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  3. David Sylvester Although celebrated for his art crit

David Sylvester Although celebrated for his art crit

游客2023-12-11  32
问题                         David Sylvester
    Although celebrated for his art criticism and his interviews with Francis Bacon and other artists, the late David Sylvester began his writing career as a cricket correspondent for the Observer. It was, he said, "the most testing literary exercise I have undergone". But it proved invaluable, for the qualities that make a good cricket commentator—a sense of timing and acute observation, a passion for elegant ritual and the psychology mixed with physicality of a sport that is puzzling to outsiders—all contributed to making Sylvester one of the greatest art critics of his time. This collection of his writings and interviews published after his death provides a valuable opportunity to re-examine his talent for observing the long game of art.
    The book displays in full Sylvester’s catholic interests. There is an interview with Diaghilev’s friend, the Russian-born Leonide Massine, and also a conversation with Sir Harrison Birtwistle, a British composer whose son Adam was one of many artists to paint Sylvester’s portrait. It includes Sylvester’s catalogue essay, as well as an interview, for an exhibition he organized of the film designs of his school friend Ken Adam, creator of Dr. Strangelove’s war room and of James Bond sets. There are encounters with visual artists both old (William Coldstream, Henry Moore) and new (Rachel Whiteread, Douglas Gordon).
    The collection is by no means comprehensive—there are none of the famous Bacon interviews here—and would have benefited from more entries, illustrations and a stronger introduction to the man and his work. But it makes up for this with numerous insights into the creative life. In one interview, for example, Howard Hodgkin says, "for an artist time can always be regained, wonders never cease because by any act of imagination, you can always go back."
    Perhaps the most touching interview is his last, a few months before his death. In it, he asks Mike Brearley, a retired cricketer, now a psychoanalyst and art enthusiast, about the similarities between greatness in sport and in art. Mr Brearley replies that both share a sense of the uncompromising, of "not turning one’s face away".
    In a way, this is also an attribute of a great critic. Sylvester was firm in his gaze. The descendant of a teacher of Jewish law, he was unreligious, reserving his awe for art and his intense anger for anyone who violated it. He spoke only when he had something to say and was sacked as a radio critic for what became known as the "Sylvester pause", his long silences during conversations.
    Yet his sleep-inducing voice could lure the most revealing admissions from artist—not about their personal lives, a topic he considered superficial—but about the mystery of how they made their work, of creation itself. He had a Socratic gift for dialogue, drawing out from artists ideas that had never occurred to them before; unlike Socrates, however, he didn’t prove his conversational partner wrong at the end. It is clear from these interviews that both parties made discoveries. So will anyone who reads this intelligent and elegant book. [br] Which of the following best defines the word "catholic" (Line 1, Para. 2)?
选项 A、Religious.
B、Extensive.
C、Lifelong.
D、Particular.
答案 B
解析 本题考查根据上下文推测词义。第二段首句是段落主题句，其余内容都是对该主题句的举例说明。下文提到西尔威斯特的采访对象包括一位出生于俄罗斯的朋友，一位英国作曲家，一位电影拍摄场景的设计者，以及几位新老视觉艺术家。这些被采访人物分属不同的艺术领域，说明采访者“兴趣广泛”，因此[B]正确。其他选项无法与下文的例子相匹配，所以排除。
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