When I was five years old, a picture book about Van Gogh deeply attracted me. In that book, Van Gogh was described as a lovely teddy bear, not a sad Dutch artist. This special book led me to get to know the real Van Gogh and his vibrant, lively ___1___. Those works were easy for a little child like me to ___2___, since I usually painted with my fingers at that time. I painted happily every day for many years until I entered high school, ___3___ my paintings started to be graded. Art changed from a joyful hobby that I loved to do into something that could be ___4___ by others, which made me feel terrified. I even decided to ___5___ painting, taking comfort in the thought that I would never become an excellent artist.

Later, when I began to write about art, I felt the ___6___ to paint again, especially oil painting, which I had never used but always thought was ___7___. I joined an oil painting class and promised to spend four hours every Sunday ___8___ in front of an easel (画架). I started from the basics, learning about color mixing, composition and drawing. It was really hard work. Once, I spent three ___9___ hours trying to paint a satin ribbon on a table, but I did it ___10___ and went home in a very bad mood. However, when I collected my painting a week later, I ___11___ it was not bad for a first try, and I had learned something useful from the process.

1.1.

A poems

B paintings

C songs

D stories

解析：选B。B考查名词辨析。原文提到“a picture book about Van Gogh”，梵高是画家，因此此处指他的“画作”。paintings（画作）符合语境，而poems（诗歌）、songs（歌曲）、stories（故事）均与画家身份不符。故选B。

2.2.

A admire

B forget

C doubt

D understand

解析：选D。D考查动词辨析。原文提到“since I usually painted with my fingers at that time”，说明作者用手指画画的方式与梵高的画作风格相似，因此这些作品对她来说很容易“理解”。understand（理解）符合文意，forget（忘记）、doubt（怀疑）、admire（钦佩）均不符合语境逻辑。故选D。

3.3.

A what

B when

C which

D who

解析：选B。B考查定语从句关系词。先行词是“high school”，先行词“high school”在此处更侧重于一个抽象的时间点或阶段（即“上高中时期”）。when用于先行词表时间。what不引导定语从句；which和who在从句中作主语或宾语，均不符合此处语法要求。故选B。

4.4.

A praised

B judged

C refused

D copied

解析：选B。B考查动词辨析。原文前一句提到“my paintings started to be graded”（我的画作开始被打分），“graded”与“judged”（评判、评价）语义相近，都表示作品被他人评估。praised（表扬）、refused（拒绝）、copied（复制）均与“打分”的语境不匹配。故选B。

5.5.

A continue

B risk

C keep

D stop

解析：选D。D考查动词辨析。前文提到作者因画作被评判而感到恐惧，后文提到她用“永远成不了优秀画家”的想法来自我安慰，由此可推测她决定停止画画。continue（继续）、risk（冒险）、keep（保持）均不符合语境。故选D。

6.6.

A habit

B chance

C desire

D courage

解析：选C。C考查名词辨析。原文提到作者之前停止了画画，后来开始写关于艺术的文章，这重新点燃了她画画的强烈愿望。desire（渴望、愿望）准确表达了这种情感，chance（机会）、habit（习惯）、courage（勇气）均不如desire贴合语境。故选C。

7.7.

A common

B cheap

C precious

D useless

解析：选C。C考查形容词辨析。作者一直对油画充满向往，认为它很有价值。precious（珍贵的）符合作者对油画的正面态度，cheap（便宜的）、common（普通的）、useless（无用的）均与文意相反。故选C。

8.8.

A practicing

B resting

C talking

D watching

解析：选A。A考查动词辨析。原文提到作者参加了油画班，承诺每周日花时间坐在画架前，学习绘画的核心行为是“练习”。practicing（练习）符合语境，resting（休息）、talking（交谈）、watching（观看）均与学习绘画的行为不符。故选A。

9.9.

A happy

B miserable

C short

D wonderful

解析：选B。B考查形容词辨析。原文后一句提到“went home in a very bad mood”（心情很差地回家），说明这三个小时的绘画过程是“痛苦的、难受的”。miserable（痛苦的）与后文的负面情绪相呼应，happy（开心的）、short（短的）、wonderful（精彩的）均不符合语境。故选B。

10.10.

A poorly

B perfectly

C carefully

D easily

解析：选A。A考查副词辨析。原文提到作者“went home in a very bad mood”，说明她画得并不理想。poorly（糟糕地）准确描述了绘画结果，perfectly（完美地）、carefully（仔细地）、easily（容易地）均与“心情差”的语境矛盾。故选A。

11.11.

A forgot

B denied

C pretended

D realized

解析：选D。D考查动词辨析。原文提到一周后作者取回画作，此时她对自己的作品有了新的认识，意识到对于第一次尝试来说，结果并不算差。realized（意识到）表达了这种事后的感悟，denied（否认）、pretended（假装）、forgot（忘记）均不符合语境。故选D。

12.12.

A Starting

B Finishing

C Missing

D Teaching

解析：选B。B考查动名词辨析（非谓语动词）。原文提到“gave me enough confidence”，说明是“完成”12周的课程后，作者才获得了足够的信心。Finishing（完成）作句子主语，符合逻辑，Starting（开始）、Missing（错过）、Teaching（教授）均与“获得信心”的因果关系不符。故选B。

13.13.

A rarely

B suddenly

C gradually

D never

解析：选C。C考查副词辨析。根据语境可知，作者的心态是慢慢发生改变的，不再因别人看画而感到不好意思。gradually（逐渐地）体现这一变化过程，可以与前文的“when I collected my painting a week later”和“Finishing the 12-week class”相呼应，说明这种“逐渐”的变化是贯穿整个学习过程的，体现了成长的渐进性。suddenly（突然地）、rarely（很少地）、never（从不）不符合语境。故选C。

14.14.

A on time

B at last

C right away

D in turn

解析：选C。C考查短语辨析。根据语境可知，油画没有立刻让作者变得擅长，而是需要长期坚持。right away（立刻，马上）符合句意，at last（最后）、on time（准时）、in turn（依次）均不符合语境。故选C。

15.15.

A lesson

B story

C joke

D song

解析：选A。A考查名词辨析（固定搭配）。根据语境可知，作者从学习油画的经历中得到重要启示。teach sb. a lesson为固定搭配，表示“给某人一个教训/启示”，lesson（教训，启示）符合语境，story（故事）、joke（笑话）、song（歌曲）均不合适。故选 A。