(Situation: A dialogue between Li Yan and Wang Ping.)
L: Wang Ping, let's think of some ideas for making our school more attractive. Do you have any?
W: Er. I think that our first aim is (make) our school unique.
L: Yes, I think we should paint pictures on the walls of the school. That would make the students feel happy when (move) around the school.
W: What kind of painting is suitable?
L: My suggestion is (choose) Modern Art. It is fashionable.
W: That's right. What about (paint) some playground games onto the playground so that the students will have something (do) during their lunchtime apart from study?
L: Playground games would be fun. My question is how (draw) these paintings in a funny way.
W: Why not (go) to the Museum of Modern Art on Sunday?
L: Good idea. It is well worth (visit). It is possible (find) the solution there.
W: I hope so. We may as well (ask) our classmates for some more advice.
Most broken-down vehicles end up in a junkyard, but not this French bus. It's getting a second life an open-air swimming pool.
A French artist is behind the great work. (name) Bus Pool, the unique pool was made from a retired city bus the artist found in a junkyard. He emptied all the seats, flooring and wiring, and anything else that was in the way. Tipped on its side, the bus was fitted with a shell so that it could hold water. The finished pool (measure) 9.1 metres long and 2.4 metres at its (wide) point. It can hold up to 10 swimmers at a time. People can use Bus Pool for free with a lifeguard (keep) an eye on their safety. The French artist has spent years turning old vehicles into artworks. And his water-themed art has appeared all over Europe. He has filled an iconic British red telephone booth with water to create a real aquarium with dozens of (colour) fish. He has given the same (treat) to the driver's cab of a small excavator.
"People think buses are a form of transport, and the telephone booth is you make a phone call. Everything (control) by rules. I love to question these things and see what I can reinvent," said the artist.
Life can sometimes seem like an endless series of exhibitions. For those of us involved in the art world, there are times when we're constantly visiting gallery after gallery, taking in as much as possible and getting to know the works of artists from far and wide. But there are some artists whose works consistently stand out. Some artists' works stay in the thought and heart of an audience long after the show is over. I've noticed over the years that these are often the artists who have understood fully the skill of telling the story behind their art. These artists aren't just selling paintings—they're selling an experience.
Roxanna Kibsey is one of these artists. Her paintings are often exact description of frozen tundra(冻原) or autumn trees—so bright that they could nearly burn a hole in the canvas. When I met her at an exhibition, she couldn't wait to tell me about the place in her paintings. "Where I grew up, we had nine months of winter every year. It's really quite a tough place," she said. She relived a part of her childhood when we chatted in front of her paintings. The image brought to my mind memories of driving through the snow-covered countryside during my own first winter in Canada. I could almost hear the crunching ice under my feet as she described to me the countryside she grew up in.
Businessmen may have their elevator pitch, but artists, too, need their 30-second story which rolls freely off the tongue. That's why it's so important that for each piece you might be exhibiting, you can conjure up(想起) a story behind it, and tell that story to your audience in a way that helps them connect with your work, and makes them want to buy a piece.
