托福阅读模拟题及答案：文艺复兴

 　　The medieval artists didn’t know about perspective; they didn’t want to make their people look like real, individual people in a real, individual scene. They wanted to show the truth, the eternal quality of their religious stories. So these artists didn’t need to know about perspective.

　　In the European Renaissance¹ period, artists wanted to show the importance of the individual person and his or her possessions and surroundings. A flat medieval style couldn’t show this level of reality and the artists needed a new technique. It was the Italian artist Brunelleschi who discovered the technique of perspective drawing. At first the artists of the Renaissance only had single-point perspective. Later they realized that they could have two-pointed perspective and still later multi-point perspective.

　　With two-point perspective they could turn an object (like a building) at an angle to the picture and draw two sides of it. The technique of perspective which seems so natural to us now is an invented technique, a part of the “grammar of painting”. Like all bits of grammar there are exceptions about perspective. For example, only vertical² and horizontal surfaces seem to meet on eye level. Sloping roof tops don’t meet on eye level.

　　For 500 years, artists in Europe made use of perspective drawing in their pictures. Nevertheless, there are a range of priorities that artists in displaying individual styles. Crivelli wanted to show depth in his picture and he used a simple single-point perspective. Cezanne always talked about space and volume. Van Gogh, like some of the other painters of the Impressionist period, was interested in Japanese prints. And Japanese artists until this century were always very strong designers of “flat” pictures. Picasso certainly made pictures which have volume and depth. However, he wanted to keep our eyes on the surface and to remind us that his paintings are paintings and not illusions.

　　It is technically³ easy to give an illusion of depth. However, a strong two dimensional design is just as important as a feeling of depth, and perhaps more important.

　　1 The passage mainly discusses

　　(a) the difference between medieval and Renaissance art(b) how the technique of perspective influenced the modern art(c) the discovery of the technique of perspective(d) the contribution of Renaissance artists2 The word “eternal” in line 3 is closest in meaning to(a) timeless

　　(b) infinite

　　(c) frequent

　　(d) constant

　　3 According to the passage, which is the main concern for medieval artists?

　　(a) the individual person and his/her possessions and surroundings(b) real people, real scenes

　　(c) eternal timeless truth of the earth

　　(d) themes of religious stories

　　4 The discovery of perspective was the result of(a) Renaissance artists’ to prove that the medieval artists could show level of reality(b) the need to turn an object at an angle and draw more than one side of it(c) the subject being shifted from religious stories to individual person and surroundings.

　　(d) natural evolution of human senses

　　5 The word “it” in line 12 refers to

　　(a) the picture

　　(b) perspective

　　(c) angle

　　(d) the object

　　6 The word “Grammar ” in line 13 is closest in meaning to(a) construction

　　(b) grammatical rules

　　(c) rules and regulations

　　(d) tones and volume

　　7 The author’s purpose to give the example in line14-15 is to(a) explain how perspective work in painting(b) support two-pointed perspective

　　(c) illustrate⁴ that there are exceptions about perspective(d) point out that the technique of perspective though seems so natural is an invented technique8 The following artists’ priorities in style shift away from perspective except(a) Crivelli

　　(b) Cezanne

　　(c) Japanese artists

　　(d) Brunelleschi

　　9 The word ”Illusion” in line 25 is closest in meaning to(a) deception⁵

　　(b) photograph

　　(c) decoration

　　(d) illustration

　　10 It can be inferred from the passage that Renaissance artists(a) embraced the medieval style of eternal truth(b) needed to develop a new approach towards painting to show a new level of reality(c) were inspired by vertical and horizontal surfaces in inventing the technique of perspective(d) saw two dimensional design more important than a feeling of depth参考答案：1.b 2.a 3.d 4.c 5.d 6.c 7.c 8.d 9.a 10.b以上就是托福阅读模拟题：文艺复兴，大家要坚持每天做几篇阅读模拟题，坚持下来，一定会有不小的进步，另外，阅读的同时不要忘记，积累陌生词汇与优秀的句子，以便考试的时候能派上用场。

 

1 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

2 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

3 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

4 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

5 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。