(22-24)
      Here’s The Piano Lesson, one of Henri Matisse’s most famous paintings. The boy in
the picture is the painter’s son, Pierre. In the picture, Pierre looks quite serious. Why? Well,
look at the yellow candle on the red piano. It’s almost burned down. So maybe Pierre has
already practiced for hours. And Matisse uses a lot of gray, not a very fun color, right? It shows
how the poor kid feels, don’t you think?

      On the top right corner, you can see a woman sitting straight on a seat. Is she Pierre’s piano
teacher? Or his mother? Well, if you’re a Matisse fan, you’ll know this is in fact another
painting by him, Woman on a High Stool. Interesting, right? Matisse likes to    do that    a lot. In fact, there’s another work by Matisse in the picture. Did you find it? Right! The sculpture on the bottom left corner!
      Matisse painted this picture in 1916. Pierre was already 16 then, but the artist
painted his son much younger than he really was. Pierre had gone away to be a soldier, and Matisse didn’t know whether he would come back. Maybe this is a worried father’s way to remember the good old days.

【題組】22. What can we learn about The Piano Lesson from the reading?
(A) Matisse painted it when his son was away from home.
(B) The woman who sits on a seat behind the boy is his mother.
(C) Matisse uses yellow and red to show that his son was happy.
(D) The candle on the piano shows that the piano lesson has just begun.