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Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each of the following questions. Write your answers in corresponding numbered boxes.
GARBAGE GURU
We live in an increasingly throwaway society. I meet an artist who is making a material difference.
Steve Bradley freely admits his work is garbage. “It’s true,” he says. “My work is rubbish.” As an environmental artist, Steve’s spent most of his working life picking up the things that other people have thrown away, and devising new ways to use art and humour to get us thinking about the environment. His work has been concerned with what our attitudes to rubbish and the environment say about out society. But these aren’t abstract gallery pieces for people in smart suits to spend a fortune on. Steve believes in taking art to the people: a market stall in the city of Hull; a window on a street in downtown Tallahassee, Florida; and now, the Visitors' Centre in an English National park where we meet.
I’d read about Steve in a tabloid newspaper. He explains the project that had earned this notoriety: “In Hull, I picked up used lottery scratchcards off the streets and sold them on a market stall, three for 50p. Of course, they were worthless, and that was the whole point. Kids wanted to know what I was doing, and I’d explain the disappearing act to them, how something could be worth a pound (the cost of a scratchcard), then worth nothing. It was a ploy, you know, to get them thinking about the value of things. You look at any drinks can, or a bottle; the material you throw away is often worth more than the product you have paid for and consumed!”
“When I called the National Park authorities for permission to pick up rubbish in a famous beauty spot and do something unspecified but vaguely arty next to the Visitors’ Centre, they were understandably wary that I might give people the impression that our National Parks are filthy. But the truth is, the problem of litter isn’t confined to the National Parks. Litter costs taxpayers 410 million pounds a year, or at least that’s what it costs local government authorities to clean up across the UK. However, on private land – such as farmland – the cost of clearing litter is met by the landowner, so the real cost is even higher. The National Park has now erased all bins from car parks and laybys, because it encourages people to take their litter home rather than leave it for overstretched local authorities to deal with.
But there’s still plenty to be found – Steve and I are filling large black bin-liners with the stuff. He notices that most crisp packets have been obsessively folded into any of origami-like structures, or tied into a knot: “I’ve seen this in a few places; I call it pre-litter anxiety. There is obviously a time lapse between consuming the contents and discarding the waste… it’s really rather creative behavior.”
On the grounds of the Visitors’ Centre, Steve sets up the campus where he’ll display the litter we’ve just collected. A garden net is strung up between three trees and pegged to the ground by one corner. After about one hour, a coachload of would-be art critics arrived, invited over for the occasion from a local school. They are intrigued and eager to join in. they tie rubbish to the net and surround Steve with cheeky questions until they’re chivvied back onto the coaches to their long-suffering teachers. Steve’s in his element as he adopts the role of lively, gesticulating artiste. “So, Steve,” I say, surveying the scrasps of debris, drinks sweet wrappers which have been retrieved and recruited into a new existence as art, rather than “What does it all mean?” Refreshingly, he’s more interested in what the kids made of it than what he, as the artist, wants the work to say: “I’m not looking for people to see anything specific in my work. If pressed, I want the audience to be surprised, then laugh; but any emotion or reaction is good. It’s about raising their awareness of the environment they live, work and play in.”
After spending the day with Steve, I’ve succumbed to garbage fever. As we untie the net, I feel a bit of regret at destroying our original piece; this is my first venture into the world of modern art. From rubbish to litter to art, then back to rubbish, our installation, entitled “Net Deposit”, is rolled into a bin-liner to be thrown away (again) when we get home. Everyone has their own reasons for hating litter, but until now I’ve always kept my dislike of detritus quiet. Who cares about a few crisp packets? Well, in his book, My first Summer in the Sierra, published in 2011, the Scottish nature lover John Muir came to the conclusion that: “when we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” In a nutshell, and about 70 years before a single Greenpeace calendar was sold, he’d summed up the essence of ecology; that everything matters, even the same things matter than others. I’m guessing, and suspect John Muir would never have dropped his own packet at a beauty spot.
1. In the first paragraph, we learn that Steve Bradley’s art
A. has not been well received in some circles. B. is not based on an entirely original concept.
C. is intended to raise awareness of certain issues. D. has been taken quite seriously by some buyers.
2. What was the main aim to Steve’s project in Hull?
A. He wanted to get press coverage for his activities. B. He was trying to raise money for environmental causes.
C. He wanted to encourage young people to clean up their area. D. He was trying to draw attention to the way resources are wasted.
3. When Steve approached a National Park for permission to create a work of art there, the authorities
A. assumed he would be critical of their litter policy. B. were concerned that he might attract negative publicity.
C. felt that his activities would be more appropriate elsewhere. D. were worried that people would see this as a waste of public money.
4. To Steve, what does the example of the folded crisp packets suggest?
A. People feel guilty about the places where they drop litter. B. some people may actually discard litter accidentally.
C. He’s not the only person to be artistic with litter. D. Litter is not only dropped by thoughtless people.
5. When the schoolchildren arrive at the Visitors’ Centre, the writer observes that Steve
A. clearly enjoys the performance aspect of his work. B. doesn’t really have the approval of their teachers.
C. is surprised by the children’s reaction to his work. D. gets pleasure from explaining the meaning of his art.
6. After her day with Steve, the writer
A. has begun to realise how frustrating his work is. B. feels angry that their work will not be preserved.
C. realised that she has begun to understand modern art. D. no longer feels so negative about the problem of litter.
7. At the end of the article, the writer quotes John Muir in order to
A. illustrate how her own views have changed through meeting Steve. B. question some of the assumptions that we may have about ecology.
C. demonstrate that there has long been a link between art and ecology. D. underline her view that the work Steve does is actually of great value.
8. The word “ploy” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
A. story B. trick C. problem D. demonstration
9. The word “chivvied” in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to
A. hurried B. elbowed C. shouldered D. jostled
10. The word “it” in paragraph 5 refers to
A. his work B. the waste C. the park D. the view
GARBAGE GURU
We live in an increasingly throwaway society. I meet an artist who is making a material difference.
Steve Bradley freely admits his work is garbage. “It’s true,” he says. “My work is rubbish.” As an environmental artist, Steve’s spent most of his working life picking up the things that other people have thrown away, and devising new ways to use art and humour to get us thinking about the environment. His work has been concerned with what our attitudes to rubbish and the environment say about out society. But these aren’t abstract gallery pieces for people in smart suits to spend a fortune on. Steve believes in taking art to the people: a market stall in the city of Hull; a window on a street in downtown Tallahassee, Florida; and now, the Visitors' Centre in an English National park where we meet.
I’d read about Steve in a tabloid newspaper. He explains the project that had earned this notoriety: “In Hull, I picked up used lottery scratchcards off the streets and sold them on a market stall, three for 50p. Of course, they were worthless, and that was the whole point. Kids wanted to know what I was doing, and I’d explain the disappearing act to them, how something could be worth a pound (the cost of a scratchcard), then worth nothing. It was a ploy, you know, to get them thinking about the value of things. You look at any drinks can, or a bottle; the material you throw away is often worth more than the product you have paid for and consumed!”
“When I called the National Park authorities for permission to pick up rubbish in a famous beauty spot and do something unspecified but vaguely arty next to the Visitors’ Centre, they were understandably wary that I might give people the impression that our National Parks are filthy. But the truth is, the problem of litter isn’t confined to the National Parks. Litter costs taxpayers 410 million pounds a year, or at least that’s what it costs local government authorities to clean up across the UK. However, on private land – such as farmland – the cost of clearing litter is met by the landowner, so the real cost is even higher. The National Park has now erased all bins from car parks and laybys, because it encourages people to take their litter home rather than leave it for overstretched local authorities to deal with.
But there’s still plenty to be found – Steve and I are filling large black bin-liners with the stuff. He notices that most crisp packets have been obsessively folded into any of origami-like structures, or tied into a knot: “I’ve seen this in a few places; I call it pre-litter anxiety. There is obviously a time lapse between consuming the contents and discarding the waste… it’s really rather creative behavior.”
On the grounds of the Visitors’ Centre, Steve sets up the campus where he’ll display the litter we’ve just collected. A garden net is strung up between three trees and pegged to the ground by one corner. After about one hour, a coachload of would-be art critics arrived, invited over for the occasion from a local school. They are intrigued and eager to join in. they tie rubbish to the net and surround Steve with cheeky questions until they’re chivvied back onto the coaches to their long-suffering teachers. Steve’s in his element as he adopts the role of lively, gesticulating artiste. “So, Steve,” I say, surveying the scrasps of debris, drinks sweet wrappers which have been retrieved and recruited into a new existence as art, rather than “What does it all mean?” Refreshingly, he’s more interested in what the kids made of it than what he, as the artist, wants the work to say: “I’m not looking for people to see anything specific in my work. If pressed, I want the audience to be surprised, then laugh; but any emotion or reaction is good. It’s about raising their awareness of the environment they live, work and play in.”
After spending the day with Steve, I’ve succumbed to garbage fever. As we untie the net, I feel a bit of regret at destroying our original piece; this is my first venture into the world of modern art. From rubbish to litter to art, then back to rubbish, our installation, entitled “Net Deposit”, is rolled into a bin-liner to be thrown away (again) when we get home. Everyone has their own reasons for hating litter, but until now I’ve always kept my dislike of detritus quiet. Who cares about a few crisp packets? Well, in his book, My first Summer in the Sierra, published in 2011, the Scottish nature lover John Muir came to the conclusion that: “when we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” In a nutshell, and about 70 years before a single Greenpeace calendar was sold, he’d summed up the essence of ecology; that everything matters, even the same things matter than others. I’m guessing, and suspect John Muir would never have dropped his own packet at a beauty spot.
1. In the first paragraph, we learn that Steve Bradley’s art
A. has not been well received in some circles. B. is not based on an entirely original concept.
C. is intended to raise awareness of certain issues. D. has been taken quite seriously by some buyers.
2. What was the main aim to Steve’s project in Hull?
A. He wanted to get press coverage for his activities. B. He was trying to raise money for environmental causes.
C. He wanted to encourage young people to clean up their area. D. He was trying to draw attention to the way resources are wasted.
3. When Steve approached a National Park for permission to create a work of art there, the authorities
A. assumed he would be critical of their litter policy. B. were concerned that he might attract negative publicity.
C. felt that his activities would be more appropriate elsewhere. D. were worried that people would see this as a waste of public money.
4. To Steve, what does the example of the folded crisp packets suggest?
A. People feel guilty about the places where they drop litter. B. some people may actually discard litter accidentally.
C. He’s not the only person to be artistic with litter. D. Litter is not only dropped by thoughtless people.
5. When the schoolchildren arrive at the Visitors’ Centre, the writer observes that Steve
A. clearly enjoys the performance aspect of his work. B. doesn’t really have the approval of their teachers.
C. is surprised by the children’s reaction to his work. D. gets pleasure from explaining the meaning of his art.
6. After her day with Steve, the writer
A. has begun to realise how frustrating his work is. B. feels angry that their work will not be preserved.
C. realised that she has begun to understand modern art. D. no longer feels so negative about the problem of litter.
7. At the end of the article, the writer quotes John Muir in order to
A. illustrate how her own views have changed through meeting Steve. B. question some of the assumptions that we may have about ecology.
C. demonstrate that there has long been a link between art and ecology. D. underline her view that the work Steve does is actually of great value.
8. The word “ploy” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
A. story B. trick C. problem D. demonstration
9. The word “chivvied” in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to
A. hurried B. elbowed C. shouldered D. jostled
10. The word “it” in paragraph 5 refers to
A. his work B. the waste C. the park D. the view
