Question

Grant Wood’s American Gothic caused a stir （轰动）in 1930 when it was exhibited for the first time at the Art Institute of Chicago and awarded a prize of 300 dollars. Newspapers across the country carried the story, and the painting of a farmer and a younger woman posed before a white house brought the artist instant fame.

              In 1930, Grant Wood, an American painter with European training, noticed a small white house built in the small southern Iowa town of Eldon. Wood was so fascinated by it that he decided to paint the house along with the kind of people he thought should live in that house. In the painting, the farmer is modeled on his dentist. Dr. Byron McKeeby. His younger sister Nan served as a model for the woman （imagined to be the farmer’s wife or daughter）. Wood wanted to give a description of the traditional roles of men and women as the man is holding a pitchfork symbolizing hard labor. Each element was painted separately; the models sat separately and never stood in front of the house. The Gothic style of the house inspired the painting’s title.

              American Gothic remains one of the most famous paintings in the history of American art. The painting has become part of American popular culture. Some believe that Wood used it to satirize（讽刺） the narrow-mindedness that has been said to characterize Midwestern culture. The painting may also be read as a praise of the moral virtue or rural America or even as a mixture of praise and satire. American Gothic is one of the few images to reach the status of cultural symbol, along with Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

1.Which of the following is true about American Gothic?

A．It won a prize of ￡ 300.

B．The two characters in it posed before the White House.

C．It was the first painting by Grant Wood.

D．It was on show at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1930.

2.From the passage we can infer Iowa is in __________.

A．the southern town of Eldon                   B．the Midwest of the United States

C．a European country           D．the city of Chicago

3.Grant Wood chose the two models __________.

A．to describe traditional roles of men and women

B．to praise the moral virtue of rural America

C．to make his dentist and his sister famous

D．to carry the story across the country

4.The title of the painting is based on __________.

A．the name of a small town                 B．the man and the woman

C．the Gothic style of the house     D．the pitchfork symbolizing hard labor

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.A

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：文章介绍Grant Wood所画的American Gothic，描述图画里面的内容和内涵，以及这幅画的艺术价值。

1.细节题：从第一段的句子：Grant Wood’s American Gothic caused a stir （轰动）in 1930 when it was exhibited for the first time at the Art Institute of Chicago and awarded a prize of 300 dollars. 可知美式哥特在1930年在紫芝加哥的艺术研究所被展出，选D

2.细节题：从第二段的句子：In 1930, Grant Wood, an American painter with European training, noticed a small white house built in the small southern Iowa town of Eldon. 和第三段的句子：Some believe that Wood used it to satirize（讽刺） the narrow-mindedness that has been said to characterize Midwestern culture.可知Iowa 是位于美国中西部。选B

3.细节题：从第二段的句子：Wood wanted to give a description of the traditional roles of men and women as the man is holding a pitchfork symbolizing hard labor. 可知Wood使用两个模特是想描绘出传统的男人和女人的角色，选A

4.细节题：从第二段的句子：The Gothic style of the house inspired the painting’s title.可知这幅画的名字是受哥特式房子的启发，选C

考点：考查文化类短文