A
You may have heard about the paintings listed below. But do you really know about them well?
Guernica
Pablo Picasso's cubist (立体派的) style of painting has created many wonders. Guernica is, perhaps, the best work of art by this great Spanish artist. In 1937, the German and Italian warplanes bombed the city of Guernica, taking many innocent lives. The government asked Picasso to create a painting about the bombings and sufferings of people. This brought the best out of Picasso.
The Starry Night
If you ask an art lover to pick two of the best works by Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night would certainly be one among them. This bright and colorful painting was completed in the year 1889. The view outside Vincent's window at nighttime attracted him and he went on to create this painting. However, he actually painted The Starry Night during the daytime.
Sistine Madonna
Almost each of Raphael's works is known to be simple and aesthetic (唯美的). There are no better words to describe the Sistine Madonna! This is one of the Madonnas painted by Raphael. Pope Julius Ⅱdemanded Raphael create the painting in 1512. According to history books, when the famous Italian artist Correggio first laid eyes on the piece, he was moved to tears.
Whistler's Mother
James McNeill Whistler was an Americanborn artist, who lived in London. Whistler's Mother is the most famous work by this American artist. The most popular story surrounding this painting is that a model could not make it to the studio of the artist and then his mother took the place of that model. The artist wanted to paint the character in a standing pose, but had to change his mind due to the bad health of his mother.
[语篇解读] 本文是一篇应用文。本文主要介绍了四幅名画背后的故事。
1．What is the theme of the painting Guernica?
A．The war.
B．Warplanes.
C．The city scenery.
D．Life of ordinary people.
解析：细节理解题。根据第二段中的“The government asked Picasso to create a painting about the bombings and sufferings of people.”可知，正确答案为A。
答案：A
2．What do we know about The Starry Night?
A．It was brightly colored.
B．It was painted in the night.
C．It was considered Vincent's last work.
D．It was created at the government's request.
解析：细节理解题。根据第三段中的“This bright and colorful painting was completed in the year 1889.”可知，《星空》这幅画多彩、艳丽。
答案：A
3．What's the author's purpose in writing the text?
A．To find the similarities between these paintings.
B．To encourage us to appreciate these paintings.
C．To describe what these paintings look like.
D．To tell some stories behind these paintings.
解析：写作目的题。根据文章内容可知，本文主要讲述了四幅名画背后的故事，故正确答案为D。
答案：D
