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Passage
One
How
far would you walk to learn about something that interested
you? When he was young, Jacob Lawrence often walked more
than sixty blocks from his home in the Harlem section of
New York City to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Jacob wanted
to be an artist, and he believed that studying the famous
painting hanging in that museum would help him.
The year was 1930. The depression had brought
hard times. Many people were out of work, and money was
tight. The families who lived in Harlem suffered greatly
from the depression, but still the streets were filled with
energy and color.
As he walked through Harlem, Jacob noticed
the people on the stoops and sidewalks. He looked hard at
the churches and pool halls, the funeral parlors and barbershops.
Jacob stored those images in his mind, along with the images
of paintings he saw in the museum.
Jacob came from a poor family. His mother
believed there was little chance that her son could grow
up to be a successful painter. She wanted him to aim for
something more practical. But Jacob's teacher in an after-school
art program saw that the youngster was talented. Charles
Alston showed him how to use poster paints and crayons to
make papier-mache masks and cardboard stage sets.
As time passed, Alston let Jacob rent work
space in his own studio. That place was an exciting place
for a young black man struggling to become an artist. Many
creative people gathered there to talk about art and literature
and history.
From these conversations, Jacob learned
that history books often ignored the accomplishments of
African Americans. He decided to paint a series of pictures
dramatizing the story of a black hero. He chose Toussaint L'Ouverture, a slave from the Caribbean island of Haiti,
who had helped free his people from French rule.
Many people admired
Lawrence's pictures,
but he needed more than admiration. To help his family,
he often had to work at jobs that took him away from painting.
Then something encouraging happened. The government set
up the Federal Art Project to help struggling artists survive
the depression, and a sculptor named Augusta Savage got
Lawrence a job with the project. For eighteen months, Lawrence
was paid a salary to paint pictures. For the first time,
he felt like a professional artist.
(389 words)
1.
All of the following EXCEPT that ________ are True about
Jacob.( D
)
(a) he often visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art on foot
when he was young
(b) he grew up in poor circumstances
(c) he took art classes in art programs
(d) his mother loved him and supported him to become an
artist
2.
Walking a long distance, Jacob ________.(
D
)
(a) wasted a lot of time
(b) felt tired and exhausted
(c) had a good time sightseeing
(d) gained useful experiences for his painting
3.
Jacob decided to paint a series of pictures dramatizing
the story of a black hero because ________. (
A
)
(a) the achievements of African Americans were often neglected
in history books
(b) no one had ever painted black heroes
(c) he wanted black people to write books
(d) he was a black man from the Caribbean island of Haiti
4.
The government set up the Federal Art Project to ________. (
B
)
(a) provide a place for all creative people to display
their abilities
(b) finance those poor artists through depression
(c) offer permanent jobs to talented painters
and sculptors
(d) pay artists salary during eighteen months
5.
It can be inferred from the passage that _______. (
B
)
(a) Jacob gained both fame and wealth from painting
(b) Jacob won success because he was self-disciplined, persevering
and industrious
(c) Jacob attributed his success to his teacher Charles
Alson and his own mother
(d) Jacob was the favorite painter of the black people
TOP
Passage
Two
One evening, Denyce was invited to a dress
rehearsal for Beethoven's opera Fidelio at the Kennedy Center.
The story behind the 19th-century, German-language opera
sounded outdated to Denyce. But as the lights dimmed and
the curtains parted, a woman with a voice as smooth as pearls
sang of love and anguish, of strength and determination
－ things Denyce understood.
Later Denyce would tell Grove that the opera
was "the most wonderful thing I've ever seen." A few months
later, another teacher handed her a recording of "Voi Lo
sapete," from the opera Cavalleria Rusticana. Denyce, mesmerized
by the plaintiveness in the woman's voice, played the song
over and over until she knew it by heart.
"I want to be an opera
singer," Denyce announced
to Grove. The teacher saw a brightness, a glow from within.
Now music wasn't just an interest or even a passion for Denyce; it was her life.
The teen-ager, however, had no idea what
she was up against. Denyce was going to need a formal education,
and she would soon be competing with kids who'd had years
of training. She would have to learn the foreign languages
required for studying classical compositions. She'd have
to take the private lessons so essential to compete on a
world scale.
Then, too, there was the notion, held by
some, that black people simply didn't excel in opera. Even Denyce's mother was skeptical.
"But it's what I want to
do," Denyce insisted. "I want to travel the world. I want to perform. I want to
sing at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York."
Dorothy Grave's heart sank. All these years
she had toiled to give her children a better life. And now
Denyce, her most studious child, wanted to chuck the security
that was within her reach for the highly volatile world
of the performing arts.
"If anyone can make this happen, it's Denyce,"
Grove assured Dorothy. It was time to let go, Dorothy knew.
She would have to trust Denyce, and Grove, to navigate a
world she couldn't comprehend.
"If you want to be an opera singer that
badly, just work hard," Dorothy said finally, "and put your
trust in God."
(362 words)
6.
After Denyce watched Beethoven's Fidelio, she felt that
______. (
B
)
(a) the story behind the German-language opera
sounded a bit old-fashioned
(b) the woman singer was very good at transferring her deep
feelings
(c) she couldn't understand what the opera really meant
(d) the lights were too dark and the story was boring
7.
To Denyce, music was ______. (
D
)
(a) an interest
(b) a passion
(c) a bright career
(d) her own life
8.
Before she could become a famous singer, Denyce had to do
all the following except ______. (
D
)
(a) learning the foreign languages to understand classical
compositions better
(b) competing with those kids with years of training
(c) taking formal education and necessary private lessons
(d) working hard to earn enough money to support herself
9.
From the passage, we know that _______. (
C
)
(a) it was Denyce's mother who found the musical talents
in Denyce
(b) Denyce knew what she was up against when she wanted
to become a singer
(c) Denyce made up her mind to take up music though it was
much harder for a black
(d) Denyce was a studious child and often made her mother's
heart sank
10.
A good title for the above passage is: ______. (
A
)
(a) A Black Girl Decided to Be a Singer
(b) Denyce Faces a New World
(c) Denyce and Music
(d) Work Hard and Have Trust in God
TOP
Passage
Three
It is often said that the modern musical
show is America's most original and dynamic contribution
to world theater. Certainly in the last quarter of a century,
America has produced a spate of musical plays that have
been phenomenally popular abroad as well as at home. Yet
it is very difficult to explain what is new or characteristically
American about them, for the ingredients are centuries old.
For hundreds of years, drama and dance, music and verse
have been combined in different ways to compose grand and
light operas, operettas, musical reviews, and musical comedies.
Perhaps the uniqueness of America's contribution
to the genre can best be characterized through brief descriptions
of several of the most important and best-known musicals.
One of these is surely Oklahoma! by Richard Rodgers and
Oscar Hammerstein. When Oklahoma! burst into popularity
in 1943, Broadway audiences and critics were struck by its
originality, vitality, and excitement. This "new" type of
musical was conceived as a kind of total theater in which
the play (or "book"), the music and lyrics, the dancing,
and the scenic background were assembled not merely to provide
entertainment and variety, but to share intimately in a
single unifying concept. This meant that the play or story
that provides the structure of the piece must be itself
an interesting and cogent drama, not merely a skeleton on
which to hang a series of unrelated songs and dances and
jokes. It also meant that the songs and dances should arise
(or seem to arise) naturally out of the situations of the
story and should not interrupt the action but carry it forward.
At last dancing had become more than an extra and entertaining
frill; it had become a partner of equal importance. The
choreographer of Oklahoma!, Agnes de Mille, was given free
reign to create the dances in an American folk-dance style
expanded by all the virtuosity of classical ballet and modern
dance. The result was a brilliantly integrated performance
by the talented dancers and singing actors.
(335 words)
11.
According to the author, it is very difficult to say that
_______________. (
D
)
(a) the modern musical show is very original and dynamic
(b) the modern musical show is America's great contribution
to world theater
(c) American plays have been popular abroad
(d) what is original about American musical plays
12.
The
American musical _______.(
C
)
(a) is something totally modern
(b) has been centuries old .
(c) has its origins centuries old
(d) is a kind of grand and light operas
13.
Oklahoma! became popular in _________. (
C )
(a) 1940s
(b) 1950s
(c) 1960s
(d) 1970s
14.
The merits of Oklahoma! include all the following except
_________. (
C
)
(a) having entertainment and variety
(b) having an interesting and cogent story
(c) being supplied with some unrelated songs and dances
and jokes
(d) that the dancing is entertaining and meaningful to the
whole piece
15.
Agnes
de Mille was
_________. ( B
)
(a) a director of the musical
(b) a dancer in the musical
(c) a critic of the musical
(d) a singer in the musical
TOP
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还有题未答。
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