阅读理解 In many cultures people make a distinction between fine art and folk art. Although telling the difference between these two types of art is not always easy, each has certain general characteristics that help to identify it. One characteristic of folk art, for example, is that it is the product of ordinary people, the folk. Further more, folk art is often traditional in composition and subject matter. Fine art, in contrast, is usually the product of professionals who have studied art. These professional artists are usually more strongly influenced by the contemporary world and modern composition than by tradition. Another difference between folk and fine art is that folk art is often created to decorate a functional object. For example, a person who decorates his or her home by sculpting the wooden beam that holds up the roof is creating folk art. Fine art, on the other hand, is usually purely decorative Its only function is to its environment. A third distinguishing characteristic of folk art is that it is "participatory". This means that the art is created through the active involvement of the participants in the artistic project. For instance, a work song is created when a group of workers with one job to do sing together. By singing together, they make their work easier and also create a song that is considered to be folk art. In addition, paintings on the walls of churches are some times considered folk art since many people are involved in the endeavor, not only painters. The participants who are not skillful at drawing or painting, mix colors or clean up spilled paint. Fine art, such as music, how ever, seldom involves participation of any one besides the artist. Other people are usually not involved in the production. People at a music concert are only listeners, not participants. In the same way, a fine-art painting is primarily the work of one known artist, not a group. Folk art is characterized by anonymity; the folk artist is rarely, if ever, known. A final distinctive characteristic of folk art is that it tends to become rarer as a society becomes more industrialized. When machines produce all of the objects that people are likely to need in their everyday lives, people are likely to stop producing and decorating household objects at home. Likewise, when most people have radios, they tend to listen to the songs on the radio while they work rather than to sing traditional work songs. However, the quality and quantity of fine art do not decrease with industrialization. In fact, the amount may in crease if industrialization raises the standard of living, thus creating a larger number of people who can afford to buy fine art.

单选题 Which of the following statements about folk art is true?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】细节判断题。此题较简单，选项的对错可以直接比照原文进行判断。文章说，“One characteristic of folk art，for example，is that it is the product of ordinary people, the folk”。所以A项“民间艺术是研究艺术的职业工作者的作品”是错误的；B项“修饰木梁是民间艺术”是文章的原句：“For example，a per son who decorates his or her home by sculpting the wooden beam that holds up the roof is creating folk art”；C项说“教堂里的画通常被认为是民间艺术”，而文章说的是“paintings on the walls of churches are sometimes considered folk art”，所以是不正确的；文章说听音乐会的人只是听众，不是参加者“People at a music concert are only listeners，not participants”，而民间艺术的第三个特征就是它是“众人参与的”“A third distinguishing characteristic of folk art is that it is participatory”，所以D“去听音乐会的人是民间艺术的创造者”是错误的。

单选题 Which of the following statements about fine art is true?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】细节判断题。A项“高雅艺术是纯装饰性的”是文章原句：“Fine art，on the other hand，is usually purely decorative''”；文章说高雅艺术通常是研究艺术的职业工作者的产物，而职业艺术家更多地受当代而不是受传统世界和创作的影响(“Fine art，in contrast．is usually the product of professionals who have studied art．These professional artists are usually more strongly influenced by the contemporary world and modern composition than by tradition”)，因此B项说“高雅艺术在构思和主题上经常是传统的”与文章不符；C说劳动歌曲被认为是高雅艺术，而文章说工人们通过一起唱歌使工作变得简单，也因此创作了一首被认为是民间艺术的歌(“By singing together，they make their work easier and also create a song that is considered to be folk art”)，所以与文章不符；D“随着工业化，高雅艺术的质量和数量会下降”与原文恰好相反：“the quality and quantity of fine art do not decrease with industrialization”。