Aesthetic thought of a distinctively modern bent emerged during the 18th century. The western philosophers and critics of this time (31) much attention to such matters as natural beauty, the sublime, and representation— a trend (32) the central position they had given to the philosophy of nature. Since that time, however, the philosophy of art has become ever more (33) and has begun to (34) the philosophy of nature. Various issues (35) to the philosophy of art have had a (36) impact on the orientation of 20th-century aesthetics. (37) among these are problems relating to the theory of art as form and (38) the distinction between representation and expression. Still another far-reaching question has to do with the (39) of art. Two opposing theoretical positions have been (40) on this issue: one holds that art and its appreciation are a means to some recognized moral good, (41) the other maintains that art is intrinsically valuable and is an end in itself. Underlying this whole issue is the concept of taste, one of the basic (42) of aesthetics. In recent years there has also been an increasing preoccupation with art as the prime object of (43) judgment. Corresponding to the trend in contemporary aesthetic thought, critics have followed (44) of two approaches. In one, criticism is restricted to the analysis and interpretation of the work of art. (45) it is devoted to articulating the response to the aesthetic object and to (46) a particular way of perceiving it.Over the years, aesthetics has developed into a broad field of knowledge and inquiry. The concerns of contemporary aesthetics include such (47) problems as the nature of style and its aesthetic significance; the relation of aesthetic judgment to culture; the (48) of a history of art; the (49) of Freudian psychology and other forms of psychological study to criticism; and the place of aesthetic judgment in practical (50) in the conduct of everyday affairs. (35)()
A. central
B. concentrating
C. focusing
D. centering
() money, he is rich, but he is not happy for being devoid of good health.
A. By means of
B. In line with
C. In regard of
D. In terms of
Given the lack of fit between gifted students and their schools, it is not surprising that such students often have little good to say about their school experience. In one study of 400 adults who had achieved distinction in all areas of life, researchers found that three-fifths of these individuals either did badly in school or were unhappy in school. Few Macarthur Prize fellows, winners of the Macarthur Award for creative accomplishment, had good things to say about their pre-collegiate schooling if they had not been placed in advanced programs.Anecdotal reports support this. Pablo Picasso, Charles Darwin, Mark Twain, Oliver Goldsmith, and William Butler Yeats all disliked school. So did Winston Churchill, who almost failed out of Harrow, an elite British school. About Oliver Goldsmith, one of his teachers remarked, "Never was so dull a boy." Often these children realize that they know more than their teachers, and their teachers often feel that these children are arrogant, inattentive, or unmotivated.Some of these gifted people may have done poorly in school because their gifts were not scholastic. Maybe we can account for Picasso in this way. But most fared poorly in school not because they lacked ability but because they found school unchallenging and consequently lost interest. Yeats described the lack of fit between his mind and school: "Because I had found it difficult to attend to anything less interesting than my own thoughts, I was difficult to teach."As noted earlier, gifted children of all kinds tend to be strong-willed nonconformists. Nonconformity and stubbornness ( and Yeats level of arrogance and self-absorption) are likely to lead to conflicts with teachers.When highly gifted students in any domain talk about what was important to the development of their abilities, they are far more likely to mention their families than their schools or teachers. A writing prodigy studied by David Feldman and Lynn Goldsmith was taught far more about writing by his journalist father than his English teacher. High-IQ children, in Australia studied by Miraca Gross had much more positive feelings about their families than their schools. About half of the mathematicians studied by Benjamin Bloom had little good to say about school. They all did well in school and took honors classes when available, and some skipped grades. Why is it not surprising that gifted students often have little good to say about their school experience()
A. Because they dislike the scholastic knowledge.
Because they don’t believe in each other.
C. Because they don’t feel suited for their schools.
D. Because most of them did badly in schools.