Question

    John Constable was born in Suffolk, England, on 11 June 1776. His family hoped that he would join his father's business, but he showed great interest in art when he was very young. Finally, his family allowed him to enter the Royal Academy School, a very famous art college in England, at the age of twenty-two.

At the Royal Academy, he was a good student, spending all his spare time drawing and reading.

He showed his first painting in 1802. Constable believed the greatest art came from using the inspiration(灵感) of nature, rather than using various techniques (技巧) and imagination on art.

In his lifetime, Constable never had much money. His fame only grew after his death. He was unable to earn a living from the paintings. To support his family, Constable often drew portraits( 肖像)of others. But it was something he never really enjoyed. He was attracted by the beauty of the British countryside.

He sold more paintings in France than in his home country, England, at first. But when given the chance to travel to sell his paintings abroad, he said he would rather “be a poor man in England than a rich man abroad.”

Constable died in 1837. During his lifetime he got little praise in his home country for painting countryside scenery. Yet he is now considered to be one of the greatest British artists.

1.John Constable studied painting because____________.

A.he was interested in it B.his parents hoped he would study it

C.he wanted to make more money D.He liked the Royal Academy school

2.At the Royal Academy, John Constable __________.

A.wasn’t a good student B.didn't get on well with his classmates

C.was very hardworking D.became very famous

3.What do we know about John Constable?

A.He thought technique was the most important in art painting.

B.His paintings sold better in France than in England at first.

C.He was interested in drawing portraits.

D.He became very rich by painting.

4.What can we learn from the underlined sentence?

A.John Constable was willing to travel to France.

B.John Constable was tired of being poor.

C.John Constable didn't want to sell his paintings.

D.John Constable loved his country very much.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了英国最伟大的艺术家之一的John Constable的主要人生经历。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段中的“His family hoped that he would join his father's business, but he showed great interest in art when he was very young.”可知，他的家人希望他能加入父亲的事业，但他很小的时候就对艺术表现出极大的兴趣。因此John Constable学习绘画是因为他对绘画感兴趣。故选A。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段中的“At the Royal Academy, he was a good student, spending all his spare time drawing and reading.”可知，在皇家学院，他是个好学生，把业余时间都花在绘画和阅读上。因此在皇家学院，John Constable是非常努力的。故选C。

3.细节理解题。根据第五段中的“He sold more paintings in France than in his home country, England, at first.”可知，起初他在法国卖的画比他在英国卖的多。因此他的画一开始在法国比在英国卖得好。故选B。

4.推理判断题。根据第五段中的“He sold more paintings in France than in his home country, England, at first. But when given the chance to travel to sell his paintings abroad, he said he would rather “be a poor man in England than a rich man abroad.”可知，他在法国卖的画比在自己的祖国英国卖的多。但当他有机会去国外卖画时，他说他宁愿在英国当穷人，也不愿在国外当富人，因此我们看得出John Constable非常热爱他的国家。故选D。