Question

Until about 150 years ago, the most important, expensive and renowned kind of painting was large-scale pictures that told a story, regarded as the   1.  (hard) challenge for an artist.   2. (choose) suitable subjects, artists had to be well-read. Then they had to know    3.    stories could be told without words, using only gestures and expressions. To create lifelike scenes, they had to understand perspective, lighting and anatomy. So history painting needed a lot of thought and    4.   . (imagine). Large-scale pictures used to be reserved for grand religious or patriotic subjects, but that changed in the 19th century, as artists began creating history paintings based    5.  contemporary news stories. One of the first of these was The Raft of the Medusa, inspired by the wreck of    6.   French ship in 1816, which showed how art could have a powerful political impact. It presents a scene    7.    the survivors of the wreck on a raft littered with bodies try to signal to a distant ship. When they     8.  ( rescue ), they told how they had been abandoned by their captain, while he sailed to safety in a lifeboat. Starving, they had to eat each other to survive—though this picture makes    9.    look heroic rather than violent. The picture caused a huge outcry. Some people thought the artist meant to criticize the French king,    10.   had been involved in appointing the ship's captain.

Answer

1.hardest

2.To choose 

3.how

4.imagination

5.on

6.a

7.where 

8.were rescued 

9.them

10.who

【解析】

试题分析：直到150年前，世界上最重要的、最昂贵的绘画是用来讲述宗教故事的大幅作品，这对于画家来说是个巨大的挑战。为了选材作为绘画内容，他们必须要博学、还要知道如何用绘画来表述故事。但是到了19世纪，这种情况被改变了，画家们开始用现代的故事来作为绘画内容。

1.考查形容词。根据下文对这幅绘画的讲述可知这幅作品的取材、创作都是非常耗费精力的，再根据前面的定冠词the可以判断此处用形容词最高级，答案填hardest。

2.考查非谓语动词。根据下文内容可知画家们必须要博学多才，还得了解如何不用文字来讲述这个故事，再通过To create lifelike scenes, they had to understand…..可以判断此处是强调目的，应该用不定式，填To choose。意思是：为了选择合适的主题……。

3.考查连接词。由结构可知此处是宾语从句，从句中是“主谓宾”结构，缺少状语，再根据从句的内容stories could be told without words, using only gestures and expressions.可以判断此处强调方式，指如何去做到这一点，答填how。

4.考查名词。and连接并列成分，根据所给提示单词以及空前a lot of thought and….可以判断此处填名词imagination

5.固定搭配：be based on“以……为根据”，答案填on。

6.考查冠词。ship是可数名词，单数可数名词前需有限定词，根据语境可知此处指“一艘法国船”，是泛指概念，答案填a。

7.考查定语从句。分析结构可知名词后面the survivors of the wreck on a raft littered with bodies try to signal to a distant ship.是定语从句，从句缺少状语，而先行词scene是抽象名词，表地点，故答案填where。

8.考查动词。根据句意可知状语从句的主语they和rescue是被动关系，再根据主句时态判断此处用一般过去时的被动形式，答案填were rescued。

9.考查代词。根据上文内容可知此处指代the survivors of the wreck on a raft，做make的宾语，用宾格形式。短语：make sb do sth，答案填them。

10.考查定语从句。从结构可知此处是非限制性定语从句，从句缺少主语，而先行词是the French king ，所以填who。

考点：考查学生对语法知识及语境的理解。