5. A Listen to a critic commenting on a book and tick the adjectives she uses to describe the characters and the plot.

characters convincing 

predictable 

well-developed 

realistic 

weak 

original 

plot gripping 

boring 

involving 

dramatic 

dull 

moving 

entertaining 

informative 

confusing 

exciting 

/From Enterprise, Student’s Book/

B Now you will hear five people talking about their reactions to books they have read. For questions 1 – 5, choose from the list A – F. Use the letters only once. There is one extra letter you do not need to use.

A bored Speaker 1 ______

B excited Speaker 2 ______

C moved Speaker 3 ______

D scared Speaker 4 ______

E confused Speaker 5 ______

F furious

6. Say what you should feel about a book and what characteristics it should have for you to choose to borrow it/buy it/read it up to the end/say it’s one of your favourite.

Practice

1. Tell your partner how you’re feeling today/at the moment. Explain why. Choose words from the lists if appropriate.

tired

happy

exhausted

excited

worried

cheerful

relaxed

concerned

nervous

disappointed

embarrassed

bored

confused

calm

surprised

2. Say what makes you feel like that.

3. Listening

Listen to these five short pieces about the arts. Choose the correct answer, A, B or C, for each question.

1. You switch on the radio and hear a man talking. What is his profession?

A art historian

B children’s book illustrator

C psychologist

2. You ring arts centre and hear part of a pre-recorded message about an exhibition. Who would it interest most?

A someone interested in Asian arts

B someone working in the fashion business

C someone researching African political history

3. Listen to part of a talk about special buildings in which music is played. What gives music its wonderful sound?

A the absence of walls

B the material of the floor

C the shape of the floor

4. At the station, you overhear a woman talking on the phone. Who is she phoning?

A a ticket office

B her boyfriend

C her boss

5. Listen to someone talking about a season of films shown in an arts cinema. How does she feel?

A surprised at the choice of films

B entertained by the films

C uncertain what to think

4. When did you last go to any of the following places?

1. a museum

2. a concert

3. a film

4. the theatre

Tell your partner about the impression this visit produced on you.

Reading 2

1. Describe what you can see in these photos of museums. Which would you like to visit most? Which would not appeal to you?

• Henry VIII and his six wives, Madame Tussaud’s, London

• Limousine, Librace’s Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

• • 

  Row of early twentieth century shops, Beamish Open Air Museum, north of England

• Roman kitchen, Museum of London

2. Skim the text and say what the main function of museums is. The Changing Role of Museums in Society (an extract from Glenn Lowry’s 1speech)

There are those who believe that art museums are nothing more than an attractive facade for society – a thing that can be sacrificed when times get rough. My goal today is to illustrate the vital role museums play in shaping society's vision of itself.

The relationship between society and museums is not a one-way street. While both public and private sectors are responsible for the continued existence of art museums, these institutions also have a duty to fulfill.

Art museums cannot be isolated in their own world, with their own language and their own priorities. Art must be made accessible to people. Our goal is to make art museums bring art and people together.

Museums provide a central arena where individuals can meet in order to look, examine, and wonder at art and learn in the process that when we judge a work of art we are also judging ourselves. Museums around the world are taking a long look at the ways in which they exhibit and interpret the most challenging works of art, and are examining ways to make art more understandable and enjoyable for a wider audience.

Our goal is to create an environment in which all visitors feel challenged by installations and exhibitions, I believe that museums must be intellectual and cultural forces for the communities they serve, but they must also be open and accessible to all people. Visiting a museum should not simply be an exercise in looking at art. Rather it should be a unique experience where visitors enter into a dialogue with the objects displayed as well as the thoughts of the people who have developed the installations or exhibitions. Experiencing art is an emotional and intellectual rather than a passive activity, and it is a museum's responsibility to encourage this.

Museums also have a responsibility to display art that reflects and represents society. Our society is composed of rich and different cultures. The achievements that we present must reveal a broad image of society, not one that reflects only a part of the whole.

However, this presents a real challenge to art museums. Countries, such as England, are incorporating the art of more recent immigrant populations to reflect the awareness of the complexity of its society.

Besides, museums are about quality. The mark of a great museum is the quality of its collections and programs. One need only think of the Louvre in Paris or the Hermitage in St. Petersburg to see this. Great works of art no matter where they come from, or who made them, are those that can go beyond everyday life to reveal fundamental truths about life.

Thus, museums provide the bridge between art and society. Museums help us express and evaluate cultural issues, and through this help us realize what is of real value to us as well as create new values, which is important for our understanding of who we are and what we would like to be.

/http://speeches.empireclub.org/details.asp?SpeechID=1572&FT=yes /