泽熙美文Reading Comprehension
As with any work of art, the merit of Chapman Kelley’s “Wildflower Works I” was in the eye of the beholder.
Kelley, who normally works with paint and canvas, considered the twin oval gardens planted in 1984 at Daley Bicentennial Park his most important piece.
The Chicago Park District considered it a patch of raggedy vegetation on public property that could be dug up and replanted at will like the flower boxes along Michigan Avenue. And that’s what happened in June 2004, when the district decided to create a more orderly vista for pedestrians crossing from Millennium Park via the new Frank Gehry footbridge.
If you’re looking for evidence that the rubes who run the Park District don’t know art when they see it, all you have to do is visit what’s left of Kelley’s masterpiece. The exuberant 1.5-acre tangle of leggy wildflowers is now confined to a tidy rectangle, restrained on all sides by a knee-high hedge and surrounded by a closely cropped lawn. White hydrangeas and pink shrub roses complete the look. We don’t know who’s responsible for the redesign, but We’ll bet the carpet in his home doesn’t go with the furniture.
Still, you’d think the Park District Was within its rights to plow under the prairie. Wrong. Kelley just won at lawsuit in which he argued that the garden was public are and therefore protected by the federal Visual Artists Rights Act. Under that law, the district should have given him 90 days’ notice that it intended to mess with his artwork instead of rushing headlong into the demolition, a la Meigs Field. That way Kelley could have mounted a legal challenge, or at least removed the plants.
Park District officials said they never considered the garden a work of art, even though it was installed by an established artist and not, say, Joe’s Sod and Landscaping. We can understand their confusion. Just recently, we figured out that the caged greenery directly south of Pritzker Pavilion is supposed to be an architectural statement and not a Christmas tree lot.
All that’s left is for the district to compensate Kelley for his loss. Whatever price the parties settle on, let’s hope the agreement also provides for the removal of the rest of “Wildflower Works I ” If it was’t an eyesore before—and plenty of people thought it was…it sure is now.
1. It is implied in the first Paragraph that the public ______.
A.paid little attention to “Wildflower Works I”
B.appreciated the value of “Wildflower Works I”
C.tolerated the ugliness of “Wildflower Works I”
D.had their own views on “Wildflower Works I”
正确答案：B
[解析] 根据文中第一段的内容“As with any work of art, the merit of Chapman Kelley’s “Wildflower Works I” was in the eye of the beholder.在查普曼·凯利的作品“野花工程Ⅰ”中，观众们看到了它的价值所在，如同他们从所有艺术作品中看到的一样。可知，B项“公众很欣赏野花工程Ⅰ的价值”符合题意。A项“公众对野花工程Ⅰ不是很重视”，C项“公众要忍受野花工程Ⅰ的不雅”，D项“公众对野花工程Ⅰ有自己的观点”，这三项都和文中第一段表达的意思不符合。
2. The word “beholder” underlined in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
A.audience
B.witness
C.observer
D.holder
正确答案：C
[解析] 根据文中第一段的内容“in the eye of the beholder”可知为在人们的眼里。选项中的C项为“观察者，”符合文意。A项“观众”，B项“目击者”，D项“持有者”，这三项均不符合题意。
3. The boldfaced word “rubes” in Paragraph 4 most likely means ______.
A.experts
B.laymen
C.fools
D.artists
正确答案：B
[解析] 根据文中第四段的“the rubes who run the Park District don’t know art”可知，rubes意为不懂艺术的外行人。选项中的B项为“非专业人士”符合文意。A项“专家”，C项“傻瓜”，D项“艺术家”，这三项均和rubes意思相差甚远。
4. According to the passage, the one who redesigned the Park must ______.
A.know Kelley’s work well
B.have a terrible taste in art
C.like conventional layouts
D.always put the public’s need first
正确答案：B
[解析] 根据文中第四段最后一句话“We don’t know who’s responsible for the redesign, but We’ll bet the carpet in his home doesn’t go with the furniture.我们不知道新设计的负责人是谁，但我们知道他家的地毯一定与家具不搭调。”可知，B项“重新设计公园的人的艺术品味一定很差”符合文意。A项“对凯利的作品很了解”，如果很了解凯利的作品就不会对它重新改造，所以A不对；C项“喜欢传统的布局”，D项“总是把公众的需要放在首位”，C、D两项都有可能，但是题目问的是一定，所以都不正确。
5. The word “confined” underlined in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ______.
A.restrict
B.define
C.prevent
D.deprive
正确答案：A
[解析] 根据文中第四段的内容“The exuberant 1.5-acre tangle of leggy wildflowers is now confined to a tidy rectangle”可知1.5英亩的野花地现在限制成为一个整齐的长方形。选项中的A项为“限制，”符合文意。B项“定义”，C项“保护”，D项“剥夺”，这三项均不符合题意。
6. Which of the following was NOT true about “Wildflower Works I”?
A.It was designed by the famous artist Chapman Kelley.
B.There are two oval gardens at Daley Bicentennial Park.
C.The public voted for demolishing the gardens.
D.The Chicago Park District did not deem it a piece of art.
正确答案：C
[解析] C项“群众投票拆除花园”在文中没有出现相关内容，所以此说法不正确，符合题意。A项“野花工程Ⅰ是由著名艺术家查普曼·凯利设计的”，这在文中第一段就已说明；B项内容在第二段后半部分有所体现；D项“芝加哥公园区不把它当作一种艺术”，这在第三段开头有相关内容，所以这三项都符合文意。
7. The word “mess with” underlined in Paragraph 5 most likely means ______.
A.disturb
B.confuse
C.mess up
D.muddle
正确答案：C
[解析] 根据文中第五段的内容“it intended to mess with his artwork”可知目的是弄糟他的艺术作品。选项中的C项为“弄糟，”符合文意。A项“打扰”，B项“混淆”，D项“使糊涂”，这三项均不符合题意。
8. Why did Kelley win the lawsuit?
A.Kelley had a very capable lawyer.
B.The Park District had no right to demolish it.
C.The Park District should take the public’s opinion first.
D.The Park District should have informed Kelley of the demolition.
正确答案：B
[解析] 根据文中第五段的内容“Still, you’d think the Park District was within its rights to plow under the prairie. Wrong.”可知，公园是公众财产，因此受联邦《视觉艺术家权法案》保护，所以公园区无权自行决定拆除景观，所以B符合题意。A项“凯利有一个很有能力的律师”，这在文中没有提到；C项“公园区应该首先采取公众的意见”；D项“公园区应该通知凯利公园拆除的消息”，C、D虽在文中提及，但是不是凯利赢得官司的原因。
9. The word “compensate” underlined in Paragraph 7 most likely means ______.
A.make up for
B.reward
C.pay
D.punish
正确答案：A
[解析] 根据文中第七段的内容“All that’s left is for the district to compensate Kelley for his loss”可知目的是赔偿他的损失。选项中的A项为“赔偿，”符合文意。B项“奖励”，C项“支付”，D项“惩罚”，这三项均不符合题意。
