王强口语 第二册 Read Text 024

　　口语部分
文化篇
Read the text carefully and be prepared to answer the question:
Arts
A Japanese man who came to the US said, "When I first came here, what struck me most about this place was sex and money."  He had noticed the emphasis that is placed on both those things - the desire for money and the constant reference to sex in advertising¹.
Americans have done very well in many areas of the arts, which may seem very unexpected in such a crude environment.  But only a small portion of the population goes to museums, attends the opera, listens to orchestras and watches dance companies.  There is still a very wide gap between high culture (the ballet, opera, museum art and classical music) and pop culture (movies, TV, pop art and popular music).
In spite of  this, the arts are booming and performance quality is very high.  Financial support of the arts comes mainly from private individuals and groups, instead of the government.  Lately, immigrants to the USA have contributed greatly to the pool  of talent.  Many of the cities in the west and south which were once seen as culturally dead have developed first-class artistic² programs in the past ten years or so.

1 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

2 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。