四级真题2020年9月第二套 Passage One
四级真题2020年9月第二套 Passage One


①When is cleaning was a crime? When you’re doing it to create art, obviously. A number of street artists around the world have started expressing themselves through a practice known as reverse graffiti (涂鸦). They find dirty surfaces and paint them with images or messages using cleaning brushes or pressure hoses (高压水管) . Either way, it's the same principle: the image is made by cleaning away the dirt. Each artist has their own individual style but all artists share a common aim: to draw attention to the pollution in our cities. The UK’s Paul Curtis, better known as Moose, operates around Leeds and London and has been commissioned by a number of companies to make reverse graffiti advertisements.

②Brazilian artist, Alexandre Orion, turned one of Sao Paulo's transport tunnels into an amazing wall painting in 2006 by getting rid of the dirt. Made up of a series of white skulls (颅骨), the painting reminds drivers of the effect their pollution is having on the planet. “Every motorists sits in the comfort of their car, but they don't give any consideration to the price their comfort has for the environment and consequently for themselves,” says Orion.
③The anti-pollution message of the reverse graffiti artists confuses city authorities since the main argument against graffiti is that it spoils the appearance of both types of property: public and private. This was what Leeds City Council said about Moose's work: “Leeds residents want to live in clean and attractive neighbourhoods. We view this kind of advertising as environmental damage and will take strong action against it.” Moose was ordered to “clean up his act.” How was he supposed to do this: by making all property he had cleaned dirty again?
④As for the Brazilian artist’s work, the authorities were annoyed but could find nothing to charge him with. They had no other option but to clean the tunnel—but only the parts Alexandre had already cleaned. The artist merely continued his campaign on the other side. The city officials then decided to take drastic action. They not only cleaned the whole tunnel but every tunnel in Sao Paulo.

1.1. What do we learn from the passage about reverse graffiti?

A It uses paint to create anti-pollution images.

B It creates a lot of trouble for local residents.

C It causes lots of distraction to drivers.

D It turns dirty walls into artistic works.

解析：选D。D细节理解题。由题干中的 reverse graffiti定位到首段第三句。定位句后的两句指出,他们找到一些有污垢的墙面,然后用清洁刷或高压水管在上面画上图像或文字。不管用哪种方式，原则是一样的:通过擦去污垢画上图像。由此可知，反向涂鸦使肮脏的墙面变成了艺术作品，故答案为 D。

2.2. What do reverse graffiti artists try to do?

A Publicise their artistic pursuit.

B Beautify the city environment.

C Raise public awareness of environmental pollution.

D Express their dissatisfaction with local governments.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。由题干中的 reverse graffiti artists 定位到首段倒数第二句。定位句指出,所有的艺术家都有一个共同的目的:提醒人们注意我们城市里的污染。由此可知,反向涂鸦艺术家想提高公众对于环境污染的意识,故答案为C。

3.3. What do we learn about Brazilian artist Alexandre Orion?

A He was good at painting white skulls.

B He chose tunnels to do his graffiti art.

C He suggested banning all polluting cars.

D He was fond of doing creative artworks.

解析：选B。B推理判断题。由题干中的 Brazilian artist AlexandreOrion 定位到第二段第一句，定位句指出，巴西艺术家亚历山大·奥利恩在 2006 年通过清除灰尘把圣保罗的一条交通隧道变成了一幅令人惊叹的壁画。由此可见，亚历山大·奥利恩选择了在隧道里创作他的涂鸦艺术,故答案为B。

4.4. What does the author imply about Leeds City Council’s decision?

A It is simply absurd.

B It is well-informed.

C It is rather unexpected.

D It is quite sensible.

解析：选A。A推理判断题。由题干中的 Leeds City Council's decision定位到第三段第二至五句。定位句提到,利兹市议会对穆斯的作品作出这样的评价:“利兹市民想要生活在干净和有魅力的社区里。我们认为这种广告是对环境的破坏,我们会采取强硬措施来抵制它。”穆斯被要求“清理自己做过的事”。他应该怎么做呢?要把他已经清洁的所有墙面再弄脏吗?作者以反讽的语气说明无法清除已经创作好的反向涂鸦作品。由此可见，作者暗示利兹市议会的决定很荒谬,故答案为 A。

5.5. How did Sao Paulo city officials handle Alexandre Orion’s reverse graffiti?

A They made him clean all the tunnels in Sao Paulo.

B They took drastic action to ban all reverse graffiti.

C They charged him with polluting tunnels in the city.

D They made it impossible for him to practice his art.

解析：选D。D 推理判断题。由题干中的 Sao Paulo city officials 定位到最后一段最后两句。定位句指出，圣保罗市官员决定采取严厉措施。他们不仅清理了整个隧道而且把圣保罗的每一条隧道都清理了。由此可知,所有隧道被清理干净了,亚历山大就无法在隧道里进行反向涂鸦创作了,故答案为 D。