📖 原文
(1) With Robert Laurent and William Zorach, direct carving enters into the story of modern (2) sculpture in the United States. Direct carving - in which the sculptors themselves carve (3) stone or wood with mallet and chisel - must be recognized as something more than just (4) a technique. Implicit in it is an aesthetic principle as well: that the medium has certain (5) qualities of beauty and expressiveness with which sculptors must bring their own (6) aesthetic sensibilities into into harmony. For example, sometimes the shape or veining in a (7) piece of stone or wood suggests, perhaps even dictates, not only the ultimate form, but (8) even the subject matter. (9) The technique of direct carving was a break with the nineteenth-century tradition in (10) which the making of a clay model was considered the creative act and the work was then (11) turned over to studio assistants to be cast in plaster or bronze or carved in marble. (12) Neoclassical sculptors seldom held a mallet or chisel in their own hands, readily (13) conceding that the assistants they employed were far better than they were at carving (14) the finished marble. (15) With the turn-of-the-century Crafts movement and the discovery of nontraditional (16) sources of inspiration, such as wooden African figures and masks, there arose a new (17) urge for hands-on, personal execution of art and an interaction with the medium. Even (18) as early as the 1880's and 1890's, nonconformist European artists were attempting direct (19) carving. By the second decade of the twentieth century, Americans - Laurent and Zorach (20) most notably - had adopted it as their primary means of working. (21) Born in France, Robert Laurent (1890-1970) was a prodigy who received his (22) education in the United States. In 1905 he was sent to Paris as an apprentice to an art (23) dealer, and in the years that followed he witnessed the birth of Cubism, discovered (24) primitive art, and learned the techniques of woodcarving from a frame maker. (25) Back in New York City by 1910, Laurent began carving pieces such as The Priestess, (26) which reveals his fascination with African, pre-Columbian, and South Pacific art. (27) Taking a walnut plank, the sculptor carved the expressive, < stylized design. It is one of (28) the earliest examples of direct carving in American sculpture. The plank's form dictated the (29) rigidly frontal view and the low relief. Even its irregular shape must have appealed (30) to Laurent as a break with a long-standing tradition that required a sculptor to work (31) within a perfect rectangle or square.
❓ 试题解析
问题 1： The word "medium" in line 4 could be used to refer to
A. stone or wood
B. mallet and chisel
C. technique
D. principle
✅ 正确答案： A）stone or wood
📝 解析： 文中提到"the medium has certain qualities of beauty"，结合前文说雕塑家自己用锤子和凿子雕刻石头或木头，medium 指代雕刻材料（石头或木头）。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题结合上下文：medium 在艺术语境中常指"材料/媒介"。
问题 2： What is one of the fundamental principles of direct carving?
A. A sculptor must work with talented assistants.
B. The subject of a sculpture should be derived from classical stories.
C. The material is an important element in a sculpture.
D. The design of a sculpture is most important.
✅ 正确答案： C）The material is an important element in a sculpture.
📝 解析： 文中说"the medium has certain qualities of beauty and expressiveness with which sculptors must bring their own aesthetic sensibilities into harmony"，材料本身具有美感，雕塑家需与之协调。
💡 解题技巧： 原则题找"aesthetic principle"后的内容。
问题 3： The word "dictates" in line 7 is closest in meaning to
A. reads aloud
B. determines
C. includes
D. records
✅ 正确答案： B）determines
📝 解析： "the shape or veining ... suggests, perhaps even dictates, not only the ultimate form, but even the subject matter" — dictates = 决定。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题注意递进关系（suggests, perhaps even dictates）。
问题 4： How does direct carving differ from the nineteenth-century tradition of sculpture?
A. Sculptors are personally involved in the carving of a piece.
B. Sculptors find their inspiration in neoclassical sources.
C. Sculptors have replaced the mallet and chisel with other tools.
D. Sculptors receive more formal training.
✅ 正确答案： A）Sculptors are personally involved in the carving of a piece.
📝 解析： 19世纪传统中，雕塑家只做粘土模型，助手完成雕刻；直接雕刻则雕塑家亲手用锤子和凿子雕刻。
💡 解题技巧： 对比题找"break with"前后的差异。
问题 5： The word "witnessed" in line 23 is closest in meaning to
A. influenced
B. studied
C. validated
D. observed
✅ 正确答案： D）observed
📝 解析： "he witnessed the birth of Cubism" — witnessed = 亲眼目睹/观察到。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：witness 常与与重要事件连用，意为"见证"。
问题 6： Where did Robert Laurent learn to carve?
A. New York
B. Africa
C. The South Pacific
D. Paris
✅ 正确答案： D）Paris
📝 解析： 文中说"learned the techniques of woodcarving from a frame maker" — 此经历发生在巴黎。
💡 解题技巧： 细节题定位"learned"所在句子。
问题 7： The phrase "a break with" in line 30 is closest in meaning to
A. a destruction of
B. a departure from
C. a collapse of
D. a solution to
✅ 正确答案： B）a departure from
📝 解析： "a break with a long-standing tradition" — 与长期传统"决裂/背离"，即 departure from。
💡 解题技巧： 短语题：break with = 背离/打破。
问题 8： The piece titled The Priestess has all of the following characteristics EXCEPT:
A. The design is stylized.
B. It is made of marble.
C. The carving is not deep.
D. It depicts the front of a person.
✅ 正确答案： B）It is made of marble.
📝 解析： 文中说"Taking a walnut plank" — 材料是胡桃木板，不是大理石。其他三项文中均有提及：stylized（line 27）、low relief（line 29，浅浮雕即不深）、frontal view（line 29，正面）。
💡 解题技巧： "EXCEPT"题逐一排除文中明确提到的特征。
🌐 中文翻译
随着Robert Laurent和William Zorach的出现，直接雕刻进入了美国现代雕塑的历史。直接雕刻——雕塑家自己用木槌和凿子雕刻石头或木头——必须被认识到不仅仅是一种技术。它内在还包含一个美学原则：材料具有某些美感和表现力的品质，雕塑家必须将自己审美感受与之协调。例如，有时石头或木头上的形状或纹理不仅暗示、甚至决定了最终的形式，甚至还有主题。 直接雕刻技术是对19世纪传统的一次突破，在19世纪传统中，制作粘土模型被认为是创造性行为，然后作品被转交给工作室助手去浇铸成石膏或青铜，或雕刻成大理石。新古典主义雕塑家很少自己手持木槌或凿子，欣然承认他们雇用的助手在雕刻成品大理石方面比他们强得多。 随着世纪之交的手工艺运动和非传统灵感来源（如非洲木制人物和面具）的发现，出现了一种新的冲动：亲手、个人化地执行艺术以及与材料互动。早在1880年代和1890年代，不循规蹈矩的欧洲艺术家就已经在尝试直接雕刻。到了20世纪第二个十年，美国人——最著名的是Laurent和Zorach——已经将其作为他们主要的工作方式。 Robert Laurent (1890-1970)出生于法国，是一位神童，在美国接受教育。1905年被送到巴黎给一位艺术品经销商当学徒，在随后的几年里，他见证了立体主义的诞生，发现了原始艺术，并从一位画框制作师那里学到了木雕技术。 到1910年回到纽约时，Laurent开始雕刻像《女祭司》这样的作品，这揭示了他对非洲、前哥伦布时期和南太平洋艺术的迷恋。雕塑家取用一块胡桃木板，雕刻出富有表现力的、风格化的设计。这是美国雕塑中直接雕刻的最早例子之一。木板的形状决定了严格的正面视角和浅浮雕。甚至它不规则的形状一定也吸引了Laurent，因为这打破了一个长期存在的传统——要求雕塑家在完美的矩形或正方形内工作。
🏷️ 标签：#托福阅读 #真题解析 #备考资料
