Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank. Was Air Pollution Monet’s Muse (灵感之源)?
Claude Monet was a French painter who lived at the turn of the 20th century, from 1840 to 1926. He is credited as the founder of impressionism, a painting style characterized by its use of many thin brushstrokes 【小题1】(create) a dream-like quality. Impressionist paintings are celebrated for the way 【小题2】 seem to capture a sense of life in motion. Monet didn’t just simply paint landscapes; he wanted to convey the sensations he experienced when he saw them.
Many of Monet’s paintings portray the passage of time, like clouds 【小题3】 (drift) through the sky. The landscapes in his paintings often have a misty appearance, 【小题4】 fog is clouding edges, and concealing objects that are far away. Some researchers have suggested the mist of Monet’s landscapes 【小题5】 have actually been air pollution.
Monet was painting at a time when heavy industry was starting to seriously impact the environment. This was especially true in urban centers like London and Paris. The supposition is that Monet’s works reflect the increasing levels of air pollution that Europe 【小题6】 (witness) in the late 19th century and early 20th century. 【小题7】 Monet’s painting career progressing, background visibility in his paintings seems to gradually decrease.
In letters to his wife, Monet sometimes described the smoke and fog in London, for 【小题8】 he obviously had a preference. Evidence suggests that 【小题9】 significant number of Monet’s works were influenced, or even inspired, by the way air pollution affected light and vision. 【小题10】 air pollution was the muse for one of modern history’s greatest artists might be true.
