TEXT SIX

The haunting paintings of Helene Schjerfbeck, on show in the final leg of a travelling tour that has already attracted thousands of visitors in Hamburg and The Hague, may come as a surprise to many. Few outside the Nordic world would recognise the work of this Finnish artist who died in 1946. More people should. The 120 works have at their core 20 self-portraits, half the number she painted in all. The first, dated 1880, is of a wide-eyed teenager eager to absorb everything. The last is a sighting of the artist's ghost-to-be; Schjerfbeck died the year after it was made. Together this series is among the most moving and accomplished autobiographies-in-paint.

Precociously gifted, Schjerfbeck was 11 when she entered the Finnish Art Society's drawing school. “The Wounded Warrior in the Snow”, a history painting, was bought by a private collector and won her a state travel grant when she was 17. Schjerfbeck studied in Paris, went on to Pont-Aven, Brittany, where she painted for a year, then to Tuscany, Cornwall and St Petersburg. During her 1887 visit to St Ives, Cornwall, Schjerfbeck painted “The Convalescent”. A child wrapped in a blanket sits propped up in a large wicker chair, toying with a sprig. The picture won a bronze medal at the 1889 Paris World Fair and was bought by the Finnish Art Society. To a modern eye it seems almost sentimental and is redeemed only by the somewhat stunned, melancholy expression on the child's face, which may have been inspired by Schjerfbeck's early experiences. At four, she fell down a flight of steps and never fully recovered.

In 1890, Schjerfbeck settled in Finland. Teaching exhausted her, she did not like the work of other local painters, and she was further isolated when she took on the care of her mother (who lived until 1923). “If I allow myself the freedom to live a secluded life”, she wrote, “then it is because it has to be that way.” In 1902, Schjerfbeck and her mother settled in the small, industrial town of Hyvinkaa, 50 kilometres north of Helsinki. Isolation had one desired effect for it was there that Schjerfbeck became a modern painter. She produced still lives and landscapes but above all moody yet incisive portraits of her mother, local school girls, women workers in town (profiles of a pensive, aristocratic looking seamstress dressed in black stand out). And of course she painted herself. Comparisons have been made with James McNeill Whistler and Edvard Munch. But from 1905, her pictures became pure Schjerfbeck.

“I have always searched for the dense depths of the soul, that have not yet discovered themselves”, she wrote, “where everything is still unconscious—there one can make the greatest discoveries.” She experimented with different kinds of underpainting, scraped and rubbed, made bright rosy red spots; doing whatever had to be done to capture the subconscious—her own and that of her models. In 1913, Schjerfbeck was rediscovered by an art dealer and journalist, Gosta Stenman. Once again she was a success. Retrospectives, touring exhibitions and a biography followed, yet Schjerfbeck remained little known outside Scandinavia. That may have had something to do with her indifference to her renown. “I am nothing, absolutely nothing”, she wrote. “All I want to do is paint”. Schjerfbeck was possessed of a unique vision, and it is time the world recognised that.

1. Schjerfbeck’s paintings may come as a surprise to many because_____.

[A] her paintings are rarely known outside the Nordic world

[B] her paintings have never been on show out of the Nordic world

[C] her paintings have the power to haunt people whoever have seen them

[D] her paintings focus on supernatural elements such as ghosts

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

[A] “The Convalescent” is in fact a portrait of Schjerbeck in her childhood.

[B] “The Convalescent” is a reflection of Schejerbeck’s sentimental childhood.

[C] “The Convalescent” is made as a result of an accident in Schejerbeck’s childhood.

[D] “The Convalescent” is featured by the child’s stunned, melancholy expression.

3．Schejerbeck chose to live a secluded life mainly because of ____.

[A] she was exhausted by her teaching job

[B] her personality prefers this kind of style

[C] she could not appreciate the work of the other local painters

[D] her mother’s health condition required her to adopt such a life style.

4．Schjerfbeck remained little known outside the Nordic world probably because_____.

[A] she did not make efforts to publicize her works.

[B] she knew that her works would gain worldwide recognition one day.

[C] she only cared about her painting instead of personal fame.

[D] the last thing she was interested in was to have people disturb her

5. We can infer from the passage that the most outstanding characteristics of Schjerfbeck’s paintings is_____.

[A] her vivid characterization of common people

[B] her capture of the characters’ soul

[C] the melancholy expression of the characters

[D] her unconscious sense of some mysterious elements

篇章剖析：

这篇文章介绍了画家Schejerbeck的创作经历。第一段先有画展引出本文的主人公Schejerbeck来；第二段讲述Schejerbeck早期的创作经历和成绩；第三段讲述Schejerbeck创作如何成熟的；第四段讲述Schejerbeck创作的体会和特点。

词汇注释：

haunting adj不易忘怀的，常浮现在心头的 leg n. 最后一程　　

precociously adv. 过早地 sprig n. 植物的小枝

redeem v. 弥补，补救 moody adj. 喜怒无常的, 忧悒

incisive adj. 尖刻的 convalescent n.恢复期病人; adj. 恢复期的;渐愈的

难句突破：

(1) The haunting paintings of Helene Schjerfbeck, on show in the final leg of a travelling tour that has already attracted thousands of visitors in Hamburg and The Hague, may come as a surprise to many.

[主体句式] The haunting paintings may come as a surprise to many.

[结构分析] 这是一个简单句，主语有一个比较复杂的介词短语做定语on show…，在这个介词短语中，充当状语的介词短语中介词的宾语带有以that引导的定语从句。

[句子译文] 海琳·Schjerfbeck那些让人不易忘怀的画在这次巡展最后的展出将会给人带来许多惊喜，而其实这次巡展已经吸引了汉堡和海牙成千上万的游客。

(2) To a modern eye it seems almost sentimental and is redeemed only by the somewhat stunned, melancholy expression on the child's face, which may have been inspired by Schjerfbeck's early experiences.

[主体句式] It seems almost sentimental and is redeemed only by …

[结构分析] 这是一个并列句，第二个分句的状语比较复杂，介词短语的宾语expression带有一个由which引导的非限定性定语从句。

[句子译文] 一个现代人看来这幅画仿佛是感伤的，只有孩子有点发呆、忧郁的表情算是一点缓和。这可能是Schjerfbeck小时候的经历触发而创作的。

题目分析：

1. Schjerfbeck’s paintings may come as a surprise to many because_____.

1.许多人看到 Schjerfbeck的作品都会大吃一惊因为_____。

[A] her paintings are rarely known outside the Nordic world

[A] 日耳曼世界之外很少有人知道她的作品。

[B] her paintings have never been on show out of the Nordic world

[B]她的作品从没在日耳曼世界之外的地方展览过。

[C] her paintings have the power to haunt people whoever have seen them

[C] 她的作品会反复出没于欣赏过她画作的人们脑海中。

[D] her paintings focus on supernatural elements such as ghosts

[D]她的作品注重一些超自然的因素，诸如鬼神等。

[答案]A

[难度系数] ☆☆

[分析] 推理题。文章第一段提到，Scandinavia作品巡回展在德国和海牙吸引了好多人，大部分的人看到她的作品都会吃惊，紧接着就说日耳曼世界之外很少有人见过她的作品，但是她的作品理应受到更多人的观赏。可以推测，她的作品是比较优秀的作品，但因为大多数人从没见过，第一次看到会感觉震惊。因此，主要原因是日耳曼世界之外很少有人知道她的作品。B选项显然与原文不符，因为她的作品在日耳曼之外的地区也展示过。C和D只是片面概括了她作品的一些特点，并不符合题意。

2． Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

2．根据文章，下列哪一个论述是正确的？

[A] “The Convalescent” is in fact a portrait of Schjerbeck in her childhood.

[A] “正在康复的人”实际上是Schjerbeck描述自己儿童时期的一幅自画像。

[B] “The Convalescent” is a reflection of Schejerbeck’s sentimental childhood.

[B] “正在康复的人”反应了Schjerbeck感伤的儿童时代。

[C] “The Convalescent” is made as a result of an accident in Schejerbeck’s childhood.

[C] “正在康复的人”是因Schjerbeck儿童时期发生的一起意外才创作的。

[D] “The Convalescent” is featured by the child’s stunned, melancholy expression.

[D] “正在康复的人”主要突出描绘了儿童发呆、忧郁的表情。

[答案]C

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 细节题。题目是有关Schjerbeck 早期作品“正在康复的人”，文中提到对于一双现代的眼睛来说，这幅作品比较感伤，只是孩子有点发呆、忧郁的表情稍微缓和了这种情绪，这幅作品可能是受其儿童时期经历的影响才创作的，因为她小时候从楼梯上摔了下来。因此，四个选项中，A 并不是她的自画像；B 这幅画并不是要表现她感伤的儿童时代，只是儿童时期经历过一次意外摔伤是创作这幅画的诱因而已；C说明了创作诱因，是正确的；D于文章内容不符。

3．Schejerbeck chose to live a secluded life mainly because ____.

3．Schejerbeck选择了一种隐居生活主要因为_____。

[A] she was exhausted by her teaching job

[A] 她厌倦了教书的生活。

[B] her personality prefers this kind of style

[B] 她个性使得她选择了这样的一种生活方式。

[C] she could not appreciate the work of the other local painters

[C] 她不喜欢当地其他画家的作品。

[D] her mother’s bad health condition required her to adopt such a life style

[D] 她母亲身体不好，因此她必须以这种方式生活。

[答案] B

[难度系数] ☆☆☆☆

[分析] 细节题。Schejerbeck选择了过隐居生活，这在文章第二段中有具体描述。首先她厌倦了教授绘画的工作，也不喜欢当地其他画家的作品，再加上她负担起照顾母亲的责任，她就最终选择了隐居，她自己提到这个时说：“如果我允许自己选择了一种隐居地生活，那是因为事情就得是这样了。”分析她隐居的原因，最主要的还是前两个，一个是厌倦了绘画工作，一个是不喜欢当地其他画家作品，这都与她的个性有关。因此，追根究底其原因是她本身性格原因。

4．Schjerfbeck remained little known outside the Nordic world probably because_____.

4．Schejerbeck 在日耳曼之外的世界少有人知道是因为_____。

[A] she did not make efforts to publicize her works.

[A] 她没有花力气去宣传自己的作品。

[B] she knows that her works would gain worldwide recognition one day.

[B] 她知道自己的作品总有一天会得到世界的承认。

[C] she only cared about her painting instead of personal fame.

[C] 她只关心她的绘画，对名利并不感兴趣。

[D] the last thing she was interested in was to have people disturb her.

[D] 她最不感兴趣的事情就是让别人打扰她。

[答案]C

[难度系数] ☆☆☆☆

[分析] 细节题。文章最后一段提到，虽然有作品回顾展、巡回展出、传记，但是在斯坎的纳维亚之外很少人知道她。这也许和她对声望不予理会有关。“我不是什么名人，绝对不是，”她这样写道，“我需要的只是绘画。”文章强调她只关心绘画，不关心自己的名望，这是她不是很出名的主要原因。因此，C为正确答案。A和D都是她的一些行为，这些行为归根结底的原因还是在与C选项。而B选项显得夸口很大，显然不符合她的低调风格。

5. We can infer from the passage that the most outstanding characteristics of Schjerfbeck’s paintings is_____.

5．从文章可以推断出Schejerbeck作品最显著的特点是_____。

[A] her vivid characterization of common people

[A] 她对于普通人的生动刻画

[B] her capture of the characters’ soul

[B] 她抓住了人物的灵魂

[C] the melancholy expression of the characters

[C] 人物忧郁的表情

[D] her unconscious sense of some mysterious elements

[D] 她有意识地使用了一些神秘因素

[答案] B

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 推理题。关于Schejerbeck作品的特点，文章并没有直接提及，但是可以从字里行间判断出来。Schejerbeck的作品主要是人物，在最后一段中提到她为了把握人物灵魂深处，运用了各种手段，可见，她作品的主要特点在于她对人物灵魂的把握，答案B正确。A和C都是她画作的一些表面特点，而起深刻因素还是在与抓住了人物的灵魂。D选项的表述虽然也是特点之一，但是也还是为B选项服务的。

参考译文：

海琳·Schjerfbeck那些让人不易忘怀的画在这次巡展最后的展出将会给人带来许多惊喜，而其实这次巡展已经吸引了汉堡和海牙成千上万的游客。日耳曼世界之外很少会有人认出这位于1946年去世的芬兰艺术家的作品来，但更多的人应该认出她的作品。在这120幅作品中心有二十幅是她的自画像，这是她所有创作的自画像的一半。第一副创作于1880年，是渴望吸收一切的一个大眼睛少年女孩，而最后一幅是艺术家即将成为鬼魂的一幕，而就是在这幅作品创作完毕后的那年她去世的。这个系列是最生动、最完美的自画像之一。

Schjerfbeck少年就富有天赋，11岁就进入了芬兰艺术协会的绘画学校。“雪中受伤的战士”是一幅历史画，由一位私人收藏家买走，从而她在十七岁就赢得了可以环游整个国家的资金。她在巴黎学习，后来又到不列塔尼的Pont-Aven，在那里她画了一年，随后又去了托斯卡纳区、康沃尔和圣彼得堡。1887年访问康沃尔的圣艾夫斯期间，她创作了“正在康复的病人”。裹着一条毯子的一个小孩靠着一把大柳条椅坐着，手里玩着一个小树枝。这幅作品在1889年巴黎世界展览上赢得了铜牌，被芬兰艺术协会买走。一个现代人看来这幅画仿佛是感伤的，只有孩子有点发呆、忧郁的表情算是一点缓和。这可能是Schjerfbeck小时候的经历触发而创作的。她四岁时从楼梯上摔了下来，后来再没有痊愈过。

1890年，Schjerfbeck在芬兰定居。她厌烦了那些课程，她不喜欢其他当地画家的作品，而后来当他开始照顾她母亲（活到1923年）时就变得更孤立了。“如果我允许自己选择了一种隐居地生活”她写道，“那是因为事情就得是这样了。”1902年，Schjerfbeck和她母亲定居在了工业小镇Hyvinkaa上，在赫尔辛基北面50公里的地方。

不过与世隔绝倒是有一种理想的效果，因为就是在那里Hyvinkaa转变为一名现代画家。她画了许多静止的生命和景物，但最重要的是画了她那忧悒、尖刻的母亲，还有当地上学的女孩、小镇上的女工人（其中一位穿黑衣的沉思的、具有贵族气质的女裁缝师的侧面像最为突出）。当然她还画了自己。她的画和詹姆士·McNeill ·惠斯勒、埃德瓦·蒙克都做过对比，但从1905年开始，她的作品变成纯粹的Schjerfbeck风格了词汇突破：

“我一直在寻找灵魂的最深处，但是它们还是没有找到自己，”她这样写道，“哪里有无意识的东西，哪里人们就有最伟大的发现。”她尝试着使用了不同的画底色，刮了，擦了，画出了明亮的玫瑰红点；她做了一切自己能做的去捕捉潜意识——她自己的，还有她的那些模特的。1913年，Schjerfbeck被一位艺术商人兼记者Gosta Stenman重新发现。这一次她又成功了。作品回顾展、巡回展出，接着是一部传记，但是在斯坎的纳维亚之外很少人知道她。这也许和她对声望不予理会有关。“我不是什么名人，绝对不是，”她这样写道，“我需要的只是绘画。” Schjerfbeck有独特的眼光，现在是该由全世界认识她的时候了。