US heartland gets taste of Chinese culture

2023-02-21石欣灵

疯狂英语·新读写 2023年1期

主题语境：艺术博物馆篇幅：344词建议用时：7分钟

1The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City,Missouri collects more than 7,500 high-quality Chinese works,ranging from ceramics (瓷器) to furniture,and from paintings to sculptures.“We may not have the biggest Chinese art collection,but it is one of the finest in the world,”says Ling-en Lu,curator (馆长)and Chinese art specialist of the museum.

2An exhibition on the theme of Lively Creatures: Animals in Chinese Art was held at the museum,which displayed lots of ancient Chinese paintings with images of animals in many art forms.The creatures on the paintings represent celebration,personal messages,and so on.

3Organizers of the exhibition produced a set of cards,with images of animals on one side and their cultural meanings in Chinese artistic tradition on the other.For example,deer symbolize a long life.The cards are provided to visitors for free.

4“I find it very interesting,and the way that the things are drawn is very cool,”says Camden Lombard,a 17-year-old high school student,after visiting the exhibition.“I feel like I know a lot more about Chinese culture and what Chinese people were like back then as well as their beliefs and stuff.“I want to go to China someday to find more,”he adds.

5“It's a big source of pride having such a collection of Chinese art,”says Christie Makar,an educator with the school outreach and educator programs of the museum.“It's kind of eye-opening and we're bringing the world together,”says Makar.“There are so many similarities and we can appreciate the beauty and the work that artists from around the world have created.We're also trying to give our students the idea that there are differences,but they are beautiful differences.”

6“We're in a situation where it's sometimes hard to look outside of your own personal viewpoints,”says Marla,manager of volunteer engagement at the museum.“I think having access to seeing what other cultures have created,what they valued and appreciated and what was important to them,is really important in building that understanding about all the people we share this planet with.”

Reading Check

Gist

1.What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A.The history of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

B.Reasons for building the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

C.Functions of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

D.A brief introduction to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

Detail

2.What do we know about the exhibition Lively Creatures: Animals in Chinese Art?

A.It was held both in China and America.

B.It offered free cultural cards to its visitors.

C.It aimed at promoting Chinese culture among students.

D.It involved paintings with images of animals and people.

Inference

3.What's Christie Makar's attitude towards Chinese art?

A.Critical. B.Neutral.

C.Optimistic. D.Suspicious.

Inference

4.What can we infer from Marla's words in the last paragraph?

A.It is vital to understand other cultures.

B.It matters a lot to hold on to one's own cultural roots.

C.It is sometimes important to have our own viewpoints.

D.It is tough to deal with culture shock at the present moment.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Discover useful structures in the text

1.which引导非限制性定语从句

An exhibition on the theme of Lively Creatures: Animals in Chinese Art was held at the museum,which displayed lots of ancient Chinese paintings with images of animals in many art forms.馆内举办了以“生气勃勃：中国艺术中的动物”为主题的展览，展出了许多中国古代绘画作品，这些画中有以多种艺术形式呈现的动物形象。

2.that引导同位语从句

We're also trying to give our students the idea that there are differences,but they are beautiful differences.我们也试图让我们的学生知道存在差异，但它们是美丽的差异。