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電大《藝術(shù)學概論》復習參考（選擇填空綜合訓練與參考答案） 1．作為一門獨立學科的藝術(shù)學誕生于——。 　　A．17世紀末B．18世紀末C．19世紀末D.20世紀末 　　2．德國的——首先將美學與藝術(shù)學區(qū)別開來，被稱為“藝術(shù)學之父”. 　　A．康拉德?費德勒B．黑格爾C．格羅賽D．狄索瓦 　　3.藝術(shù)活動產(chǎn)生于人類的——時期。 　　A．原始社會B．奴隸制前期C．奴隸制后期D．文明 　　4．《清明上河圖》是我國__________朝的繪畫作品。 　　A．唐B．宋C．元D．明[　　] 　5．《亞威農(nóng)少女》、《格爾尼卡》是________繪畫的代表作品。 　　A．印象主義B．達達主義C．抽象主義D．野獸派[　　] 　　6．《蒙娜?麗莎》是意大利文藝復興時期__________的作品。 　　A．達?芬奇B．羅丹C．丹納D．但丁[　　] 　　7．埃斯庫羅斯的代表作《普羅米修斯》取材于___________。 　　A．《圣經(jīng)》B．希臘神話C．原始壁畫D．社會生活[　　] 　　8．《登幽州臺歌》是我國_______代詩人陳子昂的蘊含深刻人生哲理的作品。 　　A．漢B．晉C．唐D．宋[　　] 　　9．達利的油畫《記憶的永恒》和布努艾爾導演的電影《一條安達魯狗》等是________流派的代表作品。 　　A．表現(xiàn)主義B．存在主義C．超現(xiàn)實主義D．荒誕派[　　] 　　10．《人間喜劇》是__________的重要作品。 　　A．狄更斯B．托爾斯泰C．薩克雷D．巴爾扎克[　　] 　　11．《未來世界》、《超人》是______國的影片。 　　A．美B．英C．法D．中[　　] 　　12．在我國，提出“以美育代宗教”這一思想的是________。 　　A．王國維B．蔡元培C．魯迅D．胡適[　　] 　　13．最早提出“寓教于樂”的美學家是_________。 　　A．柏拉圖B．亞里士多德C．賀拉斯D．普洛丁[　　] 　　14．亞里士多德最重要的美學著作是《__________》。 　　A．詩學B.詩藝C．詩品D．論崇高[　　] 　　15．“三一律”是歐洲__________戲劇的創(chuàng)作法則。 　　A．文藝復興B．古典主義C.浪漫主義D．現(xiàn)實主義 　　16．《西斯廷圣母》是著名畫家___________代表作之一。 　　A．達?芬奇B．拉斐爾C.米開朗基羅D．歐里庇德斯 　　17．畢加索是________著名畫家。? 　　A．荷蘭B．法國C．德國D．西班牙 　　18．徐渭是我國明代藝術(shù)成就最高的_______之一。 　　A．小說家B．音樂家C．畫家D．雕塑家 　　19．17、18世紀，歐洲繪畫進一步擺脫了宗教的束縛，肖像畫、風景畫、風俗畫、靜物畫、動物畫都獲得了極大的發(fā)展，涌現(xiàn)出一批杰出的畫家，其中_______的《戰(zhàn)艦歸航》是當時的代表作之一。 　　A．魯本斯B．倫勃朗C．透納D．夏爾丹[　　] 　　20．法國浪漫主義繪畫的代表作品《梅杜薩之筏》是___________的作品o 　　A.籍里柯B．庫爾貝C．米勒D．雷諾阿[　　] 　　21．莫奈的作品《日出印象》、《草垛》等是法國_________的代表作品o 　　A．后印象主義B．新古典主義C．浪漫主義D．印象主義[　　] 　　22．法國后印象主義的代表作品《塔希提的婦女》的作者是___________。 　　A.塞尚B．高更C．德拉克洛瓦D．米勒[　　] 　　23．俄國“巡回畫派”中最著名的作品有《近衛(wèi)軍臨刑的早晨》、《女貴族莫洛佐娃》，其作者是__________。 　　A．列賓B．蘇里柯夫C．委拉斯貴支D．喬托[　　] 　　24．《向日葵》是后期印象派畫家____________的靜物油畫。 　　A．米勒B．莫奈C．凡?高D．高更[　　] 　　25．《大衛(wèi)像》是意大利文藝復興時期___________的重要作品。 　　A.達?芬奇B．拉斐爾C.羅丹D．米開朗基羅[　　] 　　26．_______世紀下半葉出現(xiàn)了羅丹的名作《思想者》、《巴爾扎克像》等。 　　A．19B．18C。17D．16[　　] 　　27．我國著名的青銅器雕塑作品《人面鼎》產(chǎn)生于__________時期。 　　A．殷商B．戰(zhàn)國C。東漢D．西漢[　　] 　　28．我國著名的雕塑作品《青銅器物架》產(chǎn)生于__________時期。 　　A．殷商B．戰(zhàn)國C.東漢D．西漢[　　] 　　29．秦始皇陵的兵馬俑塑造于約___________年。 　　A．公元前200B．公元前100C．公元200D．公元100[　　] 　　30．我國的彩塑到盛唐達到了頂峰，此時的代表作品是_________。 　　A．云崗石窟像B．麥積山石窟像C．山西晉祠像D．敦煌塑像[　　] 　　31．書法藝術(shù)產(chǎn)生于____________。 　　A．日本B．朝鮮C．中國D．古羅馬[　　] 32．蘇、黃、米、蔡“四大家”是我國_________代的著名書法家。 　　A．漢B．晉C．唐D．宋[　　] 　　33．《祭侄文稿》的作者是____________。 　　A．王羲之B．顏真卿C．柳公權(quán)D．張旭[　　] 　　34．《離騷》的作者是________. 　　A．孔子B．屈原C．司馬遷D．蔡文姬[　　] 　　35．《老人與海》的作者是__________。 　　A．海明威B．杰克?倫敦C．馬克?吐溫D．司湯達[．] 　　36．《悲愴交響曲》是__________的代表作之一. 　　A．貝多芬B．巴赫C．柴可夫斯基D．肖邦[　　] 　　37．何占豪、陳鋼創(chuàng)作的《梁山伯與祝英臺》是一首——。 　　A.小提琴獨奏曲B．二胡獨奏曲C．小提琴協(xié)奏曲D．交響曲[　　] 　　38．提出“外師造化，中得心源”創(chuàng)作理論的唐代著名畫家是——。 　　A．吳道子B．張擇端C．周防D．張噪[　　] 　　39．《二泉映月》是華彥鈞創(chuàng)作的一首——獨奏曲。 　　A．京胡B．板胡C．二胡D．古箏[　　] 　　40．明代戲曲家湯顯祖的代表作之一是《》。 　　A．牡丹亭B．三國演義C．水滸D．竇娥冤[　　] 　　41．——國著名小說家福樓拜創(chuàng)作了名著《包法利夫人》。 　　A．德B．法C．英D。美[　　] 　　42．我國現(xiàn)代小說家——創(chuàng)作了《阿Q正傳》、《狂人日記》、《祝?！返纫幌盗蟹从澄?四前后社會現(xiàn)實的優(yōu)秀作品。 　　A．老舍B．茅盾C．巴金D．魯迅[　　] 　　43．我國著名作家楊沫的《青春之歌》是一部———。 　　A．長篇小說B．中篇小說C．短篇小說D．抒情詩[　　] 　　44．《木蘭詩》是我國北朝時期的一首——。 　　A．五言絕句B．散文C．抒情詩D．敘事詩[　　] 　　45．古希臘著名劇作家索福克勒斯的《俄底浦斯王》是一部——。 　　A，喜劇B．命運悲劇C．性格悲劇D．社會悲劇[　　] 　　46．喜劇《欽差大臣》的作者是——。 　　A．雨果B．莫里哀C．博馬舍D．果戈理[　　] 　　47．《西廂記》是我國元代作家________創(chuàng)作的。 　　A．關(guān)漢卿B．湯顯祖C．王實甫D．蒲松齡[　　] 　　48．電影藝術(shù)誕生于________。 　　A．1921年B．1895年C．1905年D．1915年[　　] 　　49．《農(nóng)夫的鞋》的作者是_________。 　　A．凡?高B．高更C．塞尚D．羅丹[　　] 　　50．小說《紅樓夢》的作者是----------。 　　A．羅貫中B．曹雪芹C．施耐庵D．吳承恩[ 　　51．小說《小二黑結(jié)婚》是________以真人真事為素材寫出的作品。 　　A．趙樹理B．馬峰巳西戎D．浩然[　　] 　　52．《玩偶之家》是19世紀著名戲劇藝術(shù)家__________的作品。 　　A．易卜生B．曹禺C．老舍D．莎士比亞[　　] 　　53._________是西方高度技術(shù)派建筑的杰作之一。 　　A．巴黎圣母院B．圣彼得教堂C．巴黎蓬皮杜藝術(shù)中心D．朗香教堂[　　] 　　54．列寧稱贊的《熱情奏鳴曲》作者貝多芬是____________的音樂家。 　　A.英國B．德國C．匈牙利D．法國[　　] 　　55．《岳陽樓記》是我國北宋文學家_________的散文名篇。 　　A．歐陽修B．柳宗元C．韓愈D．范仲淹[　　] 　　56．《泰坦尼克號》是_________的影片。 　　A．美國B．英國C．法國D．加拿大[　　] 　　57．創(chuàng)作著名鋼琴曲《一分鐘圓舞曲》的肖邦是________的音樂家。 　　A．奧地利B．德國C．匈牙利D．波蘭[　　] 　　58．意大利佛羅倫薩美蒂奇教堂內(nèi)的四件大理石雕刻《晨》、《暮》、《晝》、《夜》是_________的作品。 　　A．米開朗基羅B．羅丹C．米隆D．烏桐[　　] 　　59．岡察洛夫在長篇小說《_________》中塑造了懶惰成性、不可救藥的“多余人”的典型形象。． 　　A．誰之罪B．奧勃洛摩夫C．靜靜的頓河D．罪與罰[　　] 　　60．________在小說《阿Q正傳》中塑造了代表中國國民劣根性的典型人物阿Q形象。 　　A．魯迅B.茅盾C．葉圣陶D．老舍[　　] 　　61．《荷花水鳥圖》是清初著名畫家________(別號“八大山人”)的代表作之一。 　　A．鄭板橋B．朱耷C．任伯年D．吳昌碩[　　] 　　62．________在《文心雕龍》里把文學風格分為典雅、遠奧、精約、顯附、繁縟、壯麗、新奇、輕靡等八種。 　　A．鐘嶸B．曹丕C．劉勰D．許慎[　　] 　　63．我國京劇史上的“四大名旦”是_________、程硯秋、荀慧生、尚小云。 　　A．白玉霜B．梅葆玖C．張君秋D．梅蘭芳[　　] 　　64．藝術(shù)接受的主體是藝術(shù)作品的________。 　　A．傳播主體B．傳播媒介C．藝術(shù)信息D．傳播受眾[　　] 　　65．藝術(shù)傳播的對象是__________。 　　A．藝術(shù)信息B．藝術(shù)展覽會C．書店D．藝術(shù)經(jīng)紀人[　　] 　　66．審美的客體是_________. 　　A．鑒賞者B．藝術(shù)家C.藝術(shù)作品D．觀眾[　　] 　　67．《童年》、《在人間》、《我的大學》三部小說的作者是__________。 　　A．莫泊桑B．高爾基C．托爾斯泰D．雨果[　　] 　　68．福樓拜是__________著名作家。 　　A．英國B．俄國C．美國D.法國[　　] 　　69．中國魏晉時期的_________哲學流派對這個時期的詩歌、書法等作品創(chuàng)作中深層的意蘊具有重要影響. 　　A．禪學B．玄學C．儒學D．實用主義[　　] 　　70．徐冰的《生命潭》是一幅__________作品。 　　A．油畫B．攝影C.水彩畫D．版畫[　　] 　　71．《農(nóng)民暴動》(《農(nóng)民戰(zhàn)爭》)是德國藝術(shù)家柯勒惠支的________作品. 　　A．銅版畫B．油畫C．水粉畫D．水彩畫[　　] 　　72．“在真正有才能的作家的筆下，每個人物都是典型；對于瀆者，每個典型都是一個熟悉的陌生人”是文藝理論家____________的著名淪斷。 　　A．別林斯墓B．恩格斯C．歌德1)．魯迅[　　] 　　73．大理石雕像《沉思》是__________的作品。 　　A．錢紹武B．羅丹C．羅中立D.米隆[　　] 　　74．《琵琶行》是我國唐朝著名詩人__________的作品。 　　A．李白B．白居易c．杜甫D．李商隱[　　] 　　75．在《水》中塑造了一位西雙版納的傣族婦女的優(yōu)美形象的著名舞蹈藝術(shù)家是_______。 　　A．馬蘭B．陳愛蓮C．楊麗萍D．刀美蘭[　　] 　　76．莎士比亞的“四大悲劇”是指《哈姆雷特》、《奧賽羅》、《李爾王》和《 》?！　．麥克白B．欽差大臣C．費加羅的婚禮D．溫莎的風流娘兒們[　　] 　　77.__________的《游魂》是一幅具有象征意義的作品。 　　A．畢加索B．莫奈C．高更D．凡?高[　　] 　　78．《典論?論文》是__________的著名藝術(shù)批評理論著作。 　　A．鐘嶸B．曹丕C．孔子D．司空圖[　　]　　 　　79．《清明上河圖》是我國________朝的繪畫作品。 　　A．唐B．宋C．元D．明[　　] 　　80．《格爾尼卡》是________的代表作品。 　　A．畢加索B．高更C．塞尚D．莫奈[　　] 　　81．貝多芬的《歡樂頌》是他的《_______》交響曲中的一段大合唱。 　　A．第三B．第五C．第六D．第九[　　] 　　82.《二泉映月》是華彥鈞(阿炳)演奏的一首_______獨奏曲。 　　A.京胡B．板胡C．二胡D.箏[　　] 　　83．《阿細跳月》是我國______族的民間舞蹈。 　　A．彝B．傣C．苗D．白[　　] 　　84．《等待戈多》、《禿頭歌女》是_______戲劇的代表作品。 　　A．表現(xiàn)主義B．存在主義C．象征主義D．荒誕派[　　] 　　85．影片《戰(zhàn)艦波將金號》是20世紀20年代_______重要作品。 　　A．意大利B．法國C．美國D．蘇聯(lián)[　　] 　　86．《一江春水向東流》是______導演的影片。 　　A．謝添B．謝晉C．謝鐵驪D．蔡楚生[　　] 　　87．《老人與?！肥敲绹骷襙______20世紀50年代的重要作品。 　　A．海明威B．福克納C．杰克?倫敦D．海勒[1 　　88．在我國，提出“以美育代宗教”這一思想的是_________。 　　A.王國維B．蔡元培C．魯迅D．胡適[　　] 　　89．《灰姑娘》是德國著名童話作家________的作品。 　　A．安徒生B．夏爾?貝洛C．金斯萊D．格林兄弟[　　] 　　90．把藝術(shù)作品的風格劃分為“典雅”、“遠奧”、“精約”、“顯附”、“繁縟”、“壯麗”、“新奇”、“輕靡”八種類型的文藝理論家是________。 　　A.陸機B．鐘嶸C．劉勰D．謝赫[　　] 　　91．最早明確提出“寓教于樂”的美學家是_________。 　　A．柏拉圖B．亞里士多德C．賀拉斯D．普洛丁[　　] 　　92．亞里士多德最重要的美學著作是《________》。 　　A．詩學B．詩藝C．詩品D．論崇高[1 　　93．19世紀西方最有影響的、以莫奈為代表人物的畫派是_________。 　　A.巡回展覽流派B．印象派C．野獸派D．抽象派[　　] 　　94．《聊齋志異》是我國________朝的小說作品. 　　A．清B．宋C．元D．明[　　] 　　95．朗香教堂是建于_______的現(xiàn)代建筑之一。 　　A．英國B．荷蘭C．德國D．法國[　　] 　　96．《最后的晚餐》是意大利畫家的_________作品。 　　A．拉斐爾B．達?芬奇C．魯本斯D．喬爾喬涅[　　] 　　97._________的《游春圖》是我國早期山水畫的代表。 　　A．董源B．王維C．展子虔D．范寬[　　] 　　98．《祭侄文稿》是我國唐代著名書法家________的行書作品，被人譽為“天下第二行書”。 　　A．顏真卿B．柳公權(quán)C．黃庭堅D．王羲之[　　] 　　99．《雀之靈》是我國白族舞蹈家楊麗萍創(chuàng)作的_________。 　　A．獨舞B．雙人舞C．三人舞D．群舞[　　] 　　100．話劇《玩偶之家》是________創(chuàng)作的。 　　A．易卜生B．曹禺C．莎士比亞D．老舍[　　] 　　101．獅身人面像是_________的雕塑作品。 　　A．泰國B．法國C．南非D．埃及[　　] 　　102．《祝?！肥俏覈F(xiàn)代小說家________的代表作之一。 　　A．茅盾B．巴金C．蕭紅D．魯迅[　　] 　　103．《小二黑結(jié)婚》是我國文學史上__________的代表作之一。 　　A．新月派B．山藥蛋派C．鴛鴦蝴蝶派D．創(chuàng)造社[　　] 　　104．我國當代畫家_________的《父親》畫出了我國農(nóng)村千萬個父親的典型形象。 　　A．齊白石B．李可染C．范曾D．羅中立[　　] 　　105．清初畫家_________的《荷花水鳥圖》創(chuàng)造出了物我合一、悲涼慘淡的意境. 　　A．石濤B．朱耷C．鄭板橋D．任伯年11 　　106._________在中國古代文論《詩品二十四則》中把藝術(shù)風格概括為24種類型。 　　A．曹丕B．劉勰C．鐘嶸D．司空圖[　　] 　　107．揚州八怪之一的________早年畫竹、中年畫馬，且繪畫風格因生活境況的變遷與人生體驗的變化而幾度發(fā)生較大改變。 　　A．金農(nóng)B．黃慎C．鄭板橋D．朱耷[　　] 　　108．《黃河大合唱》的詞作者是________。 　　A．冼星海B．田漢C．光未然D．聶耳[　　] 　　---------------------------- 　　參考答案 1.C 2．A 3．A 4.B 5．C 6．A 7.B 8．C 9．C 10．D 11．A 12．B 13．C 14．A 15．B 16．B 17．D 18．C 19．C 20．A 21．D 22．B 23．B 24．C 25．D 26.A　27．A 28．B 29．A 30．D 31．C 32．D 33.B 　　34．B 35．A 36．C 37．C 38．D 39．C 40．A 41．B 42．D 43．A 44．D 45．B 46．D 47．C 48．B 　　49．A 50．B 51．A 52．A 53．C 54．B 55．D 56．A 57．D 58．A 59．B 60．A 61．B 62．C 63．D 　　64.D 65．A 66．C 67．B 68．D 69．B 70．D 71．A　72．A 73．B 74．B 75．D 76．A 77．C 78．B 　　79．B 80．A 81．D 82．C 83．A 84．D 85．D 86．D 87．A　88．B 89．D 90．C 91．C 92．A 93．B 　　94．A 95．D 96．B 97．C 98．A 99．A 100．A 101．D 102．D 103．B 104．D 105．B 106．D 107．A 108.C  economic belt請您刪除一下內(nèi)容，O(∩_∩)O謝謝?。?！2016年中央電大期末復習考試小抄大全，電大期末考試必備小抄，電大考試必過小抄Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter released from nerve endings (terminals) in both the peripheral and the central nervous systems. It is synthesized within the nerve terminal from choline, taken up from the tissue fluid into the nerve ending by a specialized transport mechanism. The enzyme necessary for this synthesis is formed in the nerve cell body and passes down the axon to its end, carried in the axoplasmic flow, the slow movement of intracellular substance (cytoplasm). Acetylcholine is stored in the nerve terminal, sequestered in small vesicles awaiting release. When a nerve action potential reaches and invades the nerve terminal, a shower of acetylcholine vesicles is released into the junction (synapse) between the nerve terminal and the ‘effector’ cell which the nerve activates. This may be another nerve cell or a muscle or gland cell. Thus electrical signals are converted to chemical signals, allowing messages to be passed between nerve cells or between nerve cells and non-nerve cells. This process is termed ‘chemical neurotransmission’ and was first demonstrated, for nerves to the heart, by the German pharmacologist Loewi in 1921. Chemical transmission involving acetylcholine is known as ‘cholinergic’. Acetylcholine acts as a transmitter between motor nerves and the fibres of skeletal muscle at all neuromuscular junctions. At this type of synapse, the nerve terminal is closely apposed to the cell membrane of a muscle fibre at the so-called motor end plate. On release, acetylcholine acts almost instantly, to cause a sequence of chemical and physical events (starting with depolarization of the motor endplate) which cause contraction of the muscle fibre. This is exactly what is required for voluntary muscles in which a rapid response to a command is required. The action of acetylcholine is terminated rapidly, in around 10 milliseconds; an enzyme (cholinesterase) breaks the transmitter down into choline and an acetate ion. The choline is then available for re-uptake into the nerve terminal. These same principles apply to cholinergic transmission at sites other than neuromuscular junctions, although the structure of the synapses differs. In the autonomic nervous system these include nerve-to-nerve synapses at the relay stations (ganglia) in both the sympathetic and the parasympathetic divisions, and the endings of parasympathetic nerve fibres on non-voluntary (smooth) muscle, the heart, and glandular cells; in response to activation of this nerve supply, smooth muscle contracts (notably in the gut), the frequency of heart beat is slowed, and glands secrete. Acetylcholine is also an important transmitter at many sites in the brain at nerve-to-nerve synapses. To understand how acetylcholine brings about a variety of effects in different cells it is necessary to understand membrane receptors. In post-synaptic membranes (those of the cells on which the nerve fibres terminate) there are many different sorts of receptors and some are receptors for acetylcholine. These are protein molecules that react specifically with acetylcholine in a reversible fashion. It is the complex of receptor combined with acetylcholine which brings about a biophysical reaction, resulting in the response from the receptive cell. Two major types of acetylcholine receptors exist in the membranes of cells. The type in skeletal muscle is known as ‘nicotinic’; in glands, smooth muscle, and the heart they are ‘muscarinic’; and there are some of each type in the brain. These terms are used because nicotine mimics the action of acetylcholine at nicotinic receptors, whereas muscarine, an alkaloid from the mushroom Amanita muscaria, mimics the action of acetylcholine at the muscarinic receptors. Acetylcholine is the neurotransmitter produced by neurons referred to as cholinergic neurons. In the peripheral nervous system acetylcholine plays a role in skeletal muscle movement, as well as in the regulation of smooth muscle and cardiac muscle. In the central nervous system acetylcholine is believed to be involved in learning, memory, and mood. Acetylcholine is synthesized from choline and acetyl coenzyme A through the action of the enzyme choline acetyltransferase and becomes packaged into membrane-boundvesicles. After the arrival of a nerve signal at the termination of an axon, the vesicles fuse with the cell membrane, causing the release of acetylcholine into thesynaptic cleft. For the nerve signal to continue, acetylcholine must diffuse to another nearby neuron or muscle cell, where it will bind and activate areceptorprotein. There are two main types of cholinergic receptors, nicotinic and muscarinic. Nicotinic receptors are located at synapses between two neurons and at synapses between neurons and skeletal muscle cells. Upon activation a nicotinic receptor acts as a channel for the movement of ions into and out of the neuron, directly resulting indepolarizationof the neuron. Muscarinic receptors, located at the synapses of nerves with smooth or cardiac muscle, trigger a chain of chemical events referred to as signal transduction. For a cholinergic neuron to receive another impulse, acetylcholine must be released from the receptor to which it has bound. This will only happen if the concentration of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft is very low. Low synaptic concentrations of acetylcholine can be maintained via a hydrolysis reaction catalyzed by the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. This enzyme hydrolyzes acetylcholine into acetic acid and choline. If acetylcholinesterase activity is inhibited, the synaptic concentration of acetylcholine will remain higher than normal. If this inhibition is irreversible, as in the case of exposure to many nerve gases and some pesticides, sweating, bronchial constriction, convulsions, paralysis, and possibly death can occur. Although irreversible inhibition is dangerous, beneficial effects may be derived from transient (reversible) inhibition. Drugs that inhibit acetylcholinesterase in a reversible manner have been shown to improve memory in some people with Alzheimers disease. abstract expressionism, movement of abstract painting that emerged in New York City during the mid-1940s and attained singular prominence in American art in the following decade; also called action painting and the New York school. It was the first important school in American painting to declare its independence from European styles and to influence the development of art abroad. Arshile Gorky first gave impetus to the movement. His paintings, derived at first from the art of Picasso, Mir, and surrealism, became more personally expressive. Jackson Pollocks turbulent yet elegant abstract paintings, which were created by spattering paint on huge canvases placed on the floor, brought abstract expressionism before a hostile public. Willem de Koonings first one-man show in 1948 established him as a highly influential artist. His intensely complicated abstract paintings of the 1940s were followed by images of Woman, grotesque versions of buxom womanhood, which were virtually unparalleled in the sustained savagery of their execution. Painters such as Philip Guston and Franz Kline turned to the abstract late in the 1940s and soon developed strikingly original styles—the former, lyrical and evocative, the latter, forceful and boldly dramatic. Other important artists involved with the movement included Hans Hofmann, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Rothko; among other major abstract expressionists were such painters as Clyfford Still, Theodoros Stamos, Adolph Gottlieb, Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, and Esteban Vicente. Abstract expressionism presented a broad range of stylistic diversity within its largely, though not exclusively, nonrepresentational framework. For example, the expressive violence and activity in paintings by de Kooning or Pollock marked the opposite end of the pole from the simple, quiescent images of Mark Rothko. Basic to most abstract expressionist painting were the attention paid to surface qualities, i.e., qualities of brushstroke and texture; the use of huge canvases; the adoption of an approach to space in which all parts of the canvas played an equally vital role in the total work; the harnessing of accidents that occurred during the process of painting; the glorification of the act of painting itself as a means of visual communication; and the attempt to transfer pure emotion directly onto the canvas. The movement had an inestimable influence on the many varieties of work that followed it, especially in the way its proponents used color and materials. Its essential energy transmitted an enduring excitement to the American art scene. Science and technology is quite a broad category, and it covers everything from studying the stars and the planets to studying molecules and viruses. Beginning with the Greeks and Hipparchus, continuing through Ptolemy, Copernicus and Galileo, and today with our work on the International Space Station, man continues to learn more and more about the heavens. From here, we look inward to biochemistry and biology. To truly understand biochemistry, scientists study and see the unseen bystudying the chemistry of biological processes. This science, along with biophysics, aims to bring a better understanding of how bodies work – from how we turn food into energy to how nerve impulses transmit. Chemistry is a science that explains how salt, something on every table in the world, can be made from sodium and chlorine, two elements that are poisonous to humans. From its beginnings, when Aristotle defined the existence of the atom, to modern chemistry, which combines atomic theory and organic chemistry, this field continues to advance our lives. In technology, you’ll find many of the things that make life easier today. This includes medical advances like MRI machines, fuel-efficient transportation, portable computing devices, and flat screen televisions. Advances in the field of technology continue to amaze and astound. Modern computing technology is able to communicate wirelessly to the Internet and to other devices – advances that have freed computers from desks and made technology and information available to more and more people. Enrico Caruso’s ascendancy coincided with the dawn of the twentieth century, when the world of opera was moving away from the contrivedbel canto(“beautiful singing”) style, with its emphasis on artifice and vibrato, to averismo(“realism”) approach. The warmth and sincerity of his voice—and personality—shone in this more natural style and set the standard for contemporary greats like Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, and JosCarreras. Through his exploitation of the nascent phonograph industry, Caruso is also largely responsible for the sweeping interest in opera of the 1910s and’20s. And for this, Stanley Jackson wrote in his bookCaruso,he may never be rivaled, for later tenors could not hope to find themselves in a similarly fortuitous position and thus would most certainly“find it more difficult to win such universal affection as the bubbly, warm-hearted little Neapolitan whose voice soared and sobbed from the first wheezy phonographs to bring a new magic into countless lives.” Born inNaples, Italy, in 1873, the third of seven children (early sources erroneously state that he was the 18th of 21), Caruso was raised in squalor. His birthplace, according to Jackson, was a“two-storeyed house, flaky with peeling stucco, [accommodating] several families, who shared a solitary cold-water tap on the landing, and like every other dwelling in that locality it lacked indoor sanitation.”As a boy, Caruso received very little formal education; his only training in a social setting came from his church choir, where he displayed a pure voice and a keen memory for songs. More often than not, however, he skipped choir practice to sing with street minstrels for cafpatrons. At the age of ten Caruso began working a variety of menial jobs—mechanic, jute weaver—but his passion for singing often led him back