When school shut down in 2020, Makenzy Beard started painting on canvases in her garden shed(棚). The supplies were already on hand thanks to her mom, who used to paint as a hobby. With nothing better to do, Makenzy decided to give it a shot. “I’ve always loved creative things,” Makenzy said, “but up until that point that was my first time painting portraits.”

With photographs as a reference, she’d spend hours completing each portrait, but never all at once. In fact, one of her most popular pieces took her 20 hours in total. The inspiration for that piece was her neighbor, John Tucker. He was working on his farm one day when she asked if she could take a picture of him. With no other details, he agreed. Needless to say, he was fascinated by the portrait she created. “I didn’t expect to see what I did see in the end,” John said. “It’s absolutely brilliant. It’s like a photograph. My family say it’s exactly like me.”

Soon after discovering her talent, Makenzy started sharing her works on Instagram. She’s never been the kind of person to post much online, so she didn’t expect to get much attention. But as soon as she posted her portrait of John, everything changed. “It’s a bit overwhelming to be honest because I’ve never been someone who has had much contact with social media,” she said. “But seeing people from all over the world commenting on it and talking about the light, the tone(色调), and the texture(质地), is just really wonderful for me.”

With such positive feedback, Makenzy entered the portrait into her first competition: the Young Artists’ Summer Show in the Royal Academy of Arts. Not only did she place in the competition, but it also led to her art being accepted into the celebtated Blackwater Gallery in London! The people of Blackwater Gallery are blown away by her talent, and they have no doubt that her future in art looks bright.

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1.What can we learn from Paragraph 1?

A Makenzy Beard used to paint as a hobby.

B Makenzy’s mother advised her to paint for fun.

C Makenzy Beard tried painting portraits for the first time.

D Makenzy Beard learnt painting at school before.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据第一段“I’ve always loved creative things,” Makenzy said, “but up until that point that was my first time painting portraits.”可知，马克恩齐一直喜欢有创意的东西，但这是她第一次画肖像画。故选C。

2.How did John Tucker feel about his portrait?

A He was disappointed.

B He was touched.

C He was encouraged.

D He was attracted.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第二段的的Needless to say, he was fascinated by the portrait she created.可知，约翰·塔克被她创作的肖像画深深吸引。故选D。

3.How did people react to Makenzy’s portrait of John?

A They paid much attention to it.

B They changed the portrait.

C They disliked its color and texture.

D They only commented on its texture.

解析：选A。A 推理判断题。本题询问人们对于这幅肖像画的反应，定位到第三段。综合本段内容可知，世界各地的人们都开始评论她的画作，即很多人给予了关注，B、C两项是错误描述，D 项太片面。故选A。

4.What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?

A Makenzy contracted with Blackwater Gallery.

B Makenzy redesigned the future of her career.

C Makenzy’s art talent got recognized in the art world.

D Makenzy’s works have brought her fame and wealth.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据最后一段可知，马克恩齐将这幅约翰的肖像画用于她第一次去参加比赛。她不仅在比赛中获得了一席之地，而且还使她的作品被伦敦著名的黑水画廊所接纳。由此说明她的绘画天赋得到了艺术界的认可。故选C。