skills TEST 1 A units 1–2
Name: _________________________________________
readiNG SKILLS
1 Read the texts and, for questions 1–6, choose
the correct answers a–d. (6 points)
A n artist who draws in the dirt on vans has lost
out in the final stages of a major illustrating
competition. Ben Long, 23, was shortlisted
alongside leading art figures after submitting
videos of his works. Long produced his striking
images on the back of vans by inscribing them in
the dirt and exhaust deposits on the coach work.
He was moved to start in the unusual medium after
becoming disenchanted with gallery-based projects.
‘It came to me once I’d finished a massive conceptual
exhibit at college, which took about five months.
It was a success but it got me thinking about who
actually goes to galleries. Some people are very
intimidated by the idea of going to art galleries, so
I thought it might be interesting to turn things
round,’ he said.
Having started work on vans, the submission and
exhibition of the works proved to be a hurdle. ‘They
originally intended to put a van in the gallery. Not
only were there logistical problems, I thought it was
a contradiction of my original idea.’ Videos of Mr
Long at work were submitted instead ‘so I haven’t
taken a van away from its job,’ he said.
Organisers were impressed with Long’s work and
that it effectively made his art a ‘travelling show’ and
said they looked forward to seeing how he developed
in the future.
1 The artist uses lorries because
a he’d never had success with more
traditional art forms.
b he felt intimidated by galleries.
c he wanted his works to be seen by people
who wouldn’t normally go to art galleries.
d he wanted to bring a lorry into a gallery.
2 Long’s artwork can be seen
a on lorries all over the country.
b only if you purchase a video.
c on vans in galleries.
d in specially organised ‘travelling galleries’.
52 © Pearson Education Limited 2009
Score: ____________ / 20 points
Colour once again beams down from the walls of
the Bond Store during the annual Cossack Art
Awards. This year’s awards attracted 207 entries
from 120 artists from all over Australia.
Larry Mitchell’s oil painting titled Abrolhos-
Moonrise was the overall winner. Mitchell is an
extremely accomplished artist and, in this work, his
skill in handling paint is very evident. From a
distance, this painting looks like it could be a
watercolour, in the way that the muted colours
blend into each other. However, up close, the
viewer can appreciate how the artist has created the
shimmering reflections using oil paint, applied with
a freedom and confidence that only comes with
years of practice.
Landscape paintings dominate the exhibition and
every artist has a different way of interpreting the
landscape. Works which I particularly enjoyed
included Lori Pensini’s River Crossing, Christine
Hingston’s Dirt Road, Ancient Reflections by Claudia
Kraus and Ian Dickinson’s Last Light, Mt Bruce.
These are the paintings which, several days after
seeing them, still stay in my mind.
In each of these the artist is trying to convey
something unique about their subject, and has
successfully found an approach and style that suits
what they want to express. They have created works
which are very evocative. For example, Claudia
Kraus has used the softness of pastel crayons very
effectively to create the subtle colour differences in
the rock and its reflection in the pool of water.
3 From reading the text we can say that
a Larry Mitchell prefers using oil paints to
watercolours.
b Mitchell has been painting for a
considerable length of time.
c the subject matter of Mitchell’s painting
looks different depending on how close
you are to it.
d this is the first award Mitchell has received
for his art.
4 Which can we NOT say? All the paintings that
the writer most enjoyed were
a drawn with crayons.
b different from each other.
c memorable for the writer.
d landscapes.
PHOTOCOPIABLE
 skills TEST 1 A units 1–2

The Turner Prize shortlist this year consists of four LISTENING SKILLS
nearly perfect examples of Euro-art, a term I’ve
made up to describe a certain kind of technically 1 CD Track 2 Listen to five people talking about
competent, bland, and ultimately empty art made for problems at social gatherings. For questions 1–5
no other reason than to win international awards. choose from the list a–h the problem that each
Invariably its meaning is so vague that it needs the speaker mentions. There are three extra problems.
intervention of the professional exhibition organiser to (5 points)
explain it, which is why you see two kinds of visitors at 1 Speaker 1 
a Euro-art exhibition – the ordinary punters, who
wander through these shows stupefied with boredom, 2 Speaker 2 
and groups of people paying close attention to gallery 3 Speaker 3 
guides explaining work that would otherwise be 4 Speaker 4 
impossible for most people to understand.
5 Speaker 5 
You don’t have to be European to make Euro-art, and
indeed one of its characteristics is that it can be a Cultural differences.
shown anywhere in the world without causing so
much as a ripple of controversy. For, although Euro- b More choice than I was used to.
art is usually overloaded with content, it is never c Aware of a jealous partner.
shocking, emotionally powerful, or visually interesting. d Inappropriate humour.
To spend time in this show is like spending the e A problem with technology.
afternoon in the departure lounges of Heathrow,
Schiphol, Tempelhof and Charles de Gaulle airports. f A loss of memory.
Physically you’ve moved from place to place, but, at g A loss of temper.
the end of the day, you don’t know where you’ve been.
h Misunderstanding one word.
This year, it scarcely matters who wins the Turner
Prize since another characteristic of Euro-art is that 2 For questions 6–10 choose from the list a–h what
no single artist is better or more striking or more each speaker may have said about their situation.
significant than any other. With so many wonderful There are three extra sentences. (5 points)
artists out there, it really was perverse of the jury to
nominate a bunch of artists I strongly suspect will   6 Speaker 1 
never be heard from again.   7 Speaker 2 
  8 Speaker 3 
5 According to the writer, Euro-art   9 Speaker 4 
a is created only to win prizes. 10 Speaker 5 
b is made exclusively by European artists.
a I wish my wife was at the party.
c has a clearly understandable meaning.
d is fascinating for the general public. b Why couldn’t I have been calmer?
c It’s not like it was back home.
6 The writer thinks that
a Euro-art can be compared to the d I hope no one heard that.
experience of flying. e Why didn’t they start first?
b the nominated artists, whilst disappointing, f I needn’t have contacted her.
were the best that could have been chosen.
g If only I’d known who they were.
c none of the nominated artists deserves to
win the award. h I should have listened a bit longer.
d Euro-art is equally popular all over the world.

2 Decide whether the statements are true (T)

or false (F). (4 points)
  7 Ben Long’s art works didn’t win an award.
  8 Larry Mitchell’s painting does not
obviously use oil paints, even when
looked at close up.
  9 Not even experts can interpret the
meaning of Euro-art works.
10 There are no countries in which
Euro-art causes political problems.

PHOTOCOPIABLE © Pearson Education Limited 2009 53