Question

Perhaps Van Gogh（1853-1890）isn’t the most famous artist in the world, but his personal story is probably the most well known. The paintings he created didn’t become famous until after he died. Last year marked the 125th anniversary of his death. An art exhibition was in Beijing till Dec. 6, in which more than 3,000 photos of the artist’s masterpieces were shown. However, the paintings that made him famous after his death did little for him when he was alive.

Van Gogh was born into a rich family in the Netherlands. He started his career working for an art dealer. But then he tried other things like teaching in England. He also tried to become a priest, but failed the exams.

Finally, he found something else to believe in while he was living in a small mining town in Belgium—art. He returned to his childhood love of painting and drawing.

He was an important and great artist in a generation that challenged the Impressionist style. Post-Impressionists, like Van Gogh, wanted to show the world as it felt to them, not always as it looked.

Van Gogh used different forms and colors to make his art more abstract. The way he used colors was especially impressive. In Wheatfield with Crows (1890), the colors are very intense. Corn is yellow, grass is green, and crows are black. But the colors are used in such a way that it looks better than a photograph.

Unfortunately, Van Gogh’s art wasn’t very popular while he was alive. He was poor and was thought to have mental problems, which led him to cut off his ear and eventually die by shooting himself. Arguably, it wasn’t the art that gave him mental problems. What made him so sad may have been the difficulty of working as an artist in a practical world.

1.What can we know about Van Gogh from the passage?

A. He was born into a rich family in the Netherlands 125 years ago.

B. He was a teacher, a priest and a miner before he became an artist.

C. He did not get much wealth or fame from his works before he died.

D. He decided to be an artist when he worked as an art dealer.

2.According to the passage, Van Gogh impressed people deeply by ________.

A. how he used colors in his paintings

B. how he became famous for his paintings

C. how he showed the world exactly as it looked

D. how he began to love art while living in Belgium

3.What might have caused Van Gogh’s mental problems?

A. The art of painting. B. The loss of one of his ears.

C. Pressure from his family. D. Not being accepted or recognized.

4.What can be the best title of this passage?

A. Wheatfield with Crows B. An Artist’s Sad Story

C. Childhood of Van Gogh D. An Art Exhibition of Van Gogh

Answer 1