AUTHENTIC 2223 – HANDOUT 1

For questions 1-10, listen to a recording about an art forger named Han van Meegeren and complete
the summary below using words taken from the recording. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
in each blank.
- Having failed to become well-known artist, van Meegeren felt (1) __embittered/ _______ and
eventually decided to forge the artworks of a painter named Johannes Vermeer.

- To ensure successful forgery, van Meegeren made the paintings look old with (2) _materials and
figments__ available in Vermeer’s time___.

- van Meegeren (3) ___outwitted____ the art world, making use of his knowledge that Abraham Bredius
was a(n) (4) __huge proponent__ of the existence of early religious paintings belonging to Vermeer,

- Van Meegeren’s forged artwork earned the (5) __stamp of approval__ from the art community,
although it did not even meet all of Vermeer’s (6) _theories__

- Thanks to his success, van Meegeren was actually able to sell a forged artwork that was (7)
___alleged___ to be Vermeer’s to Hermann Göring, a Nazi top general.

- In the end, van Meegeren was (8) __acquitted___ of all accusations that he had committed (9)
__fraught____, and became widely known as the man who (10) ___had swindled__ the Nazis.

For questions 1-10, listen to a recording about sushi and complete the summary below using words
taken from the recording. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS in each blank.
- In the past, sushi was compared to what a(n) (1) ___drunkard___ would vomit.
- Originally, sushi was preserved using salt and cooked rice, creating a (2) _____vinegary__ and
___fermented fish___ called nare-sushi.
- By the 15th century, people preserved the fish in shorter time periods and started to eat the (3)
___pleasantly tangy___ rice.
- It took a long time for sushi to reach the Western world due to Japan being a(n) (4) __ closed
country____.
- Making sushi required immense skill as poor preparation can prove fatal like the case of pufferfish,
which is a(n) (5) _rare delicacy____.
- At first, residents of California were (6) __aghast___ at eating sushi at first, exemplifying the (7)
__deeply ingrained__ fear of raw fish in the West.
- Nowadays many sushi restaurants also create a(n) (8) _certain level of novelty by introducing the (9)
_conveyor belt concept_ and the use of chopsticks.
- Today, sushi devotees can be (10) __positively fanatical___ about the beauty and expensive cost of the
very best varieties of the dish.
For questions 1-10, listen to a man talking about India’s bitcoin ban and complete the summary below
using words taken from the recording. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS in each blank.
- Announcing that owning or trading virtual currencies and (1) __crypto assets__ will soon be illegal, the
Indian government is trying to (2) __wage full-scale war___ against cryptocurrencies.

- Like India, other governments and central banks also want to hold on to their (4) _monetary
monopoly__, maintaining that digital money should be (3) _government - issued_.

- Cryptos have not been targeted with (5) ____ until recently due to their (6) _violent volatility__ and
value making commercial use difficult.

- India is seemingly trying to make a(n) (7) _pre-emptive strike_ before an easy-to-use and stable crypto
can be developed.

- In the movement against crypto, there will be numerous accounts of how crypto is (8) _abetting__
crime or (9) __heavy-duty handwringing ____ about how they will destroy the economy on mass media.

- The speaker believes that governments should stop (10) ____debasing____ their money to adapt to the
crypto world.

For questions 1-10, listen to a news report about deforestation and complete the summary below using
words taken from the recording. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS in each blank.
- Patches of land in the Colombian Amazon, which were cleared for agriculture, coca fields and (1)
__cattle-raising_, were compared to (2) _exposed wounds__ in a lush rainforest.

- Not only mafias but also loggers and (3) _land hoarders___ are capitalising on the coronavirus
lockdown in Colombia.

- The fact that (4) _armed forces___ have remained immobile is another factor allowing (5) __big
capitals__ interested in land grabbing to continue deforesting.

- In neighbouring Brazil, while (6) __large swathes___ of jungle are burning down, three senior officials
were sacked by President Bolsonaro for taking actions against (7) __illegal miners___.

- Meanwhile, an official in Paras state was struck and (8) _hackled___ in the face after stopping a truck
belonging to loggers.

- The government needs to acknowledge the losses and change the sense of (9) __impunity___ that is
fuelling deforestation.

- (10) __vested Interests___ are likely to keep destroying the Amazon, even with military deployment.