淘宝店铺：柠檬露露英语私塾

IELTS Reading Actual Test 4

READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on
Reading Passage 1 below.

Life-Casting and Art

Julian Bames explores the questions posed by Life-Casts, an exhibition of
plaster moulds of living people and objects which were originally used for
scientific purposes

A
Art changes over time and our idea of what art is changes too. For example,
objects originally intended for devotional, ritualistic or re-creational purposes
may be recategorised as art by members of other later civilisations, such as our
own, which no longer respond to these purposes.

B
What also happens is that techniques and crafts which would have been judged
inartistic at the time they were used are reassessed. Life-casting is an interesting
example of this. It involved making a plaster mould of a living person or thing.
This was complex, technical work, as Benjamin Robert Haydon discovered when
he poured 250 litres of plaster over his human model and nearly killed him. At the
time, the casts were used for medical research and, consequently, in the
nineteenth century life-casting was considered inferior to sculpture in the same
way that, more recently, photography was thought to be a lesser art than painting.
Both were viewed as unacceptable shortcuts by the ’senior 1 arts. Their virtues of
speed and unwavering realism also implied their limitations; they left little or no
room for the imagination.

C
For many, life-casting was an insult to the sculptor’s creative genius. In an
infamous lawsuit of 1834, a moulder whose mask of the dying French emperor
Napoleon had been reproduced and sold without his permission was judged to
have no rights to the image. In other words, he was specifically held not to be an
artist. This judgement reflect the view of established members of the
nineteenth-century art world such as Rodin, who commented that life-casting
‘happens fast but it doesn’t make Art’. Some even feared that ‘if too much nature
was allowed in, it would lead Art away from its proper course of the Ideal.

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D
The painter Gauguin, at the end of the nineteenth century, worried about future
developments in photography. If ever the process went into colour, what painter
would labour away at a likeness with a brush made from squirrel-tail? But
painting has proved robust. Photography has changed it, of course, just as the
novel had to reassess narrative after the arrival of the cinema. But the gap
between the senior and junior arts was always narrower than the traditionalists
implied. Painters have always used technical back-up such as studio assistants to
do the boring bits, while apparently lesser crafts involve great skill, thought,
preparation and, depending on how we define it， imagination.

E
Time changes our view in another way, too. Each new movement implies a
reassessment of what has gone before. What is done now alters what was done
before. In some cases this is merely self-serving, with the new art using the old to
justify itself. It seems to be saying, look at how all of that points to this! Aren’t
we clever to be the culmination of all that has gone before? But usually it is a
matter of re-alerting the sensibility, reminding us not to take things for granted.
Take, for example, the cast of the hand of a giant from a circus, made by an
anonymous artist around 1889, an item that would now sit happily in any
commercial or public gallery. The most significant impact of this piece is on the
eye, in the contradiction between unexpected size and verisimilitude. Next, the
human element kicks in. you note that the nails are dirt-encrusted, unless this is
the caster’s decorative addition, and the fingertips extend far beyond them. Then
you take in the element of choice, arrangement, art if you like, in the neat, pleated,
buttoned sleeve-end that gives the item balance and variation of texture. This is
just a moulded hand, yet the part stands utterly for the whole. It reminds us slyly,
poignantly, of the full-size original

F
But is it art? And, if so, why? These are old tediously repeated questions to which
artists have often responded, ‘It is art because I am an artist and therefore what I
do is art. However, what doesn’t work for literature works much better for art –
works of art do float free of their creators’ intentions. Over time the “reader” does
become more powerful. Few of us can look at a medieval altarpiece as its painter
intended. We believe too little and aesthetically know too much, so we recreate
and find new fields of pleasure in the work. Equally, the lack of artistic intention
of Paul Richer and other forgotten craftsmen who brushed oil onto flesh, who
moulded, cast and decorated in the nineteenth century is now irrelevant. What
counts is the surviving object and our response to it. The tests are simple: does it
interest the eye, excite the brain, move the mind to reflection and involve the
heart. It may, to use the old dichotomy, be beautiful but it is rarely true to any
significant depth. One of the constant pleasures of art is its ability to come at us
from an unexpected angle and stop us short in wonder.

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Questions 1-5
Reading Passage has six paragraphs, A-F.

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

1 an example of a craftsman’s unsuccessful claim to ownership of his work

2 an example of how trends in art can change attitudes to an earlier work

3 the original function of a particular type of art

4 ways of assessing whether or not an object is art

5 how artists deal with the less interesting aspects of their work

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Questions 6-11

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading
Passage?

In boxes 6-11 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the information

NO if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

6 Nineteenth-century sculptors admired the speed and realism of life-casting

7 Rodin believed the quality of the life-casting would improve if a slower

process were used

8 The importance of painting has decreased with the development of colour

photography

9 Life-casting requires more skill than sculpture does

10 New art encourages us to look at earlier work in a fresh way

11 The intended meaning of a work of art can get lost over time

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Questions 12-13

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write the correct letter in boxes 12-13 on your answer sheet.

12. The most noticeable contrast in the cast of the giants hand is between the
A dirt and decoration
B size and realism
C choice and arrangement
D balance and texture

13. According to the writer, the importance of any artistic object lies in
A the artist’s intentions
B the artist’s beliefs
C the relevance it has to modem life
D the way we respond to it

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READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are based on
Reading Passage 2 below.

Children’s Literature

Stories and poems aimed at children have an exceedingly long history:lullabies,

for example, were sung in Roman times, and a few nursery games and rhymes are
almost as ancient. Yet so far as written-down literature is concerned, while there
were stories in print before 1700 that children often seized on when they had the
chance, such as translations of Aesop’s fables, fairy-stories and popular ballads
and romances, these were not aimed at young people in particular. Since the only
genuinely child-oriented literature at this time would have been a few
instructional works to help with reading and general knowledge, plus the odd
Puritanical tract as an aid to morality, the only course for keen child readers was
to read adult literature. This still occurs today, especially with adult thrillers or
romances that include more exciting, graphic detail than is normally found in the
literature for younger readers.

By the middle of the 18th century there were enough eager child readers,
andenough parents glad to cater to this interest, for publishers to specialize in
children’s books whose first aim was pleasure rather than education or morality.
In Britain, a London merchant named Thomas Boreham produced Cajanus, The
Swedish Giant in 1742, while the more famous John Newbery published A Little
Pretty Pocket Book in 1744.1ts contents—rhymes, stories, children’s games plus
a free gift (‘A ball and a pincushion’)——in many ways anticipated the similar
lucky-dip contents of children’s annuals this century. It is a tribute to Newbery’s
flair that he hit upon a winning formula quite so quickly, to be pirated almost
immediately in America.

Such pleasing levity was not to last. Influenced by Rousseau, whose Emile(1762)
decreed that all books for children save Robinson Crusoe were a dangerous
diversion, contemporary critics saw to it that children’s literature should be
instructive and uplifting. Prominent among such voices was Mrs. Sarah Trimmer,
whose magazine The Guardian of Education (1802) carried the first regular
reviews of children’s books. It was she who condemned fairy-tales for their
violence and general absurdity; her own stories, Fabulous Histories (1786)
described talking animals who were always models of sense and decorum.

So the moral story for children was always threatened from within, given the way
children have of drawing out entertainment from the sternest moralist. But the
greatest blow to the improving children’s book was to come from an unlikely

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source indeed: early 19th century interest in folklore. Both nursery rhymes,
selected by James Orchard Halliwell for a folklore society in 1842, and collection
of fairy-stories by the scholarly Grimm brothers, swiftly translated into English in
1823,soon rocket to popularity with the young, quickly leading to new editions,
each one more child-centered than the last. From now on younger children could
expect stories written for their particular interest and with the needs of their own
limited experience of life kept well to the fore.

What eventually determined the reading of older children was often not the
availability of special children’s literature as such but access to books that
contained characters, such as young people or animals, with whom they could
more easily empathize, or action, such as exploring or fighting, that made few
demands on adult maturity or understanding.

The final apotheosis of literary childhood as something to be protected from

unpleasant reality came with the arrival in the late 1930s of child-centered
best-sellers intend on entertainment at its most escapist. In Britain novelist such
as Enid Blyton and Richmal Crompton described children who were always free
to have the most unlikely adventures, secure in the knowledge that nothing bad
could ever happen to them in the end. The fact that war broke out again during
her books’ greatest popularity fails to register at all in the self-enclosed world
inhabited by Enid Blyton’s young characters. Reaction against such
dream-worlds was inevitable after World War II, coinciding with the growth
of paperback sales, children’s libraries and a new spirit of moral and social
concern. Urged on by committed publishers and progressive librarians, writers
slowly began to explore new areas of interest while also shifting the settings of
their plots from the middle-class world to which their chiefly adult patrons had
always previously belonged.

Critical emphasis, during this development, has been divided. For some the most
important task was to rid children’s books of the social prejudice and
exclusiveness no longer found acceptable. Others concentrated more on the
positive achievements of contemporary children’s literature. That writers of these
works are now often recommended to the attentions of adult as well as child
readers echoes the 19th-century belief that children’s literature can be shared by
the generations, rather than being a defensive barrier between childhood and the
necessary growth towards adult understanding.

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Questions 14- 18
Complete the table below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from Reading Passage for each
answer.
Write your answers in boxes 14 - 18 on your answer sheet.

DATE FEATURES AIM EXAMPLE

Not aimed at young Education and
Before 1700 Puritanical tract
children morality
By the Collection A Little Pretty Pocket
middle of of 14____ and Read for pleasure Book
18th century games (exported to 15____ )
Early Growing interest To be more Nursery rhymes
19th century in 16____ children-centered and 17 ____
Enid Blyton and
Stories of
Late 1930s Entertainment Richarnal Crompton’s
harm-free 18____
novels

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Questions 19 -21
Look at the following people and the list of statements below.
Match each person with the correct statement.
Write the correct letter A-E in boxes 19 - 21 on your answer sheet.

List of statements

A Wrote criticisms of children’s literature

B Used animals to demonstrate the absurdity of fairy tales
C Was not a writer originally
D Translated a book into English
E Didn’t write in the English language

19 Thomas Boreham

20 Mrs. Sarah trimmer

21 Grimm Brothers

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Questions 22-26

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading

Passage?

In boxes 22-26 on your answer sheet write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

22 Children didn’t start to read books until 1700.

23 Sarah Trimmer believed that children’s books should set good

examples.

24 Parents were concerned about the violence in children’s books.

25 An interest in the folklore changed the direction of the

development of children’s books.

26 Today children’s book writers believe their works should appeal

to both children and adults.

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READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on
Reading Passage 3 below.

The Development of Museums

A
The conviction that historical relics provide infallible testimony about the past is
rooted in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when science was regarded
as objective and value free. As one writer observes: 'Although it is now evident
that artefacts are as easily altered as chronicles, public faith in their veracity
endures: a tangible relic seems ipso facto real.' Such conviction was, until recently,
reflected in museum displays. Museums used to look - and some still do - much
like storage rooms of objects packed together in showcases: good for scholars
who wanted to study the subtle differences in design, but not for the ordinary
visitor, to whom it all looked alike. Similarly, the information accompanying the
objects often made little sense to the lay visitor. The content and format of
explanations dated back to a time when the museum was the exclusive domain of
the scientific researcher.

B
Recently, however, attitudes towards history and the way it should be presented
have altered. The key word in heritage display is now 'experience', the more
exciting the better and, if possible, involving all the senses. Good examples of this
approach in the UK are the Jorvik Centre in York; the National Museum of
Photography, Film and Television in Bradford; and the Imperial War Museum in
London. In the US the trend emerged much earlier: Williamsburg has been a
prototype for many heritage developments in other parts of the world. No one can
predict where the process will end. On so-called heritage sites the re-enactment of
historical events is increasingly popular, and computers will soon provide virtual
reality experiences, which will present visitors with a vivid image of the period of
their choice, in which they themselves can act as if part of the historical
environment. Such developments have been criticised as an intolerable
vulgarisation, but the success of many historical theme parks and similar locations
suggests that the majority of the public does not share this opinion.

C
In a related development, the sharp distinction between museum and heritage sites
on the one hand, and theme parks on the other, is gradually evaporating. They
already borrow ideas and concepts from one another. For example, museums have
adopted story lines for exhibitions, sites have accepted 'theming'as a relevant tool,
and theme parks are moving towards more authenticity and research-based

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presentations. In zoos, animals are no longer kept in cages, but in great spaces,
either in the open air or in enormous greenhouses, such as the jungle and desert
environments in Burgers'Zoo in Holland. This particular trend is regarded as one
of the major developments in the presentation of natural history in the twentieth
century.

D
Theme parks are undergoing other changes, too, as they try to present more
serious social and cultural issues, and move away from fantasy. This development
is a response to market forces and, although museums and heritage sites have a
special, rather distinct, role to fulfil, they are also operating in a very competitive
environment, where visitors make choices on how and where to spend their free
time. Heritage and museum experts do not have to invent stories and recreate
historical environments to attract their visitors: their assets are already in place.
However, exhibits must be both based on artefacts and facts as we know them,
and attractively presented. Those who are professionally engaged in the art of
interpreting history are thus in a difficult position, as they must steer a narrow
course between the demands of 'evidence' and 'attractiveness', especially given the
increasing need in the heritage industry for income-generating activities.

E
It could be claimed that in order to make everything in heritage more 'real',
historical accuracy must be increasingly altered. For example, Pithecanthropus
erectus is depicted in an Indonesian museum with Malay facial features, because
this corresponds to public perceptions. Similarly, in the Museum of Natural
History in Washington, Neanderthal man is shown making a dominant gesture to
his wife. Such presentations tell us more about contemporary perceptions of the
world than about our ancestors. There is one compensation, however, for the
professionals who make these interpretations: if they did not provide the
interpretation, visitors would do it for themselves, based on their own ideas,
misconceptions and prejudices. And no matter how exciting the result, it would
contain a lot more bias than the presentations provided by experts.

F
Human bias is inevitable, but another source of bias in the representation of
history has to do with the transitory nature of the materials themselves. The
simple fact is that not everything from history survives the historical process.
Castles, palaces and cathedrals have a longer lifespan than the dwellings of
ordinary people. The same applies to the furnishings and other contents of the
premises. In a town like Leyden in Holland, which in the seventeenth century was
occupied by approximately the same number of inhabitants as today, people lived
within the walled town, an area more than five times smaller than modern Leyden.
In most of the houses several families lived together in circumstances beyond our

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imagination. Yet in museums, fine period rooms give only an image of the
lifestyle of the upper class of that era. No wonder that people who stroll around
exhibitions are filled with nostalgia; the evidence in museums indicates that life
was so much better in the past. This notion is induced by the bias in its
representation in museums and heritage centres.

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Questions 27 - 30

Reading Passage has six paragraphs, A-F.

Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B-E from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number, i-vii, in boxes 27 -30 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

i Commercial pressures on people in charge

ii Mixed views on current changes to museums
iii Interpreting the facts to meet visitor expectations
iv The international dimension
v Collections of factual evidence
vi Fewer differences between public attractions
vii Current reviews and suggestions

Example Paragraph A
Answer v

27 Paragraph B

28 Paragraph C

29 Paragraph D

30 Paragraph E

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Questions 31 -36
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 31 - 36 on your answer sheet.

31 Compared with today’s museums, those of the past

A did not present history in a detailed way.
B were not primarily intended for the public.
C were more clearly organised.
D preserved items with greater care.

32 According to the writer, current trends in the heritage industry

A emphasise personal involvement.
B have their origins in York and London.
C rely on computer images.
D reflect minority tastes.

33 The writer says that museums, heritage sites and theme parks
A often work in close partnership.
B try to preserve separate identities.
C have similar exhibits.
D are less easy to distinguish than before.

34 The writer says that in preparing exhibits for museums, experts

A should pursue a single objective.
B have to do a certain amount of language translation.
C should be free from commercial constraints.
D have to balance conflicting priorities.

35 In paragraph E, the writer suggests that some museum exhibits

A fail to match visitor expectations.
B are based on the false assumptions of professionals.
C reveal more about present beliefs than about the past.
D allow visitors to make more use of their imagination.

36 The passage ends by noting that our view of history is biased because
A we fail to use our imagination.
B only very durable objects remain from the past.
C we tend to ignore things that displease us.
D museum exhibits focus too much on the local area.

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Questions 37 - 40

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading

Passage?

In boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

37 Consumers prefer theme parks which avoid serious issues.

38 More people visit museums than theme parks.

39 The boundaries of Leyden have changed little since the seventeenth century.

40 Museums can give a false impression of how life used to be.

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