『藝術是個謊言，但卻是一個說真話的謊言。』
Pablo Picasso demonstrated a talent for art at a very young age. His mother even used to brag that Picasso's first words were, "piz, piz," a shortened form of the word lápiz, which means pencil in Spanish. When Picasso was 13, his father was a professor at the La Coruña School of Fine Arts. One day, he found that Picasso had painted over a half-finished drawing of a pigeon. Instead of being mad at the teenager, Picasso's fathervowed to give up painting because he believed that his son's precision and skill were already far greater than his.
Picasso was a very prolific artist, having created over 50,000 works of art throughout his life. His paintings,sculptures, ceramics, prints, drawings, tapestries, and rugs have sold for millions of dollars, making him one of the best-selling artists in the world. Another interesting fact about Picasso is that his paintings have been stolen more than any other artist's, most likely because he produced so many.
Like many other great artists, Picasso changed his style numerous times over the years. Looking back, historians have categorized his art into periods. The Blue Period was Picasso's first. In it, he used dark greens and blues to express a somber feeling largely influenced by a friend's suicide. Acrobats and circus people filledPicasso's Rose Period as his works became full of color and joy. His African Period was inspired by African masks and led to what he is most known for, his Cubist Period. It was during this time and in his later years that Picasso painted his most famous works, including Guernica, a depiction of the Spanish Civil War.
- demonstrate vt. 展現；示範
例: Could you please demonstrate how to operate this machine?
（可以請您示範如何操作這台機器嗎？）
- brag vt. 誇耀，吹噓（以 that 子句作受詞）& vi. 自誇（與介詞 of、about 並用）
brag + that 子句 誇耀／吹噓……
brag of/about... 自誇／吹噓……
= boast of/about...
例: Tracy used to brag that her boyfriend had five sports cars.
（崔西以前常愛吹噓她男友有 5 台跑車。）
例: Zoe is always boasting of her beauty.
（柔依老是誇燿自己的美貌。）
- be mad at sb 生某人的氣
= be angry at/with sb
be mad about sb 瘋狂迷戀某人
= be crazy about sb
例: Anna is mad at me because I forgot her birthday.
（安娜因為我忘了她的生日而生我的氣。）
例: Henry is mad about his new co-worker.
（亨利瘋狂迷戀他的新同事。）
- vow to V 誓言要……
例: Bill vowed to seek revenge for his father's death.
（比爾誓言要為父親的死報仇。）
- prolific a. 多產的
例: The prolific writer released four books last year.
（那位多產的作家去年出了 4 本書。）
- look back (on...) 回憶／回顧（……）
例: Ted recalled many fond memories as he looked back on his past.
（泰德回顧過往，想起了很多美好的回憶。）
- categorize vt. 將……分類
例: It's difficult to categorize this artist's artwork.
（這名藝術家的作品很難被加以分類。）
- influence vt. 影響
例: My father is so stubborn that nothing I say will influence his decision.
（我爸很頑固，不論我說什麼都影響不了他的決定。）
- suicide n. 自殺（行為）
commit suicide 自殺
例: Some people commit suicide because they can't face reality.
（有些人因為無法面對現實而自殺。）
- fill vt. 使充滿
fill A with B 用 B 裝滿 A
be filled with... 充滿……
= be full of...
例: The waitress filled my cup with hot coffee.
（這名女服務生在我的杯子裡倒滿熱咖啡。）
例: My heart was filled with anger when I heard the news.
（聽到那個消息時，我心中充滿憤怒。）
- inspire vt. 啟發；鼓舞
inspire sb to V 啟發／鼓舞某人做……
例: Your enthusiasm inspires me to work harder.
（你的熱忱鼓舞我更加努力工作。）
- lead to + N/V-ing 導致／造成……
= result in + N/V-ing
例: Being too subjective can lead to misjudgment.
（太過主觀可能會導致誤判。）
- shortened a. 縮短的
- precision n. 精確性，準確性
- sculpture n. 雕塑品
- ceramics n. 陶瓷，陶器（集合名詞，不可數）
- tapestry n. 織璧畫；掛毯
- rug n.（鋪於室內部分地面上的）小地毯
- best-selling a. 最暢銷的
best-seller n. 暢銷書／作品 - numerous a. 許多的
- somber a. 陰沉的；憂鬱的
- acrobat n. 特技演員
- cubist a. 立體派的
- depiction n. 描寫，敘述
- Instead of V-ing, S + V 非但不……反而……
- give up... 放棄……
[ Grammar Tips ]
...his paintings have been stolen more than any other artist's, most likely because he produced so many.
注意:
形成比較句構時，有『同範圍比較』和『不同範圍比較』之別：
a. 某人或某物屬於同一團體或種類，欲將之與該團體或種類的其他所有份子做比較時，為避免與自己相比較，故 than any 或 than all the 之後要用 other。
例: Mark likes Taiwan more than any other place in Asia.
（馬克喜歡台灣勝過其他亞洲地方。）
b. 而欲將某人或某物與不同的團體或種類的所有份子做比較時，than any 或 than all the 之後則不須用 other。
例: My younger brother is taller than all the boys in my class.
（我弟弟比我班上所有男生都來得高。）
帕布羅•畢卡索早在幼年時就展顯出藝術天分，他的母親甚至常常誇耀說畢卡索牙牙學語的第一個字就是『筆，筆（piz）』，也就是西班牙文中『鉛筆（lápiz）』的簡稱。畢卡索 13 歲那年，父親任職拉科魯尼亞藝術學院的教授。有天，他發現畢卡索在一幅半完成的鴿子畫像上作畫。他不但沒有大發雷霆，反而誓言從此放棄繪畫創作，因為他相信兒子在繪畫上的精準度與技巧已經遠超越自己。
畢卡索是極多產的藝術家，一生創作超過 5 萬多件作品。他的繪畫、雕塑、瓷器、版畫、素描、掛毯、小毛毯賣出的金額超過數百萬美元，讓他名列史上最暢銷藝術家之一。另一個有關畢卡索的軼事，就是他的作品比起其他藝術家的作品更常遭竊，很有可能是因為他的作品數量太多之故。
和許多其他藝術家一樣，畢卡索的創作風格隨時間而有改變。回顧他的作品，歷史學者把他的作品分類成若干階段。畢卡索的第一個階段是『藍色時期』，因為受到一位朋友自殺的衝擊，他運用大量深綠與深藍色表達心中的沈痛。『玫瑰時期』的他，作品裡充滿特技和馬戲團演員，處處洋溢著色彩與喜悅。而他的『非洲時期』靈感來自非洲面具，並且為他接下來最廣為人知的『立體派時期』揭開序幕。畢卡索在晚年的這個時期創作出許多最著名的作品，其中包括詮釋西班牙內戰的《格爾尼卡》。
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