He lived his whole life as a poor man. His art and talent were recognized by almost no one. He suffered from a mental（精神的）illness that led him to cut off part of his left ear in 1888 and to shoot himself two years later. But after his death, he achieved world fame. Today, Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh is recognized as one of
the leading artists of all time.
　　Now, 150 years after his birth on March 30, 1853, Zundert, the town of his birth, has made 2003 “The van Gogh Year”in his honor. And the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, home to the biggest collection of his masterpieces, is marking the anniversary（周年纪念）with exhibitions throughout the year. The museum draws around 1.3 million visitors every year. Some people enjoy the art and then learn about his life. Others are first interested in his life, which then helps them understand his art.
Van Gogh was the son of a pastor（牧师）. He left school when he was just 15. By the age of 27, he had already tried many jobs including an art gallery（画廊）salesman and a French teacher. Finally in 1880, he decided to begin his studies in art.
Van Gogh is famed for his ability to put his own emotions into his paintings and show his feelings about a scene. His style is marked by short, broad brush strokes（笔画）.“Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I have before my eyes, I use color more freely, in order to express myself more forcibly,” he wrote in a letter to his brother in 1888.
Van Gogh sold only one painting during his short life. He relied heavily on the support from his brother, an art dealer who lived in Paris. But now his works are sold for millions of dollars. His portrait of Dr. Gacher sold for $89.5 million in 1990. It is the highest price ever paid for a painting. “I think his paintings are powerful and the brilliant colors in them are attractive to people,” said a Van Gogh’s fan.
【小题1】All through his life, Van Gogh __________.

A．depended on his brother	B．worked hard on art studies
C．was not recognized by people	D．expressed himself in paintings

【小题2】 Van Gogh killed himself because of ___________.

A．the poor life	B．his illness
C．his pain from left ear	D．the objections from the artists of his time

【小题3】 One of the characteristics of Van Gogh’s paintings is ______________.

A．the likeness between his paintings and the reality

B．the short time for him to complete a painting

C．the various styles mixed together

D．the special strokes he made

【小题4】 The selling of his paintings is considered to be the most successful because ________.

A．more and more people like his paintings

B．people can understand him through his paintings

C．1.3 million people visit his painting museum every year

D．Zundert has made 2003 “The Van Gogh Year” in his honor

【小题5】 We can infer from the passage that _______.

A．his powerful art came from his poor life

B．his fellow townsmen regret treating him unfairly

C．all his paintings were drawn in the last 10 years of his life

D．most of his paintings are kept in the museum of his hometown

There are hundreds of visitors       in front of the Art Gallery to have a look at Van Gogh’s paintings．

    A．wait    B．to wait      C．waited   D．waiting

 

You are walking along a lane and never know what you will find. It might be a shop selling oil paintings, or a place where you can buy Dutch cheese. One thing is for sure, you will end up by a canal.

Welcome to Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands.

The year 2013 will be a good time to explore Amsterdam as the city has a lot to celebrate: the famous canal ring will turn 400 years old. Amsterdam will also celebrate the 160th birthday of Dutch painter of the Van Gogh museum, home to the biggest collection of the artist’s colorful works.

The famous canal ring is a trademark of the city. With more than 100 kilometers of canals, it is no wonder that Amsterdam is called the ‘Venice of the north’. But unlike the Italian town, where boats were originally used for transport, the canals in Amsterdam were mainly used for defense in the 17th century. Today ferries on canals offer a different way to explore the city.

But to truly experience Amsterdam, you can’t miss the city’s historic museums and monuments, among which Van Gogh museum is the most famous one. It holds 200 paintings, 700 letters and 500 drawings by the artist. Another famous museum is Anne Frank’s house. Anne Frank became famous around the world because of a diary she left explaining her and her family’s experience as a Jewish girl during World War II, hiding out in a house hoping that she would not be captured by German Nazis.

Amsterdam is small enough to walk or cycle almost anywhere, but it is rarely dull. Best of all it combines its glittering past with a rebellious edginess.

1.Which of the following is TRUE of the canals in Amsterdam?

A．They had to be rebuilt after years of use.

B．They protected the city in ancient times.

C．They were built to provide transport for the city.

D．They are the main theme of Van Gogh’s paintings.

2.In the passage, Amsterdam is described as a city _____.

A．that can be explored by foot

B．that is completely built on water

C．that has two historic museums in all

D．that is famous for its modernization

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A．People get lost easily in Amsterdam.

B．Van Gogh spent his life time in Amsterdam.

C．Many Jews in Amsterdam were caught by Nazis.

D．Taking a ferry ride is the most popular activity in Amsterdam.

 

　　He lived his whole life as a poor man He suffered from a mental illness that led him to cut off part of his left ear in 1888 and to shoot himself two years later. But after his death, he achieved the world fame.

　　* And the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, home to the biggest collection of his masterpieces, is marking the anniversary with exhibitions throughout the year.

　　“He is a big fame like Einstein and Beethoven. He is such a great figure. We are always amazed by how popular he is and his popularity seems to be growing.” said Andreas Bluehm, the museum's head of exhibitions.

　　Van Gogh was the son of a pastor. He left school when he was just 15. By the age of 27, he had already tried many jobs including an art gallery salesman and a French teacher. Finally in 1880, he decided to begin his studies in art.

　　“Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I have before my eyes. I use colour more freely, in order to express myself more forcibly,” he wrote in a letter to his brother, Theo, in 1888.

　　Van Gogh sold only one painting during his short life. But now his works are sold for millions of dollars. His “Portrait of Dr. Gachet” was sold for US 89.5 million in 1990. It is the highest price ever paid for a painting.

1．The second paragraph mainly tells us that ________.

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A．the Van Gogh Museum is located in Amsterdam

B．the Van Gogh Museum has the biggest collection of Van Gogh'smasterpieces

C．exhibitions will be held in honor of Van Gogh

D．the Van Gogh Museum will hold exhibitions the whole year through for Van Gogh

2．The underlined word “figure” in the third paragraph means “________”.

[　　]

3．The writer cited a part of a letter written by Van Gogh to show Van Gogh's ________.

[　　]

4．Choose the right order of the given events.

a．He worked as a French teacher.

b．He achieved the world fame.

c．He left school. d. He cut off his left ear.

e．He shot himself. f. He began studies in art.

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