Standing at an impressive 60-feet tall, this new feature on the US landscape is certainly a traffic stopper.
Motorists have been left open-mouthed at the sight of this landscape image of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous masterpiece, the Mona Lisa.
Motorist Janet Hunter pulled her car over to take a photograph of the vision about four miles east of Newport, Virginia.
“It’s unbelievable,”she said.“It’s fantastic.”
The amazing reproduction of the Mona Lisa has been created by local artist Samuel Clemens, who says he has been waiting to create a piece of landscape art since he was a child.
“I was always going to do the Mona Lisa,”said Clemens, 48,“I did it because the Mona Lisa is the most recognized thing.”
The masterpiece was recreated by making a stencil(模板)on a canvas, then dusting the hillside with black painting.It took him 14 hours just to lay out the canvas and another nine to spray the 40-by-60-foot painting.
“Whenever someone makes the effort, you have to stop and appreciate it,”said Becky Stillwell of Albany, who brought her guests from Boston to view the work.“Otherwise, people stop doing interesting things.”
Mr.Clemens bought the dairy farm where the Mona Lisa now stands eight years ago with a view to creating the masterpiece on the 60-degree slope behind it.
“I was worried about the detail because the hill isn’t smooth,”he said.“It isn’t like a piece of paper.As it was, I lost a little smile at the corner of her mouth.”
The Mona Lisa will disappear as the grass grows, but Clemens already has plans for 2007, although he is remaining tight-lipped over the details.
(1)
At the sight of the landscape image of Mona Lisa, motorists often feel ________.
[ ]
A.
puzzled
B.
depressed
C.
amazed
D.
worried
(2)
Samuel Clemens does the Mona Lisa probably because ________.
[ ]
A.
a farmer transformed a field into art
B.
he wants to realize his childhood dream
C.
he desires to create a piece of landscape art
D.
the Mona Lisa is the most recognized thing
(3)
How does Samuel Clemens feel about his landscape image?
[ ]
A.
It is fantastic.
B.
There is need for improvement
C.
It is far from satisfactory.
D.
He is glad that it is over.
(4)
What would be the best title for the passage?
[ ]
A.
A Gifted Artist
B.
Mona Lisa’s Smile Stops Traffic in the US
C.
Influence of the Landscape Image of Mona Lisa
D.
An Amazing Reproduction of the Mona Lisa
阅读理解
Any list of the world's top ten most famous paintings will surely include da Vinci's Mona Lisa.Part of the painting's attraction is its mystery(神秘).
Those lucky enough to have a view of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre often stare in awe(敬畏), surprised by the smile that seems to flicker(忽隐忽现).Staring at a reproduction of the work produces the same effect.Now she's smiling, then she's not.
What's the deal with Mona Lisa's smile?
Harvard scientist Margaret Livingstone is pretty sure she's solved the puzzle.After careful studies on human brains, Livingstone reasoned that the famous painting's flickering smile is caused by the way human beings see.
Our eyes use two separate regions(部位)to see.One is central vision(视力;视觉), used to see colors and pick out details such as fine print.The other is the vision around, used to observe lights, shadows, black and white contrasts.
When we look at a person's face, according to Livingstone, we usually focus centrally on the eyes.Staring at Mona Lisa's eyes, our less accurate vision notices the mouth, picking up shadows from the cheekbones.The shadows play tricks, looking like a smile.But when we look directly at the mouth, our central vision doesn't see the shadows, and so the smile suddenly disappears.As our eyes observe different parts of the painting, Mona's smile seems to show up or disappear.
Did da Vinci intend to create this flickering smile effect? Perhaps.In any case, he was talented enough to paint shadows so good as to puzzle viewers for centuries.Meanwhile, Mona Lisa will keep smiling.And not.
(1)
Staring at Mona Lisa, people are amazed because ________.
[ ]
A.
it is one of the world's top ten most famous paintings
B.
Mona Lisa's smile seems to disappear sometimes
C.
they are lucky enough to have a view at the Louvre
D.
the reproduction of the work produces the same effect
(2)
The central vision is used to see ________.
[ ]
A.
colors and pick out details
B.
lights and shadows
C.
black and white contrasts
D.
fine paintings
(3)
While looking at a person's face, the first we focus on is ________.
[ ]
A.
eyes
B.
brains
C.
mouth
D.
cheekbone
(4)
What can you infer from the passage?
[ ]
A.
Da Vinci created the flickering smile effect by design.
B.
The flickering smile effect is caused by the shadows.
C.
Our eyes use many separate regions to see paintings.
D.
Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world.