.
In 1929, she got married to Diego, another famous Mexican artist. The husband’s strong influence on his wife’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and 1940s, even in Mexico. Her first one-woman show in her motherland was not held until 1953. For more than a decade after her passing away in 1954, Frida’s works still remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last.
1. What does the underlined part mean?| A．A much stronger person. | B．A far finer artist. |
| C．A much more famous person. | D．A far more gifted artist. |
| A．polio | B．her bent spine |
| C．the back injuries | D．the operations on her |
| A．1970s | B．1950s | C．1940s | D．1930s |
| A．Sympathy. | B．Encouragement. | C．Devotion. | D．Worry. |
8 . Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)
One of the most influential figures of the Post-Impressionism movement in France, Vincent Van Gogh is also seen as a significant pioneer of 20th century Expressionism. Although he didn’t start painting until the final 10 years of his life and failed to sell a single work during his lifetime, his paintings and drawings are now some of the world’s best known works of modern art. Van Gogh is now one of the greatest modern artists.
Georges Seurat (1859-1891)
One of the most famous Post-Impressionist painters of the 1880s in France, the short-lived French artist Georges Seurat is noted for his invention of the colourist technique known as Pointillism, a form of Divisionism. In so doing, he pioneered the new style of Neo-Impressionism. Thanks to Seurat and his contemporary Paul Signac, it had a major influence on Italian Divisionism and on several other styles of Post-Impressionist painting. One of the great modern artists, Seurat died in his prime (鼎盛时期) at the age of 31.
Jules Cheret (1836-1932)
The painter and printmaker Jules Cheret was a key figure in French painting during the late 19th century, and the first artist to make his reputation in the medium of poster art. Cheret was a key figure in the history of poster art, producing more than 1, 000 posters, beginning with his 1867 advertisement for Sarah Bernardt.
Claude Monet (1840-1926)
A French painter and founder of the Impressionist movement, Claude Monet liked to paint outside and often painted the same scene at different times of the year to capture (捕捉) natural changes in colour and light. He also had a famous garden at his house in Giverny, in which he produced some of his most famous paintings of water-lily ponds.
1. What is special about Vincent Van Gogh?| A．He refused to sell his works. | B．He passed away very young. |
| C．He gained fame after death. | D．He influenced other artists. |
| A．Vincent V an Gogh. | B．Georges Seurat. |
| C．Jules Cheret. | D．Claude Monet. |
| A．They are received as realists. | B．They are regarded as pioneers. |
| C．They focused on the same theme. | D．They used the same painting techniques. |
9 . Since Kelsea Ballerini appeared on the Nashville scene in 2015, she’s been known for her cheerful songs and energetic personality. “I’ve always presented myself as a very happy-go-lucky person,” she says, “but there’s more.” Indeed, in her new poetry book Feel Your Way Through, the “Half of My Hometown” singer, 28, shows how she found strength after a difficult youth.
In her teen years Ballerini struggled with bulimia. “My Parents had just gotten divorced, and I think for me, it was a source of control,”she says of her eating disorder. After passing out several times, she finally sought help at 18. “It’s a journey, and it’s never-ending.” Life in the spotlight (聚光灯) can sometimes worsen her body-image issues, but she’s learned how to deal with them. Today she’s in a much healthier spot, and she is much more gentle with how she talks to herself.
Ballerini faced perhaps her biggest emotional challenge during her second year in high school, when she watched a friend die in a school shooting in her native Knoxville, Tenn.“There’s a moment in everyone’s life when something happens, and you go,’Life is short’, and that was mine,” Ballerini says, adding that she still suffers PTSD from the terrible event. “Fortunately, everyone close to me knows about it, and they help me.”
One of Ballerini’s biggest supporters is her husband, fellow singer Morgan Evans, 36. Because of her parents’ divorce, she says,“I made up my mind that I was never going to get married.” But with Evans, she adds,“I have a healthier idea of marriage. I don’t see it as a fairy tale. It’s work, but it’s worth it.”
1. Why is Ballerini popular?| A．Because she has a sweet voice. |
| B．Because she always has good luck. |
| C．Because her experiences are moving. |
| D．Because her songs always cheer people up. |
| A．Her difficult youth. . | B．Her parents’ divorce. |
| C．Her eating disorder. | D．Her mental challenge. |
| A．She shot her friend dead by accident. |
| B．She has forgotten the school shooting. |
| C．She was saved by her friends on the spot. |
| D．She got emotional problems after the event. |
| A．Every dog has his day. |
| B．Bad times make you strong. |
| C．Failure is the mother of success. |
| D．Nothing is difficult to a willing heart. |
Animated movies use drawings instead of real people. Artists must draw thousands of pictures and each picture must be a little different. For example, if the movie-maker wants to show a girl running, the artist must draw her feet in different places in each picture. When the pictures are shown very quickly, one after the other, it looks like the girl is running. Walt Disney was not the first or only person to use animation in movies, but he is the most renowned. His first Mickey Mouse cartoon, produced in 1927, was called Plane Crazy. This was a short, silent movie about the adventures of a little mouse.
Many people in the movie business thought that animation was only appropriate for short cartoons. Disney did not agree with them. He believed that he could tell any kind of story using animation. His first long movie was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Disney spent all his money making this movie. Fortunately, it was a great success. He made Pinocchio next and then Dumbo (about a baby elephant), and he didn’t look back after this.
When we think of Disney, however, we don’t only think of movies, we also think of Disneyland. There are Disneylands in Japan, the United States of America and France. They are large parks where people can meet Disney’s characters and visit scenes from his movies.
Although Walt Disney made many of the famous movies many years ago, they are as popular now as they were when he made them. Today we can buy them on video and see them in movie theatres from time to time. When Walt Disney began making his animated cartoons all those years ago, people drew all the pictures by hand. Nowadays computers do much of his work.
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