Van Gogh painted sunflowers for the first time in the summer of 1886.Two years later, his interest appeared again after he settled in Arles. After he had invited the French artist Paul Gauguin, whom he admired, to join his Studio of the South, he began painting sunflowers to brighten up the whitewashed walls of the yellow house he was living in, not far from the town’s railway station.
Gauguin accepted Van Gogh’s invitation. When he began dragging his heels(脚后跟), Van Gogh painted the last two of the four original Sunflowers for the modest bedroom where his guest would sleep following his arrival that autumn, “Van Gogh saw the Sunflowers for Gauguin’s bedroom as a way of attracting his friend to come from Brittany, “says Bailey.
According to Martin Gayford, “Gauguin was very surprised by the Sunflowers, which he repeatedly praised and asked for as a gift. Years later, Gauguin himself painted some sunflower pictures.”
Van Gogh’s Sunflowers stand for (代表)his relationship with Gauguin. “I think he painted them for the joy of it,” says Jansen. “Van Gogh was at the height of his powers in the summer of 1888,”explains Bailey. “He painted the Sunflowers quickly and with great energy and confidence.” Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo in late August, “I’m painting quickly now, which won’t surprise you when it’s a question of painting large Sunflowers.”
Van Gogh recognized at once that he had created something important and that his sunflowers were so different. As he told Theo in January 1889, while other artists were known for painting other flowers, “The sunflower is mine.” This, in fact, explains the reason for the popularity of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers today.
1．Van Gogh painted sunflowers in 1888 in order to ________.
A．give them to Gauguin B．make his living
C．decorate his house D．show his artistic talent to others
2．Where were the last two Sunflowers placed by Van Gogh? ________.
A．In the British museum B．In Gauguin’s bedroom
C．In the town’s railway station D．In a rich businessman's house
3．How did Gauguin feel about Van Gogh’s painting——the Sunflowers? ________.
A．Very bad B．Just soso
C．Rather worried D．Quite surprised
4．From the last two paragraphs we can learn that ________.
A．Van Gogh was not good at painting large Sunflowers
B．Van Gogh had much trouble in painting the Sunflowers
C．Van Gogh didn’t like his Sunflowers at all at that time
D．Van Gogh realized the Sunflowers would make him known
1．C
2．B
3．D
4．D
【分析】
本文是一篇记叙文。文章介绍了梵高的绘画作品《向日葵》的创作背景。
1．推理判断题。根据第一段中的“he began painting sunflowers to brighten up the whitewashed walls of the yellow house he was living in”可知，他画向日葵是为他所居住的黄色房屋的白色粉刷墙壁增添色彩。因此梵高1888年画向日葵是为了装饰他的房子。故选C。
2．细节理解题。根据第二段中的“Gauguin accepted Van Gogh’s invitation. Gogh painted the last two of the four original Sunflowers for the modest bedroom where his guest would sleep following his arrival that autumn”可知，Gauguin接受了梵高的邀请。梵高为那间不起眼的卧室画了四个原始向日葵中的最后两个向日葵，他的客人那个秋天来到后就睡在这个卧室里。可知，梵高把最后两个向日葵画作放在了Gauguin的卧室里。故选B。
3．细节理解题。根据第三段中的“According to Martin Gayford, “Gauguin was very surprised by the Sunflowers, which he repeatedly praised and asked for as a gift.”可知，据Martin Gayford说，Gauguin对向日葵感到非常惊讶，他一再赞美并索要它作为礼物。故选D。
4．推理判断题。根据第五段中的“Van Gogh recognized at once that he had created something important and that his sunflowers were so different. This, in fact, explains the reason for the popularity of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers today.”可知，梵高意识到自己创造了一些重要的东西，而他的向日葵是如此的不同。这解释了梵高的向日葵今天流行的原因。因此梵高意识到向日葵会让他出名。故选D。