Question

Since my retirement(退休) from teaching music in 2001, I have spent a good deal of time painting as an artist. I actually began drawing again in the summer of 1995 when my father died, so perhaps I was trying to recover from the loss of my father, or maybe it was just that it brought back memories of him. In any case, I drew pen and ink animals and landscapes(風(fēng)景畫) much influenced(影響) by Krenkel and St. John for five years.

For some strange reason, I had been waiting until my retirement to start doing watercolors again, but as soon as I walked out of the school door for the last time I picked up my brushes and rediscovered Andrew Wyeth, who quickly became my favorite artist. I had looked through all the art books I had on my shelves and found his watercolors to be the closest to how I thought good watercolors should look. So I painted landscapes around Minnesota for three years and tried out many other types of painting. However, watercolors remained my first choice, and I think I did my best work there, showing my paintings at a number of art exhibitions.

Art is now together with my piano playing and reading. There is a time for everything in my world, and it is wonderful to have some time doing what I want to do. As Confucious once said, “At seventy I can follow my heart’s desire.”

What is the text mainly about?

A. Learning to paint in later life.                     B. How to paint watercolors

C. An artist-turned teacher                          D. Life after retirement

The author started drawing again in 1995 because_________.

A. he hoped to draw a picture of his father

B. he couldn’t stop missing his father

C. he had more time after retirement  

D. he liked animals and landscapes

We can infer from the text that the author__________.

A. had been taught by Krenkel and St. John

B. painted landscapes in Minnesota for 5 years

C. believed Wyeth to be the best in watercolors

D. started his retirement life at the age of severty

How does the author probably feel about his life as an artist?

A. Very enjoyable.   B. A bit regretful     C. Rather busy.        D. Fairly dull.

Answer 1

【小題1】D

【小題2】B

【小題3】C

【小題4】A

解析:

【小題1】本題考查歸納主旨大意的能力。第一段敘述的是退休后開始從事繪畫；第二段記敘的是退休后對(duì)水彩畫的癡迷；第三段講述的是多姿多彩的退休生活的美好感覺。由此可判斷此項(xiàng)正確。

【小題2】本題考查理解細(xì)節(jié)信息的能力。根據(jù)第一段第二句 “I actually began drawing again in the summer of 1995 when my father died, so perhaps I was trying to recover from the loss of my father, or maybe it was just that it brought back memories of him.”可知作者之所以繪畫是因?yàn)闊o法擺脫對(duì)父親的懷念。  

【小題3】本題考查根據(jù)文章細(xì)節(jié)信息進(jìn)行推理判斷的能力。根據(jù)第二段“…Andrew Wyeth, who quickly became my favorite artist.”可推斷作者認(rèn)為他的水彩畫造詣無人可比。根據(jù)第一段最后一句 “In any case, I drew pen and ink animals and landscapes(風(fēng)景畫) much influenced(影響) by Krenkel and St. John for five years.”可知作者只是受到他們的影響，因此A項(xiàng)錯(cuò)誤；根據(jù)第一段第一句可知作者自2001年退休以來一真賦閑在家，自得其樂，如今才體會(huì)到孔夫子說的“七十而從心所欲不逾矩”的含義，由此可判斷作者現(xiàn)在的年齡是70歲，而不是70歲退休，所以D項(xiàng)錯(cuò)誤。

【小題4】本題考查根據(jù)文章細(xì)節(jié)信息進(jìn)行推理判斷的能力。根據(jù)最后一段可知繪畫、讀書、彈鋼琴成了作者退休生活中不可或缺的一部分，由此可推斷此項(xiàng)正確。