1. 阅读理解

All the Beauty in the World, Patrick Bringley's memoir (回忆录) about his 10 years working as a guard at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met), brings new meaning to the term "art appreciation". During 8-12 hour shifts spent among the galleries, he takes advantage of the gift of time to study the masterpieces he's been hired to protect and to think about the role of art throughout history.

Bringley is not the only Met staffer to write about the institution. But Bringley's "guard's-eye view" is unique, and he presents his personal story with sincerity. After his brother Tom's death from cancer in 2008, Bringley gave up his job as a journalist for a job in which "I was happy to be going nowhere". He explains, "I had lost someone. I did not wish to move on from that. In a sense, I didn't wish to move at all." Bringley doesn't say when he decided to channel his experience of finding peace into art, but this story about jumping off the career ladder in order to find the space for quiet reflection is surprisingly suited to our times.

All the Beauty in the World offers well-chosen facts about the museum to support Bringley's personal tale. As interesting as these facts are, it's Bringley's reflections on dozens of individual paintings, photographs, sculptures and ancient artifacts that turn this book into a tribute (致敬) to the power of art. Discussing Alfred Stieglitz's photographs of his wife, he writes, "I think that sometimes we need permission to stop and adore things, and a work of art gives us that." In a Vermeer port rait of a dozing maidservant, he is moved to see that the artist caught "that feeling we sometimes have that a private setting possesses a holiness (神圣) of its own. It was my constant feeling in Tom's hospital room".

As rich in moving insights as the Met is in treasures, All the Beauty in the World reminds us of the importance of learning not about art, but from it. This is art appreciation at a high level.

1. （1） What makes All the Beauty in the World different from other books by Met staffers?

   A . Its author's personal sad story. B . Its author's unique point of view. C . Its well-chosen facts about the museum. D . Its detailed introduction to the artworks.
3. （2） Why did Bringley decide to become a guard at the Met?

   A . To remember his dead brother. B . To enrich his journalism career. C . To find some peace and quiet in art. D . To study the artworks more closely.
5. （3） How does Bringley tell the museum stories in his memoir?

   A . By relating museum facts to his personal life. B . By interviewing retired museum staff members. C . By presenting the background of each masterpiece. D . By engaging visitors in the discussion of the artworks.
7. （4） What does the author think of the book as a whole?

   A . It reveals the inner world of the author. B . It offers new insights into art appreciation. C . It tells little-known facts about the museum. D . It deserves to be read for some peace and quiet.