Unit 4 :Boulevard of Broken Dreams Contents Grammar: the Passive Vocabulary: art and artistic expression Objective: read a biography, express preferences, compare and contrast. Write a description of a work of art.
Look at these pictures. Are they familiar to you? Which would you like in your bedroom? Which wouldn’t you like? Why?
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a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h)
Sandro Boticcelli’s Primavera Primavera (1478) Gottfried Helnwein’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams (1985) Auguste Rodin’s The Kiss (1882) M. C. Escher’s Relativity (1953) Mark Rothko’s Orange, Red, Yellow (1961) Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory (1931) Claude Monet’s La Promenade (1875) Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas (1656)
Vocabulary: art 1. Look at the notices below. Pay attention to the words in bold. Then match the titles to the pictures. Masterpieces of Modern Art: from Realistic to Abstract
Pablo Picasso Wassili Kandinsky a) Yellow, Red, Blue (1925) b) Sketch – Portrait, Sylvette (1954) c) Landscape, Window at Tangier (1912)
Henri Matisse
Art Classes at the Museum Are you talented at art? Do you enjoy being creative? Classes in painting, drawing and sculpture · oil
· watercolor
· charcoal
· ink
· clay
2. Find four adjectives in the notices above. Which describe people? Which describe art?
3. What other materials do you know in English?
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Listening and speaking: (CD 2, track 11) 4. Listen to a lecture about modern art. In which order are the paintings in Exercise 1 mentioned?
5. Listen again and complete the sentences. 1. In the past, an artist’s job was to… 2. Art became less realistic when the camera… 3. Early abstract art copied subjects from… 4. Abstract art makes some people feel… 5. The speaker says you should think about art the same way that you…
6. What styles of art do you know? What do you think of them?
Reading: 7. Read the biography on next page. Which sentence below does NOT explain why Stephen Wiltshire is famous? 1. He is a great artist with an unusual talent. 2. He started drawing when he was very young. 3. He has succeeded although he is autistic. 8. Complete the fact file Stephen Wiltshire 1974: He was born in ………………………. ……….....: He was diagnosed as autistic. 1979: …………………………..………. From 1980: ……………………………. 2001-2008: ……………………………. Future plans: ……………………. And to live in New York. 9. True or false? Which sentences in the biography helped you decide? 1. Stephen takes photographs of the cities he draws. 2. Stephen was friendly when he was a child. 3. Stephen’s talent was obvious from a young age. 4. Stephen learned to speak later than most children. 5. Stephen has travelled all over the world. 10. Find words in the biography to match the definitions below. 1. exact (lines 4.10) 4. theme (lines 24-30) 2. obvious (lines 11-16) 5. made great progress (lines 31-35) 3. grew and advanced (lines 17-23) 11. What talented people do you know? What are they good at? What are you talented at?
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Grammar: the passive
12. Choose the correct answers.
The Torn Masterpiece If you broke something by mistake, you’d probably offer to pay for it. But what if the object that damaged / was damaged is a painting worth $130 million? Recently, a woman visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York fell on a Picasso masterpiece and tore / was torn it. The painting, called The Actor, painted / was painted in 1905. Fortunately, the tear will be repaired / will repair by the museum and the painting will show / will be shown in a special Picasso exhibition that plans / is planned for the summer. The woman has said that she won’t be visited / won’t visit the exhibition – she doesn’t want / isn’t wanted to destroy any more masterpieces! 5
13. Describe the process of making a clay sculpture. Write sentences with the words below. Use the Present Simple Passive. 1. Air bubbles / bang out / of the clay Air bubbles are banged out of the clay. 2. Clay / mould / into the shape of the sculpture. ______________________________________________________ 3. Plastic bags / use / to keep the clay wet. ______________________________________________________ 4. Finished sculpture / leave / to dry ______________________________________________________ 5. Glaze / paint / over the clay ______________________________________________________ 6. The sculpture / bake / at 1000 ºC ______________________________________________________ 14. How much do you know about art? Complete the sentences with the correct affirmative or negative form of the verbs in brackets. Use the Past Simple Passive.
Art Trivia Quiz 1.
The Sagrada Familia _________________________ (design) by Santiago Calatrava.
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The Mona Lisa _________________________ (paint) by Leonardo da Vinci.
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The oldest paintings _________________________ (find) in caves.
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Photography _________________________ (invent) in 1939.
5.
Before the Renaissance, paints _________________________ (make) with eggs.
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The Alhambra _________________________ (build) by the British.
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Dalí and the Surrealists _________________________ (inspire) by dreams.
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The world’s most expensive painting _________________________ (sell) for $140 million.
15. Jacqueline wants to become a famous artist. What does she dream will happen to her? Complete the sentences with the verbs in brackets. Use the Future Simple Passive. 1. Her paintings __________________________ (sell) for millions of dollars. 2. She __________________________(not ignore) by critics. 3. Articles __________________________ (write) about her. 4. Her paintings __________________________ (show) in museums all over the world. 5. Her work __________________________ (admire) by millions of people. 6. She __________________________ (not forget) by future generations. 16. Complete the sentences with the verbs in brackets. Use the Present Simple Passive, Past Simple Passive or Future Simple Passive. 1. How ________________ computers _______________ (use) in art today? 2. This painting from 1914 __________________________ (not copy) from a photograph. 3. An art fair __________________________ (hold) here every year. It’s always successful. 6
4. _______________ Stephen ______________ (take) on another helicopter ride next year? 5. The paintings __________________________(not bring) to the gallery tomorrow. 6. ______________ art ________________ (teach) in schools in your country? 7. When _______________ this statue by da Vinci _________________ (create)? 8. Impressionist artists of the nineteenth century __________________________ (influence) by Japanese painting.
17. Complete the text with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Use Passive tenses.
Artists Then and Now During the Renaissance, being an artist ______________________ (consider) a job like any other. Painters and sculptors ______________________ (teach) their profession from a very young age, by living and working with masters. In those days, artists ______________________ (ask) by their patrons – churches, kings and dukes – to do specific jobs, and they ______________________ (pay) for their work. Today, the life of an artist is very different. When artists create, they don’t know if their work ______________________ (buy) by anyone. Perhaps it ______________________ (show) in a gallery one day – but they will have to pay the gallery owner for this privilege! It sounds difficult, but there’s a good side to it: Renaissance artists ______________________ (expect) to create exactly what their patrons wanted. Today, artists ______________________ (not tell) what to do, they are free to create whatever they like.
18. Rewrite the sentences in the Passive. 1. Thousands of people see the exhibition every day. _____________________________________________________________ 2. Did Michelangelo design any famous buildings? _____________________________________________________________ 3. She didn’t finish her sculpture last week. _____________________________________________________________ 4. They won’t close the museum on Sunday. _____________________________________________________________ 5. Do children enjoy painting? _____________________________________________________________ 6. Timothy will take the paintings to the gallery. _____________________________________________________________ 19. Online exercise: Active or Passive? How do you know?
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20. Complete the sentences with the verbs in brackets. Use the correct active or passive form. 1. Most sculptures ______________________ (make) out of metal, wood, clay or stone. 2. Max ______________________ (not photograph) the dog before he drew it. 3. ______________ drawing _____________ (teach) in next year’s art classes? 4. The students ______________________ (take) to the museum yesterday. 5. Let’s go. They ______________________ (not sell) art supplies here. 6. I ______________________ (finish) my sculpture tomorrow. 7. _______________ this house _______________ (design) by a famous architect? 21. Read the text. Then answer the questions.
BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES – MORE THAN JUST A PAINTING When most people look at a painting of a sunset, they see a beautiful work of art. When Professor Christos Zerefos looks at a painting of a sunset, he sees valuable scientific evidence. He believes that these paintings contain important information about the effect of volcanoes on the climate. Scientists know that after a volcanic eruption, sunsets are very red. This is caused from the dust and ash that is sent into the sky. Volcanoes also lower the temperature of the Earth. Professor Zerefos and his team decided to study paintings of sunsets before and after volcanic eruptions. Red sunsets are a sign of polluted skies, so the scientists believed that landscapes that were painted around the times of major volcanic eruptions would have bright red sunsets. They wanted to use the paintings to measure how the volcanoes had affected the climate in the past. The team studied 554 watercolours and oils of sunsets that were painted between 1500 and 1900. The scientists used a computer to calculate the amount of red in each picture. They found that the sunsets that were painted after a volcanic eruption were bright red. Many scientists are not convinced by this theory. According to them, it is impossible to make scientific conclusions based on art that was painted so long ago, because it is possible that the colours have changed since they were originally painted. What is more, artists often try to make something look very impressive when they paint. As a result, they may not always paint an accurate picture of nature. Professor Zerefos disagrees. He is certain that artists accurately copy the actual colours of the sunsets they see. He is now studying paintings that were painted in the 20th century. So the next time you look at a painting of a beautiful sunset, examine the colours more carefully. 1. Why did Professor Zerefos decide to study paintings of sunsets? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 2. Why are sunsets very red after a volcanic eruption? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 3. Why do some scientists disagree with this study? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 8
4. Explain the meaning of the title. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 22. Complete first part of the sentences using the appropriate passive form of the verb in brackets. Then complete the second part of the sentences according to the information found in the text. 1. The Earth’s temperature ………………… (lower) by ..................................................................... . 2. In the past, bright red sunsets ………………… (paint) .................................................................. . 3. In the study, a computer ………………… (use) to ......................................................................... . 4. According to some scientists, nature ………………… (not copy) .................................................. . 23. Describe a painting that you have seen. Explain why you like it and how it makes you feel. (minimum 60 words) ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 24. Putting it together. Choose the correct answers from the choices below. The Sleeping Artist 1
What would you do if you suddenly ______ that you could draw while you 2
______? When Lee Hadwin was 16, he woke up to find that the floors and walls in 3
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his house ______ with amazing drawings. He realized that he ______ them in his 5
sleep. If this had happened only once, he ______ about it, - but since that night, he 6
______ hundreds of pictures in his sleep. Hadwin, now a successful artist, hasn’t 7
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got ______ art talent at all during the day. In the near future, he ______ by 9
scientists ______ study sleep problems at the Edinburgh Sleep Centre. For now, he 10
______ several exhibitions at London galleries. There’s only one thing he’s afraid 11
of: that one day, his night-time habit ______ . 1. a) were discovered
b) discover
c) discovered
2. a) have slept
b) were sleeping
c) slept
3. a) were covered
b) covered
c) had covered
4. a) had drawn
b) has drawn
c) was drawn
5. a) would forget
b) will forget
c) would have forgotten
6. a) has created
b) created
c) was created 9
7. a) some
b) any
c) no
8. a) will be investigated
b) will investigate
c) is investigating
9. a) which
b) who
c) where
10. a) was planning
b) is planned
c) is planning
11. a) disappeared
b) will disappear
c) disappears
25. Write new sentences that mean the same as the sentences below, using the words in brackets. 1. Lee turned 16. Then he began to draw. (after) ______________________________________________________________________ 2. Lee doesn’t draw during the day because he doesn’t know how. (if) ______________________________________________________________________ 3. I will believe this story if I see Lee drawing in his sleep. (unless) ______________________________________________________________________ 4. The scientist didn’t bring Lee to the laboratory. (by) ______________________________________________________________________ 5. We will record Lee’s actions during the night. (recorded) ______________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary: adjectives 26. Read the art gallery advert below. Pay attention at the adjectives in blue. Which artists are painters? Which are sculptors? Then, find three pairs of antonyms.
27. Complete the sentences below with adjectives from the advert. 1. Classical art isn’t modern. It’s _______________________ 2. Matisse’s bright colours make his paintings _______________________ 3. When you touch glass, it feels _______________________ 4. All sculptures are _______________________ 5. Sand is added to the paint to give pictures a _______________________ texture. 10
28. Which adjective cannot describe each noun below? 1. Shapes: flat - curved - bright - straight - simple 2. Colours: bright - cheerful - dull - rough - lovely 3. Textures: rough - smooth - soft - sandy - curved 4. Styles: shiny - modern - traditional - abstract - realistic
Listening (Class CD 2, track 17) 29. Listen to the museum tour of an exhibition by the artist Yayoi Kusama. Where is Kusama from? What design does she use in most of her work? Why?
30. Listen again. Are these sentences true or false? 1. Kusama has exhibited in many countries. 2. Kusama began creating art as a child. 3. Kusama’s mother wanted her to be an artist. 4. In the rooms, she wants viewers to thing of the real world. 5. The flowers are painted in dull colours. 6. Kusama’s art is cheerful because her life has been happy.
Speaking Compare and contrast two of the pictures on page 1 using the vocabulary you’ve learnt.
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