Moslems are people who believe in the teachings of a man called Mohammed. Mohammed lived in the 600s. One of the things he said was that no one should make copies of living things.
In the 600s and 700s, the Moslems took over the Middle East. The artists of the Middle East had to follow the laws of Mohammed. For many years, they could not copy living figures. They could not draw people.
Do you wonder what the Moslem artists did? They used their imaginations to make many beautiful and colorful designs. To make designs, they often used the shapes of flowers. Sometimes they used the curving lines of vines and palm leaves.
The Moslem artists used designs to decorate many different things. They decorated the walls of buildings and the pages of books. Decoration became the most important part of Moslem art.
After a while, some Moslem artists could paint pictures with people in them. In Persia in the 1400s, the artists made beautiful paintings for books. Even then, decoration still filled the pictures. The people in the pictures looked strange. They looked as if they were living in a dream world.
1. People who believe in the teachings of Mohammed are called __________.
A. artists B. Americans
C. Moslems D. Persians
2. The story does not say so, but it makes you think that __________.
A. artists of the Middle East could not paint
B. Moslem artists drew pictures using only straight lines
C. Moslem artists used curving lines to make designs
3. For many years, Moslem artists could not draw __________.
A. figures B. lines C. buildings D. mountains
4. On the whole, this story is about __________.
A. Moslem artists B. Persia C. a dream world
5. What is meant by the sentence, “The people looked as if they were living in a dream world”?
A. The people did not seem to be real.
B. The people were dreaming about another world.
C. The people were asleep.
参考答案：1. C 2. C 3. A 4. A 5. A
