Sculpting papaya fruits into realistic flowers木瓜之上，美丽绽放

胡金莹

阮氏秋是從事并不断提高用木瓜雕刻逼真花朵这一传统艺术的越南艺术家。

主题语境：艺术 篇幅：363词 建议用时：7分钟

1 Nguyen Thi Thu is one of the few remainingartists practicing and constantly enhancing the traditionalVietnamese art of sculpting realisticlookingflowers out of papaya fruits.

2 Thu became fascinated with carving variousflowers from papaya fruits at the age of 15， when， like many other parents during the 1980s，her family registered her for an exclusive class on the art of sculpting the tropical fruit. Shewas fascinated by the traditional art form， but then she had to move to Russia for 15years， where， because she was too busy working and had no access to green papayas，she couldn＇t practice her favorite art form. She tried it with all sorts of other fruits andvegetables， including watermelons， but nothing was quite like the papaya she knew. Whenshe went back to Hanoi in 2009， she immediately got back into papaya sculpting， and shehas been practicing the craft ever since.

3 According to Ms Thu， in order to become beautiful flowers， papaya fruits must meetthe following criteria： have smooth dark green skin， elongated shape， and be firm to thehand. Before sculpting， she cuts the papaya in half， and soaks it in cold water for 1 hour to remove the sap. She then uses simple tools such as a knife to split the petals， scissors to cutand shape the petals， and chopsticks to bend the petals. Finally， she uses a food coloringbrush on the flowers to really make them look like the real thing.4 Over the years， Nguyen Thi Thu has taught herself to carve various types of flowers，from primrose and lotus to water lily and peony， but her favorite by far is also one of themost complicated， the chrysanthemums （菊花）. Creating a single flower takes between 45minutes and over an hour， depending on the complexity of the design.

“5 I often fall asleep thinking of how to sculpt a certain flower， and then I get out of bedto practice，” Ms Thu said.“ I passionately sculpt papaya flowers until 3 to 4 in the morning.There are many kinds of chrysanthemums in the world， so even if I dedicate my entire lifeto carving each one， I probably won＇t be able to.”

Reading Check

1. How old did Ms Thu begin learning the art of papaya sculpting？

A. At 5 years old.

B. At 15 years old.

C. At 25 years old.

D. At 30 years old.

2. Why was Ms Thu unable to practice her papaya sculpting while in Russia？

A. She couldn＇t find a teacher for the art.

B. She lost interest in the art form.

C. She had no access to green papayas.

D. She was studying other forms of art.

3. Which of the following best describes Ms Thus carving？

A. Boring. B. Wellpaid.

C. Demanding. D. Dangerous.

4. Which flower does Ms Thu think is one of the most complicated to sculpt？

A. Lotus. B. Primrose.

C. Water lily. D. Chrysanthemum.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

She was fascinated by the traditional art form， but then she had to move to Russia for15 years， where， because she was too busy working and had no access to green papayas，she couldn＇t practice her favorite art form. 她对这种传统的艺术形式非常着迷，但后来她不得不移居俄罗斯，在那里生活了 15 年，因为工作太忙，没有机会得到青木瓜，所以她无法练习自己最喜爱的艺术形式。

【点石成金】本句是一个由but连接的并列句。where引导定语从句，先行词为Russia；because引导原因状语从句。

Ⅱ. Fill in the blanks with the word and phrases in the box in proper forms.

become fascinated with constantly access to go back depend on fall asleep

1. The diploma course would offer remote ________ course materials via the Internet＇s world wide web.

2. The temperature remained ________ while pressure was a variable in the experiment.

3. The boy ________ making model airplanes since the age of 3.

4. One afternoon， I got bored and actually ________ for a few minutes.

5. The risk and severity of sunburn ________ the body＇s natural skin colour.

6. The firefighters ________ into the house with scant regard for their own safety.

主题应用·语库构建

Ⅰ. 主题单词

绘画

canvas 画布

brush 画笔

palette 调色板

easel 画架

pigment 颜料

watercolor 水彩

sketch 素描

portrait 肖像

landscape 鄉村风景画

雕塑

sculptor 雕塑家

marble 大理石

chisel 凿子

bronze 青铜

statue 雕像

carving 雕刻品

mold 模具

basrelief

浅浮雕

armature（ 塑像内部的）支架

installation 现代雕塑装置

建筑

facade（ 建筑物的）正面

column 柱子

dome 穹顶

arch 拱门

blueprint 蓝图

foundation 基础

beam（ 建筑物的）梁

ornament 装饰

cornice 檐口

balustrade 栏杆

摄影

aperture（ 尤指摄影机等的光圈）孔径

lens 镜头

focus 焦点

exposure 曝光

tripod 三脚架

frame 框架

snapshot 快照

filter 滤镜

其他

melody 旋律

harmony 和声

rhythm 节奏

chord 和弦

playwright 剧作家

costume 服装

ballet 芭蕾舞

rumba 伦巴舞

tango 探戈舞

waltz 华尔兹舞

dialogue 对白

script 剧本

prop 道具

masterpiece 杰作

performance 表演

audience 观众

Ⅱ. 主题短语

art exhibition 艺术展览

artistic expression 艺术表现

abstract art 抽象艺术

aesthetic appeal 艺术感染力

art critique 艺术评论

contemporary art 当代艺术

art collector 艺术收藏家

art gallery 艺术展览馆

art movement 艺术运动

canvas painting 油画

color palette 调色板

landscape painting 风景画

oil on canvas 油画

performance art 表演艺术

portrait painting 肖像画

digital art 数字艺术

gallery opening 画廊开幕式

Ⅲ. 主题美句

1. Art knows no bounds， and as theartist blends colors on the canvas， it becomes clear that she is creating a languagethat speaks to the soul in ways that wordscannot. 艺术没有界限，当这位艺术家在画布上混合色彩时，很明显，她正在创造一种语言，这种语言以言语无法达到的方式与灵魂对话。

2. The melody of the song was haunting，and as the musician continued to play，the notes carried the audience away to aplace of deep emotion.这首歌的旋律令人难忘，随着音乐家继续演奏，音符带领观众进入一个充满深情的地方。

3. Even though the sculpture stoodstill and silent in the garden， it told apowerful story of resilience and beauty thatresonated with each person who stopped toadmire it. 尽管这座雕塑静静地矗立在花园中，但它讲述了一个关于适应力和美丽的强有力的故事，引起了每一个停下来欣赏它的人的共鸣。

4. The art teacher encouraged herstudents to look beyond the obvious， andas they did， they began to see the layers ofmeaning hidden within the simplest ofsketches. 这位艺术老师鼓励她的学生们看到表面之下的东西，当他们这样做时，他们开始看到了隐藏在最简单的草图中的多层含义。

5. The novelist spent years weavinghis story， carefully crafting each sentenceso that when readers finally turned thepages， they found themselves immersed ina world both fantastical and true to life.这位小说家花费数年编织他的故事，精心构思每一个句子，以便当读者最终翻阅这些书页时，他们发现自己沉浸在一个既奇幻又真实的世界中。

6. The photographer didn＇t just takephotos; he captured moments of rawemotion and stunning beauty， allowingthose who later viewed his images toexperience those same feelings as ifstanding right there in the scene. 這位摄影师不仅仅是拍照；他捕捉到了原始情感和令人惊叹的美丽瞬间，让那些后来观看他照片的人能够体验同样的感觉，就好像他们站在现场一样。

7. While everyone else saw an old，rundown building， the artist saw a canvasfull of potential， and with time and imagination，he transformed it into a work of artthat celebrated the community＇s historyand character. 当其他人看到一座破旧的老建筑时，这位艺术家看到了一块充满潜力的画布，通过时间和想象力，他将其转变成了一件艺术作品，这件艺术作品歌颂了这个社区的历史和特色。

8. The theater was a place wherestories came to life， and when the actorstook the stage， they didnt just recite lines;they breathed life into the characters，making the audience believe in the realitythey created. 剧场是一个让故事变得生动的地方，当演员们走上舞台时，他们不仅仅是背诵台词；他们给角色们注入了生命，让观众相信他们所创造的现实。

Ⅳ. 主題写作

假定你是新华中学学生会主席李华，你校将于5月份举行歌唱比赛，请你代表学生会为校刊写一则英文通知，内容如下：

1. 比赛的目的和意义；

2. 比赛的具体安排。

注意：

1. 词数80左右；

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Notice

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