单选题
In the art of the Middle Ages, we never
encounter the personality of the artist as an individual; rather it is diffused
through the artistic genius of centuries embodied in the rules of religious art.
Art of the Middle Ages is first a sacred script, the symbols and meanings of
which were well settled. The circular halo placed vertically behind the head
signifies sainthood, while the halo impressed with a cross signifies divinity.
By bare feet, we recognize God, the angels, Jesus Christ and the apostles, but
for an artist to have depicted the Virgin Mary with bare feet would have been
tantamount to heresy. Several concentric, wavy lines represent the sky, while
parallel lines water or the sea. A tree, which is to say a single stalk with two
or three stylized leaves, informs us that the scene is laid on earth. A tower
with a window indicates a village, and, should an angel be watching from
depicted with curly hair, a short beard, and a tonsure, while Saint Paul has
always a bald head and a long beard. A second characteristic of
this iconography is obedience to a sacred mathematics. "The Divine Wisdom,"
wrote Saint Augustine, "reveals itself everywhere in numbers", a doctrine
attributable to the neo—Platonists who revived the genius of Pythagoras. Twelve
is the master number of the Church and is the product of three, the number of
the Trinity, and four, the number of material elements. The number seven,
the most mysterious of all numbers, is the sum of four and three. There are the
seven ages of man, seven virtues, seven planets. In the final analysis, the
seven-tone scale of Gregorian music is the sensible embodiment of the order of
the universe. Numbers require also symmetry. At Charters, a stained glass window
shows the four prophets, Isaac, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Jeremiah, carrying on their
shoulders the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. A
third characteristic of art is to be a symbolic language, showing us one thing
and inviting us to see another. In this respect, the artist was called upon to
imitate God, who had hidden a profound meaning behind the literal and wished
nature itself to be a moral lesson to man. Thus, every painting is an allegory.
In a scene of the final judgment, we can see the foolish virgins at the left
hand of Jesus and the wise at his right, and we understand that this symbolizes
those who are lost and those who are saved. Even seemingly insignificant details
carry hidden meaning. The lion in a stained glass window is the figure of the
Resurrection. These, then, are the defining characteristics of
art of the Middle Ages, a system within which even the most mediocre talent was
elevated by the genius of the centuries. The artists of the early Renaissance
broke with traditional at their own peril. When they are not outstanding,
they are scarcely able to avoid insignificance and banality in their religious
works, and, even when they are great, they are no more than the equals of the
old masters who passively followed the sacred
rules.
单选题
Richard, King of England from 1189 to
1199, with all his characteristic virtues and faults cast in a heroic mould, is
one of the most fascinating medieval figures. He has been described as the
creature and embodiment of the age of chivalry, In those days the lion was much
admired in heraldry, and more than one king sought to link himself with its
repute. When Richard's contemporaries called him "Coeur de Lion"(The Lion
heart), they paid a lasting compliment to the king of beasts. Little did the
English people owe him for his services, and heavily did they pay for his
adventures. He was in England only twice for a few short months in his ten
years' reign; yet his memory has always English hearts, and seems to present
throughout the centuries the pattern of the fighting man. In all deeds of
prowess as well as in large schemes of war Richard shone. He was tall and
delicately shaped strong in nerve and sinew, and most dexterous in arms. He
rejoiced in personal combat, and regarded his opponents without malice as
necessary agents in his fame. He loved war, not so much for the sake of glory or
political ends, but as other men love science or poetry, for the excitement of
the struggle and the glow of victory. By this his whole temperament was toned;
and united with the highest qualities of the military commander, love of war
called forth all the powers of his mind and body. Although a man
of blood and violence, Richard was too impetuous to be either treacherous on
habitually cruel. He was as ready to forgive as he was hasty to offend; he was
open-handed and munificent to profusion in war circumspect in design and skilful
in execution; in political a child, lacking in subtlety and experience. His
political alliances were formed upon his likes and dislikes; his political
schemes had neither unity nor clearness of purpose. The advantages gained for
him by military geoids were flung away through diplomatic ineptitude. When, on
the journey to the East, Messina in Sicily was won by his arms he was easily
persuaded to share with his polished, faithless ally, Philip Augustus, fruits of
a victory which more wisely used might have foiled the French King's artful
schemes. The rich and tenable acquisition of Cyprus was cast away even more
easily than it was won. His life was one magnificent parade, which, when ended,
left only an empty plain. In 1199, when the difficulties of
raising revenue for the endless war were at their height, good news was brought
to King Richard. It was said there had been dug up near the castle of Chaluz, on
the lands of one of his French vassals, a treasure of wonderful quality; a group
of golden images of an emperor, his wife, sons and daughters, seated round a
table, also of gold, had been unearthed. The King claimed this treasure as lord
paramount. The lord of Chaluz resisted the demand, and the King laid siege to
his small, weak castle. On the third day, as he rode daringly, near the wall,
confident in his hard-tried luck, a bolt from a crossbow struck him in the left
shoulder by the neck. The wound, already deep, was aggravated by the necessary
cutting out of the arrow-head. Gangrene set in, and Coeur de Lion knew that he
must pay a soldier's debt. He prepared for death with fortitude and calm, and in
accordance with the principles he had followed. He arranged his affairs; he
divided his personal belongings among his friends or bequeathed them to charity.
He declared John to be his heir, and made all present swear fealty to him. He
ordered the archer who had shot the fatal bolt, and who was now a prisoner, to
be brought before him. He pardoned him, and made him a gift of money. For seven
years he had not confessed for fear of being compelled to be reconciled to
Philip, but now he received the offices of the Church with sincere and exemplary
piety, and died in the forty-second year of his age on April 6,1199, worthy, by
the consent of all men, to sit with King Arthur and Roland and other heroes of
martial romance at some eternal round table, which we trust the Creator of the
Universe in his comprehension will not have forgotten to provide.
The archer was flayed alive.
单选题Questions 11-14
单选题Which of the following is implied in the sentence "That conjures up images of constant and relentless forward movement orchestrated with military precision."
单选题Questions 19-22
单选题Questions 11-14
单选题Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following news.
单选题
{{B}}Questions
27—30{{/B}}
单选题[此试题无题干]
单选题Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following Interview.
单选题Questions 27-30
单选题Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following news.
单选题
单选题Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following talk.
单选题
单选题
BQuestions
11-14/B
单选题
单选题Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following news.
单选题Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following news.
单选题The article can be classified as ______.