TOEFL READING 5

TOEFL READING 5
Happy Reading!

TOEFL 1              TOEFL 2               TOEFL 3               TOEFL 4                TOEFL 5

Unlike those available for painting, the opportunities to exhibit sculpture in the United States around the turn of the twentieth century were quite scarce. There was almost no room for sculpture at the influential Fine Arts Society’s 57th Street Galleries in New York. As late as 1905, the Monumental News, a journal dedicated to the promotion of sculpture, lamented, “Exhibitions of sculptors’ works are so comparatively rare.” In response to this dire predicament, the sculptor Frederick W. Ruckstull and Charles de Kay, art editor of the newspaper The New York Times, founded the National Sculpture Society (NSS) in 1893, the first organization dedicated solely to the  advancement of sculpture. Incorporated in 1896 to promote sculptural production and encourage the exhibition and sale of the plastic arts, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) elected John Quincy Adams Ward (1830-1910), the prestigious sculptor of public monuments, to serve as its first president, an office he held from 1893 to 1905. During the last twenty years of his life, Ward dedicated much time to public and private organizations that promoted public art. To the end, he headed the NSS committee that oversaw the sculptural decoration of the Library of Congress Reading Room in Washington D.C. as well as the building and decorating of the Dewey Arch----a monument in New York to honor Admiral George Dewey. He was a champion of the City Beautiful Movement---an effort to increase the presence of urban art---and defended the central role that sculpture played in its national program. The National Sculpture Society promoted the production of sculpture by standardizing procedures for competitions, enhancing the professional status of sculptors, and encouraging commissions for American sculpture in homes, public buildings, parks, and squares. Moreover, it included members in its organization who were not sculptors, hoping to close the gap between artists and the great body of the people, not merely well-to-do patrons, but the working public. The NSS encouraged the commission and purchase of sculptures for both private consumption---home and garden ---and for public enjoyment---parks and squares. Through this campaign, small-scale sculptures---either reductions of monumental artworks or smaller-sized originals----were brought to the attention of an interested public.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss? A
(A) The establishment and goals of the National Sculpture Society.
(B) Why artists of the twentieth century wanted to join the National Sculpture Society.
(C) The effects of the National Sculpture Society on twentieth-century art.
(D) The relationship between the National Sculpture Society and national arts groups.

2. The word “scarce” in line 2 is closest in meaning to C
(A) exciting
(B) expensive
(C) uncommon
(D) popular

3. The word “lamented” in line 4 is closest in meaning to B
(A) declared
(B) complained
(C) revealed
(D) described

4. What is the “dire predicament” mentioned by the author in line 5? D
(A) The limited professional opportunities for sculptors.
(B) The failure of the Fine Arts Society to include paintings in its exhibitions
(C) The founding of the National Sculpture Society.
(D) The production of the Monumental News.

5. The passage suggests which of the following about early-twentieth-century art? C
(A) Many New Yorkers were not interested in painting.
(B) Newspapers and journals rarely discussed painting.
(C) People saw more public displays of painting than of sculpture.
(D) An appearance in galleries of the Fine Arts Society guaranteed financial success.

6. According to the passage, who was the first president of the National Sculpture Society? B
(A) Frederick W. Ruckstull
(B) John Quincy Adams Ward
(C) Charles de Kay
(D) Admiral George Dewey

7. The phrase “that end” in line 11 refers to A
(A) the last twenty years of his life
(B) much time
(C) promoting public art
(D) the NSS committee

8. The word “champion” in line 14 is closest in meaning to D
(A) critic
(B) founder
(C) creator
(D) supporter

9. According to the passage, what was a goal of the City Beautiful Movement? C
(A) To increase national sales of sculpture
(B) To encourage sculptors to create more monuments
(C) To improve the appearance of the city with art
(D) To convince more sculptors to work in New York

10 According to the passage, the National Sculpture Society promoted the production of sculpture by doing which of the following? A
(A) Carrying out activities that increased the public’s respect for sculptors
(B) Replacing old sculptures in public places with new ones
(C) Increasing the number of sculptural competitions
(D) Encouraging private sculpture lessons in homes.