Paintings are static. The uniqueness of the experience of looking at a painting repeatedly—over a period of days or years—is that, in the midst of flux, the image remains changeless. Of course the significance of the image may change, as a result of either historical or personal developments, but depicted is unchanging the same milk flowing from the same jug, the waves on the sea with exactly the same formation unbroken, the smile and the face which have not altered.
One might be tempted to say that paintings preserve a moment. Yet on reflection this is obviously untrue. For the moment of a painting, unlike a moment photographed, never existed as such. And so a painting cannot be said to preserve it.
If a painting “stops”, time, it is not, like a photograph, preserving a moment of the past from the supersession of succeeding moments. I am thinking of the image within the frame, the scene which is depicted. Clearly if one considers an artist’s life-work or the history of art, one is treating paintings as being, partly, records of the past, evidence of what has been. Yet this historical view, whether used within a Marxist or idealist tradition, has prevented most art experts from considering—or even noticing—the problem of how time exists (or does not) within painting.
In early Renaissance art, in paintings from non-European cultures, in certain modern works, the image implies a passage of time. Looking at it, the spectator sees before, during and after. The Chinese sage takes a walk from one tree to another, the carriage runs over the child, the nude descends the staircase. And this of course has been analyzed and commented upon. Yet the ensuing image is still static whilst referring to the dynamic world beyond its edges, and this poses the problem of what is the meaning of that strange contrast between static and dynamic. Strange because it is both so flagrant and so taken for granted.
Painters themselves practise a partial answer, even if it remains unformulated in words. When is a painting finished? Not when it finally corresponds to something already existing—like the second shoe of a pair—but when the foreseen ideal moment of it being looked at is filled as the painter feels or calculates it should be filled. The long or short process of painting a picture is the process of constructing the future moments when it will be looked at. In reality, despite the painter’s ideal, these moments cannot be entirely determined. They can never be entirely filled by the painting. Nevertheless the painting is entirely addressed to these moments.
Whether the painter is a hack or a master makes no difference to the “address” of the painting. The difference is in what a painting delivers; in how closely the moment of its being looked at, as foreseen by the painter, corresponds to the interests of the actual moments of its being looked at later by other people, when the circumstances surrounding its production (patronage, fashion, ideology) have changed.
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?
2. What does the pronoun it in the last line of the 4th paragraph refer to?
3. When is a painting finished according to the author?
4. It can be inferred from the text that _____.
5. The best title for this text might be _____.
问题1选项
A.A specific moment is preserved the time a painting is created.
B.The content of a painting remains static though its implication may keep changing.
C.A painting stops time in that “it” depicts a moment of the past and fixes it within the frame.
D.A Marxist view tends to see a painting as changing all the time.
问题2选项
A.The ensuing image.
B.The problem.
C.The meaning of the contrast.
D.The contrast between static and dynamic.
问题3选项
A.When it realistically depicts something in the real world.
B.When the artist foresees how his painting will be received by the public.
C.When the moment of its being looked at corresponds to the artist’s expectation of how it’s going to be looked at.
D.When the artist can determine the moment when it will be looked at.
问题4选项
A.images in some Renaissance paintings may hot necessarily be static
B.paintings by a hack or by a master are the same in that they address the same people
C.whether a painting is static or dynamic is determined not by the painter but by those who look at it
D.unlike a painting, a photograph can preserve a moment
问题5选项
A.Painting and Time
B.Painters and Their Works
C.The Static and the Dynamic
D.The History of Painting as a Form of Art
第1题:B
第2题:D
第3题:C
第4题:D
第5题:D
第1题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text? 根据文章，下列哪个陈述是正确的？
A. A specific moment is preserved the time a painting is created. A. 一幅画创作的时候，一个特定的时刻被保存下来。
B. The content of a painting remains static though its implication may keep changing. B. 一幅画的内容是静态的，但它的含义可能会不断变化。
C. A painting stops time in that it depicts a moment of the past and fixes it within the frame. C. 一幅画使时间停止，在于它描绘了过去的一个时刻，并将其固定在画面中。
D. A Marxist view tends to see a painting as changing all the time. D. 马克思主义的观点倾向于认为一幅画总是在变化的。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到第一段第三句“当然，由于历史或个人的发展，一幅画的含义（the significance of the image）可能会发生变化，但描绘的内容（depicted is unchanging）是不变的”由此可知，选项B符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“一幅画创作的时候，一个特定的时刻被保存下来”，与原文第二段第一句“人们可能会说，绘画保存某个时刻（preserve a moment）。然而仔细想想，这显然是不真实的（untrue）”不符，属于曲解原文；
C选项“一幅画使时间停止，在于它描绘了过去的一个时刻，并将其固定在画面中”，与原文第三段第一、二句“如果一幅画使时间停止，它不像一张照片，保存过去的时刻……我在想固定在画面中的图像……”不符，属于曲解原文；
D选项“马克思主义的观点倾向于认为一幅画总是在变化的”，原文没有提及，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
What does the pronoun “it” in the last line of the 4th paragraph refer to? 第四段最后一行中的代词it指的是什么？
A. The ensuing image. A. 随后的形象。
B. The problem. B. 这个问题。
C. The meaning of the contrast. C. 对比的意义。
D. The contrast between static and dynamic. D. 静态与动态的对比。
【考查点】词义推测题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到原文第四段的最后两句“这就提出了一个问题：静态和动态之间的奇怪对比（strange contrast between static and dynamic）是什么意思？奇怪（Strange），因为它既如此明目张胆，又如此理所当然”结合it上文可知，it是指“静态和动态的对比”，选项D符合。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、C选项不符合词义，属于曲解原文。
第3题:
【选项释义】
When is a painting finished according to the author? 根据作者的说法，一幅画什么时候完成？
A. When it realistically depicts something in the real world. A. 当它逼真地描绘现实世界中的事物时。
B. When the artist foresees how his painting will be received by the public. B. 当艺术家预见到他的画将如何被公众接受时。
C. When the moment of its being looked at corresponds to the artist’s expectation of how it’s going to be looked at. C. 当它被观看的时刻符合艺术家对它将被如何观看的预期时。
D. When the artist can determine the moment when it will be looked at. D. 当艺术家可以决定什么时候可以被看到时。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到原文第五段第二、三句“一幅画什么时候完成？……而是当画家感觉或计算它应该被填补时，预见到的理想时刻（foreseen ideal moment）被看到了”由此可知，选项C符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、D选项原文没有提及，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
It can be inferred from the text that _____. 从文中可以推断出_____。
A. images in some Renaissance paintings may hot necessarily be static A. 在一些文艺复兴时期的绘画中，画面可能是活跃的，但必然是静态的
B. paintings by a hack or by a master are the same in that they address the same people B. 平庸人的画和大师的画都是一样的，都是对同一个人画的
C. whether a painting is static or dynamic is determined not by the painter but by those who look at it C. 一幅画是静态的还是动态的，不是由画家决定的，而是由观看者决定的
D. unlike a painting, a photograph can preserve a moment D. 与绘画不同，照片可以保存瞬间
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到原文第三段第一句“如果说一副画（a painting）将某段时间锁住了，那么也和照片不一样，它无法同照片一样（like a photograph）将过去的某一时刻保存下来（preserving a moment of the past）”这样就可以看出照片可以将某一时刻保存下来，D项阐述正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“在一些文艺复兴时期的绘画中，画面可能是活跃的，但必然是静态的”，与原文第四段倒数第二句“然而，随后的图像仍然是静态的（still static），同时指向动态的世界（dynamic world）”不符，属于曲解原文；
B选项“平庸人的画和大师的画都是一样的，都是对同一个人画的”与原文最后一段一、二句“画家是平庸之人（a hack）还是大师（a master）对画的欣赏者来说区别不大，他们的区别在于画所表达的内容（The difference is in what a painting delivers;）”不符，属于曲解原文；
C选项“一幅画是静态的还是动态的，不是由画家决定的，而是由观看者决定的”，原文没有提及，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
The best title for this text might be _____. 本文的最佳标题可能是_____。
A. Painting and Time A. 画画和时间
B. Painters and Their Works B. 画家和他们的作品
C. The Static and the Dynamic C. 静态和动态
D. The History of Painting as a Form of Art D. 绘画作为一种艺术形式的历史
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】文章主要讲了绘画这种艺术形式，还提到了绘画与时间、静态与动态以及画家和作品等内容，所以选项D符合主旨。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、C选项属于文章的部分内容，属于以偏概全。
