Question

    Artist Zsudayka Nzinga Terrell clearly remembers the day in high school when the teacher asked her to write about her family history. She saw that it was impossible to answer the questions “Who am I?” and “Where did I come from?”.

Nzinga Terrell told her memories. “The white kids were able to get up and talk about hundreds of years of their background. And there was me and one other black kid in the class who could go back to a plantation(种植园) in Virginia and that’s it.” She talked about her family history. “My people were brought here on the bottom of a ship. And they were sold and they were renamed.”

Today, she and her husband, artist James Terrell explore their family history in their work. Their new exhibit of paintings is called Born at the Bottom of the Ship. The show recently opened at the Center for the Arts in Manassas, Virginia.

Over the generations, Africans have become African Americans with a new culture, and Nzinga Terrell includes different parts of that story in her art. There are things that look like African cloth and design and things that make you think of American culture and clothing.

James Terrell’s style is more abstract. His painting Mami Wata shows a woman rising from the ocean. Terrell explains the painting, “ Mami Wata is a goddess of the sea. There’s no light going through; there’s not a lot of color being seen, as opposed to the other ones. So, it’s just showing the time of the slaves being brought to America. ”

But the artist says he also likes to play with color. Growing up, James Terrell attended a church with colored glass in many windows. Because of that experience, he learned how light goes through the windows. He makes lines in his painting that look like the lines between pieces of colored glass in the church windows.

Visitors seeing the Terrells’ works say they see themselves and their family members in the works.

1.How did high school Nzinga Terrell find talking about her origin and identify?

A.Possible. B.Exciting.

C.Annoying. D.Difficult.

2.What can we know about Nzinga Terrell’s people?

A.They had to use the same names forever.

B.They led a life with no freedom at all.

C.They took up their jobs mostly aboard.

D.They were eager to get rid of poverty.

3.What’s the painting Mami Wata like?

A.It’s typical of native American style.

B.It’s abstract with rich and bright colors.

C.It reflects a dark time of the black slaves.

D.It describes a church James once attended.

4.What is paragraph 6 mainly about?

A.The story about James Terrells unique painting style.

B.The way James Terrell makes use of different kinds of colors.

C.The reason why James Terrell prefers to go to church to paint.

D.The influence of James Terrell’s church experience on his painting.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.C

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。主要讲了美国黑人女艺术家 Zsudayka Nzinga Terrell对自己祖先历史的认知以及她的艺术风格。她的作品回顾非裔美国人的过去和现在，其作品展示了她对自己作为一个非裔美国人的看法。同时也讲了她的艺术家丈夫 James Terrell的艺术作品和艺术风格。

1.细节理解题。第一段中的... in high school when the teacher asked her to write about her family history. She saw that it was impossible to answer the questions ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Where did I come from?’ 高中时老师让她写家庭历史的那一天。她发现要回答“我是谁?”以及“我从哪里来?”简直就是不可能的。可知，中学时期的 Nzinga Terrell认为谈论她的出身和身份是困难的。选项D切题，故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段中的She talked about her family history. ‘My people were brought here on the bottom of a ship. And they were sold and they were renamed.’ 她谈论了她的家族历史。“我的祖先是坐在船的底舱来到这里的。他们被卖来这里并被重新起名字。”可知，Nzinga Terrell家族人员被售卖和重新起命。所以判断出他们的生活完全没有自由。选项B（她的祖先）他们过着没有自由的生活。切题，故选B。

3.细节理解题。根据第五段中的Mami Wata is a goddess of the sea. There’s no light going through; there’s not a lot of color being seen, as opposed to the other ones. So, it’s just showing the time of the slaves being brought to America.《玛米·瓦塔》是一位海洋女神……那里没有光线穿过；和其他地方相比，这里没有太多的颜色。所以，它恰好展示了非洲奴隶被带到美国的那个时期。可知，Mami Wata反映了黑奴经历的一段黑暗时期。选项C切题，故选C。

4.段落大意题。第六段But the artist says he also likes to play with color. Growing up, James Terrell attended a church with colored glass in many windows. Because of that experience, he learned how light goes through the windows. He makes lines in his painting that look like the lines between pieces of colored glass in the church windows. James Terrell喜欢玩味色彩。在他成长的过程中，他去过一座教堂，那里有许多由彩色玻璃制成的窗户。那次经历让他了解了光是如何穿过窗户的。他的绘画中的线条与教堂窗户上的玻璃之间的线条相像。所以本段的主要内容是 James Terrell 的教堂经历对他的绘画的影响。选项D切题，故选D。