Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 43 to 50.
What we today call American folk art was, indeed, art of, by, and for ordinary, everyday “folks” who, with increasing prosperity and leisure, created a market for art of all kinds, and especially for portraits. Citizens of prosperous, essentially middle-class republics — whether ancient Romans, seventeenth-century Dutch burghers, or nineteenth-century Americans — have always shown a marked taste for portraiture. Starting in the late eighteenth century, the United States contained increasing numbers of such people, and of the artists who could meet their demands. The earliest American folk art portraits come, not surprisingly, from New England — especially Connecticut and Massachusetts — for this was a wealthy and populous region and the center of a strong craft tradition. Within a few decades after the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the population was pushing westward, and portrait painters could be found at work in western New York, Ohio,
Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri. Midway through its first century as a nation, the United States' population had increased roughly five times, and eleven new states had been added to the original thirteen. During these years the demand for portraits grew and grew eventually to be satisfied by the camera. In 1839 the daguerreotype was introduced to America, ushering in the age of photography, and within a generation the new invention put an end to the popularity of painted portraits. Once again an original portrait became a luxury, commissioned by the wealthy and executed by the professional.
But in the heyday of portrait painting — from the late eighteenth century until the 1850's — anyone with a modicum of artistic ability could become a limner, as such a portraitist was called. Local craftspeople — sign, coach, and house painters — began to paint portraits as a profitable sideline; sometimes a talented man or woman who began by sketching family members gained a local reputation and was besieged with requests for portraits; artists found it worth their while to pack their paints, canvases, and brushes and to travel the countryside, often combining house decorating with portrait painting.
According to the passage, where were many of the first American folk art portraits painted?
A. In western New York
B. In Illinois and Missouri
C. In Connecticut and Massachusetts
D. In Ohio
Đáp án C
Thông tin: The earliest American folk art portraits come, not surprisingly, from New England — especially Connecticut and Massachusetts — for this was a wealthy and populous region and the center of a strong craft tradition.
Dịch nghĩa: Các bức chân dung nghệ thuật dân gian Mỹ đầu tiên đến, một cách không đáng ngạc nhiên, từ New England - đặc biệt là Connecticut và Massachusetts - vì đây là một khu vực giàu có và đông dân và là trung tâm của một truyền thống thủ công mạnh mẽ.
Như vậy rất nhiều những bức chân dung nghệ thuật dân gian Mỹ đầu tiên đến từ Connecticut và Massachusetts. Phương án C là phương án chính xác nhất.
A. In western New York = Ở phía tây New York.
B. In Illinois and Missouri = Ở Illinois và Missouri.
D. In Ohio = Ở Ohio.
Ba phương án trên không chính xác vì đó là những nơi có thể tìm thấy các nghệ sĩ vẽ chân dung sau 1776 chứ không phải nơi các bức chân dung đầu tiên ra đời.
Within a few decades after the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the population was pushing westward, and portrait painters could be found at work in western New York, Ohio,
Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri. = Trong vòng một vài thập kỷ sau khi ký bản Tuyên ngôn Độc lập năm 1776, dân số đã được đẩy về phía tây, và họa sĩ chân dung có thể được tìm thấy tại nơi làm việc ở phía tây New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois và Missouri.