UNIT 1ART OR ENTERTAINMENT?

LEAD-IN

1. Look at the pictures. What different forms of entertainment do they represent? Which forms of entertainment appeal to you most?

2. Read the quotation. Expand upon its key message.

“Entertainment is something which distracts us from the routine of daily life. It makes us forget our cares and worries; it rests our nerves and minds, though it may incidentally exhaust our bodies. Art, on the other hand, though it may divert us from the normal routine of our existence, causes us to become conscious of that existence.” Sir Herbert Read (British poet and critic)

3. Discussthe following questions:

  • What is the primary aim of art?
  • In what way is art present in our everyday lives and what effect does it have?
  • Which areas of art are you most interested in? Why?
  • What is your favourite artist and what is your favourite work?
  • How important do you think for young people to be aware of the past?
  • What are the ways to pass information to future generations?

4. Listening

Unit 1. CD 1.1.

You will hear part of a talk on the subject of time capsules. What do you think a time capsule might be?

For questions 1-10 complete the sentences.

For reasons of security, time capsules are usually 1.______.

People have been putting things in time capsules for2.______.

The main reason for time capsules going missing has been the failure to 3.______.

The exact location of a capsule containing 4.______and ______

from a popular TV programme is unknown.

The capsule is somewhere in an area that used to be a5.______.

DrThornwell Jacobs was unable to find sufficient information on 6.______.

His “Crypt of Civilization” is situated in the 7.______of Hearst Hall.

It’s got all sorts of things - newsreels, important 8.______, scientific instruments and over 9.______pages of material on microfilm.

To avoid possible theft Dr Jacobs did not include10.______.

Find English equivalents for the following words and word-combinations:

  1. сохранитьпредметыдляпоследующихпоколений
  2. потерянный для истории
  3. вестиаккуратныезаписи
  4. проводить исследования в области древних цивилизаций
  5. нехватка достоверной информации
  6. тайник
  7. новостные хроники
  8. кухонная посуда
  9. благоразумно/разумно

You have decided to bury a time capsule, to be opened in 100 years’ time.

Discuss the following questions: Which items could be included as most representative of our lives today? Which two items would be of most interest to future generations?

5. Vocabulary Work

For the words 1-10 find the appropriate definitions A-J.

A the representation of images or expression of ideas, especiallythrough painting, drawing, or shaping things out of wood, stone
B art, music, theatre, film, literature etc, all considered together
C art, music, theatre, film, literature etc especially that which is produced by a particular society or a particular group in society
D equipment or technology uses the newest and most advanced ideas and features
E an object that was made a long time ago and is historically important, for example a tool or weapon
I someone whose job is to look after the objects in a museum
F an adjective which describes someone who knows a lot about the arts and is very interested in them
G someone who knows a lot about a particularthing and enjoys it a lot
H the art, buildings, traditions and beliefs that a society considersimportant to its history and culture
J someone who is responsible looking after money or property thatbelongs to someone else, e.g a museum / 1 state-of-the-art
2 the arts
3 connoisseur
4 culture
5 art
6 cultured
7 artifact
8 heritage
9 trustee
10 curator

6.Reading

Complete the text using the words and phrases given.

A charge on the National cuLture

pledges
charges
to secure / medieval
houses
access / contemporary
connoisseur
curators / trustees
to establish
militate / endorse
acquisition

1

The British Museum may have to introduce admission (1) …………………… for its six million visitors a year because of reductions in its government grant. The museum - which (2) ……………………… the Elgin marbles, a magnificent collection of Greco-Roman antiquities, Egyptian sculpture and (3)………………………… art - is one of the few great British institutions to have so far escaped financial purges.

But a report, commissioned by Graham Green, chairman of the museum's (4)…………………, suggests that entry charges should be introduced to make up for the shortfall created by a million pound cut in grant. This would fly in the face of (5)……………… made by Dr Robert Anderson, the museum's director that he would never ask visitors to pay. Dr Robert Anderson does not (6)…………………… the introduction of admission charges. He compares museums to great reference libraries, surpassing by far subordinate roles such as that of tourist attraction, heritage experience or entertainment centre. Charging changes the relationship between the museum and its public, encouraging these latter roles over the former.

Most of those in the museum world share the distaste. Charges, they say, change the ethos: they make the experience more commercial, (7)…………………… against the brief visit, discourage repeat visits. As the National Art Collections Fund sees it, “a full day in a museum to “get your money's worth” is enough to kill off any desire to return — especially for children”.

Sir Denis Mahon, leading British art (8)………………………… earlier this year withdrew a bequest from the Walker Gallery, Liverpool, when it announced charges: "As a collector with something to offer, I am much in favour of a genuine partnership between the private sector and the state, but find it deeply distasteful that the public should be held to ransom for (9)………………………to its own property."

The directors of the leading British Museums share the claim that “free admission is the cornerstone of democratic access to our cultural inheritance”. They are convinced that there are useful tools both to keep museums free from admission charges and to provide (10)………………………with sufficient means to run their art institution.

Membership subscriptions and donations made through the British Museum Friends support the (11)…………………………… of important objects to complement the Museum’s complex and unique collection, as well as growing holdings of (12)…………………… objects held for the benefit of future generations. Members also contribute to the Museum’s active research programme, designed to deepen knowledge and promote understanding of the collection. Since its earliest days the Museum has relied on the generosity of donors and supporters – a public lottery was held (13) …………………… the £20,000 needed to purchase Hans Sloane’s initial collection for the nation.

Charles M. Weisenberg, former public relation director of the Los Angeles Public Library claims that museum admission fees are clearly most hurtful to those least able to afford them. “Think of how the public and the politicians would explode if just the downtown public library were (14)…………………… an admission fee. It is about time we made visiting an art museum as easy as visiting a library.”

1

  • Sum up the problem British museums face and the attitude of the involved people to the problem (up to 150 words).

Answer the questions:

  • What is the historic role of the museums?
  • Do you think people should have free access to their national heritage?

7. Speaking Points

Study Speaking Strategy and speak for 2 minuteson one of the following Speaking Points.

Speaking Strategy

______

Spend a minute thinking about the topic below and making brief notes.

During a minute decide how you will introduce and link your ideas, and then be ready to talk for two minutes.

Introduce the topic in your own words.

Take a stance on the issue.

Give arguments supporting your opinion.

Draw a logical conclusion based on your arguments.

If you are supposed to discuss advantages and disadvantages, after introducing the topic outline the main benefits and drawbacks and then take a stance on the issue based on arguments for or against.

Remember to include some examples to support or illustrate what you say.

Use a variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures.

Make sure you keep to the topic.

Use Linking expressions:

Introducing an idea:The problem/issue/phenomenon of... is/appears to be/has always been ...,

People always say/have always thought/agreed/said/believed …,

It is a controversial/burning/hot question...

There is a dispute /discussion/ no agreement...

The first thing (I’d like) to mention; to begin with; another point to consider is; and, of course, we shouldn’t forget, etc

The main body: On the one hand ...on the other hand; Firstly; To begin with; Secondly; Finally; In addition; Besides; Moreover; What is more; Furthermore; However; Despite this; In spite of this; In fact; As a matter of fact; As a result; Consequently; One major advantage is...; As advocates of... claim/argue; As critics point out/claim...; There are a number of disadvantages/weaknesses/drawbacks/downsides, etc

Giving an example: For instance; If we take the example of X; X serves as a good example of this;etc

Bringing an idea to its conclusion:All in all; To sum up; In conclusion; In summary; Taking all the arguments into consideration; In general; It seems important to add/point out/remind that...; The issue/debate is far from solving/resolving yet, but...

Speaking Points:

  • Involvement in art helps people develop their personality.
  • Schools have responsibility for making students aware of their historic and cultural heritage.
  • Entry charges won't keep people out of our museums.
  • Such factors as the theme of the exhibition, location, etc. can encourage people to visit museums frequently and secure repeat visits.
  • The cultural strategy of a government shapes a nation’s mind.
  • Museums are supposed to vary their practices in getting people interested in visiting them.

Home Assignment 1

1. Study Vocabulary of the Unit.

2. Make use of the following Internet sites and find the necessary information about the following artifacts: The Elgin Marbles, The Benin Bronzes, The Rosetta Stone; the museum: The Pergamon Museum, the legend: the Gordian Knot; the historic event: The Boxer Rebellion. Deliver the information in class.

3. Read the article “Snatched from Northern Climes”, complete all the tasks and be ready to discuss it in class.

4. Summarize the article «ПикассосДоставкойотГеббельса» into English. (200-230 words)

PArt 1

1. Reading

Snatched from northern climes

1

Greek demands to get back the Elgin marbles risk stopping a better idea: museums lending their treasures.

THERE is much to be said for moral clarity. Greece is insisting that the British Museum surrender the marble sculptures that Lord Elgin took down from the Parthenon and carted away in the early 1800s. Anything less, it says, would “condone the snatching of the marbles and the monument's carving-up 207 years ago.” The Greek demand for ownership will arouse widespread sympathy, even among those who accept the British Museum's claim to the marbles. With the opening of an impressive new museum in Athens, the sculptures from the Parthenon now have good cause to be reunited, if only for artistic reasons.

But sometimes clarity is self-defeating. A previous Greek administration was willing to finesse the question of ownership and co-operate with the British Museum over a joint display of the marbles. By hardening its position, the Greek government risks driving museums everywhere into clinging to their possessions for fear of losing them. If the aim is for the greatest number of people to see the greatest number of treasures, a better way must be found.

As curators all over the world will see it, those who call for the permanent return of the Parthenon sculptures from London are arguing for international museums to be emptied.

Many other collections have a more dubious provenance than the marbles — think of the British Museum's Benin bronzes, seized in a punitive raid in Nigeria; of the Pergamon altar removed from Turkey and now in Berlin; of Chinese treasures carried off during the Boxer rebellion and again during the civil war; of hundreds of works in Russian museums that were snatched from their owners in the Bolshevik revolution.

You cannot go very far in righting those wrongs without entangling the world's museums in a Gordian knot of restitution claims. That is why, in December 2002, 18 of the world's leading directors - from the Louvre to the Hermitage and from the Metropolitan Museum to the Getty Museum - argued for a quid pro quo. The Munich declaration, as it is called, asserts that today's ethical standards cannot be applied to yesterday's acquisitions; but in return it acknowledges that encyclopedic museums have a special duty to put world culture on display.This has led to a new level of co-operation between museums over training, curating, restoration and loans. Thousands of works are now lent each year between museums on every continent. Who thought that China's Palace Museum and the National Palace Museum in Taiwan would hold a joint show in Taipei, as they plan to in October, reuniting Qing-dynasty works that have been separated ever since they were borne away from Beijing by the retreating Nationalist forces in 1948? The British Museum was not party to the Munich declaration, but it seems to embrace its spirit. During the Olympic Games in China in 2008 it sent the Discobolus, the discus-thrower of Myron, to Shanghai where 5,000 people queued each day to see it. It will soon lend the Rosetta stone, the cornerstone of written language, to Egypt for the opening of the Giza museum. On the day the new Acropolis Museum was opened, the British Museum's director was in Riyadh, to arrange loans for an exhibition on the haj in London in 2011.

The choice is between the free circulation of treasures and a stand-off in which each museum grimly clings to what it claims to own. Instead of grandstanding, the Greek culture minister should call the British Museum's bluff and ask for loan. The nervous British would then have to test the waters by, say, sending to Athens a single piece of the Parthenon frieze. If that piece were to be seized, then so be it. But if on the due date, the Greeks surprised everybody and returned the sculpture, then the lending programme would surely be expanded. By taking small steps, the Greeks may yet encourage the British to make the big leap.

1

The Economist/June 27th 2009

  • Answer the following questions.
  1. What issue is under discussion?
  2. What countries are in the thick of things? What countries are also involved in the dispute?
  3. What is the crux of the matter?
  4. What is the historic background of the conflict?
  5. What are possible solutions to the problem?
  6. What gains and losses may those involved experience?
  • Read the text carefully to find a word or phrase that means:
  1. to seize or gain ……………………………
  2. country or land …………………………….
  3. to pardon or overlook …………………………….
  4. a place of origin ……………………………
  5. to take away using force………………………………
  6. unable to achieve the intended result …………………………………
  7. to involve………………………………….
  8. a deadlock……………………………………
  9. relating to punishment…………………………………

10. to make an exploratory or initial approach ………………………..

11. cut into pieces…………………………………….

12. something given in compensation ……………………………………..

13. to get smth by dealing with people in a skillful way ……………………….

2. Watching

Watch and summarize the following video episode:

Why is Modern Art so Bad (5:50 min)

Find English equivalents for the following words and word-combinations (use them in the summary):

  1. обогащать ч-л
  2. стремиться достичь более высокого качества
  3. глубокий/основательный
  4. определить хорошее качество или же более низкое
  5. давать красноречивые ответы
  6. заключение эксперта/компетентность
  7. качество ухудшилось
  8. превосходный
  9. заявить о себе/выступать
  10. делать ч-л в ущерб ч-л
  11. покровительствовать
  12. выступать за ч-л
  • How far do you agree with the Speaker’s point of view?

3. Listening

Unit 1.CD 1.2.You will hear three different extracts. For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, В or C) which fits best according to what you hear.

Extract 1

Listen to a talk about the famous artist Jackson Pollock.

1. What was Jackson Pollock famous for?

A. using his hands to paint with.

В. his unorthodox style.

С. his directness of expression.

2. What does the speaker find clever about Pollock's work?

A that size and shape play no particular role.

В the abandonment of traditionalism in favour of emphasis.

С that the subject was decided on completion of the work.

Extract 2

Listen to a musician talking about one of hissongs.

3. The speaker admits that

A.he can be absent-minded.

В. he often surprises his friends.

С. he thought Sarah was in Cornwall.

4. It seems that the speaker

Aoften finds himself in difficult situations.

В has a wide circle of friends who are always helpful.

С managed to make the most out of a misunderstanding.

Extract 3

Listen to a conversation about street musicians.

5. Helen's view of busking differs from Andy's in that

A.she thinks buskers are too tired to play.

В. they make her feel guilty.

С. she does not like the music.

6. In general Andy's attitude can be described as

A.sentimental

В. radical

С.pragmatic

For questions 7-10 complete the following sets of sentences with a word or a short phrase.

1. By the mid 1940s Jack started to paint in a completely 7.______ manner and it was around that time that he developed his drip and splash style that he became 8.______ for.

2. Sarah Dunwich was supposed to come to the gig and sing a couple of songs with me, but I 9.______.

3. Helen: I can't help thinking about the buskers, the reason they're doing it is because they're 10.______for ______.

Discuss the questions:

1.Below arethe paintings by Jackson Pollock.

  • What do you think they depict?
  • How do they make you feel?

2. In what ways do art and technology blend?