Almost anywhere in the world, you can probably see graffiti (涂鸦画). Although it’s usually more common in big cities, it can be found in almost any community, big or small.
The problem with graffiti art is the question of whether it’s really art. This isn’t always an easy question to answer, simply because there are so many different types of graffiti. While some simply consists of collections of letters, known as tags, with little artistic value, such examples are easy to find, especially on larger spaces such as walls.
If it weren’t for the fact that most graffiti is placed on private property without permission, it might be more commonly recognized as a legal form of art. Most graffiti, however, annoys the property owner, who is more likely to paint over it or remove it than accept it as art.
Many ways of removing graffiti have been developed, such as paints that dissolve graffiti paint, or make it easy to remove. Community groups and government departments often organize graffiti-removal teams.
It hardly makes sense to encourage artists to deface (丑化) private or public property; but perhaps there are ways to work with them rather than just oppose them. Graffiti artists can, for example, create murals (壁画) for property owners, and get paid for them.
Maybe we need to start at a very basic level, and find a way to encourage the creation of graffiti art on paper or canvas rather than on walls. After all, who would remember Monet or Picasso if they’d created their masterpieces on walls, only to have them painted over the next day? Finding a solution to such a complex problem is never going to be easy, but with more and more graffiti art being recognized in galleries around the world, we do need to try.
小题1:What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．How to Be a Good Graffiti Artist. |
| B．Stop Removing Graffiti! |
| C．Do You Like Graffiti? |
| D．Is Graffiti Art? |
小题2:The reason why people remove graffiti is that it ______.
| A．makes buildings ugly | B．has no artistic value at all |
| C．robs private property | D．takes up too much space |
小题3:In Paragraph 4, the underlined word "dissolve" is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．change | B．flow | C．remove | D．freeze |
小题4:The example of Monet and Picasso are mentioned in the passage to indicate that ______.
| A．they are world-famous artists |
| B．they are good at graffiti |
| C．walls are right places to keep their masterpieces |
| D．their works, if painted on the wall, might not be kept long |
小题5:The writer’s attitude toward graffiti is that graffiti ______.
| A．should be removed by more countries |
| B．should be saved on larger spaces |
| C．should be created only on paper or canvas |
| D．may be accepted as art |
