Question

    Benjamin West, the father of American painting, showed his talent for art when he was only six years of age. But he did not know about brushes before a visitor told him he needed one. In those days, a brush was made from camel’s hair. There were no camels nearby. Benjamin decided that cat hair would work instead. He cut some fur from the family cat to make a brush.

The brush did not last long. Soon Benjamin needed more fur. Before long, the cat began to look ragged（蓬乱）. His father said that the cat must be sick. Benjamin was forced to admit what he had been doing.

The cat’s lot was about to improve. That year, one of Benjamin’s cousins, Mr. Pennington, came to visit. He was impressed with Benjamin’s drawings. When he went home, he sent Benjamin a box of paint and some brushes. He also sent six engravings（版画） by an artist. These were the first pictures and first real paint and brushes Benjamin had ever seen. In 1747, when Benjamin was nine years old, Mr. Pennington returned for another visit. He was amazed at what Benjamin had done with his gift. He asked Benjamin’s parents if he might take the boy to Philadelphia for a visit.

In the city, Mr. Pennington gave Benjamin materials for creating oil paintings. The boy began a landscape(风景) painting. William Williams, a well-known painter, came to see him work. Williams was impressed with Benjamin and gave him two classic books on painting to take home. The books were long and dull. Benjamin could read only a little, having been a poor student. But he later said,＂Those two books were my companions by day, and under my pillow at night.＂While it is likely that he understood very little of the books, they were his introduction to classical paintings. The nine-year-old boy decided then that he would be an artist.

1.What is the text mainly about?

A.Benjamin’s visit to Philadelphia.

B.Williams’ influence on Benjamin.

C.The beginning of Benjamin’s life as an artist.

D.The friendship between Benjamin and Pennington.

2.What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 3 suggest?

A.The cat would be closely watched.

B.The cat would get some medical care.

C.Benjamin would leave his home shortly.

D.Benjamin would have real brushes soon.

3.What did Pennington do to help Benjamin develop his talent?

A.He took him to see painting exhibitions.

B.He provided him with painting materials.

C.He sent him to a school in Philadelphia.

D.He taught him how to make engravings.

4.Williams’ two books helped Benjamin to _____________.

A.master the use of paints

B.appreciate landscape paintings

C.get to know other painters

D.make up his mind to be a painter

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.B

4.D

【解析】

试题本文属于记叙文，主要讲了美国绘画之父Benjamin在决定要成为一名

画家之前的经历。

1.C 中心思想题，文章主要介绍了美国绘画之父Benjamin在决定成为一名画家之前

的生活经历，故选C.

2.推理判断题，此句是第三段的首句，所以可根据第三段的大意来推断这句话想要告

诉我们什么，这段主要讲了Benjamin的一个表哥由于被Benjamin的绘画才能所打

动，所以就送给他一些颜料和一些真正的画笔，所以划线句“猫的境地将要得到改

善”是表明Benjamin很快有了真正的画笔，所以不用剪猫的毛来做画笔了，故选

D.

3.B细节理解题，根据最后一段“Mr. Pennington gave Benjamin materials for creating oil paintings”, 可知Pennington为了帮助Benjamin培养绘画天赋，给他提供了一些绘画材料，故选B.

4.D细节理解题，根据最后一段“While it is likely that he understood very little of the books, they were his introduction to classical paintings. The nine-year-old boy decided then that he would be an artist, 可知：这两本书帮助Benjamin坚定了自己成为一名画家的决心，故选D.