That Louise Nevelson is believed by many critics to be the greatest twentieth-century sculptor is all the more remarkable because the greatest resistance to women artists has been, until recently, in the field of sculpture. Since Neolithic times, sculpture has been considered the prerogative of men, partly, perhaps, for purely physical reasons; it was erroneously assumed that women were not suited for the hard manual labor required in sculpting stone, carving wood, or working in metal. It has been only during the twentieth century that women sculptors have been recognized as major artists, and it has been in the United States, especially since the decades of the fifties and sixties, that women sculptors have shown the greatest originality and creative power. Their rise to prominence parallels the development of sculpture itself in the United States; while there had been a few talented sculptors in the United States before the 1940, it was only after 1945 ——when New York was rapidly becoming the art capital of the world ——that major sculpture was produced in the United States. Some of the best was the work of women.
By far the most outstanding of these women is Louise Nevelson, who in the eyes of many critics is the most original female artist alive today. One famous and influential critic, Hilton Kramer, said of her work. “For myself, I think Ms. Nevelson succeeds where the painters often fail.”
Her works have been compared to the Cubist constructions of Picasso, the Surrealistic objects of Miro, and the Merzbau of Schwitters. Nevelson would be the first to admit that she has been influenced by all of these, as well as by African sculpture, and by Native American and pre-Columbian art, but she has absorbed all these influences and still created a distinctive art that expresses the urban landscape and the aesthetic sensibility of the twentieth century. Nevelson says, “I have always wanted to show the world that art is everywhere, except that it has to pass through a creative mind.”
Using mostly discarded wooden objects like packing crates, broken pieces of furniture, and abandoned architectural ornaments, all of which she has hoarded for years, she assembles architectural constructions of great beauty and power. Creating very freely with no sketches, she glues and nails objects together, paints them black, or more rarely white or gold, and places them in boxes. These assemblages, walls, even entire environments create a mysterious, almost awe-inspiring atmosphere. Although she has denied any symbolic or religious intent in her works, their three-dimensional grandeur and even their titles, such as Sky Cathedral and Night Cathedral, suggest such connotations. In some ways, her most ambitious works are closer to architecture than to traditional sculpture, blit then neither Louise Nevelson nor her art fits into any neat category.
1.The passage focuses primarily on which of the following?
2.Which of the following statements is supported by information given in the passage?
3.It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes which of the following about Nevelson’s sculptures?
4.Which of the following statements about Nevelson’s sculptures can be inferred from the passage?
问题1选项
A.A general tendency in twentieth-century art
B.The work of a particular artist
C.The artistic influences on women sculptors
D.Critical responses to twentieth-century sculpture
问题2选项
A.Prior to 1945 there was little major sculpture produced by men or women sculptors working in the United States.
B.Since 1950 sculpture produced in the United States has been the most original and creative sculpture produced anywhere.
C.From 1900 to 1950 women sculptors in Europe enjoyed more recognition for their work than did women sculptors in the United States.
D.Prior to 1945 there were many women sculptors whose work was ignored by critics.
问题3选项
A.They show the influence of twentieth-century architecture.
B.They do not have qualities characteristic of sculpture
C.They are mysterious and awe-inspiring, but not beautiful.
D.They suggest religious and symbolic meanings.
问题4选项
A.They are meant for display outdoors.
B.They are often painted in several colors.
C.They are sometimes very large.
D.They are built around a central wooden object.
第1题:
【选项释义】
The passage focuses primarily on which of the following? 这篇文章主要关注以下哪项内容？
A. A general tendency in twentieth-century art. A. 二十世纪艺术的普遍趋势。
B. The work of a particular artist. B. 某位艺术家的作品。
C. The artistic influences on women sculptors. C. 对女雕塑家的艺术影响。
D. Critical responses to twentieth-century sculpture. D. 对二十世纪雕塑的批判性回应。
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】文章第一段首句提出That Louise Nevelson is believed by many critics to be the greatest twentieth-century sculptor is all the more remarkable because the greatest resistance to women artists has been, until recently, in the field of sculpture.（路易丝·内维尔森被许多评论家认为是20世纪最伟大的雕塑家，这一点尤为引人注目，因为直到最近，对女性艺术家的最大抵制一直发生在雕塑领域），结合随后的段落讲述了她的艺术作品特点，评论家对她的评论等可知B选项“某位艺术家的作品”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、C、D选项均未在文中体现，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following statements is supported by information given in the passage? 以下哪种说法得到了文中所提供信息的支持？
A. Prior to 1945 there was little major sculpture produced by men or women sculptors working in the United States. A. 1945年以前，这里很少有由男性或女性雕塑家创作的大型雕塑作品。
B. Since 1950 sculpture produced in the United States has been the most original and creative sculpture produced anywhere. B. 自1950年以来，在美国生产的雕塑一直是世界上最具原创性和创造性的雕塑。
C. From 1900 to 1950 women sculptors in Europe enjoyed more recognition for their work than did women sculptors in the United States. C. 从1900年到1950年，欧洲的女雕塑家比美国的女雕塑家更受认可。
D. Prior to 1945 there were many women sculptors whose work was ignored by critics. D. 在1945年之前，有许多女性雕塑家的作品被评论家所忽视。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据选项关键词1945定位文章第一段末尾两句Their rise to prominence parallels the development of sculpture itself in the United States; while there had been a few talented sculptors in the United States before the 1940, it was only after 1945 — when New York was rapidly becoming the art capital of the world — that major sculpture was produced in the United States. Some of the best was the work of women.（他们的崛起与雕塑本身在美国的发展是平行的；虽然在20世纪40年代之前，美国有一些有才华的雕塑家，但直到1945年之后，当纽约迅速成为世界艺术之都时，美国才出现了大型雕塑。其中一些最好的作品是女性的作品），可推断出A选项“1945年以前，这里很少有由男性或女性雕塑家创作的大型雕塑作品”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B、C、D选项均未在文中体现，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes which of the following about Nevelson’s sculptures? 从文章中可以推断出，作者认为以下哪项关于内维尔森的雕塑的表述是正确的？
A. They show the influence of twentieth-century architecture. A. 它们显示了二十世纪建筑的影响。
B. They do not have qualities characteristic of sculpture. B. 它们没有雕塑的特征。
C. They are mysterious and awe-inspiring, but not beautiful. C. 它们神秘而令人敬畏，但并不美丽。
D. They suggest religious and symbolic meanings. D. 它们具有宗教和象征意义。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据选项关键词religious and symbolic定位文章最后一段倒数第二句Although she has denied any symbolic or religious intent in her works, their three-dimensional grandeur and even their titles, such as Sky Cathedral and Night Cathedral, suggest such connotations.（尽管她否认她的作品有任何象征或宗教的意图，但他们的三维宏伟甚至他们的标题，如天空大教堂和夜晚大教堂，都暗示了这样的内涵），可知D选项“它们具有宗教和象征意义”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、B选项均未在文中体现，属于无中生有；
C选项“它们神秘而令人敬畏，但并不美丽”，根据文章尾段内容可知原文只出现了前半句的表述，属于过度判断。
第4题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following statements about Nevelson’s sculptures can be inferred from the passage? 以下哪项关于内维尔森雕塑的陈述可以从文章中推断出来？
A. They are meant for display outdoors. A. 它们是用来在户外展示的。
B They are often painted in several colors. B. 它们通常被涂上几种颜色。
C. They are sometimes very large. C. 它们有时候非常大。
D. They are built around a central wooden object. D. 它们是围绕一个中央木制物体建造的。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据文章尾段第三句These assemblages, walls, even entire environments create a mysterious, almost awe-inspiring atmosphere.（这些组合，墙壁，甚至整个环境创造了一种神秘的，几乎令人敬畏的氛围）可推断出内维森的雕塑“有时候是非常大的”，因此C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、B选项，根据文章尾段第二句Creating very freely with no sketches, she glues and nails objects together, paints them black, or more rarely white or gold, and places them in boxes.（她的创作非常自由，没有草图，她把物品粘在一起，把它们涂成黑色，或者更罕见的是白色或金色，然后把它们放在盒子里），可以推断出表述错误，属于曲解原文；
D选项“它们是围绕一个中央木制物体建造的”未在文中体现，属于无中生有。
