Text IV: chinese art

The papers had forecast a temperature of four degrees above normal for the time of year, yet Beijing was still grey and icy. The temperature was only a fraction higher in the studio of Liu Wei, who is a painter in his twenties.

He was born in Beijing in 1965, which makes him too young to remember the Cultural Revolution. He graduated from the Central Institute of Fine Arts with a degree in metal painting and lithography.

To get to this studio you have to go down an alley full of cars and turn into a courtyard surrounded by damaged buildings, then pick your way between planks and debris to an old staircase. This is where he works. The other third of the place is taken up by a sofa, a television set, a white garden chair, two telephones that never stop ringing, bottles, jars of paint, and piles of magazines.

My visit had been arranged the previous day, after a brief conversation through an interpreter. He tried hard to explain that the only thing he and his colleagues shared was the studio. They did not form a group or a movement and they shared no common doctrine.

As for trying to define his painting, he was right to refuse to do it because it is impossible to explain what it is like. His work as a whole has a certain sense of satire. In the Chinese context his subjects are blasphemous, anti-religious, rude, and depressing. For example, a life-size young woman wearing Western clothes grimaces against a background of the Niagara Falls dotted with red roses. Liu Wei’s answers are short and sometimes evasive, possibly because of the presence of an interpreter. All he gave away were details of his career. His shows have been either half secret or tolerated by the authorities. Collectors and gallery owners form Hong Kong and Europe have become enthusiastic about his pictures. Outside China, Liu Wei is one the most highly regarded contemporary Chinese painters.

Task 4. Choose the correct variant.

16. According to the text, what event would the artist not remember because of when he was born?

A World War Two

B The Cultural Revolution

C The Russian Revolution

D The Cold War

17. What is another term for the word “evasive”?

A rude

B dramatic

C vague

D precise

18. Based on the text, an accurate word to describe the setting of Liu Wei’s studio would be

A modem.

B neglected.

C dangerous.

D beautiful.

19. In his interview, Liu Wei states that the only thing he shares with the artists in his studio is

A common beliefs.

B similar doctrine.

C the studio itself.

D the same degree from the Institute of Fine Arts.

20. In Hong Kong and Europe, collectors ... Liu Wei’s paintings.

A are horrified by

B highly appreciate

C do not think much about

D are trying to smuggle

Reading comprehension

9 Form

Variant 6 text I: a nest of eggs

I went to school that day. It was better than staying at home waiting for the next crazy thing to happen. I didn’t speak all day, not on the bus to school not in school, not on the bus home, not a word. I went home and walked back to the marsh. The yellow machine was not there, but it had left a mess. And there were no geese. I stood quietly and looked all round, but I didn’t see any geese. Then suddenly I saw something. Eggs — a nest of them. Six eggs in a nest — six beautiful eggs. But no mother goose. I looked at the marsh again. No mother. No father. Where were they? Dead? Or afraid? Will they come back? I thought. I was there for a long time, a very long time. But I didn’t see or hear one goose. I looked at the eggs. How will they live without a mother to warm them? For a long time, I stood there. I’ll find a place for them, I thought, a warm place...

No, I can’t. Nobody can be their mother. But why not? I thought. I must make a warm place for them, then they’ll live... No, I can’t... Then I thought about my mum. I thought about her, and I heard her speak to me in my head. “Why not?” I heard her say, “Who says you can’t do it, Amy? I think you’ll be a very good mum”. I smiled and looked at the eggs. Can I be their mother? Can I find — or make — a place for them? Where? My room? No, Dad will be angry. In the garage? Yes, the garage is best. I looked at the eggs again. “I’ll be back”, I said to them. Then I ran to the garage.

I got there and stopped. Can Dad help? No. He’ll say no, he’ll say school is more important. Better not say anything. In the garage I looked for a warm quiet place. I looked at the table. There was a cupboard under it. Yes, the cupboard will be warm. I found an old dress and took it back to the marsh with me. Down at the marsh, I walked carefully through the water. The eggs were there. Very carefully I began to put them into the old dress. They were cold. The babies are dead! I thought. No, they’ll be OK. I’ll warm them. “You’re cold now”, I said to them, “but you’ll warm up. You’ll be OK”.

After I put them in the dress, I thought, are there other nests, other babies without mothers? Carefully I walked across the marsh. And I found them. Ten more eggs in different nests. At every nest I stopped, then took the eggs. “You’ll be OK”, I told them. Sixteen eggs. Sixteen babies without mothers.

In the garage I made the nicest nest in the cupboard. Then I put the eggs in the nest, all sixteen of them. When I finished, I stood up and looked at them. Was it warm enough in the cupboard? I found the big light Dad used for his work. Carefully I put the light in the cupboard. Yes, it was warm, very warm. The babies will love it. They will think their mum is here. I quietly closed the cupboard door. “You’ll be OK now”, I said to them. “I promise. Your mum’s not here, but you’re going to be OK”.

Task 1. Choose the correct variant.

1. The narrator’s name is

A Mary

B Annie

C Betty

D Amy

2. From the first paragraph, the reader knows that

A The narrator is lonely

B Full of trees

C The narrator is afraid of her father

D Planted with crops

3. From the story, the reader can learn that a marsh is probably

A Wet

B Full of trees

C Cold and windy

D Planted with crops

4. The narrator is helped in her decision about the eggs by

A Her father

B A baby goose

C A mysterious voice

D A book she is reading

5. The narrator goes home in order to

A Ask permission

B Find a safe location

C Get warm and put on boots

D Change into a dress

6. When she sees the nest of eggs, the narrator wonders

A If the mother has been scared away

B If the mother has been killed

C If the mother will come back

D All of the above

7. The narrator decides to keep the eggs a secret because

A She wants to have a friend

B She misses her mother

C She is afraid her father will say no

D She is afraid they will not hatch

8. The narrator is feeling sorry for eggs with no mothers because

A She has no mother

B The eggs are cold

C The nest looks lonely all by itself in the marsh

D The yellow machine has frightened them

9. While she is collecting the eggs from the nest, the narrator

A Thinks about her father and his work

B Wonders whether the eggs will hatch

C Worries that she cannot be their mother

D Is sad because the mothers are gone

10. The narrator is able to keep the eggs warm because she

A Wraps them in a warm dress

B Puts them in a cupboard indoors

C Borrows a lamp that makes heat

D Puts them in her bedroom which is warm