44. Which of the following can best fit into the blank in the paragraph below?
(A) artists could handle neither a pen nor a pencil as naturally as people in the Western world could
(B) artists couldn’t handle a brush as naturally as people in the Western world use a pencil
(C) artists could handle a brush as naturally as people in the Western world use a pencil
(D) artists could handle a pencil as naturally as people in the Western world use a brush
The Chinese were masters of calligraphy - the art of beautiful writing. Learning to write the picturesque Chinese characters with a brush was an important part of education. Therefore,
_____ . So varied and so expressive were the brushstrokes of Chinese painters that
bright colors were almost never needed.