Question

Rembrandt was an extraordinary Dutch painter. He was most well-known for his brushwork and the way in which he connected with the human soul. His life, however, was not happy.

He was born on July 15,1606 in Leiden, the Netherlands. His father wanted him to have a real, learned profession but Rembrandt left the University of Leiden after becoming bored. He began studying art under a local teacher but soon left and studied in Amsterdam where he mastered all his lessons in six months!

At the age of 22, he moved back to Leiden and began to get his own students. One of his students was the famous artist Gerrit Dou. In 1631 he returned to Amsterdam where he became the most popular portrait painter in Holland. Rembrandt met Saskia and married her in 1634. She was a cousin of a very successful art dealer and she helped him to meet wealhy people who commissioned(委任制作) many paintings from him. He used her as a model in many of his paintings.

Rembrandt’s private life, however, was very unfortunate. He had four children with Saskia but only one, Titus, survived. Saskia died in 1642 at the age of only 30. In 1649, his housekeeper became his second wife and was also a model for many of his paintings. Even though Rembrandt was very successful as an artist, art dealer and teacher, he lived in a careless way and had to declare bankruptcy(破产) in 1656. He even had to sell his whole art collection and his house to pay off his debts.

His unfortunate life, however, didn’t affect his art. He painted many great paintings during that time. His new love, Hendrickje, died in 1663 and his 27-year-old son, Titus, died in 1668. Eleven months later, on October 4, 1669, Rembrandt died in Amsterdam. He produced more than 600 paintings and over 2,000 drawings!

1.Which of the following is the reason that made Rembrandt’s business fail?

A. As an extraordinary Dutch painter, he knew nothing about business.

B. He spent most of his time on art, leaving no time to care his business.

C. All his children but Titus died, which made him very sad.

D. Like other famous artists, he was thoughtless.

2.From the passage we learn that Rembrandt      .

A. graduated from the University of Leiden

B. began his teaching career in 1628

C. married Saskia when he was 22 years old

D. was good at drawing animals and flowers

3.How many members of Rembrandt’s family died before him, not including his parents?

A. Four.       B. Five.      C. Six.       D. Seven.

4.What’s the best title for this passage?

A. A brief biography of Rembrandt

B. A great Dutch painter

C. The greatest painter in the world

D. Rembrandt’s unhappy family

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】

试题分析: 荷兰艺术家Rembrandt大学没毕业就拜师学画画，一生有2600幅作品问世，然而他的一生极具悲剧色彩。

1.D 细节理解题。根据第四段提到he lived in a careless way and had to declare bankruptcy(破产) in 1656. He even had to sell his whole art collection and his house to pay off his debts可知他的疏忽，考虑不周造成生意的失败，故选D项。

2.B 细节理解题。根据第二段提到He was born on July 15,1606 in Leiden, the Netherlands和第三段提到At the age of 22, he moved back to Leiden and began to get his own students.可推算出1628年开始教学生涯，他并没有大学毕业，A错；他1606年出生，1634年结婚，时年28岁，故C错；D项文中没有提到，故选B项。

3.D 推断题。根据第四段提到他的第一个妻子与三个孩子辞世，第五段提到他27岁的儿子和第二人妻子也去世，共有6个家人在他之前去世在，故选D项。

4.A 主旨大意题。本文按时间顺序介绍Rembrandt的成长，事业，家庭，这就是他的一个传记，故选A项。

考点：人物类阅读。