英语口语
Unit 3 Art and Architecture Speaking Example
Would you like to live in a modern flat do you prefer a traditional house?
Well,I'd prefer living in a modern flat.
Modern houses are large and comfortable.
It is also convenient to live close to your work.
Well,I must say I'd rather live in a traditional siheyuan
I wouldn't feel happy living in a block of apartments.
I would miss the garden,and I think an old house is more beautiful.
I don't get very excited about old-style houses.
Well,modern flats are all the same.
I really think a traditional house has more personal style.
Reading MODERN ARCHITECTURE
Architecture looks at the man-made living environment.
Every great culture in the pasthad its own ideas of beauty
expressed in art and architecture.
When you look around at buildings,streets,squares and parks,
you will find them designed,planned and built in different styles.
Modernism was invented in the 1920s by a group of architects
who wanted to change society with
buildings that went against people's feeling of beauty.
They wanted their buildings constructed in a way to look unnatural.
While in traditional architecture materials such as earth,
stone,brick and wood are used,
the materials of modem architecture are steel,glass and concrete.
To many people modern architecture equals progress.
Developing countries want to build the most modern-looking buildings
as the first step towards becoming a modem country.
Modem buildings impress us because they are huge,
but many people do not find them beautiful.
The buildings look like boxes with flat roofs,
sharp comers and glass walls that act as mirrors.
You do not feel invited to enter them.
Everything about these buildings seems hard and unfriendly.
Ancient architecture shows us many beautiful buildings.
These include great examples such as Taihe Dian,
the Temple of Heaven or the great European cathedrals.
Both in the choice of materials and shape of buildings,
ancient architecture stands much closer to nature.
Nature does not have any straight lines.
Antonio Gaudi,a Spanish architect,was the first to understand that.
There are not any sharp comers or straight lines in any of his designs.
He only wanted natural materials,such as stone,brick and wood to be used
and many parts of his buildings look like things we find in nature.
In some of his architecture,balconies look like eyes,
other parts look like bones,the walls seem to be covered with the skin of a fish,
while the roof looks like the back of a dragon.
Most of Gaudi's works were constructed in and around Barcelona.
Looking at the architecture by Gaudi is like a dream,
full of fantastic colours and shapes.
Despite the fact that he used traditional materials,
Gaudi was a modem architect.
In fact,there are other modem architects who use designs from nature
when they create their buildings.
Frank Lloyd Wright,who built an art museum in New York,
found himself inspired by Japanese seashells.
Another famous building that makes people think of seashells
is the Opera House in Sydney,
though it makes other people think of ship sails.
The 2008 Olympic Stadium in Beijing
is another design that makes us think about nature.
Seen from the top,
it looks as if the stadium is covered by a gray net of steel,
and it looks just like a bird's nest made of tree branches.
Birds fill up the spaces between the branches of their nests with soft materials.
Just so,the spaces in the structure of the stadium
will be filled with huge plastic bags full of air.
Although the stadium will be made of concrete and steel,
the flowing lines and round shapes make the building look warm and friendly.
综合技能
Integrating skills Reading
A SECOND LIFE FOR FACTORY 798
Everywhere in the world old buildings,such as schools,hospitals,
factories and even churches are left empty because they are no longer needed.
It is usually difficult to find other companies to move into the old buildings,
because the floor plan the size and the number of halls
does not fit their company.
Often,these buildings are pulled down
after having stood empty without use for many years.
Factory 798 in the east of Beijing was a building like that.
Once an important army factory in Beijing,
Factory 798 was designed by East German architects
and built with Russian help in the early 1950s.
It is one of the most important examples of factory architecture
left from that time.
The huge factory halls of brick and glass were built in the 1920s modem style.
They are decorated with small round windows that remind you of ships,
bent roofs and twenty-foot high walls of glass that make them special
when compared with other architecture from the same period.
The simple style of the buildings
and the fact that they are German
set them aside as very different from Chinese architecture.
When the army factory moved some years ago,
the factory buildings were no longer used.
Until about a year ago most of the workshops in the factory stood empty.
Some art companies asked if they could move into the empty space
and rent parts of the factory.
This was the beginning of the development of this area into a centre for the arts,
bringing together Chinese artists,art companies,musicians,a Japanese teahouse,
a Sichuan restaurant, a bookshop and a dance club.
Old factory buildings have many halls and workshops of different sizes.
Painters and other artists can move into the smaller rooms
to use them as studios to paint,while music bands rent space to practise.
Smaller halls can be changed into shops and restaurants
while the main factory hall can be used for concerts,
parties and dance festivals.
Young,beginning artists and musicians
often do not have enough money to rent studios or other buildings to practise,
perform or even work and live.
They like these buildings because the rooms and halls are often very large,
which is good for artists who want to make large objects.
Besides, many of these buildings were constructed far from the city,
so that people in the neighbourhood are not disturbed
when rock musicians move in and practise for a concert.
Many large cities,such as Liverpool and New York,
have had experiments of this kind,
With old factories turned into successful arts centers.
In almost every city around The world,new uses are given to old buildings.
It is a great way to save the architecture from the past.
课后练习
Work Book Unit 3 Art and architecture
Integrating skills
Reading and discussing
THE FUNCTION OF ART
We see art everywhere around us.
In public parks,city squares,shopping streets and public buildings,
we find modern art objects on display.
Classical art,such as valuable paintings,precious statues and other fine arts,
usually ends up in the collections of museums,companies or rich people.
Although we can see some of it in museums,
those other art collections are not open to the public
Both art and architecture have a history of ages.
All forms and ways of expressing beauty have been explored.
In the case of architecture,many buildings that were designed in the past
have proven to be beautiful and served their purposes.
Governments and companies
could save millions of dollars by building
or copying designs of architecture of buildings from the past.
There are still many designs for buildings
made by famous architects that were never realised.
Besides,some people find modern architecture ugly.
So why should we pay a lot of money to architects for designing new buildings?
The same holds for modern art,both paintings and statues.
Many art objects that have been created in the past
are now covered by dust in storerooms.
These storerooms contain enough art to decorate all public buildings
and other public places.
There is no need to create more art,and as with modem architecture,
many people find new art difficult to understand or appreciate.
Given these facts,why are architects and artists asked to create new art works?
And why are we interested in creating new art and architecture,
instead of using or copying what was made in the past?
The answers to these questions
have to do with the function of art in society today.
First of all,the function of art is to decorate.
By placing art works in parks and hanging paintings or drawings on the walls
we make our living environment more beautiful.
When our eyes move across an empty wall
they will for a few moments rest on a painting or other kind of work hung there.
It is a moment of comfort and makes people feel good.
Sometimes,paintings are not beautiful at first glance.
But looking at them and thinking about them for a while
or repeated viewing will help us to learn to appreciate them.
Another function of art is enriching real life,as art is part of everyday life.
Art helps people to learn to think creatively.
In art things are not always what they seem to be.
Art objects in a park are sometimes funny.
Very often you can hardly tell what they are.
People need such creative moments.
It helps them to balance their minds.
When we see art like that all around us,
it helps to make life more interesting.
Finally,art is often seen as a way to instruct the audience.
Statues of heroes from the past remind us of our history.
Paintings and other art objects can also help us to realise
which goals we should set for ourselves and inspire us in our everyday work.
Because ideas about society change and every period of time has its own taste,
there Is always a need for new art.
We can still appreciate art works made in the past for their beauty,
but they are often too valuable to be placed in public buildings.
Besides,they also often need special protection.
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