A
Chinese painting, also known as the traditional national painting, one of the traditional paintings with a long history, has its unique and independent system. Using brushes, ink, and Chinese pigments (天然颜料), a painting is drawn on a special kind of paper (Xuan paper) or silk. The traditional subjects are figures, landscapes, flowers and birds.
In comparison with Western painting, Chinese painting has its own artistic characteristics. After a careful study of the object, a painter can discover the rules of its structure, and then produce it by the mind's eye. It is not merely a simple copy, but it combines the object with the artistic concept of the producer, turning a natural image into an “artistic image”. The object can show the artist's feelings and personality to achieve the effect of “being alike not only in spirit, but also in appearance”. Not all the objects are to be drawn on the paper, and much space is left for the imagination. The use of lines is important in Chinese painting. Clear, swift, sharp and changeable lines are combined with the push, point and press of the brush and ink to show the quality of the object and variations of tone (色调). Ancient Chinese artists listed 18 different ways of drawing lines with the brush in figure painting. Different ways of creating lines are used when painting a landscape, flowers and birds, clouds, and bamboos.
Traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy are different branches of art stemming (起源) from the same origin. They use the same kind of tools and all the lines used in painting are variations of the points and lines of calligraphy. Though they are different artistic forms, they are closely linked in terms of their expression of thoughts and feelings. They influence each other to create another artistic feature.
语篇解读：本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了中国国画的相关常识。
1．Which of the following words can describe the common subjects of traditional Chinese painting?
A．Valuable. B．Independent.
C．Special. D．Natural.
解析：选D 推理判断题。根据第一段可知，中国国画的传统题材是人物、风景、花鸟。由此可知，“自然的”可以描述中国画的普遍主题。故选D。
2．The writer believes that a traditional Chinese painter's picture ________.
A．reflects social problems of his times
B．describes mainly a natural image
C．expresses his thoughts
D．tells a true story
解析：选C 细节理解题。根据第二段第四句可知，作者认为中国传统画家的画更侧重创造出“艺术形象”，表达作者的情感和个性，不仅“形似”，而且“神似”。故选C。
3．It can be inferred that a traditional Chinese painter spent much time ________.
A．traveling
B．learning to draw lines
C．reading
D．studying calligraphy before drawing
解析：选B 推理判断题。根据第二段最后两句可知，一位传统的中国画家会花费很多时间学习线条绘画。故选B。
4．What do painting and calligraphy have in common?
A．Using the similar techniques.
B．Starting from the same period.
C．Belonging to the same artistic form.
D．Covering the same themes.
解析：选A 细节理解题。根据最后一段前两句可知，中国传统绘画和书法是不同的艺术分支，它们有着相同的起源。它们使用同样的工具，绘画中使用的所有线条都是书法的点和线的变化。由此可知，书法和绘画使用类似的技巧。故选A。
