Kieron Williamson is a very successful landscape painter

Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap.

The Mini-Monet

Kieron Williamson is a very successful landscape painter. His paintings, (0) _____ mostly depict the peaceful countryside around his home village in eastern England, sell very well. Perhaps this shouldn’t (1) _____ as that much of a surprise. It’s a beautiful part of the world, and landscape paintings are always popular. 

The strange thing about Kieron, however, (2) _____ that he is only seven years old. At a recent exhibition of his work, all the paintings were sold in half an hour, some for £100,000 each. Kieron now has fans all over the world, and has gained the nickname the ‘Mini-Monet’.

What’s even (3) _____ surprising is that Kieron doesn’t come from an artistic family, and only started painting two years (4) _____. He first got inspiration (5) _____ some boats he saw on holiday at the seaside. Kieron asked his parents if they (6) _____ buy him a sketch pad and pencils so that he could draw them. Only when they saw how well he drew did they realise that he was talented.

Đáp án

The Mini-Monet

Kieron Williamson is a very successful landscape painter. His paintings, (0) WHICH mostly depict the peaceful countryside around his home village in eastern England, sell very well. Perhaps this shouldn’t (1) COME as that much of a surprise. It’s a beautiful part of the world, and landscape paintings are always popular. 

The strange thing about Kieron, however, (2) IS that he is only seven years old. At a recent exhibition of his work, all the paintings were sold in half an hour, some for £100,000 each. Kieron now has fans all over the world, and has gained the nickname the ‘Mini-Monet’.

What’s even (3) MORE surprising is that Kieron doesn’t come from an artistic family, and only started painting two years (4) AGO. He first got inspiration (5) FROM some boats he saw on holiday at the seaside. Kieron asked his parents if they (6) COULD buy him a sketch pad and pencils so that he could draw them. Only when they saw how well he drew did they realise that he was talented.

Giải thích

(0) which: Sử dụng "which" để thay thế cho "His paintings". "Which" đặt trước một mệnh đề quan hệ để mô tả một đối tượng cụ thể đã được đề cập trước đó.

(1) come: "Shouldn't come as that much of a surprise" là một cụm từ mà người ta thường sử dụng khi muốn nói rằng điều gì đó không nên là một điều ngạc nhiên lớn.

(2) is: Trong trường hợp này, "is" được sử dụng để giới thiệu một thông tin mới về Kieron, nhấn mạnh tính độc đáo hoặc không bình thường của tình huống.

(3) more: "Even more surprising" được sử dụng để tăng sự ngạc nhiên đã được thể hiện trước đó.

(4) ago: "Two years ago" chỉ thời gian trong quá khứ, điểm thời gian mà Kieron bắt đầu sự nghiệp hội họa của mình.

(5) from: "Inspiration from some boats" chỉ ra nguồn cảm hứng đến từ những con thuyền mà Kieron đã thấy trong chuyến đi nghỉ mát của mình.

(6) could: "could" diễn tả khả năng của việc mua một cuốn sổ vẽ và bút mà Kieron mong muốn cha mẹ mình đáp ứng.