Part I Writing
(30minutes)
Directions:
For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a letter to the "REDCROSS" to apply to be a volunteer to help the people who suffered from the earthquake in Sichuan. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below in Chinese:
1. 表达你对四川灾民生活现状的关切和所经历灾难的悲痛;
2. 你所学专业为心理学(psychology),你想申请成为志愿者去灾区抚慰灾区儿童的心灵
3. 表达对灾区人民和祖国未来的祝福。
Part II Reading Comprehension
(Skimming and Scanning)
(15minutes)
Directions:
In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly. Forquestions1-7, mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.
Younger Artists Struggle to Excite Buyers
As the senior global specialist and vice president for Chinese contemporary art at Sotheby’s in New York, Zhang Xiaoming travels to China almost every month. Here she usually meets collectors and dealers. When her schedule allows, she also takes the time to check out artists’ studios and their latest productions.
But Zhang admits to finding it increasingly difficult on recent visits to be "touched" by the new works that she has seen.
"Maybe there are great works that have not been discovered, but from what I see, many artists are repeating themselves and the market for younger artists’ works is overpriced," she said.
"The most important artists coming out of China, those who have been celebrated by international collectors, are artists who created works at very difficult times, and were inspired by their tradition, history and culture."
"These works are really deeply connected to their own culture and their own traditions," Zhang said. "But what is happening right now is a lot of younger artists coming to the market have a lack of spirituality. For me it’s hard to read what their artwork is about. Today some of the artists that fetch high prices may not last over the longer term."
Zhang is one of several market professionals who have raised concerns that Chinese contemporary art could be becoming overpriced, and might be heading for an inevitable correction, after recording stellar gains of about 40 percent each year for the past two years.
Still, if the latest auction results for Asian contemporary artwork at Christie’s are anything to go by, buyers are still extremely bullish, though increasingly selective.
The inaugural evening sale of Asian Contemporary Art at Christie’s in Hong Kong raised 318.38 million Hong Kong dollars, or $40.8 million, well above the presale estimate of 174.6 to 231.8 million dollars.
Christie’s was offering a small, highly selective list of high-caliber works by leading artists, including Zeng Fanzhi, Yue Minjun, Zhang Xiaogang, Cai Guoqiang and Takashi Murakami, and the buyers snapped them up. Only two of the 34 lots failed to meet their reserve and several records were set, including a new world auction record for any Chinese contemporary artwork, for Zeng Fanzhi’s monumental "Mask Series 1996 No.6"which sold for 75.3 million dollars.
"There was quite an even bidding between the room and the phones, though the phones seem to win in the end on the top lots," said Eric Chang, head of Asian contemporary art and Chinese 20th century art at Christie’s. "I think this evening sale has opened another gate for Asian contemporary art."
The auction continued equally strongly Sunday, with 341 lots raising 253.1 million dollars. While many buyers remain enthusiastic, they are also becoming more discerning.
"Gweong-Gweong,"by Yue Minjun, sold for 54 million dollars, a record for the artist and well above the 4.9 million dollars that it fetched in November 2005. But "Great Solidarity", painted by Yue in 1992, was one of the lots that failed to sell, despite being a historically significant piece that established the artist’s trademark motif of rows of repeated figures of himself. |
