2012年考研英語閱讀理解精讀篇（六）_跨考網(wǎng)

　　TEXT TWO

　　The haunting paintings of Helene Schjerfbeck, on show in the final leg of a travelling tour that has already attracted thousands of visitors in Hamburg and The Hague, may come as a surprise to many. Few outside the Nordic world would recognise the work of this Finnish artist who died in 1946. More people should. The 120 works have at their core 20 self-portraits, half the number she painted in all. The first, dated 1880, is of a wide-eyed teenager eager to absorb everything. The last is a sighting of the artist's ghost-to-be; Schjerfbeck died the year after it was made. Together this series is among the most moving and accomplished autobiographies-in-paint.

　　Precociously gifted, Schjerfbeck was 11 when she entered the Finnish Art Society's drawing school. “The Wounded Warrior in the Snow”, a history painting, was bought by a private collector and won her a state travel grant when she was 17. Schjerfbeck studied in Paris, went on to Pont-Aven, Brittany, where she painted for a year, then to Tuscany, Cornwall and St Petersburg. During her 1887 visit to St Ives, Cornwall, Schjerfbeck painted “The Convalescent”. A child wrapped in a blanket sits propped up in a large wicker chair, toying with a sprig. The picture won a bronze medal at the 1889 Paris World Fair and was bought by the Finnish Art Society. To a modern eye it seems almost sentimental and is redeemed only by the somewhat stunned, melancholy expression on the child's face, which may have been inspired by Schjerfbeck's early experiences. At four, she fell down a flight of steps and never fully recovered.

　　In 1890, Schjerfbeck settled in Finland. Teaching exhausted her, she did not like the work of other local painters, and she was further isolated when she took on the care of her mother (who lived until 1923). “If I allow myself the freedom to live a secluded life”, she wrote, “then it is because it has to be that way.” In 1902, Schjerfbeck and her mother settled in the small, industrial town of Hyvinkaa, 50 kilometres north of Helsinki. Isolation had one desired effect for it was there that Schjerfbeck became a modern painter. She produced still lives and landscapes but above all moody yet incisive portraits of her mother, local school girls, women workers in town (profiles of a pensive, aristocratic looking seamstress dressed in black stand out). And of course she painted herself. Comparisons have been made with James McNeill Whistler and Edvard Munch. But from 1905, her pictures became pure Schjerfbeck.

　　“I have always searched for the dense depths of the soul, that have not yet discovered themselves”, she wrote, “where everything is still unconscious—there one can make the greatest discoveries.” She experimented with different kinds of underpainting, scraped and rubbed, made bright rosy red spots; doing whatever had to be done to capture the subconscious—her own and that of her models. In 1913, Schjerfbeck was rediscovered by an art dealer and journalist, Gosta Stenman. Once again she was a success. Retrospectives, touring exhibitions and a biography followed, yet Schjerfbeck remained little known outside Scandinavia. That may have had something to do with her indifference to her renown. “I am nothing, absolutely nothing”, she wrote. “All I want to do is paint”. Schjerfbeck was possessed of a unique vision, and it is time the world recognised that.

　　1. Schjerfbeck’s paintings may come as a surprise to many because_____

　　[A] her paintings are rarely known outside the Nordic world.

　　[B] her paintings have never been on show out of the Nordic world

　　[C] her paintings have the power to haunt people whoever have seen them.

　　[D] her paintings focus on supernatural elements such as ghosts.

　　2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

　　[A] “The Convalescent” is in fact a portrait of Schjerfbeck in her childhood.

　　[B] “The Convalescent” is a reflection of Schejerfbeck’s sentimental childhood.

　　[C] “The Convalescent” is made as a result of an accident in Schejerfbeck’s childhood.

　　[D] “The Convalescent” is featured by the child’s stunned, melancholy expression.

　　3.Schejerbeck chose to live a secluded life mainly because of ____

　　[A] she was exhausted by her teaching job.

　　[B] her personality prefers this kind of style.

　　[C] she could not appreciate the work of the other local painters.

　　[D] her mother’s health condition required her to adopt such a life style.

　　4.Schjerfbeck remained little known outside the Nordic world probably because_____

　　[A] she did not make efforts to publicize her works.

　　[B] she knew that her works would gain worldwide recognition one day.

　　[C] she only cared about her painting instead of personal fame.

　　[D] the last thing she was interested in was to have people disturb her.

　　5. We can infer from the passage that the most outstanding characteristics of Schjerfbeck’s paintings is_____

　　[A] her vivid characterization of common people.

　　[B] her capture of the characters’ soul.

　　[C] the melancholy expression of the characters.

　　[D] her unconscious sense of some mysterious elements.

　　篇章剖析：

　　這篇文章介紹了畫家Schejerfbeck的創(chuàng)作經(jīng)歷。第一段先由畫展引出本文的主人公Schejerfbeck來;第二段講述Schejerfbeck早期的創(chuàng)作經(jīng)歷和成績;第三段講述Schejerfbeck創(chuàng)作如何成熟的;第四段講述Schejerfbeck創(chuàng)作的體會(huì)和特點(diǎn)。

　　詞匯注釋：

　　haunting adj不易忘懷的，常浮現(xiàn)在心頭的 leg n. 最后一程

　　precociously adv. 過早地 convalescent n.恢復(fù)期病人; adj. 恢復(fù)期的;漸愈的

　　redeem v. 彌補(bǔ)，補(bǔ)救 sprig n. 植物的小枝

　　incisive adj. 尖刻的 moody adj. 喜怒無常的, 憂悒

　　pensive adj. 沉思的 seamstress n. 女裁縫

　　難句突破:

　　(1) The haunting paintings of Helene Schjerfbeck, on show in the final leg of a travelling tour that has already attracted thousands of visitors in Hamburg and The Hague, may come as a surprise to many.

　　[主體句式] The haunting paintings may come as a surprise to many.

　　[結(jié)構(gòu)分析] 這是一個(gè)簡單句，主語有一個(gè)比較復(fù)雜的介詞短語作定語on show…，在這個(gè)介詞短語中，充當(dāng)狀語的介詞短語中介詞的賓語帶有以that引導(dǎo)的定語從句。

　　[句子譯文] Helene Schjerfbeck那些讓人不易忘懷的畫在這次巡展最后的展出將會(huì)給人帶來許多驚喜，而其實(shí)這次巡展已經(jīng)吸引了漢堡和海牙成千上萬的游客。

　　(2) To a modern eye it seems almost sentimental and is redeemed only by the somewhat stunned, melancholy expression on the child's face, which may have been inspired by Schjerfbeck's early experiences.

　　[主體句式] It seems almost sentimental and is redeemed only by …

　　[結(jié)構(gòu)分析] 這是一個(gè)并列句，第二個(gè)分句的狀語比較復(fù)雜，介詞短語的賓語expression帶有一個(gè)由which引導(dǎo)的非限定性定語從句。

　　[句子譯文] 在現(xiàn)代人看來這幅畫仿佛是感傷的，只有孩子有點(diǎn)發(fā)呆、憂郁的表情算是一點(diǎn)緩和。這可能是Schjerfbeck小時(shí)候的經(jīng)歷觸發(fā)而創(chuàng)作的。

　　題目分析：

　　1. Schjerfbeck’s paintings may come as a surprise to many because_____1.許多人看到 Schjerfbeck的作品都會(huì)大吃一驚因?yàn)開____

　　[A] her paintings are rarely known outside the Nordic world.[A] 日耳曼世界之外很少有人知道她的作品。

　　[B] her paintings have never been on show out of the Nordic world.[B]她的作品從沒在日耳曼世界之外的地方展覽過。

　　[C] her paintings have the power to haunt people whoever have seen them.[C] 她的作品給人來帶揮之不去的印象。

　　[D] her paintings focus on supernatural elements such as ghosts.[D]她的作品注重一些超自然的因素，諸如鬼神等。

　　[答案]A

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆☆

　　[分析] 推理題。文章第一段提到，Schejerfbeck作品巡回展在德國和海牙吸引了好多人，大部分人看到她的作品都會(huì)吃驚，緊接著就說日耳曼世界之外很少有人見過她的作品，但是她的作品理應(yīng)受到更多人的觀賞?？梢酝茰y，她的作品是比較優(yōu)秀的作品，但因?yàn)榇蠖鄶?shù)人從沒見過，第一次看到會(huì)感覺震驚。因此，主要原因是日耳曼世界之外很少有人知道她的作品。B選項(xiàng)顯然與原文不符，因?yàn)樗淖髌吩谌斩獾牡貐^(qū)也展示過。C和D只是片面概括了她作品的一些特點(diǎn)，并不符合題意。

　　2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?2.根據(jù)文章，下列哪一個(gè)論述是正確的?

　　[A] “The Convalescent” is in fact a portrait of Schjerfbeck in her childhood.[A] “正在康復(fù)的人”實(shí)際上是Schjerfbeck描述自己兒童時(shí)期的一幅自畫像。

　　[B] “The Convalescent” is a reflection of Schejerfbeck’s sentimental childhood.[B] “正在康復(fù)的人”反應(yīng)了Schjerfbeck感傷的兒童時(shí)代。

　　[C] “The Convalescent” is made as a result of an accident in Schejerfbeck’s childhood.[C] “正在康復(fù)的人”是因Schjerfbeck兒童時(shí)期發(fā)生的一起意外才創(chuàng)作的。

　　[D] “The Convalescent” is featured by the child’s stunned, melancholy expression.[D] “正在康復(fù)的人”主要突出描繪了兒童發(fā)呆、憂郁的表情。

　　[答案]C

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆☆☆

　　[分析] 細(xì)節(jié)題。題目是有關(guān)Schejerfbeck早期作品“正在康復(fù)的人”，文中提到從現(xiàn)代人的角度看，這幅作品比較感傷，只是孩子有點(diǎn)發(fā)呆、憂郁的表情稍微緩和了這種情緒，這幅作品可能是受其兒童時(shí)期經(jīng)歷的影響才創(chuàng)作的，因?yàn)樗r(shí)候從樓梯上摔了下來。因此，四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，A 并不是她的自畫像;B 這幅畫并不是要表現(xiàn)她感傷的兒童時(shí)代，只是兒童時(shí)期經(jīng)歷過一次意外摔傷是創(chuàng)作這幅畫的誘因而已;C說明了創(chuàng)作誘因，是正確的;D與文章內(nèi)容不符。

　　3.Schejerfbeck chose to live a secluded life mainly because ____3.Schejerfbeck選擇了一種隱居生活主要因?yàn)開____

　　[A] she was exhausted by her teaching job.[A] 她厭倦了教書的生活。

　　[B] her personality prefers this kind of style.[B] 她個(gè)性使得她選擇了這樣的一種生活方式。

　　[C] she could not appreciate the work of the other local painters.[C] 她不喜歡當(dāng)?shù)仄渌嫾业淖髌贰?/p>

　　[D] her mother’s bad health condition required her to adopt such a life style.[D] 她母親身體不好，因此她必須以這種方式生活。

　　[答案] B

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆☆☆☆

　　[分析] 細(xì)節(jié)題。Schejerfbeck選擇了過隱居生活，這在文章第二段中有具體描述。首先她厭倦了教授繪畫的工作，也不喜歡當(dāng)?shù)仄渌嫾业淖髌罚偌由纤?fù)擔(dān)起照顧母親的責(zé)任，她就最終選擇了隱居，她自己提到這個(gè)時(shí)說：“如果我允許自己選擇了一種隱居地生活，那是因?yàn)槭虑橹荒苋绱??！狈治鏊[居的原因，最主要的還是前兩個(gè)，一個(gè)是厭倦了繪畫工作，一個(gè)是不喜歡當(dāng)?shù)仄渌嫾易髌?，這都與她的個(gè)性有關(guān)。因此，追根究底其原因是她本身性格所致。

　　4.Schjerfbeck remained little known outside the Nordic world probably because_____4.Schejerfbeck 在日耳曼之外的世界少被人知道是因?yàn)開____

　　[A] she did not make efforts to publicize her works.[A] 她沒有花力氣去宣傳自己的作品。

　　[B] she knows that her works would gain worldwide recognition one day. [B] 她知道自己的作品總有一天會(huì)得到世界的承認(rèn)。

　　[C] she only cared about her painting instead of personal fame. [C] 她只關(guān)心她的繪畫，對名利并不感興趣。

　　[D] the last thing she was interested in was to have people disturb her. [D] 她最不感興趣的事情就是讓別人打擾她。

　　[答案]C

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆☆☆☆

　　[分析] 細(xì)節(jié)題。文章最后一段提到，雖然有作品回顧展、巡回展出、傳記，但是在斯堪的納維亞半島之外很少有人知道她。這也許和她對聲望不予理會(huì)有關(guān)?！拔也皇鞘裁疵?，絕對不是，”她這樣寫道，“我需要的只是繪畫?！蔽恼聫?qiáng)調(diào)她只關(guān)心繪畫，不關(guān)心自己的名望，這是她不是很出名的主要原因。因此，C為正確答案。A和D都是她的一些行為，這些行為歸根結(jié)底的原因還是在于C選項(xiàng)提及的內(nèi)容。而B選項(xiàng)顯得夸口很大，顯然不符合她的低調(diào)風(fēng)格。

　　5. We can infer from the passage that the most outstanding characteristics of Schjerfbeck’s paintings is_____5.從文章可以推斷出Schejerfbeck作品最顯著的特點(diǎn)是_____

　　[A] her vivid characterization of common people.[A] 她對于普通人的生動(dòng)刻畫。

　　[B] her capture of the characters’ soul.[B] 她抓住了人物的靈魂。

　　[C] the melancholy expression of the characters.[C] 人物憂郁的表情。

　　[D] her unconscious sense of some mysterious elements.[D] 她有意識(shí)地使用了一些神秘因素。

　　[答案] B

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆☆☆

　　[分析] 推理題。關(guān)于Schejerfbeck作品的特點(diǎn)，文章并沒有直接提及，但是可以從字里行間判斷出來。Schejerfbeck的作品主要是人物，在最后一段中提到她為了把握人物靈魂深處，運(yùn)用了各種手段，可見，她作品的主要特點(diǎn)在于她對人物靈魂的把握，答案B正確。A和C都是她畫作的一些表面特點(diǎn)，而其最根本特點(diǎn)還是在于抓住了人物的靈魂。D選項(xiàng)的表述雖然也是特點(diǎn)之一，但是也還是為B選項(xiàng)服務(wù)的。

　　參考譯文:

　　Helene Schjerfbeck那些讓人不易忘懷的畫在這次巡展最后的展出將會(huì)給人帶來許多驚喜，而其實(shí)這次巡展已經(jīng)吸引了漢堡和海牙成千上萬的游客。日耳曼世界之外很少會(huì)有人認(rèn)出這位于1946年去世的芬蘭藝術(shù)家的作品來，但更多的人應(yīng)該認(rèn)出她的作品。在這120幅作品中有20幅是她的自畫像，這是她所有創(chuàng)作的自畫像的一半。第一副創(chuàng)作于1880年，是渴望吸收一切的一個(gè)大眼睛少女，而最后一幅是藝術(shù)家即將成為鬼魂的一幕，而她正是在這幅作品創(chuàng)作完畢后的那年去世的。這個(gè)系列是最生動(dòng)、最完美的自畫像之一。

　　Schjerfbeck少年就富有天賦，11歲就進(jìn)入了芬蘭藝術(shù)協(xié)會(huì)的繪畫學(xué)校?！把┲惺軅膽?zhàn)士”是一幅歷史畫，由一位私人收藏家買走，這使得她在17歲就贏得了可以環(huán)游整個(gè)國家的資金。她在巴黎學(xué)習(xí)，后來又到不列塔尼的Pont-Aven，在那里她畫了一年，隨后又去了托斯卡納區(qū)、康沃爾和圣彼得堡。1887年訪問康沃爾的圣艾夫斯期間，她創(chuàng)作了“正在康復(fù)的病人”——裹著一條毯子的一個(gè)小孩靠著一把大柳條椅坐著，手里玩著一個(gè)小樹枝。這幅作品在1889年巴黎世界展覽上贏得了銅牌，并被芬蘭藝術(shù)協(xié)會(huì)買走。在現(xiàn)代人看來這幅畫仿佛是感傷的，只有孩子有點(diǎn)發(fā)呆、憂郁的表情算是一點(diǎn)緩和。這可能是Schjerfbeck小時(shí)候的經(jīng)歷觸發(fā)而創(chuàng)作的。她4歲時(shí)從樓梯上摔了下來，后來再?zèng)]有痊愈過。

　　1890年，Schjerfbeck在芬蘭定居。她厭煩了教學(xué)生涯，她不喜歡其他當(dāng)?shù)禺嫾业淖髌?，而后來?dāng)她開始照顧她母親(活到1923年)時(shí)就變得更孤立了?！叭绻以试S自己選擇了一種隱居地生活”她寫道，“那是因?yàn)槭虑橹荒苓@樣?！?902年，Schjerfbeck和她母親定居在工業(yè)小鎮(zhèn)Hyvinkaa，在赫爾辛基北面50公里的地方。

　　不過與世隔絕倒是有一種理想的效果，因?yàn)榫褪窃谀抢颯chjerfbeck轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)橐幻F(xiàn)代畫家。依舊，她畫了許多靜止的生命和景物，但最重要的是畫了她那憂悒、尖刻的母親，還有當(dāng)?shù)厣蠈W(xué)的女孩、小鎮(zhèn)上的女工人(其中一位穿黑衣的、沉思的、具有貴族氣質(zhì)的女裁縫師的側(cè)面像最為突出)。當(dāng)然她還畫了自己。人們將她的畫和James McNeill Whistler、Edward Munch的做對比，但從1905年開始，她的作品變成純粹的Schjerfbeck風(fēng)格：

　　“我一直在尋找靈魂的最深處，但是它們還是沒有找到自己，”她這樣寫道，“哪里有無意識(shí)的東西，哪里們就有最偉大的發(fā)現(xiàn)。”她嘗試著使用了不同的畫底色，刮了，擦了，畫出了明亮的玫瑰紅點(diǎn);她做了一切自己能做的去捕捉潛意識(shí)——她自己的，還有她的那些模特的。1913年，Schjerfbeck被一位藝術(shù)商人兼記者Gosta Stenman重新發(fā)現(xiàn)。這一次她又成功了。作品回顧展、巡回展出，接著是一部傳記，但是在斯堪的納維亞半島之外很少有人知道她。這也許和她對聲望不予理會(huì)有關(guān)?！拔也皇鞘裁疵耍^對不是，”她這樣寫道，“我需要的只是繪畫?！?Schjerfbeck有獨(dú)特的眼光，現(xiàn)在是全世界該認(rèn)識(shí)她的時(shí)候了。