Passage Two
Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.
A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than is possible to learn in general history classes. Most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics, and war. But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions, and psychology. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors—or of people very different from our own—can be provided by art. In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offers us a deeper understanding than can be found in most history books.
In history books, objective information about the political life of a country is presented; that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective; it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly “political” artist. In his well known painting The Third of May, 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its misuse of power over people. Over a hundred years later, symbolic images were used in Pablo Picasso’s Guernica to express the horror of war. Meanwhile, on another continent, the powerful paintings of Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros—as well as the works of Alfredo Ramos Martines—depicted these Mexican artists’ deep anger and sadness about social problems.
In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art was almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that depicted people and stories from the Bible. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand biblical stories in the pictures on church walls. By contrast, one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was and still is its absence of human and animal images. This reflects the islamic belief that statues are unholy.
62. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A) The difference between general history and art history.
B) What we can learn from art history.
C) The superiority of art history to general history.
D) The influence of artists over history.
63. One can learn more about a culture from a study of art history than from general history classes because art history .
A) shows us the religions and emotions of a people in addition to political values
B) does not focus on objective politics, or economics, or war
C) gives us an insight into the essential qualities of a time and a place
D) provides us with information about the daily activities of people
64. “Art, …, is subjective” (Line 2, Para. 2) means that .
A) history is presented in it in a personal and emotional view
B) it can easily rouse our negative feelings towards society
C) history books only cover facts about politics of a country
D) it will find a ready echo in people’s hearts easily
65. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A) Pablo Picasso expressed his political ideas with the symbolic images in his paints.
B) Unlike Francisco Goya, Mexican artists did not really express the political opinions in their works.
C) History books are objective because they often reveal political opinions.
D) Bible remains as the only type of art in Europe for centuries.
66. It may be concluded from this passage that .
A) most Europeans understand the Bible through church paintings
B) history teachers are more objective than artists
C) it is more difficult to study art history than general history
D)Islamic artists might adopt images of flowers or geometric forms for architectural decoration
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