Passage Four

Ideas about polite behaviour differ from one culture to another. Some societies, such as America and Australia,for example, are mobile and very open.People here change jobs and move house quite often.As a m result, they have a lot of relationships that often last only ma short time, and they need to get to know people quickly.So it's normal to have friendly conversations with people that they have just met, and you can talk about things that other cultures would regard as

personal.

On the other hand, there are more crowded and less mobile societies where long-term relationships are more important.A Malaysian or Mexican business person, for example,will want to get to know you very well before he or she feels happy to start business.But when you do get to know each other, the relationship becomes much deeper than it would in a mobile society.

To Americans, both Europeans and Asians seem cool and formal at first.On the other hand, as a passenger from a less mobile society puts it, it's no fun spending several hours next to a stranger who wants to tell you all about his or her life and asks you all sorts of questions that you don't want to answer.

Cross-cultural differences aren't just a problem for travelers, but also for people in daily life. Some societies have "universalist'' cultures.These societies strongly respect rules, and they treat every person and situation in basically the same way. "Particularist" (强调特性的)societies also have rules, but they are less important than the society's unwritten ideas about what is right or wrong for a particular situation or a particular person. So the normal rules are changed to fit the needs of the situation or the importance of the person.

What can be learned from Paragraph 1?

你(Li Yuan)是班长, 准备周末组织全班同学参观历史博物馆(the Museum of History)。请根据以下提示写一个通知：

·周六上午8点全班在校门口集合，乘公共汽车前往；

·参观时，要认真听讲并记录重要内容；

·遵守参观规定，如：馆内不得喧哗、拍照，勿带食品饮料入馆；

·下周五之前交一份参观报告。

59______

60______

57______

58______

Lisa:Well, honey, how did you like the opera?

Henry:____56____ ?

Lisa: Of course.

Henry:To tell the truth, I was bored to death. What a ridiculous art form! ____57____.

Lisa:Hum! ____58____ ? It was beautiful. And you just saw one of my favourite operas.

Henry: ____59____ ,dear. I know you like opera, but it just isn't for me. I'd rather read a novel or watch a movie.

Lisa:But you don't know how to appreciate opera. ____60____.

Henry:OK,what you're saying may be true.

56______

What is said about the painting "An Impression, Sunrise"?

What do we know about Monet's life since 1890?

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

Passage Five

Claude-Oscar Monet ( 1840 -- 1926 ) was a French artist and a leading member of the Impressionist group of painters. Born in Paris, Monet spent his childhood in Le Havre. There he met a local artist, Eugene Boudin. Who encouraged him to become a landscape painter.

In 1859, Monet went to Paris to study at the Academie Suisse. Between 1860 and 1862, Monet served in the army in Algeria ( 阿尔及利亚 ). He returned to Paris where he met most of the major artists of the era.

In 1870, Monet married Camille Doncieux. To escape the Franco-Prnssian war,they moved to London Back to France, they settled at Argenteuil, a boating centre on the Seine (塞纳河) which drew many other Impressionist painters. Working from nature was a particular symbol of the Impressionist movement, and one that Monet valued, reflecting in his paintings the ever-changing impact of light and weather conditions.

In 1872,he visited Le Havre where he painted "An Impression,Sunrise". When exhibited in 1874, part of its title was used by a critic to label the whole movement "Impressionism".

Monet's wife died in 1879,and he set up home with Alice Hoschedé, the wife of one of his most important sponsors. During the 1880s, Monet traveled through France painting a variety of landscapes. He gradually became better known and for the last 30 years of his life he was regarded as the greatest of the Impressionists.

From 1890 he began to paint a series (系列) of pictures of one subject, including "Haystacks" "Rouen Cathedral" and "Waterlilies". The latter were painted in the fine garden Monet created at his house at Giverny, where he lived from 1883 on. He painted them over and over again,most significantly in a series especially for a museum in Paris.

Monet was introduced to art ________.