Question

The artist Grandma Moses became famous for her simple, bright, cheerful paintings of American farm life．Her full name was Anna Mary Robertson Moses．But she was known to everyone as Grandma Moses because she did not begin to paint seriously until in her seventies．

Born on a farm in New York, Anna had little schooling．Her days were filled with farm chores．But she often found time to make pictures．Soon, however, she became too busy to draw or paint．At the age of 12, she went to work as a servant for a family nearby．She worked for other people for many years．Then, when she was 27, she married Thomas Moses, a farmer．And they began raising a family of their own．

Anna Moses could no longer do heavy farm work with age．Then, in her seventies, she began to paint in oils．Her pictures showed things she recalled from childhood-farm scenes, ice-skating, bringing home the Christmas tree．Later, she began to display her art at county fairs．Her pictures recorded a way of life that was quickly passing away．People everywhere loved these happy scenes, and soon her paintings were shown in art galleries．Grandma Moses became famous partially on account of her age, but mainly because her approach to art was modest and simple compared to many other painters of her time．Without formal training or even knowledge of Modernism, she relied on her own simple techniques to create her landscapes and scenes．She continued to paint almost until her death, on December 13, 1961 , at the age of 101．

The themes in her paintings provided the comfort of a rural life that many busy Americans treasured from their past．The threat of nuclear arms that appeared on television screens and in magazines had Americans starving for something more．Grandma Moses' art appealed to those who had lost hope for the future．Her classic paintings still appear on TV commercials, greeting cards, and magazine and book covers．

1.What can be inferred from the fact that Grandma Moses picked up a paintbrush?

A．She had no other ways to kill time．  

B．Her friend and family suggested it．

C．She had had a love for painting since her childhood．

D．She needed to make a living by selling her paintings．

2.The key reason for her success is ___   .

A．her old age           B．her plain style

C．her lack of training     D．her modern knowledge

3.We can know from the passage that ______．

A．her paintings raised people's hope for the future

B．her paintings expressed the reality of her old age

C．many Americans were interested in purchasing art works

D．people wanted to get comfort by remembering grandmas

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.A

【解析】

试题分析：美国著名的画家摩斯奶奶在七十岁后重新拿起画笔，实现了小时候不能实现的愿望。她的绘画都是描写乡村生活的舒适、惬意，她简单、明亮、欢快的绘画风格吸引了大批收藏家，也给那些失意的人带来了生活的希望。

1.C推理判断题。根据文章第二段But she often found time to make pictures．可知摩斯奶奶从小就对绘画有着浓厚的兴趣，只是迫于生活的忙碌她放弃了绘画，所以当她七十岁后，不能从事农活了，才开始重新拿起画笔，答案选C。

2.B推理判断题。从文章第一段The artist Grandma Moses became famous for her simple, bright, cheerful paintings of American farm life和第三段Grandma Moses became famous partially on account of her age, but mainly because her approach to art was modest and simple可知摩斯奶奶的成功主要因为她作品的简单风格，故答案选C。

3.A 推理判断题。根据文章末段Grandma Moses' art appealed to those who had lost hope for the future“摩斯奶奶的绘画作品吸引着那些对未来失去希望的人”，由此推断她的画之所以对人产生吸引力是因为这些作品能给人带来希望，答案选A。

考点：考查人物类短文阅读。