Conversation

Act out a conversation between two friends in an art gallery. Discuss the paintings you see there.

Topics for discussion Explain the following

1. "A picture is a poem without words." (Horatio)

2. "Art is long and life is fleeting." (Longfellow)

3. "All art is but imitation of nature." (Seneka)

Finish the sentences

1. My preference lies with the genre of portrait because ....

2. I personally like genre paintings. They are ....

3. I prefer landscape to other genres. You see ....

4. I care much for still lives ....

5. I prefer battle pieces ....

What does it mean?

1. It's hard to overestimate the role of art in one's life.

2. Art forms our outlook and enriches our inner world.

3. Art has a great educational significance.

4. Art brings people up - makes them more humane and kind.

5. Art holds up people's spirits in the tragic moments of their lives.

6. The language of art is universal.

Conversation Questions

1. What makes good art? Do you think art can be great if it is not linked with the people's lives, their interests and ideals? Give your reasons. 2. How does art help us understand the outside world? 3. What purposes does true art serve? 4. Share your opinions: real art appeals to the heart and mind of man, to his feelings and ideals and it proclaims life. Art is life, pretence of art is death. 5. True art elevates the mind and the soul of the people. 6. The habit of looking at good pictures is in itself a means by which taste can be formed and the scope of one's enjoyment widened and developed. 7. The acquisition of good taste is a matter of time. Painting in this respect doesn't differ from other arts. 8. A great painting enriches our experience of life, just as a great poem does or a great musical composition.

Writing

Write an essay on the topic: Does painting have any advantages over photography in portraying people?

CPC 58

Interview: Role and significance of mass media in our life

Here is some information you can use:

Read and translate the text Mass Media

The mass media play an important part in our lives. Newspapers, radio and especially TV inform us of what is going on in this world and give us wonderful possibilities for education and entertainment. They also influence the way we see the world and shape our views. Of course, not all newspapers and TV programs report the events objectively, but serious journalists and TV reporters try to be fair and provide us with reliable information. It is true that the world today is full of dramatic events and most news seems to be bad news. But people aren’t interested in ordinary events. That is why there are so many programs and articles about natural disasters, plane crashes, wars, murders and robberies. Good news doesn’t usually make headlines. Bad news does. Some people say that journalists are given too much freedom. They often intrude on people’s private lives. They follow celebrities and print sensational stories about them which are untrue or half-true. They take photos of them in their most intimate moments. The question is - should this be allowed? The main source of news for millions of people is television. People like TV news because they can see everything with their own eyes. And that’s an important advantage. Still, many people prefer the radio. It’s good to listen to in the car, or in the open air, or when you do something about the house. Newspapers don’t react to events as quickly as TV, but they usually provide us with extra detail, comment and background information. The Internet has recently become another important source of information. Its main advantage is that news appears on the screen as soon as things happen in real life and you don’t have to wait for news time on TV.