When you’re out with a friend and take a photo of yourselves,do you know that you are also creating a work of art? Or that you are competing with Vincent Van Gogh himself? Probably not.Your idea might be to show off your selfie(自拍)on WeChat or QQ,but you probably don’t think of the Internet as a gallery or of yourself as an artist.
But the manager of London’s Saatchi Gallery,Nigel Hurst,thinks that the casual pictures we take of ourselves do have something in common with self-portraits by the great masters.In support of the idea,the Saatchi Gallery has a new exhibition called From Selfie to Self-Expression,which is running now until May 30.
It features well-known self-portraits from artists including those drawn by Dutch painters Van Gogh and Rembrandt.It also has selfies on show,which include one taken by US celebrity Kim Kardashian and another of former US President Barack Obama with former UK Prime Minister David Cameron,according to the BBC.The gallery is even encouraging visitors to add their own selfies to the show.
Hurst is perhaps not being 100 percent serious.He isn’t claiming that a snap you take of yourself in your favorite restaurant can be compared with a self-image painted by Van Gogh.But he does make a serious point.Once upon a time,it was only artists who could make images of themselves.They were the only ones,as Hurst told The Guardian,who “had the skills,materials and tools to create self-portraits.”Today,however,we “all have that ability through our smartphones.”
And Hurst described the smartphone selfie as an example of “a transform in society using technology as a means of self-expression”.He told The Guardian:“The selfie generation is becoming the self-expression generation as each of us seeks to explore and share our inner creativity through the one artistic tool to which we all have access,the smartphone.”
1.What is the new exhibition intended to express?
A.A celebrity’s selfie is more likely to become a masterpiece.
B.Selfies are a better way to express oneself than self-portraits.
C.Smartphones have changed the way people understand the world.
D.Selfies have something in common with great artists’ self-portraits.
2.What does the underlined word “those” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A.Self-portraits. B.Selfies. C.Artists. D.Visitors.
3.Which of the following would Nigel Hurst agree with?
A.Selfies help us master the skills used by earlier artists.
B.Every snap you take of yourself can have artistic value.
C.Self-portraits of great masters have lost their attraction.
D.Selfies offer people a chance to explore their creativity.
4.What is the writer’s purpose in writing this article?
A.To remind readers of works from some famous artists.
B.To explain the reason for people enjoying taking selfies.
C.To introduce a new exhibition of selfies and self-portraits.
D.To make a comparison between selfies and self-portraits.
语篇解读:科技的发展、智能手机的普及已经使得自拍成为一种艺术。
答案及剖析:
1.D 细节理解题。根据第二段中的the casual pictures we take of ourselves do have something in common with self-portraits by the great masters.可知,自拍与艺术大师的自画像有相同之处,因此D项是正确答案。
2.A 代词指代题。those指代前文提到的“艺术家的自画像”,因此A项是正确答案。
3.D 推理判断题。根据文章最后一句可知,自拍的一代人正成为自我表达的一代人,因为我们可以通过智能手机来探索和分享我们内在的创造力。因此D项是正确答案。
4.C 主旨大意题。纵观原文,作者主要介绍了一个名为From Selfie to Self-Expression的展览,并借此引出了对于手机自拍现象的反思。
