生物学和艺术是
远古时期我们的祖先会在岩洞中作画，在TPO听力练习中，TPO3 Lecture3 Chauvet Painting就有文章涉及到岩洞画，这篇听力文章整体难度不是很大，文章介绍了岩洞画的创作时间是在stone age(石器时代)，而石器时代可以分为Paleolithic和Neolithic两个时期，作画的工具通常是charcoal(木炭)，画描绘的对象往往是一些大型的herbivore(食草动物)，这里同学们也可以了解一下同词根的另外两个词，carnivore(食肉动物)和omnivore(杂食动物)，远古人特别善于利用岩石的形状来描绘动物，但是他们几乎不画人类，而他们为什么会选择画特定的动物，又为什么要将画画在漆黑没有人居住的岩洞中，文中教授也没有给出明确的解释。
除了岩洞艺术我们的听力练习中还涉及到油画，这是一个比较重要也相对较难的点，如果你细心观察会发现这些文章除了文章背景知识和词汇有所重合之外，在考察方向上也有一些相似的点，例如TPO1 lecture1 Rose Frantzen和TPO19 lecture4 Cecilia Beaux 以及TPO21 lecture4 Alice Neel，下面我们就以一些具体的题目分析一下他们在考点方面的共性。
首先文章中都会涉及一些常见的艺术流派，而这些艺术流派的定义通常会在文章中进行解释，并在具体的作品中体现该艺术流派的特点，所以我们最好能够听懂文中对于艺术流派的具体描述，因为画家在绘画当中往往会受到这些绘画风格的影响或者将几种风格融合在作品中，例如在TPO21 lecture4 中Alice Neel就融合了Realism和Expressionism，在文中对于realism的描述是It's like painting something exactly how it is, so an artist would try to make it as accurate, um... and objective as possible.即准确客观的描绘，另外文中还提到了Expressionism即The artist is depicting subjective emotions, showing the inner reality as interpreted by the artist rather than the outward form.So the image itself might be distorted or exaggerated in some way. The expression overrides objective representation.这种流派的特点就是画家在描绘主观的情感，通过作品来表现出内在的实质而不是外在的形式。所以画出的形象可能会在某种程度上变形或者夸张化。表现主义就掩盖了客观的呈现。在文中就有第3题考察了. Expressionism表现主义：
According to the professor, what two aspects of Neel's work are characteristic of Expressionism? Click on 2 answers.
A. The depiction of unusual object
B. The way the subjects' faces are portrayed
C. The shape of the subjects' bodies
D. The use of color in the paintings
原文中的描述是First, Neel’s use of bold color. All right? You’ll see she uses color to convey emotion and feeling, like the subjects’ clothing for instance, it appears brighter than it really is. And the subjects, the people being portrayed, Neel paid special attention to faces. The way she paints the eyes and how the faces are portrayed, these are quite realistic, like the realists’ work. But another thing Neel did was use elongated, sort of stretchy figures. Neel擅长使用非常大胆的颜色去表现感情和感受，例如像被画对象的衣着看起来比实际的要更明亮，而她所画的人更注重脸部，画人比较写实，这是realism的体现，但是对于身材的描述又会画的比较修长，这又体现了表现主义，所以可以看出特点分别是use of color对应选项D和elongated, sort of stretchy figures。对应选项C
除此之外在TPO1lecture1Rose Frantzen中也提到了Realism，而在这篇文章中画家是将Impressionism印象派和Realism进行了融合，首先文章中对于印象派的艺术风格进行了描述，Impressionism started in the late 19th century. Um…the basic impressionist style was very different from earlier styles. It didn’t depict scenes or models exactly as they looked. Um…Impressionist painters tended to apply paint really thickly, and in big brushstrokes, so the texture of the canvas was rough.从文中的描述我们可以得到一些印象派作画技巧方面的特点，如：不是对对象进行如实的描绘，作画时着墨很厚，常用大刷子，画布的质地比较粗糙，而在这段描述中的很多词汇也是在艺术类文章中反复出现且一定需要掌握的，例如：Impressionism印象派，depict描绘，brushstroke画笔的一笔，canvas画布，除此之外，文中还介绍了Realism现实主义，对于现实主义的描述是 real honest depictions of subject matter, pretty unidealized stuff, and pretty everydaysubject matter, too.也就是会如实描绘被画的对象，而常常画的通常也是一些日常物品和场景。
在文章中常常会考察到作品如何体现了一些具体的艺术流派：如文中第四题：
What does the professor imply about the painting of the young woman surrounded by pumpkins?
A It was painted at an art fair
B It combines Impressionism with Realism
C It convinced Frantzen that she was a good illustrator
D It was originally meant to be used in an advertisement
因为文中对这幅作品进行了非常细致的描述：首先是作品反映realism的部分：One other painting I really want you to look at is of a young woman surrounded bypumpkins. You will notice that the woman’s face is so realistic looking that it’s almost like aphotograph. The woman’s nose is a little less than perfect and her hair is kind of messed up. Thisis realism. But then, the background of the painting, this woman with the pumpkins is wrappedin a blanket of broad thick brushstrokes, and, it’s all kinds of zigzagging brushstrokes and lines,kind of chaotic almost when you look at it close. And there are vibrant colors. There’s lots oforange, with little hints of an electric blue peeking out.对于女性的容貌描绘比较写实，但是对于背景的处理使用了印象派的手法,所以第四题的答案应该是B It combines Impressionism with Realism，作品融合了现实主义和印象派的双重风格。
在TPO19 lecture4 Cecilia Beaux其中也有类似的考点，考察到画家作品中反应了什么相应的艺术流派，例如，文中第六题：
Why does the professor mention the French Impressionists?
A.To identify other artists who often painted women and children
B.To point out one of the influences on Cecilia Beaux's work
C.To question the importance of Impressionism in portraiture
D.To contrast their view of art with Cecilia Beax's vision
原文当中的描述是Yes, the unclear background definitely contributes to that dreaminess. It is meant to show a sense of isolation I think. With the woman is deep in a daydream and not really aware of anything else. This painting shows how insightful Cecilia Beaux was as a portrait artist. Besides her excellent technical skills, like her use of brush strokes and color to make an impression, both respective come through. Her portraits reveal her own interpretation of her subject’s state of mind. This is what it is all about, not just likenesses.Now, the undefined background also shows how Cecilia Beaux was influenced by the French Impressionists, who believed, like Beaux, in a personal rather than conventional approach to their subject matter. Beaux used some impressionist techniques and share much of their phylosophy, but her style, it was all her own.文中明确指出Cecilia Beaux在画笔和颜色的使用方面体现了印象派，文中还强调她虽然受到了印象派的影响，但是她仍然有自己的风格。所以该题的答案应该是B To point out one of the influences on Cecilia Beaux's work
其次，这一段内容当中还有另外一道题，体现了绘画类讲座常考的另外一个考点，就是教授对于作品和作家以及艺术创作的态度，如文中第五题：
Based on the discussion, what is the professor's attitude Inward portraiture?
A. The artist's technical skill is the most important aspect of a portrait.
B. An artist is seldom able to create an exact likeness of a subject.
C. A good portrait portrays the subject in are informal setting.
D. A good portrait portrays more than a physical image.
前文中强调Her portraits reveal her own interpretation of her subject’s state of mind. This is what it is all about, not just likenesses.也就是说Beaux虽然受到了印象派的影响但是她在作品中体现了自己对于被画对象神态状态的理解，画出了神韵而不仅仅是画的像。
最后，文中常常会考察画家生平的一些经历，因为他们的经历可能会对作品产生一定的影响，或者对于他们个人在艺术发展史中的地位有一定影响，例如TPO1lecture1Rose Frantzen考察的第三题：
Why did Frantzen go to the Sales Barn?
To study human form and movement
To earn money by painting portraits
To paint farm animals in an outdoor setting
To meet people who could model for her paining
文中相应的描述是：One interesting thing I read about Franzten isthat when she first moved back to Iowa after living abroad, she often visited this place in hertown called the Sales Barn. And the Sales Barn, it was basically this place where the local farmersbought and sold their cattle, their farm animals. And the reason Frantzen went there, and shelater on would visit other places like dance halls, was to observe people and the ways that they moved. She really found that this helped her work---that it gave her an understanding of bodymovements and actions, how humans move, and stand still, what their postures were like, too.也就是说她去Sales Barn的原因在这些地方能够观察到很多人，这对于她了解人们的姿态动作和行为都非常有好处。
在TPO19 lecture4 Cecilia Beaux中也考察到了Beaux的经历，而她的个人经历证明了她当时杰出的地位：文中考察了第二题：
2 What evidence does the professor cite to illustrate Cecilia Beaux's reputation as an artist? Click on 2 answers.
A. The instructors that she studied art with
B. Her role in professional art organizations
C. Her connection with an important politician's family
D. The features of her work that the Impressionists imitated
原文的描述是：①Beaux became known as one of the best portrait painters in the United States. She was very successful. She even had portraits of the wife and children of Theodore Roosevelt, while he was president. Some did not get much more prestige than that.，很少有画家能享有如此殊荣，该部分内容对应C选项。②In fact, she was the first full-time female instructor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and she was a full member of the National Academy of Design. These are pretty important institutions, so, yeah, she definitely made headway for women artists.另外她曾任职于一些非常重要的机构，如：她是宾夕法尼亚艺术学术中心的第一个全职女性讲师，也是国家学术设计中的会员，对应选项B这些内容都是她卓越地位的体现。
综上，托福听力中对于绘画的考察通常比较高频率的涉及艺术流派对作品和作家的影响，以及画家们是如何将各种艺术流派完美的融合在一起的，另外阅读材料会经常考察教授对于画家生平的经历的描述，而他们的这些经历往往会影响到她们的作品和在艺术史上的地位，最后大家要注意在听力文章中可能会考察到教授对于画家作品和艺术风格的态度。绘画与艺术相比于传统学科的考察更为抽象高深，希望各位童鞋结合自身实际备考需要，有的放矢进行艺术类托福听力内容的专项复习，积累重点词汇，熟悉学科要点。
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