Vincent Willem van Gogh (30 March, 1853 — 29 July, 1890) was a Dutch artist. He is considered one of the greatest artists with great influence on the 20thcentury art.
Van Gogh spent his early adult life working for a firm of art dealers. After a brief period as a teacher, he worked in a church in a very poor mining region. He did not begin his career as an artist until 1880. However, during the last ten years of his life, he produced more than 2,000 pieces, including around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawing and sketches. He worked only with somber colors until he met Impressionism (印象主义) in Paris. Van Gogh changed to use bright colors and style of painting in a uniquely recognizable style. Most of his bestknown works were produced during his final two years, when he was suffering from serious mental illness.
In 1890, at the age of 37, van Gogh shot himself in the chest. He died two days later, with Theo, his brother and his best friend, at his side, who reported his last words as “The sadness will last forever”. It would not take long before his fame grew higher and higher.
Van Gogh's mother threw away quite a number of his paintings. The only painting he sold during his lifetime, The Red Vineyard, was created in 1888. It is now on display in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Russia. Several paintings by van Gogh rank among the most expensive paintings in the world. On March 30, 1987 van Gogh's painting Irises was sold for a record of $53.9 million at Southby's, New York. On May 15, 1990 his Portrait of Doctor Gachet was sold for $83.5 million at Christie's, thus setting a new price record.
1．When did van Gogh begin his career as an artist?
A. In his early childhood. B. At the age of 17.
C. In his early adult life. D. At the age of 27.
答案与解析 D 细节理解题。由文章第二段第三句“他于1880年开始绘画”可知他是在1880－1853＝27岁时开始艺术家生涯的。
2．The underlined word “somber” in Para. 2 means ________.
A. colorful B. dark
C. different D. bright
答案与解析 B 词义猜测题。由画线词所在句的后一句“... changed to use bright colors ...”可知somber与bright相反，可知somber意为dark。
3．Which is the right time order of van Gogh's life experience?
①worked as a teacher ②took up drawing
③worked in a church ④worked for an art firm
A. ④→①→③→② B. ②→④→①→③
C. ③→①→④→② D. ①→④→③→②
答案与解析 A 事实排序题。由文章第二段前三句可知A项排序正确。
4．We can infer that van Gogh's final two years are ________.
A. rich but boring. B. normal and peaceful
C. painful but productive D. happy and interesting
答案与解析 C 推理判断题。由文章第二段最后一句可知他生前的最后两年身患严重的精神病，但大部分著作却在该时期绘出，故C项“痛苦而多产”符合题意。
5．According to the last paragraph, van Gogh's paintings ________.
A. were all worthless except Portrait of Doctor Gachet
B. were kept safe in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow
C. became famous and expensive only after he died
D. were all sold out by his mother at high prices
答案与解析 C 推理判断题。由文章最后一段可知梵高的作品在他死后变得非常名贵。
