Between about 1910 and 1930, new artistic movements in European art were making themselves felt in the United States. American artists became acquainted with the new art on their trips to Paris and at the exhibitions in the famous New York gallery “291”( named after its address on Fifth Avenue) of the photographer Alfred Stieglitz. But most important in the spread of the modern movements in the United States was the sensational Armory Show of the 1913 held in New York, in which the works of many of the leading European artists were seen along with the works of a number of progressive American painters. Several of the American modernists who were influenced by the Armory Show found the urban landscape, especially New York, an appealing subject. Compared with the works of the realist painters, the works of American modernists were much further removed from the actual appearance of the city; they were more interested in the “feel “ of the city, more concerned with the meaning behind appearance. However, both the painters of the Ash Can School” and the later realists were still tied to nineteenth-century or earlier styles, while the early modernists shared in the international breakthroughs of the art of the twentieth century.The greatest of these breakthroughs was Cubism, developed most fully in France between 1907 and 1914, which brought about a major revolution in Western painting. It overturned the regional tradition that had been built upon since the Renaissance. In cubism, natural forms were broken down analytically into geometric shapes. No longer was a clear differentiation made between the figure and the background of a painting: the objects represented and the surface on which they were painted became one. The Cubists abandoned the conventional single vantage point of the viewer, and objects depicted from multiple viewpoints were shown at the same way.

51.What’s the main topic of the passage?

A. Modern art movements in the United States.

B. The great influence of Cubism.

C. Several American modernists found urban landscape an appealing subject.

D. Contemporary artists in the United States.

52.Which of the following is not mentioned as a means through which American artists learned about new movements?

A. Trips to Paris.

B. Lectures by European artists.

C. The exhibitions in the famous New York gallery “291”.

D. The sensational Armory Show in 1913.

53.What was exhibited on the sensational Armory Show of 1913 in New York?

A. Works of many leading European artists as well as works of many progressive American painters.

B. Works of all the European artists and American painters.

C. Works of a number of American modernists and painters of the “Ash Can School”.

D. Works of European artists only.

54.According to the author, which of the following was a major new movement in twentieth-century art?

A. Impressionism.

B. Cubism.

C. The rational tradition.

D. Realism.

55.What do we know about Cubism?

A. It made a clear differentiation between the figure and the background of a painting.

B. Natural forms were broken down analytically into shape of a square.

C. The object represented and the surface on which they were painted became one.

D. The Cubists preserved the conventional single vantage point of the viewer.