UNIT 3 MUSEUMS

2 Watch the video. Choose the correct answers.

1 The Musée d’Orsay and Tate Modern both have similar …

a collections. b designs. c locations.
2 Tate Modern receives around … visitors each year.
a 5,200,000 b 5,300,000 c 6,200,000
3 The speakers believe that artefacts should probably be returned if
they were …
a preserved. b stolen. c given as a gift.

3 Read the sentences and watch the video again. Write MO for
Musée d’Orsay and TM for Tate Modern.
1 Its collection features modern and contemporary art.
Tate Modern
2 It is famous for its collection of impressionist and post-impressionist
art.
Musée d’Orsay
3 It was built as a train station and a luxury hotel.
Musée d’Orsay
4 It was used for generating electricity to supply the capital.
Tate Modern
5 It opened as an art gallery in 1986.
Musée d’Orsay
6 It was first opened to the public in 2000.
Tate Modern
7 The building was designed by a team of architects.
Tate Modern
8 One individual was responsible for its design.
Musée d’Orsay

4 Complete the summary. Write a word or a number in each gap.

The Musée d’Orsay and Tate Modern are two of the most popular
________ 1 in Europe. They are both located on the _______2 of a
river, but each one houses a _______3 with a completely different
style. The Tate Modern, which is 4_______ to enter, was a
5_______until 1982, when it was closed down. It was a 6_______
architect who designed the Musée d’Orsay while a British group was
responsible for the conversion of the Tate Modern, which took
_______7 years to complete. Visitors to the Tate Modern can use
_______8 computers to understand better the works on display.

5 Work in pairs. Answer the questions.

1 Which of the art galleries in the video appeals to you most? Why?
2 Of the art galleries and museums you have visited, which one was
your favourite? Why?
3 Do you think museums should return artefacts that belong to another
country? Why / why not?

Vocabulary
6 Read the text. Replace the words in bold with the words below
with a similar meaning.

benefactor boasts contender display dormant façade incarnation

vast

Another 1challenger for the title of best art gallery is the State
Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. The 2frontof the museum is part
of the Winter Palace, the residence of the tsars on the banks of the
River Neva. The museum houses the largest collection of paintings in
the world, most of which were purchased by Catherine the Great and
not donated by a 3contributor. The first 4period of the Hermitage
paintings was as Catherine’s private collection. The museum
5possesses over three million exhibits, but only part of this 6massive
collection is on 7showat any one time. The museum has only been
8empty once in its life and that was during the Russian Revolution of
1917.

7 Complete the text with the adjective form of the words in

brackets.
In 2000, The Lowry gallery and theatre complex opened in a new and
1_______(fashion) area to the northof Manchester called Salford
Quays. The development is on the 2_______ (history) site of
Manchester docks,which served the city from 1894 to 1982. The
Lowry houses an 3_______ (impress) collection of the works of the
artist of the same name. Laurence Stephen Lowry is famous for his
paintings of 4_______(industry) scenes in North West England. His
style is easily recognizable because of the 5_______(minimum)
amount ofdetail he gave his figures, which became known as
‘matchstick men’. Many of his 6 _______(origin) paintings can be
seen in the gallery and some parts of the exhibition are 7_______
(interact). Since its inauguration, the
complex has had an important 8 _______(culture) impact on
Manchester and has changed this part of the city forever.