Question

Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest thinkers in the world, began his career as an artist. Very little is known about Leonardo’s early life. He was born in 1452 in the town of Vinci. As a boy, Leonardo showed a great interest in drawing, sculpting and observing nature.

However, because Leonardo was born to parents who were not married to each other, he was barred from some studies and professions. He trained as an artist after moving to Florence with his father in the 1460s. It was an exciting time to be in Florence, one of the cultural capitals of Europe. Leonardo trained with one of the city’s very successful artists, Andrea del Verrocchio. He was a painter, sculptor and gold worker. Verrocchio told his students that they needed to understand the body’s bones and muscles when drawing people.

Leonardo took the teacher’s advice very seriously. He spent several periods of his life studying the human body by taking apart and examining dead bodies. While training as an artist, Leonardo also learned about and improved on relatively new painting methods at the time. One was the use of perspective(透视) to show depth. A method called “sfumato” helped to create a cloudy effect to suggest distance. “Chiaroscuro” is a method using light and shade as a painterly effect.

Leonardo’s first known portrait now hangs in the National Gallery in Washington, D. C. He made this painting of a young woman named Ginevra de’ Benci around 1474. The woman has a pale face with dark hair. In the distance, Leonardo painted the Italian countryside.

He soon received attention for his extraordinary artistic skills. Around 1475 he was asked to draw an angel in Verrocchio’s painting “Baptism of Christ.” One story says that when Verrocchio saw Leonardo’s addition to the painting, he was so amazed by his student’s skill that he said he would never paint again.

1.Which of the following words can be used to describe Leonardo according to the third paragraph?

A. Stubborn.    B. Creative.

C. Pessimistic.    D. Determined.

2.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A. Verrocchio felt shame at his own work.

B. Verrocchio thought Leonardo’s work terrible.

C. Verrocchio thought highly of Leonardo’s work.

D. Verrocchio didn’t believe Leonardo could paint well.

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Leonardo was prevented from some studies because of his parents.

B. Leonardo thought his teacher’s advice was unreasonable.

C. “Sfumato” is a method to show depth by using light and shade.

D. “Baptism of Christ” made Leonardo known across the world.

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.A

【解析】文章描述了达?芬奇的名画《蒙娜丽莎》的由来以及其中的一些细节，并从专业与大众的角度对该画以及该画的影响做了诠释.

1.B

态度观点题。根据第三段中“While training as an artist, Leonardo also learned about and improved on relatively new painting methods at the time.”可知，达芬奇自己创造了新的绘画方法。故选B。

2.C

推理判断题。根据第五段中最后一句话可知，Verrocchio对于达芬奇的绘画能力很吃惊，甚至在看到达芬奇的画后，说自己不会再画画，从而可以看出，他对于达芬奇的评价很高。故选C。

3.A

细节理解题。根据第四段中第一句话可知，A项内容正确。根据第三段中第一句话可知，B项内容错误。根据第三段中最后两句话可知，C项内容错误。根据第四段中前两句话可知，D项内容错误。故选A。