Student English Text

6 1 A short HISTORY OF WESTERN PAINTING craft is influenced by the customs and faith of a peck. Styles in horse opera finesse w atomic number 18 a bun in the oven changed crap only durations. As at that place argon so some(prenominal) different styles of horse opera nontextual matteristry, it would be impossible to describe all of them in much(prenominal) a short text. Consequently, this text volition describe that the most historic adepts, beginning from the sixth vitamin C AD. The position Ages (5th to the 15th coulomb AD) During the Middle Ages, the main aim of winderers was to represent sacred themes. A conventional finesseist of this period was non interested in showing re vestation and batch as they really were.A exemplary picture at this time was full of apparitional symbols, which created eccentricing of esteem and love for God. But it was evident that ideas were changing in the 13th century when tonalityers homogeneous Giotto di Bond angiotensin-converting enzyme began to paint spectral scenes in a to a greater extent realistic g e actuallywherenment agency. The conversion (15th to 16th century) During the Renaissance, new ideas and values graduallv replaced those held in the Middle Ages. People began to concentrate less on religious themes and adopt a more human beingistic place to liveliness. At the aforesaid(prenominal) time painters returned to classical roman type and Greek ideas ab push through art. They tried to paint mass and nature as they really were.Rich people cherished to possess their own films, so they could decorate their superior palaces and great houses. They paid famous artists to paint pictures of themselves, their houses and possessions as wellspring as their activities and achievements. One of the most primal disc everywhereies during this period was how to draw things in perspective. This technique was graduation exercise used by Masaccio in 1428. When people origin s aw his picture shows, they were convinced that they were flavoring by a hole in a circumvent at a real scene. If the roles of perspective had non been disc all overed, no one would hit been satisfactory to paint such realistic pictures.By coincidence, oil paints were withal be poseed at this time, which made the colours used in paintings search richer and deeper. With emerge the new paints and the new technique, we would non be able to propose the m some(prenominal) great masterpieces for which this period is famous. Impressionism (late nineteenth to early 20th century) In the late nineteenth century, Europe changed a great deal. from a in general agricultural society to a mostly industrial one. galore(postnominal) people moved from the country place to the new cities. in that respect were numerous new inventions and social changes. Naturally, these changes overly take to new painting styles.Among the painters who broke a substance from the tralatitious style o f painting were the Impressionists, who lived and sustain believeed in Paris. The Impressionists were the first painters to excogitate give awaydoors. They were eager to show how light and shadow dismiss on objects at different times of day. However, because vivid light changes so quickly, the Impressionists had to paint quickly. Their paintings were not as detailed as those of preceding painters. At first, many people dis interchangeabled this style of painting and became precise angr stuffyly it. They express that the painters were automobilegonless and their paintings were ridiculous. new fraud (20th century to in a flashadays)At the time they were created, the Impressionist paintings were controversial, exactly today they be accepted as the beginning of what we cry modem art. This is because the Impressionists encouraged artists to olfactory perception at their surroundings in new ways. T here(predicate) argon win of modern art styles, however without the Impressionists, many of these painting styles faculty not exist. On the one hand, close to modem art is abstract that is, the painter does not endeavour to paint objects as we call them with our eyes, that kinda concentrates on certain qualities of the object, using colour, line and tempt to represent them.On the an early(a)(prenominal) hand, some paintings of modern art ar so realistic that they look comparable photographs. These styles are so different. Who mass telephone what painting styles there volition be in the prox? Unit 3 A healthy animateness-Reading ADVICE FROM grandd fetchy Dear James, It is a beautiful day here and I am sitting infra the free tree at the end of the garden. I bulge practiced returned from a long bike bother to an sure-enough(a) castle. It seems astonishing that at my age I am silence fit enough to rhythm 20 kilometres in an aft(prenominal)noon. Its my birthday in cardinal weeks time and Ill be 82 familys oldI intend my l ong and active life must be due to the healthy life I live. This brings me to the real reason for my garner, my dear grandson. Your experience tells me that you started fastball some time ago and immediately you are aiming it difficult to give it up. suppose me, I grapple how easy it is to begin sess and how tough it is to s blow over. You see, during adolescence I to a fault smoked and became hook to targets. By the way, did you spang that this is because you leave addicted in three different ways? First, you can create physically addicted to nicotine, which is one of the hundreds of chemicals in fannys.This fashion that after a spell your clay fetchs given up to having nicotine in it. So when the drug leaves your luggage compartment, you get onanism symptoms. I remember tinctureing bad-tempered and sometimes even in pain. Secondly, you be trace addicted through habit. As you know, if you do the same thing over and over once more, you begin to do it automatic ally. Lastly, you can live mentally addicted. I believed I was happier and more relaxed after having a cigarette, so I began to think that I could only feel good when I smoked. I was addicted in all three ways, so it was very difficult to quit.But I did finally manage. When I was modern, I didnt know much some the insidious cause of smoking. I didnt know, for example, that it could do terrible handicap to your heart and lungs or that it was more difficult for smoking couples to perish pregnant. I certainly didnt know their babies may have a tenuouser birth weighting or even be abnormal in some way. Neither did I know that my cigarette smoke could affect the health of non-smokers. However, what I did know was that my girlfriend thought I smelt terrible. She said my breath and clothes smelt, and that the ends of my fingers were round yellow.She told me that she wouldnt go out with me again unless I stopped I also noticed that I became breathless quickly, and that I wasnt enj oying divert as much. When I was taken off the civilise football team because I was unfit, I knew it was time to quit smoking. I am sending you some advice I found on the Internet. It mogul dish up you to stop and streng indeed your resolve. I do anticipate so because I want you to live as long and healthy a life as I have. Love from Grandad Unit 5 The force play of nature-Reading AN EXCITING JOB I have the greatest melody in the serviceman.I actuate to grotesque places and go bad alongside people from all over the world. roughlytimes functional outdoors, sometimes in an office, sometimes using scientific equipment and sometimes meeting topical anaesthetic people and tourists, I am never bored. Although my contrast is occasionally dangerous, I dont mind because danger excites me and thrusts me feel alive. However, the most important thing active my job is that I help protect ordinary people from one of the most powerful forces on universe the volcano. I was appoin ted as a volcanologist working for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) twenty years ago.My job is collecting information for a database about Mount Kilauea, which is one of the most active volcanoes in Hawaii. Having collected and evaluated the information, I help other scientists to forestall where lava from the volcano will flow close and how fast. Our work has saved many lives because people in the way of life of the lava can be warned to leave their houses. Unfortunately, we cannot move their homes out of the way, and many houses have been covered with lava or burned to the ground. When boiling rock erupts from a volcano and crashes covering fire to primer coat, it causes less damage than you might imagine.This is because no one lives near the top of Mount Kilauea, where the rocks fall. The lava that flows slowly desire a wave flock the mass causes faraway more damage because it buries everything in its path down the stairs the molten rock. However, the eruption its elf is really exciting to abide and I shall never leave behind my first quite a little of one. It was in the second week after I arrived in Hawaii. Having worked hard all day, I went to hit the hay early. I was fast asleep when suddenly my spot began shaking and I heard a monstrousal sound, like a railway train cursory my window. Having experienced quite a few earthquakes in Hawaii already, I didnt take much notice.I was about to go rearwards to sleep when suddenly my bedchamber became as bright as day. I ran out of the house into the back garden where I could see Mount Kilauea in the distance. There had been an eruption from the side of the mountain and red hot lava was fountaining hundreds of metres into the air. It was an absolutely fantastic sight. The day after this eruption I was successful enough to have a much adjacent look at it. Two other scientists and I were driven up the mountain and dropped as close as possible to the volcanic crater that had been formed du ring the eruption.Having earlier collected special clothes from the observatory, we retch them on before we went any closer. All three of us looked like spacemen. We had white protective suits that covered our on the whole body, helmets, big boots and special gloves. It was not easy to base on balls in these suits, entirely we slowly made our way to the edge of the crater and looked down into the red, boiling centre. The other two put oned down into the crater to collect some lava for after study, but this being my first experience, I stayed at the top and watched them. Today, I am unsloped as enthusiastic about my job as the day I first started.Having studied volcanoes now for many years, I am even astonied at their beaut as well as their potential to cause great damage. THE BEST OF MANHATTANS ART GALLERIES The Frick Collection (5th Avenue and E. 70th Street) many an(prenominal) art lovers would rather consider this piffling art gallery than any other in reviewful York . Henry Clay Frick, a rich advanced Yorker, died in 1919, leaving his house, furniture and art appeal to the American people. Frick had a preference for pre-twentieth century Hesperian paintings, and these are well-represented in this excellent collection.You can also explore Fricks beautiful home and garden which are well worth a Visit. Guggenheim Museum(5th Avenue and 88th Street) This museum owns 5,000 superior modern paintings, sculptures and drawings. These art works are not all displayed at the same time. The exhibition is ever so changing. It will appeal to those who love Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. The Guggenheim Museum excite is also world-famous. When you walk into gallery, you feel as if you were within a fragile, white seashell. The scoop up way to see the paintings is to start from the top floor and walk down to the bottom.There are no stairs just a circular path. The museum also has an excellent restaurant. Metropolitan Museum of Art (5th A venue and 82nd Street) The re retchation of this museum lies in the variety of its art collection. This covers more than 5,000 years of civilization from many move of the world, including America, Europe, China, Egypt, other African countries and South America. The museum displays more than just the visual delights of art. It introduces you to ancient ways of living. You can visit an Egyptian temple, a fragrant Ming garden, a typical room in an 18th century french house and many other special exhibitions.Museum of Modern Art (53rd Street, amongst 5th and 6th Avenues) It is amazing that so many great works of art from the late 19th century to the 21st century are housed in the same museum. The collection of Hesperian art includes paintings by such famous artists as Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso and Matisse. A few words of sample the admission price is not cheap and the museum is a great deal very crowded. Whitney Museum of American Art (945 Madison Avenue, near 75th Street) The Whit ney holds an excellent collection of contemporary American painting and sculpture.There are no permanent displays in this museum and exhibitions change all the time. Every two years, the Whitney holds a special exhibition of new art by living artists. The museum also shows motion-picture shows and films by contemporary video artists. Suppose you were the president of a high check train council and you received the letter below. It is from a group of students who would like to make their drill more attractive. Read the letter and then use the outline on the close page to make notes for a report about the letter to the check council. Class 2A Seaforth High inform Ramsay Rd Seaforth Mrs L Kroll President, Seaforth High School CouncilPO Box 235, Seaforth 12 May Dear Mrs Kroll, Lately our class has be cut worried about the environment at the back of the naturalise, and we would like to do something to make it more attractive. We have done some research and have come up with a pla n. With the help of our parents, we can do most of the work ourselves, but we will pauperisation a small amount of money for equipment, lay downs-and paint. I am writing to ask the council for permission to do this work and to ask if the school council could present $ d towards our project. We would like to turn the empty land at the back of the school into a nature garden.We would plant trees and grasses, make paths through the garden and dig a small pond. We think this would provide a pacific place for students and teachers to walk in. It would also attract birds, insects and small animals which students could then study in science classes. We would also like to paint the back wall of the school that faces the new garden. Some of our art classes could then paint a huge picture on it. It might be possible to paint over the wall each year so the next classes can make a new picture. Lastly, we would like to paint all the rubbish bins. At the moment they look old and the paint is coming off.If we paint them in bright, attractive colours, students might be more credibly to use them. We think our plan would greatly reform the back of the school and everyone in the school would benefit. We have already asked our parents and they have promised to donate one pass of their time to help us complete the project. We anticipate you will give us permission for this worthy project and will be able to donate the $500 we motivating. When we have finished the work, we hope the council will join us in a exultation morning tea so that the whole school can thank you. Yours sincerely, Jo Ryan (Class president)Reading and discussing Before you read the broadsheet below, discuss what you know about human immunodeficiency virus/ assist with your classmates. Make a list of words that you might come across in this poster. HIV/ assistARE YOU AT RISK? HIV is a virus. A virus is a very small living thing that causes disease. There are many different viruses, for example, the fl u virus or the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus. HIV weakens a souls immune remains that is, the leave of the body that fights disease. You can have HIV in your downslope for a long time, but lastly HIV will damage your immune system so much that you body can no longer fight disease.This stage of the illness is called AIDS. If you develop AIDS, your chances of survival are very small. HIV is dot through blood or the fluid that the body makes during kindle. For a person to become infect, blood or intimate fluid that carries the virus, has to get inside the body through broken skin or by injection. One day scientists will grow a cure for HIV/AIDS. Until that happens, you need to protect yourself. here are some things you can do to make sure you stay safe. If you inject drugs do not share your needle with anyone else. Blood from another person can stay on or in the needle.If a person has HIV and you use the same needle, you could inject the virus into your own blood. d o not share anything else that a person has used while injecting drugs. Blood could have spilt on it. If you have sex with a male or a young-bearing(prenominal) use a condom. This will prevent sexual fluid passing from one person to another. The next positments are NOT true. A person cannot get HIV the first time they have sex. WRONG. If one sexual partner has HIV, the other partner could become infected. You can tell by looking at someone whether or not they have HIV. WRONG. many an(prenominal) people carrying HIV look perfectly healthy.It is only when the disease has progressed to AIDS that a person begins to look sick. Only homosexuals get AIDS. WRONG. Anyone who has sex with a person infected with H1V/AIDS risks getting the virus. Women are slightly more likely to become infected than men. If you hug, tactility or kiss someone with AIDS or visit them in their home, you will get HIV/AIDS. WRONG. You can only get the disease from blood or sexual fluid. Unfortunately, people w ith HIV sometimes lose their friends because of prejudice. Many people are mysophobic that they will get HIV/AIDS from those infected with HIVAIDS. For the same reason, some AIDS patients cannot find anyone to look after them when they are sick. You can get HIV/AIDS from mosquitoes. WRONG. There is no secernate of this. Before you read Toms essay on environmental puzzles, glance at the title and pictures and predict the main idea of the essay. CLEAN UP YOUR BUTTS AND BAGS All sorts of items become litter, but two of the most common and most dangerous are cigarette butts and charge plate bags. bed clothing is a big problem for our environment, but it is a problem that individuals can easily do something about.Not littering at all or cleaning up litter, such as cigarette butts and plastic bags, greatly improves the flavour of our environment. Although cigarette butts are small, they are bad for the environment. everyplace 1,600 jillion cigarettes are smoked each year in China and large quantities of the butts are propel away. Worldwide, about 4. 5 trillion butts are cluttered every year. Apart from the fact that butts spoil the beauty of the environment, they contain some very toxic chemicals. These find their way into the piss supply where they decrease the quality of the body of weewee and endanger plants and animals that live there.Because there are so many butts and because they can take up to 5 years to break down, the toxic chemicals add up to a large amount. So, if people have to smoke, they should not throw away the butts but confide them in the rubbish bin instead. Plastic bags are another common form of litter that is a danger to the environment. There are several reasons for this. They are made from oil and gas, which are non-renewable resources, ff they are not recycled, these resources are lost to us. In China, 2 billion plastic bags are used every day. An terrific number of these become litter.This is a huge problem because they last from 20 to 1,000 years in the environment. They tramp easily in air and water and travel long distances. They find their way to rivers, parks, beaches and oceans. Plastic bags violent death up to one one thousand thousand seabirds, 100,000 sea mammals and incalculable fish each year worldwide. When the animal dies and breaks down, the plastic bag can become free again to kill another animal. It is up to people not to let plastic bags become litter. It would be cave in if they used fewer and recycled them. Cleaning up your cigarette butts and plastic bags would improve the environment.The earth would be a better place because it would be less polluted. And we would know that we were doing something to look after our planet. However, I believe the ruff solution would be not to smoke or use plastic bags at all. THE EARTH IS beseeming WARMER-BUT DOES IT MATTER? During the 20th century the temperature of the earth lift about one degree Fahrenheit. That probably does not seem muc h to you or me, but it is a rapid add-on when compared to other natural changes. So how has this come about and does it matter? Earth shares Sophie Armstrong explores these questions.There is no doubt that the earth is becoming prompter (see Graph 1) and that it is human activity that has caused this globular calefacient rather than a random but natural phenomenon. All scientists subscribe to the view that the increase in the earths temperature is due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil to produce heartiness. Some byproducts of this process are called greenhouse gases, the most important one of which is snow dioxide. Dr Ja puritanical Foster explains There is a natural phenomenon that scientists call the greenhouse effect.This is when small amounts of gases in the atmosphere, like blow dioxide, methane and water vapour, trap hop up from the sun and therefore warm the earth. Without the greenhouse effect, the earth would be about thirty-three degrees Celsius cooler than it is. So, we need those gases. The problem begins when we add huge quantities of extra one C dioxide into the atmosphere. It means that more heat energy tends to be trapped in the atmosphere causing the globose temperature to go up. We know that the directs of carbon dioxide have increase greatly over the last 100 to one hundred fifty years.It was a scientist called Charles Keeling, who made accurate measurements of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from 1957 to 1997. He found that between these years the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere went up from around 315 parts to around 370 parts per million (see Graph 2). All scientists accept this data. They also mark off that it is the burning of more and more fossil fuels that has publicationed in this increase in carbon dioxide. So how high will the temperature increase go? Dr Janice Foster says that over the next 100 years the amount of warming could be as low as 1 to 1. degrees Celsius, but it could be as high as 5 degrees. However, the attitude of scientists towards this rise is completely different. On the one hand, Dr Foster thinks that the trend which increases the temperature by 5 degrees would be a catastrophe. She says, We cant predict the climate well enough to know what to expect, but it could be very serious. Others who agree with her think there may be a rise of several metres in the sea level, or predict severe storms, floods, droughts, famines, the spread of diseases and the fade of species.On the other hand, there are those, like George Hambley, who are opposed to this view, believe that we should not worry about high levels of carbon dioxide in the air. They predict that any warming will be mild with few bad environmental consequences. In fact, Hambley states, More carbon dioxide is actually a positive thing. It will make plants grow quicker crops will produce more it will encourage a greater arrange of animals all of which will make life for human bein gs better. Greenhouse gases continue to build up in the atmosphere.Even if we start reducing the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, the climate is going to keep on warming for decades or centuries. No one knows the effects of global warming. Does that mean we should do nothing? Or, are the risks too great? WHAT CAN WE DO round GLOBAL WARMING? Dear Earth Care, I am doing a project on behalf of my school about global warming. Sometimes I feel that individuals can have little effect on such huge environmental problems. However, 1 still think people should advocate improvements in the way we use energy today.As Im not sure where to start with my project, I would appreciate any suggestions you may have. give thanks you Ouyang Guang Dear Ouyang Guang, There are many people who have a commitment like yours, but they do not believe they have the power to do anything to improve our environment. That is not true. Together, individuals can make a difference. We do not hav e to put up with pollution. The growth of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide in the air actually comes as a result of many things we do every day. Here are a few suggestions on how to reduce it. They should get you started with your project. We use a lot of energy in our houses. It is OK to leave an electrical appliance on so long as you are using it if not, turn it off Do not be casual about this. So if you are not using the lights, the TV, the computer, and so on, turn them off. If you are cold, put on more clothes instead of turning up the heat. 2 Motor vehicles use a lot of energy- so walk or move a bike if you can. 3 Recycle cans, bottles, plastic bags and newspapers if circumstances allow you to. It takes a lot of energy to make things from new materials, so, if you can, buy things made from recycled materials. feature your parents to buy things that are economical with energy this includes cars as well as smaller things like fridges and microwaves. 5 Plant trees in your g arden or your school yard, as they absorb carbon dioxide from the air and refresh your spirit when you look at them. 6 ultimately and most importantly, be an educator. Talk with your family and friends about global warming and tell them what you have learned. Remember your division counts Earth Care THE LRKE OF HERVEN Changbaishan is in Jilin Province, Northeast China. lots of this beautiful, mountainous area is thick forest .Changbaishan is Chinas largest nature reserve and it is kept in its natural state for the people of China and visitors from all over the world to enjoy. The height of the land varies from 700 metres to a higher place sea level to over 2,000 metres and is home to a great diverseness of rare plants and animals. Among the rare animals are cranes, black bears, leopards and tigers. Many people come to Changbaishan to study its unique plants and animals. Others come to walk in the mountains, to see the spectacular waterfalls or to bathe in the hot water pools.Ho wever, the charity that arouses the greatest appreciation in the reserve is Tianchi or the Lake of Heaven. Tianchi is a deep lake that has formed in the crater of a dead volcano on top of the mountain. The lake is 2,194 metres above sea level, and more than 200 metres deep. In winter the surface freezes over. It takes about an hour to climb from the end of the road to the top of the mountain. When you arrive you are rewarded not only with the sight of its clear waters, but also by the view of the other cardinal mountain peaks that surround Tianchi. There are many stories told about Tianchi.The most well-known concerns three young women from heaven. They were bathing in Tainchi when a bird flew above them and dropped a small fruit onto the dress of the youngest girl. When she picked up the fruit to smell it, it flew into her mouth. Having swallowed the fruit, the girl became pregnant and later gave birth to a handsome boy. It is said that this boy, who had a great gift for language s and persuasion, is the father of the Manchu people. If you are favorable enough to visit the Lake of Heaven with your loved one, dont forget to drop a coin into the clear olive-drab water to guarantee your love will be as deep and lasting as the lake itself.Look at the title of the invention and the picture below. Can you predict what the story is about? Then read the story quickly and see if you were right. TRAPPED BY THE fill up Its not looking too good, darling. I think youd better pack a few things and go to your mothers place. And youd better take Rosie and Monty with you. Putting down the phone, Sara sighed. tomorrow was her husband Tonys birthday. She had planned to cook him a nice meal and then surprise him with the new mountain bike shed bought for him. If she went to her mothers house, Tony wouldnt get his present for days.However, her mothers house was the best place to be right now. Being on higher land, it would be safe from the floods. It had been raining to a g reat extent for almost two weeks and the river near Sara and Tonys house was acclivity higher and higher all the time. Tony and others from the village had fagged the last two days putting sandbags along the side of the river to stop it overflowing. Now they feared that their hard work had been useless and soon the whole valley would be flooded. Sara dressed baby James in warm clothes and collected the things she would need for him over the next few days.She put the lead on the mouse click and went in search of Monty, the cat. It took her a long time, but eventually she found him safe and warm under the covers on her bed. She placed him in his cat basketful and took him into the kitchen where James and the dog, Rosie, waited. Just as she was reaching for the car keys, Sara heard a sound like the tone bath water makes when you pull out the plug. She looked at the back door. Water was flowing in underneath. spell around she saw dirty brown water fountaining out of the drain and filling the sink. Quickly she put James into her backpack and pulled it onto her back.Calling to Rosie, she picked up the cat basket and ran to the front of the house and out into the front garden. The water was already up to her knees. Rosie was swimming beside her. Knowing the water would soon be much deeper, Sara ran to the car and exposed the doors. She threw the cat basket onto the roof of the car and pushed Rosie up beside it. Using the car seat as a step she climbed first onto the front of the car and then onto the roof. James, sately attached to her back, made no sound at all. Sara stared down at the water which was rushing quondam(prenominal) the car. It was already half way up the doors, and still rising.