题目内容
A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than is possible to learn in general classes.Most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics, and wars.But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also activities of our ancestors–or of people very different from our own–can be provided by art.In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place.And study of it clearly offers us a deeper understanding than what can be found in most history books.
In history books, objective information about the political life of a country is presented: that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed.Art, on the other hand, is subjective: it reflects emotions and opinions.The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly political artist.In his well-known painting The Truth of May, 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its misuse of power over people.Over a hundred years later, symbolic images were used in Pablo Picasso’s Guernica to express the horror of war.Meanwhile, on another continent, the powerful paintings of Diego Rivera, Jose Clements Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros–as well as the works of Alfredo Ramos Martinez–depicted these Mexican artists’ deep anger and sadness about social problems.
In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs.For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art was almost the only types of art that existed.Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that depicted people and stories from the Bible.Although most people could not read, they could still understand biblical stories in the pictures on the church walls.By contrast, one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was (and still is) its absence of human and animal images.This reflects the Islamic belief that statues are unholy.
1.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A.The way art expresses is the same all over the world.
B.Art history supplies us with knowledge about everyday activities of people in the past.
C.Most typical history courses don’t cover people’s spirits.
D.Art is subjective in that it will find a ready echo in our hearts.
2.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A.Unlike Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso and several Mexican artists expressed their political opinions in their paintings.
B.History books often show the editors’ political view.
C.Religious art remained in Europe for centuries the only type of art because most people regarded the Bible as the Holy Book.
D.Picasso was something of a political artist.
3.The passage is mainly discussing ______.
A.the difference between general history and art history
B.the making of art history
C.what we can learn from art history
D.the influence of artists on art history
4.It may be concluded from this passage that ______.
A.Islamic artists have had to create architectural decoration with pictures of flowers or geometric (几何的) forms
B.history teachers are more objective than artists
C.it is more difficult to study art history than general history
D.people and stories from the Bible were painted on churches and other buildings in order to popularize the Bible.
ADCA

BEIJING—Eating at a Beijing restaurant is usually an adventure for foreigners, and particularly when they get the chance to order “chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head”.
Sometimes excited but mostly confused, embarrassed or even terrified, many foreigners have long complained about mistranslations of Chinese dishes. And their complaints are often valid(有效), but such an experience at Beijing’s restaurants will apparently soon be history.
Foreign visitors will no longer, hopefully, be confused by oddly worded restaurant menus in the capital if the government’s plan to correctly translate 3,000 Chinese dishes is a success and the translations are generally adopted.
The municipal(市政) office of foreign affairs has published a book to recommend English translations of Chinese dishes, which aims to help restaurants avoid bizarre translations. “It provides the names of main dishes of famous Chinese cuisines in plain English,” an official with the city’s Foreign Affairs office said. “Restaurants are encouraged to use the proposed translations, but it will not be compulsory.” It’s the city’s latest effort to bridge the culture gap for foreign travelers in China.
Coming up with precise translations is a daunting task, as some Chinese culinary(烹饪) techniques are untranslatable and many Chinese dishes have no English-language equivalent. The translators, after conducting a study of Chinese restaurants in English-speaking countries, divided the dish names into four categories: ingredients, cooking method, taste and name of a person or a place. For some traditional dishes, pinyin, the Chinese phonetic system, is used, such as mapo tofu(previously often literally translated as “beancurd made by woman with freckles”), baozi(steamed stuffed bun) and jiaozi(dumplings) to “reflect the Chinese cuisine culture,” according to the book.
“The book is a blessing to tourist guides like me. Having it, I don’t have to rack my brains trying to explain Chinese dishes to foreign travellers,” said Zheng Xiaodong, a 31-year-old employee with a Beijing-based travel agency.
“I will buy the book as I major in English literature and I’d like to introduce Chinese cuisine culture to more foreign friends,” said Han Yang, a postgraduate student at the University of International Business and Economics.
It is not clear if the book will be introduced to other parts of China. But on Tuesday, this was the most discussed topic on weibo.com, China’s most popular microblogging site.
【小题1】What’s the best title of the passage?
A.An adventure for foreigners who eat in Beijing. |
B.Confusing mistranslations of Chinese dishes. |
C.Chinese dishes to have “official” English names. |
D.The effort to bridge the culture gap. |
A.some Chinese dishes are not well received |
B.some Chinese dishes are hard to translate |
C.some Chinese dishes are mistranslated |
D.some Chinese dishes are not acceptable |
A.Recommending a book on Chinese dishes. |
B.Advocating(提倡) using precise translation for Chinese dishes. |
C.Publishing a book on China’s dietary habits. |
D.Providing the names of main Chinese dishes. |
A.confusing | B.disappointing | C.discouraging | D.Worthwhile |