What is great art? On the one hand, we can all see that great art is old art whi

题型：不详难度：来源：

What is great art? On the one hand, we can all see that great art is old art which is called great. But how do we know which art of our own times is great, and which will be forgotten? And who decides?
These are important questions, for the great art of the past often was not considered great during its own time. When Shakespeare and Charles Dickens were writing, for example, most critics considered them as hack (平庸的) writers with little or no literary ability.
Similarly, Van Gogh and many of the other Impressionist painters of the late nineteenth century were not allowed to participate in events involving what were thought to be the "real" painters of the time, and often they were very poor. Yet today their paintings often sell for millions of dollars, while those so-called "real" painters are now barely remembered.
So what makes great art? Can, for example, rock music be great art? Music videos? Cartoons and comics? Those who call themselves critics of the fine arts often have been the last to recognize great art in the past, and we can probably expect this to be the situation today.
Critics often don’t recognize great art because they tend to be prejudiced against what is popular. Popular works, whether they are novels, movies, or comics, are usually considered to be produced for the sake of money only, and not for the sake of art.
But popularity, it seems to me, is one of the three signs that a present-day work of art may come to be thought of as great. The other two are that it is groundbreaking, and that it is inherently (内在的) beautiful.
Many works have one or even two of these qualities of being popular, unusual, and beautiful. But having all the three often will mean that a work of art will someday be seen to be great, though it may take a good spoonful of time, such as a century or two, to know for sure.
小题1:The first paragraph is intended to__________.

A．lead to the following and arouse the reader’s curiosity

B．introduce some real painters to the readers

C．introduce the questions the writer wants to answer

D．explain what kind of art will become popular

小题2:The author used the examples of Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Van Gogh to prove _____.

A．these masters’ works have some shortcomings

B．these masters wouldn’t have been so successful without the critics

C．truly beautiful works of art are never understood when first created

D．great masters are often not acknowledged while they were alive

小题3:According to the author, great works _______.

A．may be presented in different forms

B．are generally valued by critics

C．are thought valuable because of their sale price

D．will lose their value if they’re not accepted

小题4:What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Critics have changed their attitudes to great works.

B．Most of the opinions of critics are valueless.

C．The work of art itself, not the critics, determines its greatness.

D．Works of Impressionist painters will be great one day.

答案

小题1:A
小题2:D
小题3:A
小题4:C

解析

文章论述了为什么艺术品是伟大的？
小题1:A 写作意图题。文章的第一段正是为了引起下文，引起读者的兴趣，故A正确。
小题2:D 推理题。作者举这几个例子都是想向人们说明很多伟大的艺术家在生前都没有被承认。
小题3:A 推理题。根据文章倒数第2段可知伟大的作品呈现的形式往往是多样性的，要受人欢迎，要有内在的美，还要groundbreaking，故A正确。
小题4:C 推理题。根据文章倒数3,4两段可知批评家并不能决定一个作品的伟大与否，决定作品伟大与否的是艺术品本身。故C正确。

举一反三

The city can seem a cold, mean place. In the middle of so many people hurrying about their own business, a person can feel alone among the millions of others.
There is a popular view that in cities, strangers are less likely to help an elderly person cross a street or call the police when they see a bike being stolen. Recently, a New Yorker named Casey Neistat did an experiment. He chained up his bike in several public places, then "stole" it in a number of obvious ways, such as using a hacksaw (钢锯). He filmed everything to see whether other New Yorkers would try to stop a shameless bike theft. The result? People just walked on by.
Is this evidence of an immoral, selfish urban society? Not necessarily. According to another recent study, the way city people mind their own business is about other factors besides morality (道德).
This is called the Bystander Effect, the theory that city people do not react because of the urban enviromnent they live in.
Psychologist Dr. Harold explained why people did not involve themselves in Neistat"s bike theft experiment with the Bystander Effect.
First, people who live in cities are surrounded by so much activity that they stop noticing what is going on around them. Second, they are less easy to surprise and assume every activity has a logical explanation.
"The third is that people notice it, but they don"t know what to do," he continued. "And the fourth is fear — they know they should do something, but they"re afraid to challenge someone with a hacksaw."
A lack of concern is only a small reason why people don"t take action, concludes Dr. Harold.
Despite the results of Neistat"s experiment, there is also evidence of a sense of team spirit that connects people in cities. All it takes is a funny joke or a shared interest to start a conversation with someone at a bus stop. When city folk are in trouble, they come together for support — famously in New York on September 11, 2001.
City society is different, but that doesn"t mean it"s cold or mean — it just means it"s busy!
小题1:Casey Neistat fihned everything in the experiment with the purpose of .

A．proving that he was not the thief

B．telling people that bike theft was immoral

C．finding out who had a sense of right and wrong

D．making his experiment well-known to the public

小题2:We can infer from the third paragraph that morality .

A．can partly explain a selfish urban society

B．is what our society should pay special attention to

C．is the only factor that leads to a selfish urban society

D．is the root of the Bystander Effect mentioned in the passage

小题3:The underlined part September 11, 2001 in Paragraph 9 serves as .

A．a reminder of the sad memories

B．a way to prove Dr Harold"s Bystander effect

C．evidence that city life can be really dangerous

D．an example to show team spirit connecting city people

小题4:As can be inferred from the passage, the writer probably .

A．criticizes the loss of morality in urban society

B．feels sad about the result of Neistat"s experiment

C．thinks city people are too busy to care about others

D．disagrees that city life sometimes can be cold and mean

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

Bali is an Indonesia island that is rich in indigenous （本土的） culture．A lot of people say that Balinese culture is unique and that the people of Bali have always been contented with the "now"．If you ask a Balinese person what heaven is like, the probable answer will be "just like Bali"．This only goes to show that most Balinese people are happy to be where they are and never worry．
One factor that contributes to this laidback lifestyle is the culture of close family ties in Bali．In the Balinese culture, support is always available．Balinese extended families are so tightly knit that all members usually reside in the same complex．
Balinese culture is based on a form of this religion, which is called "Hindu Darma"．This religion reached the island during the eleventh century．Most of the family customs and
traditions as well as community lifestyles of the Balinese people are influenced by this．The religious influence even expands widely into the arts, which makes Bali distinct from the rest of Indonesia．
In spite of the fact that tourists flood to the island every year, Balinese people have managed to conserve their culture．Almost every native of Bali is an artist in some form or another．Parents and villagers have passed on their skills to their children, who all seem to have inclinations （爱好） either to music, dance, painting, and decor．
Another remarkable mark of the Balinese culture is the series of ceremonies and rituals known as the Manusa Yadnya．This marks the different stages of Balinese life．Cremation （火葬） is very popular on this island—and unlike in the West, death is a joyous and colorful event for the Balinese．
小题1:What do we know about Balinese according to the first two paragraphs?

A．They lead a very relaxing but unwealthy life．

B．They live in large families and are close to each other．

C．Their family members are distributed in different places．

D．Their extended families live too close together to get along well．

小题2:Bali is distinguished from the rest of Indonesia by _____．

A．people"s tight family relationship

B．the family customs and traditions

C．people"s great affection for religion

D．the influence of Hinduism on their culture

小题3:The underlined word "conserve" in Para．4 can be best replaced by "_____"．

A．preserve

B．spread

C．form

D．expand

小题4:When a person dies in Bali, it is a common practice to _____．

A．express deep sorrow at his death

B．celebrate the death like a great event

C．sing and dance joyfully in his honor

D．remember what he did in his lifetime

小题5:What is the text mainly about?

A．Balinese religion．	B．The lifestyle of Balinese．
C．Balinese culture．	D．The tourism in Bali．

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

LONDON: What could possibly be wrong with planting trees? The advantages are obvious; they firm the soil, soak up (摄取) extra water and take carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) out of the atmosphere.
However, it now turns out that planting trees could add to global warming.
Tree roots do a great job of keeping soil firmly on the ground and out of the wind’s power. The problem is that some of those dust clouds play an important part in soaking up carbon dioxide.
Huge dust storms blow out over the oceans from dry parts of North Africa and central Asia. Tons of dust are lifted and left as a thin film over the ocean surface. The dust fuels oceanic life.
Dust from China is carried east and left in the Pacific Ocean. If a tree-planting programme there is successful and the dust supply reduced, the net result may be that less carbon dioxide gets locked away in the ocean.
Andy Ridgwell, an environmental scientist from the University of East Anglia, has spent the past few years studying dust and says his work “shows clearly the complexity of the system and the importance of not tinkering(粗劣地修补) with it without understanding the results. For this reason there is the need to focus(集中) on cutting carbon dioxide giving off rather than monkeying (瞎弄) about with the land surface.”
An American scientist, Robert Jackson, has shown that when native grassland areas are invaded(侵入) by trees, carbon is lost from the soil. “We are studying why the soil carbon disappears, but one theory is that trees do a lot more of their growing above ground compared to grasses, so less carbon goes directly into the soil from trees, ” says Jackson.
In wet areas of the world, the gain from trees absorbing carbon dioxide above ground seems to be outweighed(超过) by the loss of carbon from the soil below ground. Countries that plan to combat global warming by planting trees may have to think again. Solutions(解决办法) to environmental problems are often more complex than they first appear, and understanding the Earth’s climate is a very great challenge.
小题1:People usually hold the opinion that

A．huge dust storms can destroy carbon dioxide

B．huge dust storms can destroy the oceans on the earth

C．huge dust storms can’t do anything beneficial for man

D．planting trees is the only way to control huge dust storms

小题2:Andy Ridgwell, the environmental scientist, believes that

A．dust plays a more important part than trees

B．trees shouldn’t have been planted in dry places

C．carbon dioxide is harmful to everything on the earth

D．environmental problems are more complex than expected

小题3:Robert Jackson’s experiment proves that

A．grassland areas should be covered by forests

B．trees hold more carbon than grass

C．carbon can turn grass into dust

D．less carbon can make trees grow faster

小题4:The underlined word “combat” in the last paragraph means

A．learn about

B．fight against

C．live with

D．give up

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

America is a country on the move. In unheard of numbers, people of all ages are exercising their way to better health. According to the latest figures, 59 percent of American adults exercise regularly-up 12 percent from just two years ago and more than double the figure of 25 years ago. Even non-exercisers believe they would be more attractive and confident if they were more active.
It is hard not to get the message. The virtues of physical fitness are shown on magazine covers, postage stamps, and television ads of everything from beauty soaps to travel books. Exercise as a part of daily life did not catch on until the late 1960s when research by military doctors began to show the health benefits of doing regular physical exercises. Growing publicity (宣传) for races held in American cities helped fuel a strong interest in the ancient sport of running. Although running has leveled off in recent years as Americans have discovered equally rewarding—and sometimes safer-forms of exercise, such as walking and swimming, running remains the most popular form of exercise.
As the popularity of exercise continues to mount, so does scientific evidence of its health benefits. The key to fitness is exercising the major muscle groups vigorously (强有力地) enough to approximately double the heart rate and keep it doubled for 20 to 30 minutes at a time. Doing such physical exercises three times or more a week will produce considerable improvements in physical health in about three months.
小题1:It can be learnt from the passage that the health benefits of exercise ___________.

A．are to be further studied

B．are yet to be proved

C．are self evident

D．are supported by scientific evidence

小题2:A growing interest in sports developed after ______________.

A．an increasing number of races were held in American cities

B．research showed their health benefits

C．scientific evidence of health benefits was shown on TV ads

D．people got the message from magazine covers and postage stamps

小题3:Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．Running—A Popular Form of Sport

B．Scientific Evidence of Health Benefits

C．Different Forms of Exercise

D．Exercise—The Road to Health

小题4:Which of the following is closest in meaning to the phrase “leveled off” in the paragraph 2?

A．“reached its lowest level in popularity”

B．“stopped being popular”

C．“stopped increasing in popularity”

D．“become very popular”

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

No one knows yet the accurate number of lives which have been lost in this terrible fire .But reports suggest that it is more than one hundred .
A wall of flames fifty feet high and at least one hundred and fifty miles wide is now racing towards the forests and rich farmlands of southern Victoria . Towns less than one hundred miles from Melbourne will be in danger unless the wind changes . People are rushing excitedly into the streets . The police have warned them not to see the fire but many people are doing so .
The cause of the fire is unknown . No rain has fallen in this part of Australia for three months , and the hot , north-west wind from the great central desert is blowing at more than thirty miles an hour .
The firefighters are travelling to the fire by road , rail and air . But it is not easy to get there . Flames and fallen trees have cut off or blocked roads and railway lines . The thick smoke often prevents them from finding the air strips (飞机跑道).
It is said that the fire has brought the greater danger to the country since the Second World War .
小题1:By the time the article was written , the fire .

A．had just broken out	B．had been put out
C．was spreading violently	D．was coming to an end

小题2:The writer wrote this article mainly to tell people .

A．the fire was terrible and dangerous

B．it was impossible to put out the fire

C．more than one hundred people died of the fire

D．to join in the fight against the fire

小题3:In the 4th paragraph , the writer suggested that .

A．the fire would soon be controlled by the firefighters

B．it would be very difficult to put out the fire

C．the government was paying great attention to the fire

D．the fire had caused great losses and the airport was in ganger

小题4:The underlined word “ accurate” in the first sentence has the same meaning as .

A．recent

B．whole

C．rough

D．exact

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案