Every artist knows in his heart that he is saying something to the public.Not only does he want to say it well, but he wants it to be something that has not been said before.He hopes the public will listen and understand what he wants to teach them, and what he wants them to learn from him.
What visual artists like painters want to teach is easy to make out but difficult to explain, because painters translate their experience into shapes and colors, not words.They seem to feel that a certain selection of shapes and colors, out of the countless billions possible, is exceptionally interesting for them and worth showing to us.Without their work we should never have noticed these particular shapes and colors, or have felt the delight which they brought to the artist.
Most artists take their shapes and colors from the world of nature and from human bodies in motion and at rest; their choices indicate that these aspects of the world are worth looking at, that they contain beautiful sights.Contemporary artists might say that they merely choose subjects that provide an interesting pattern, that there is nothing more in it.Yet even they do not choose entirely without reference to the character of their subjects.
If one painter chooses to paint a decaying leg and another a lake in moonlight, each of them is directing our attention to a certain aspect of the world.Each painter is telling us something, showing us something, emphasizing something—all of which means that, consciously or unconsciously, he is trying to teach us.
1.An artist hopes that the public will ____.
A.understand him and learn from him
B.notice only shapes and colors in his work
C.teach him something
D.believe what he says in his work
2.It is hard to explain what a painter is saying, because he/ she ___.
A.uses shapes and colors instead of words
B.uses unusual words and phrases
C.does not express himself /herself well
D.does not say anything clearly
3.The writer points out that contemporary artists might say their choices of subject _____.
A.only provide interesting patterns
B.teach the public important truths
C.have no pattern or form
D.carry a message to the public
4.The writer also points out that contemporary art contains ____.
A.nothing but meaningless patterns
B.uninteresting aspects of the world
C.completely meaningless subjects
D.subjects chosen partly for their meanings
5.What is implied in this passage？()
A.A painting is more easily understood than a symphony.
B.Art is merely the arranging of shape and color.
C.Every artist tries to say something to the public.
D.One must look beyond shape and color to find what the artist is saying.
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">Artis considered by many people to be little more than a decorative means ofgiving pleasure. This is not always the case, however, at times, art may beseen to have purely functional side as well. Such could be said of the sandpaintings of the Navaho Indians of the American Southwest; these have amedicinal as well as an artistic purpose.</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">According to Navaho traditions, one who suffers from either a mental orphysical illness has in some way disturbed or come in contact with thesupernatural—perhaps a certain animal, a ghost, or the dead. To counteract thisevil contact, the sick person or one of his relatives will attract a powerfulsupernatural being. During the ceremony, which may last from 2to 9days, the“singer” will produce a sand painting on the floor of the Navaho house. On thelast day of the ceremony, the patient will sit on this sand painting and the“singer” will rub the sick parts of the patient’s body with sand from aspecific figure in the sand painting. In this way the patient absorbs the powerof that particular supernatural being and becomes strong like it. After theceremony, the sand painting is then destroyed and disposed of so its power willnot harm anyone.</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">Theart of sand painting is handed down from old “singers” to their students. Thematerials used are easily found in the areas the Navaho inhabit: brown, red,yellow, and white sandstone, which is ground into powder by being crushedbetween two stones much as corn is ground into flour. The “singer” holds asmall amount of this sand in his hand and lets it flow between his thumb andforefinger onto a clean, flat surface on the floor. With a steady hand andgreat patience, he is thus able to create designs of people, snakes and othercreatures that have power in the Navaho belief system.</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">26. The word “decorative” in Paragraph 1most probably refers to ___.</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">A).functional</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">B).medicinal</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">C).artistic</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">D).pure</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">27.According to the Navaho traditions,one is ill because he has met with _____.</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">A).something with supernatural powers</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">B).a dead goat</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">C).any animal</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">D).too many dead people</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">28. How can a sick person recover fromhis illness according to the passage？</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">A).He must avoid the evil contact.</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">B).He needs help from another powerful supernatural being.</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">C).He must draw a sand painting.</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">D).He must sing at a ceremony.</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">29. The reason for the sand painting tobe destroyed after the ceremony is _____.</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">A).not to allow others to use it freely</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">B).to harm the patient</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">C).not to harm others</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">D).to protect the patient</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">30.Which of the following is TRUE of the designs of people, snakes and othercreatures created by the “singer” ？</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">A).They are sand paintings.</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">B).They have healing powers.</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">C).They attract supernatural beings.</span>
<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: &39;times new roman&39;, serif;">D).All of the above</span>
