Video

Reading comprehension 1. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was established during the period of the Great Depression. It was a part of the New Deal package employed by the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide relief for the millions of unemployed across the country. One of the most ______________ programs of the WPA was called the Federal Arts Project, which employed artists full-time to paint murals or teach various techniques of arts. Criticism of the program centered on what was then perceived as the frivolity of supporting the arts at a time when millions of people were starving and industry was sagging. (a) supported (b) controversial (c) rejected (d) needed 2. Herman Melville, a famous American author best known for his novel Moby Dick, was in fact more popular ___________________. He traveled extensively and employed the facts and knowledge gained during these travels as the basis for his early novels. For instance, he served as a cabin boy on a merchant ship which sailed from Massachusetts to Liverpool, England, and his experiences on this trip formed the basis of the novel Redburn(1884). In 1841, Melville set out on a whaling ship headed for the South Seas, the sojourn of which was a backdrop to the novel Omoo(1847). (a) after death than during his lifetime (b) for travel guide books than novels (c) as an adventurer than as a writer (d) during his lifetime for some of his other works 3. In the beginning of the twentieth century, the most popular architectural style in the United States continued to exhibit elaborately decorated historical motifs, as in the end of the nineteenth century. The new skyscrapers emerging at the time were often delicately finished with elements of Gothic or Roman detailing. During this period of emphasis on __________________, a few artists, however, began to move in an opposite direction toward design characterized by simplified flowing lines. (a) natural forms (b) intricate ornamentation (c) simplistic unity in design (d) modern style of architecture