📖 原文
(1) In the two decades between 1929 and 1949, sculpture in the United States sustained (2) what was probably the greatest expansion in sheer technique to occur in many centuries. (3) There was, first of all, the incorporation of welding into sculptural practice, with the (4) result that it was possible to form a new kind of metal object. For sculptors working (5) with metal, earlier restricted to the dense solidity of the bronze cast, it was possible to (6) add a type of work assembled from paper-thin metal sheets or sinuously curved rods. (7) Sculpture could take the form of a linear, two-dimensional frame and still remain (8) physically self-supporting. Along with the innovation of welding came a correlative (9) departure: freestanding sculpture that was shockingly flat. (10) Yet another technical expansion of the options for sculpture appeared in the guise of (11) motion. The individual parts of a sculpture were no longer understood as necessarily (12) fixed in relation to one another, but could be made to change position within a work (13) constructed as a moving object. Motorizing the sculpture was only one of many (14) possibilities taken up in the 1930's. Other strategies for getting the work to move (15) involved structuring it in such a way that external forces, like air movements or the (16) touch of a viewer, could initiate motion. Movement brought with it a new attitude toward the issue of sculptural unity: a work might be made of widely diverse and even (17) discordant elements; their formal unity would be achieved through the arc of a (18) particular motion completing itself through time. (19) Like the use of welding and movement, the third of these major technical expansions (20) to develop in the 1930's and 1940's addressed the issues of sculptural materials and (21) sculptural unity. But its medium for doing so was the found object, an item not (22) intended for use in a piece of artwork, such as a newspaper or metal pipe. To create a (23) sculpture by assembling parts that had been fabricated originally for a quite different (24) context did not necessarily involve a new technology. But it did mean a change in (25) sculptural practice, for it raised the possibility that making sculpture might involve (26) more a conceptual shift than a physical transformation of the material from which it is (27) composed.
❓ 试题解析
问题 41： The word “innovation” in line 8 is closest in meaning to
A. limitation
B. important concept
C. use
D. new idea
✅ 正确答案： D）new idea
📝 解析： “Along with the innovation of welding” — innovation = 创新/新方法。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：innovation = new idea = new method。
问题 42： It could be inferred that between 1929 and 1949 sculptors changed in what way?
A. They depended less on patrons to finance their work.
B. They were less imaginative in their designs.
C. They exhibited sculpture more often outside than in galleries.
D. They used a wider variety of materials and techniques.
✅ 正确答案： D）They used a wider variety of materials and techniques.
📝 解析： 文中提到焊接、运动、现成物品等新技术，材料和技术更多样。
💡 解题技巧： 推理题总结三种技术扩展。
问题 43： It can be inferred that which of the following happened when sculptors began to use welding as a technique?
A. Some sculpture became lighter and thinner.
B. Sculpture became more expensive to create.
C. Sculptors took more time to complete their work.
D. Sculpture became more ornate.
✅ 正确答案： A）Some sculpture became lighter and thinner.
📝 解析： “assembled from paper-thin metal sheets or sinuously curved rods” — 更轻更薄。
💡 解题技巧： 推理题定位“paper-thin”。
问题 44： The word “initiate” in line 15 is closest in meaning to
A. cause
B. alter
C. hinder
D. prolong
✅ 正确答案： A）cause
📝 解析： “could initiate motion” — initiate = 启动/引起。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：initiate = start = cause。
问题 45： The word “it” in line 16 refers to
A. viewer
B. movement
C. attitude
D. issue
✅ 正确答案： B）movement
📝 解析： “Movement brought with it a new attitude” — it 指 movement。
💡 解题技巧： 代词题找前一个名词（Movement）。
问题 46： According to the passage, how did the use of motion affect sculpture?
A. It caused the old materials to be discarded.
B. It required sculptors to collaborate with engineers.
C. It changed the concept of sculptural unity.
D. It forced sculptors to weld all parts permanently.
✅ 正确答案： C）It changed the concept of sculptural unity.
📝 解析： “Movement brought with it a new attitude toward the issue of sculptural unity” — 改变了雕塑统一性的概念。
💡 解题技巧： 细节题定位“new attitude”。
问题 47： The word “diverse” in line 17 is closest in meaning to
A. dissimilar
B. unappealing
C. unreliable
D. distinctive
✅ 正确答案： A）dissimilar
📝 解析： “widely diverse and even discordant elements” — diverse = 不同的/多样的。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：diverse = varied = dissimilar。
问题 48： What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
A. Found objects make unattractive sculptures.
B. Sculptors looked for found objects in garbage cans.
C. The use of found objects changed the way sculpture is created.
D. Sculptors who used found objects enjoyed great success.
✅ 正确答案： C）The use of found objects changed the way sculpture is created.
📝 解析： 现成物品的使用意味着雕塑实践的转变，更多是概念上的转变而非材料物理上的改变。
💡 解题技巧： 段落主旨题定位“a change in sculptural practice”和“conceptual shift”。
问题 49： The word “fabricated” in line 24 is closest in meaning to
A. enlarged
B. made
C. ordered
D. revealed
✅ 正确答案： B）made
📝 解析： “parts that had been fabricated originally for a quite different context” — fabricated = 制造/制作。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：fabricate = make = manufacture。
问题 50： Which of the following was NOT a new technique developed during this period?
A. Creating sculptures that move
B. Welding metal pieces together
C. Including found objects in sculpture
D. Making a bronze cast
✅ 正确答案： D）Making a bronze cast
📝 解析： 青铜铸造是传统方法，文中说雕塑家 earlier restricted to the dense solidity of the bronze cast。
💡 解题技巧： “NOT”题区分新技术 vs. 旧传统。
🌐 中文翻译
在1929年至1949年的二十年间，美国雕塑经历了可能是数个世纪以来纯粹技术方面最大的 expansion。首先是焊接被纳入雕塑实践，结果是形成一种新型金属物体成为可能。对于 earlier 仅限于青铜铸件 dense solidity 的金属雕塑家来说，现在可以增加一种由 paper-thin 金属板或弯曲成形的 rods 组装而成的作品类型。雕塑可以采取线性的二维框架形式，并且仍然在物理上 self-supporting。随着焊接的创新而来的是一个相关的 departure：令人 shockingly 平坦的独立雕塑。 另一种雕塑选择的技术扩展以运动的形式出现。雕塑的各个部分不再被理解为必然相互固定，而是可以在被构建为运动物体的作品中改变位置。给雕塑加装 motor 只是20世纪30年代采用的众多可能性之一。让作品运动的其他策略包括将其 structured 成外部力量——如空气运动或观看者的触摸——能够 initiate 运动的形式。运动带来了对雕塑统一性问题的新态度：一部作品可能由广泛 diverse 甚至 discordant 的元素组成；它们的形式统一将通过特定运动随时间完成的 arc 来实现。 与焊接和运动的使用一样，于20世纪30年代和40年代发展的这三大技术扩展中的第三个 address 了雕塑材料和雕塑统一性的问题。但其实现媒介是现成物品——一个原本不打算用于艺术品的物件，如报纸或金属管。通过组装原本为完全不同 context 而 fabricated 的部件来创作雕塑不一定涉及新技术。但这确实意味着雕塑实践的变化，因为它提出了这样一种可能性：制作雕塑可能更多地涉及概念上的转变，而非其构成材料的物理 transformation。
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