Unit 1 Art
【话题解读】＂文学与艺术＂是高中新课标24话题之一。该话题主要包括各种文学类型、艺术形式、文化名人以及艺术家等方面。＂文学与艺术＂这个话题与我们的实际生活密切相关，对于学生了解国内外的文学与艺术形式，还有它们的特点、历史、发展与创新等都有帮助。该话题能够引导学生接受和尊重不同国家和民族的文学及艺术，并亲身感受文学与艺术的魅力。
【高考探究】＂文学与艺术＂话题是近几年的高考英语必考话题之一，而且常以阅读理解、完形填空、七选五以及书面表达的形式来考查，例如2016年全国卷Ⅱ书面表达；2015年全国卷Ⅰ阅读理解C篇；2015年重庆卷阅读理解E篇；2014年新课标全国卷Ⅰ阅读理解D篇；2012年天津卷书面表达；2011年山东卷完形填空等。
高考试题一
体裁话题词数难度建议时间
记叙文美国绘画之父Benjamin在决定要成为一
332 ★★★☆☆6＇
名画家之前的经历。
(2017·浙江卷阅读理解，A)Benjamin West, the father of American painting, showed his talent for art when he was only six years of age. But he did not know about brushes before a visitor told him he needed one. In those days, a brush was made from camel’s hair. There were no camels nearby. Benjamin decided that cat hair would work instead. He cut some fur from the family cat to make a brush.
The brush did not last long. Soon Benjamin needed more fur. Before long, the cat began to look ragged （蓬乱）. His father said that the cat must be sick. Benjamin was forced to admit what he had been doing.
The cat’s lot was about to imp rove. That year, one of Benjamin’s cousins, Mr. Pennington, came to visit. He was impressed with Benjamin’s drawings. When he went home, he sent Benjamin a box of paint and some brushes. He also sent six engravings（版画） by an artist. These were the first pictures and first real paint and brushes Benjamin had ever seen.In 1747, when Benjamin was nine years old, Mr. Pennington returned for another visit. He was amazed at what Benjamin had done with his gift. He asked Benjamin’s parents if he might take the bo y to Philadelphia for a visit.
In the city, Mr. Pennington gave Benjamin materials for creating oil paintings. The boy began
a landscape(风景) painting. William Williams, a well-known painter, came to see him work. Williams was impressed with Benjamin and gave him two classic books on painting to take home. The books were long and dull. Benjamin could read only a little, having been a poor student. But he later said,＂Those two books were my companions by day, and under my pillow at night.＂While it is likely that he understood very little of the books, they were his introduction to classical paintings. The nine-year-old boy decided then that he would be an artist.
21. What is the text mainly about?
A. Benjamin’s visit to Philadelphia.
B. Williams’ influence on Benjamin.
C. The beginning of Benjamin’s life as an artist.
D. The friendship between Benjamin and Pennington.
22. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 3 suggest?
A. The cat would be closely watched.
B. The cat would get some medical care.
C. Benjamin would leave his home shortly.
D. Benjamin would have real brushes soon.
23. What did Pennington do to help Benjamin develop his talent?
A. He took him to see painting exhibitions.
B. He provided him with painting materials.
C. He sent him to a school in Philadelphia.
D. He taught him how to make engravings.
24. Williams’ two books helped Benjamin to ________.
A. master the use of paints
B. appreciate landscape paintings
C. get to know other painters
D. make up his mind to be a painter
【话题解读】本文属于记叙文，主要讲了美国绘画之父Benjamin在决定要成为一名画家之前的经历。
22.D 【解析】句意猜测题。根据第三段＂These were the first pictures and first real paint and brushes
Benjamin had ever seen＂可知Benjamin在剪完猫的毛做刷子之后，就很快有了真正的刷子，故选D。
知：这两本书帮助Benjamin坚定了自己成为一名画家的决心，故选D。
高考试题二
体裁话题词数难度建议时间
应用文邀请外教Henry一起参观中国剪纸
（paper-cutting）艺术展
100 ★★★☆☆15＇
（2017·新课标卷II，书面表达）假定你是李华，想邀请外教Henry一起参观中国剪纸（paper-cutting）艺术展。请给他写封邮件，内容包括：
1.展览时间、地点；
2.展览内容。
注意：
1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
【参考范文】
Dear Henry，
I’m Li Hua, one of your students in your cultural class. I know you’re interested in one of Chinese traditional art forms—paper-cutting. So I invite you to attend an exhibition of it.
It’ll be held from June 10 to July 10 this year and the opening time is from 9：00 am to 7：00 pm from Monday to Saturday and the place of the exhibition is at the City Gallery, which is located at 118, Jian Guo Road, Hai Dian District. Shall we go there together this Friday afternoon?
I will meet you at 2：00 pm at the teaching building gate if you like.
You know we Chinese have a lot of traditional art forms, of which papercutting is one of the most popular. In the exhibition, you will enjoy many special kinds of paper-cuttings. Maybe you can learn one or two skills of the cutting.
Looking forward to your early reply.
Regards,
Li Hua
第一人称。4. 注意恰当使用一些连词，使文章自然、流畅。5. 适当使用一些高级词汇和句型以提高作文档次。
高考试题三
（2015·新课标卷I）Salvador Dali (1904-1989) was one of the most popular of modern artists. The Pompidou Centre in Paris is showing its respect and admiration for the artist and his powerful personality with an exhibition bringing together over 200 paintings, sculptures, drawings and more. Among the works and masterworks on exhibition the visitor will find the best pieces, most importantly The Persistence of Memory. There is also L’Enigme sans Fin from 1938, works on paper, objects, and projects for stage and screen and selected parts from television programmes reflecting the artist’s showman qualities.z&xxk
The visitor will enter the World of Dali through an egg and is met with the beginning, the world of birth. The exhibition follows a path of time and subject with the visitor exiting through the brain.
The exhibition shows how Dali draws the viewer between two infinities (无限). ＂From the infinity small to the infinity large, contraction and expansion coming in and out of focus: amazing Flemish accuracy and the showy Baroque of old painting that he used in his museum-theatre in Figueras,＂ explains the Pompidou Centre.
The fine selection of the major works was done in close collaboration (合作)with the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain, and with contributions from other institutions like the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg.
体裁话题词数难度建议时间
说明文西班牙艺术家萨尔瓦多·达利的作品展览221 ★★★☆☆5分钟
28. Which of the following best describe Dali according to Paragraph 1?A. Optimistic.
B. Productive.
C. Generous.
D. Traditional.
29. What is Dali’s The Persistence of Memory considered to be?
A. One of his masterworks.
B. A successful screen adaptation.
C. An artistic creation for the stage.
D. One of the beat TV programmes.
30. How are the exhibits arranged at the World of Dali?
A. By popularity.
B. By importance.
C. By size and shape.
D. By time and subject.
31. What does the word ＂contributions＂ in the last paragraph refer to?
A. Artworks.
B. Projects.
C. Donations.
D. Documents.
【话题解读】本文介绍了著名的西班牙艺术家萨尔瓦多·达利的艺术作品即将在法国巴黎The Pompidou Centre展出的情况。
30.D 【解析】细节理解题。根据第二段中的＂The exhibition follows a path of time and subject
with the visitor exiting through the brain＂可知，达利的世界是按照时间和主题组织作品展览的。
31.A 【解析】词义猜测题。根据最后一段可知，多家博物馆通力合作，共同精选展出作品。文中提到像西
班牙马德里的博物馆和圣彼德斯堡的博物馆这样的机构也提供萨尔瓦多·达利的作品参加展览。由此推测，contributions指＂作品＂,故选A。
高考试题四
体裁话题词数难度建议时间
说明文文化相对主义264 ★★★★☆6分钟
（2015·重庆卷）The values of artistic works,
according to cultural relativism(相对主义), are simply
reflections of local social and economic conditions. Such
a view, however, fails to explain the ability of some works
of art to excite the human mind across cultures and through
centuries.
History has witnessed the endless productions of Shakespearean plays in every major language of the world. It is never rare to find that Mozart packs Japanese concert halls, as Japanese painter Hiroshige does Paris galleries. Unique works of this kind are different from today’s popular art, even if they began as works of popular art. They have set themselves apart in their timeless appeal and will probably be enjoyed for centuries into the future.
In a 1757 essay, the philosopher David Hume argued that because＂the general principles of taste are uniform(不变的) in human nature,＂the value of some works of art might be essentially permanent. He observed that Homer was still admired after two thousand years. Works of this type, he believed, spoke to deep and unvarying features of human nature and could continue to exist over centuries.
Now researchers are applying scientific methods to the study of the universality of art. For example, evolutionary psychology is being used by literary scholars to explain the long-lasting themes and plot devices in fiction. The structures of musical pieces are now open to experimental analysis as never before. Research findings seem to indicate that the creation by a great artist is as permanent an achievement as the discovery by a great scientist.
52. According to the passage, what do we know about cultural relativism?
A. It introduces different cultural values.
B. It explains the history of artistic works.
C. It relates artistic values to local conditions.
D. It excites the human mind throughout the world.
53. In Paragraph 2, the artists are mentioned in order to show that ____________.
A. great works of art can go beyond national boundaries
B. history gives art works special appeal to set them apart
C. popular arts are hardly distinguishable from great arts
D. great artists are skilled at combining various cultures
54. According to Hume, some works of art can exist for centuries
because ____________.
A. they are results of scientific study
B. they establish some general principles of art
C. the y are created by the world’s greatest artists
D. they appeal to unchanging features of human nature
55. Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?
A. Are Artistic Values Universal?
B. Are Popular Arts Permanent?
C. Is Human Nature Uniform?
D. Is Cultural Relativism Scientific?
【话题解读】本文是说明文，主要介绍了根据文化相对主义，艺术作品永恒受欢迎的原因是人类的审美具有共同性，并且就此展开说明。
52. C 【解析】细节推断题。根据文中第一段＂The values of artistic works, according to cultural
relativism(相对主义)＂得知，此处选C。
一致性。
55. A 【解析】主旨大意题。根据首段＂The values of artistic works, according to cultural
relativism(相对主义), are simply reflections of local social and economic conditions.＂和
末段中＂ Now researchers are applying scientific methods to the study of the universality of art.＂以及＂In a 1757 essay, the philosopher David Hume argued that because’the general principles of taste are uniform(不变的) in human nature’＂可知选A。