A painting by Chinese artist Qi Baishi set a record for modern art and calligraphy (书法) on the mainland when it sold for 425.5 million yuan at an auction (拍卖) on May 22. The sale was a  milestone (里程碑) in the auction of modern and contemporary artworks.
The price meant its value had risen more than 2,000 per cent in six years . The work , Eagle standing on pine tree with four-character coupleti（对联）, measures about 2.6 metres by 1 metre . It was the second highest price paid for an artwork on the mainland . A Song dynasty work by Huang Tingjian was sold for 436.8 million yuan in 2010 . Qi’s painting was finished in 1946 when Qi was 86 , and was his largest work . With a starting price of 88 million yuan , it attracted nearly 50 bids（出价）in half an hour . Shanghai businessman Liu Yiqian said that the work had belonged to him and had cost less than 20 million yuan in 2005 . The auction company said the work was brought back to the mainland after being bought from a private owner in San Francisco six years ago .
China ranked first in global art sales last year , ahead of the United States and Britain . Four Chinese artists were among the top 10 in worldwide sales : Qi Baishi , Zhang Daqian , Xu Beihong and Fu Baoshi . Qi’s works ranked second in sales to Pablo Picasso’s last year . Qi was born into a peasant family in Hunan in 1864 . He taught himself to paint and focused on nature including plants , insects , birds and fish . He is mostly well-known for his paintings of shrimps . In 1953 , he was elected president of the Association of Chinese Artists . He died in Beijing in 1957 .
【小题1】What’s the best title of the text ?

A painting by Chinese artist Qi Baishi set a record for modern art and calligraphy (书法) on the mainland when it sold for 425.5 million yuan at an auction (拍卖) on May 22. The sale was a  milestone (里程碑) in the auction of modern and contemporary artworks.

The price meant its value had risen more than 2,000 per cent in six years . The work , Eagle standing on pine tree with four-character coupleti（对联）, measures about 2.6 metres by 1 metre . It was the second highest price paid for an artwork on the mainland . A Song dynasty work by Huang Tingjian was sold for 436.8 million yuan in 2010 . Qi’s painting was finished in 1946 when Qi was 86 , and was his largest work . With a starting price of 88 million yuan , it attracted nearly 50 bids（出价）in half an hour . Shanghai businessman Liu Yiqian said that the work had belonged to him and had cost less than 20 million yuan in 2005 . The auction company said the work was brought back to the mainland after being bought from a private owner in San Francisco six years ago .

China ranked first in global art sales last year , ahead of the United States and Britain . Four Chinese artists were among the top 10 in worldwide sales : Qi Baishi , Zhang Daqian , Xu Beihong and Fu Baoshi . Qi’s works ranked second in sales to Pablo Picasso’s last year . Qi was born into a peasant family in Hunan in 1864 . He taught himself to paint and focused on nature including plants , insects , birds and fish . He is mostly well-known for his paintings of shrimps . In 1953 , he was elected president of the Association of Chinese Artists . He died in Beijing in 1957 .

1.What’s the best title of the text ?

2.Whose artwork sold for the highest price on the mainland ?

3.The auction price of Qi’s painting was        million yuan higher than the starting price in the auction .

4.Which of the following is TRUE ?

5. The text is most probably taken from a        .

A painting by Chinese artist Qi Baishi set a record for modern art and calligraphy (书法) on the mainland when it sold for 425.5 million yuan at an auction (拍卖) on May 22. The sale was a  milestone (里程碑) in the auction of modern and contemporary artworks.
The price meant its value had risen more than 2,000 per cent in six years . The work , Eagle standing on pine tree with four-character coupleti（对联）, measures about 2.6 metres by 1 metre . It was the second highest price paid for an artwork on the mainland . A Song dynasty work by Huang Tingjian was sold for 436.8 million yuan in 2010 . Qi’s painting was finished in 1946 when Qi was 86 , and was his largest work . With a starting price of 88 million yuan , it attracted nearly 50 bids（出价）in half an hour . Shanghai businessman Liu Yiqian said that the work had belonged to him and had cost less than 20 million yuan in 2005 . The auction company said the work was brought back to the mainland after being bought from a private owner in San Francisco six years ago .
China ranked first in global art sales last year , ahead of the United States and Britain . Four Chinese artists were among the top 10 in worldwide sales : Qi Baishi , Zhang Daqian , Xu Beihong and Fu Baoshi . Qi’s works ranked second in sales to Pablo Picasso’s last year . Qi was born into a peasant family in Hunan in 1864 . He taught himself to paint and focused on nature including plants , insects , birds and fish . He is mostly well-known for his paintings of shrimps . In 1953 , he was elected president of the Association of Chinese Artists . He died in Beijing in 1957 .

1. 1.

   What’s the best title of the text ?

   1. A.
      Qi Baishi’s Painting Was Discovered .
   2. B.
      Qi Baishi’s Painting Was Brought Back .
   3. C.
      Qi Baishi’s Painting Sets an Auction Record .
   4. D.
      The Value of Qi Baishi’s Paintings Is on the Increase .
2. 2.

   Whose artwork sold for the highest price on the mainland ?

   1. A.
      Qi Baishi’s .
   2. B.
      Huang Tingjian’s .
   3. C.
      Xu Beihong’s .
   4. D.
      Zhang Daqian’s .
3. 3.

   The auction price of Qi’s painting was        million yuan higher than the starting price in the auction .

   1. A.
      337.5 .
   2. B.
      348.8 .
   3. C.
      50 .
   4. D.
      11.3 .
4. 4.

   Which of the following is TRUE ?

   1. A.
      Qi finished the painting when he was young .
   2. B.
      The painting was once stolen by an American .
   3. C.
      The owner of this painting Liu Yiqian gained a lot of money .
   4. D.
      Pablo Picasso’s works ranked second in sales to Qi’s last year .
5. 5.

   The text is most probably taken from a        .

   1. A.
      computer book
   2. B.
      library guide
   3. C.
      technology magazine
   4. D.
      newspaper report

The medical world is gradually realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals may play a significant role in the process of recovery from illness.

As part of a nationwide effort in Britain to bring art out of the galleries and into public place, some of the country’s most talented artists have been called in to transform older hospitals and to soften the hard edges of modern buildings. Of the 2,500 National Health Service hospitals in Britain, almost 100 now have significant collections of contemporary art in corridors, waiting areas and treatment rooms.

These recent initiatives owe a great deal to one artist, Peter Senior, who set up his studio at a Manchester Hospital in Northeastern England during the early 1970s. He felt the artist had lost his place in modern society, and that art should be enjoyed by a wider audience.

A typical hospital waiting room might have as many as 5,000 visitors each week. What a better place to hold regular exhibitions of art and paintings, in the outpatients waiting area of the Manchester Royal Hospital in 1975. Believed to be Britain’s first hospital artist, Senior was so much in demand that he was soon joined by a team of six young art school graduations.

The effect is striking. Now in the corridors and waiting rooms, the visitor experiences a full view of fresh colors, playful images and restful courtyard.

The quality of the environment may reduce the need for expense when a patient is recovering from an illness. A study has shown that patients who had a view onto a garden needed half the number of strong painkillers compared with patients who had no view at all or only a brick wall to look at.

9. What does the author mean by using the phrase “to soften the hard edge of modern buildings”, in the second paragraph?

A. To hold exhibitions of art and paintings in hospitals.

B. To tear down the old hospital and build a new one.

C. To decorate hospitals with art collection.

D. To paint the walls of hospitals in soft colors.

10. What is true about Peter Senior?

A. A famous doctor in Manchester Hospital and a talented artist.

B. Britain’s first hospital artist and a patient in Manchester Royal Hospital.

C. One of the six young art school graduations.

D. A talented artist and a pioneer introducing art into hospitals.

11. What can we conclude from the fact that six young art school graduates joined Peter?

A. Artists should take an active part in social activities.

B. The role of hospital environment is being recognized.

C. Artists are more important to patients in hospitals.

D. Hospitals need more young art school graduates to attend the patients.

12. What does the last paragraph suggest?

A. The improvement of hospital environment may help the patients recover from illness.

B. The improvement of hospital environment may cost the patients more than before.

C. The patients needed no painkillers when they had a view of a painting.

D. The patients had no pain at all after the improvement of hospital environment.

The medical world is gradually realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals may play a significant role in the process of recovery from illness.

　　 As part of a nationwide effort in Britain to bring art out of the galleries and into public places, some of the country’s most talented artists have been called in to transform older hospitals and to soften the hard edges of modern buildings. Of the 2,500 National Health Service hospitals in Britain, almost 100 now have significant contemporary art in corridors, waiting areas and treatment rooms.

　　 These recent initiatives owe a great deal to one artist, Peter Senior who set up his studio at a Manchester hospital in northastern England during the early 1970s. He felt the artist had lost his place in modern society and that art should be enjoyed by a wider audience.

　 A typical hospital waiting room might have as many as 5,000 visitors each week. What a better place to hold regular exhibitions of art! Senior held the first exhibition of his own paintings in the outpatients waiting area of the Manchester Hospital in 1975. Believed to be Britain’s first hospital artist, Senior was so much in demand that he was soon joined by a team of six young art school graduates.

　　 The effect is striking. Now in the corridors and waiting rooms the visitor experiences a full view of fresh colors, playful images and restful courtyards.

　　 The quality of the environment may reduce the need for expensive drugs when a patient is recovering from an illness. A study has shown that patients who had a view onto a garden needed half the number of strong pain killers compared with patients who had no view at all or only a brick wall to look at.

1．The underlined part“to soften the hard edges of modern buildings”in Paragraph 2 means“________”.

A．to decorate hospitals with art collections

B．to make the corners of hospital buildings round

C．to change people’s attitude toward hospitals

D．to replace the old buildings with modern buildings

2．We learn the Peter Senior is a(n) ________.

A．doctor interested in arts

B．artist who refuses to hold art exhibitions in hospitals

C．pioneer in introducing art into hospitals

D．artist who owns a great deal of property

3．According to Peter Senior, we can infer that________.

A．modern hospitals have a lot of patients

B．art is not appreciated by a large number of people in modern society

C．patients should be encouraged to learn painting

D．artists can not find their positions in modern society

4．The passage mainly tells us that___________.

　　　　 A．patients no longer wholly depend on expensive drugs

B．the quality of the environment in hospitals counts in the process of recovery from illness

C．the effect is striking

D．these recent initiatives owe a great deal to Peter Senior