IELTS VOCABULARY TOPIC 3: ARCHITECTURE AND ARTS

Architecture
1. Put the words and phrases in the box into their appropriate category in the table beneath. Some words or
phrases can go into more than one category.

art deco concrete controversial elegant energy-efficient an eyesore

facade foundations functional glass high-rise apartments high-tech
international style low-rise apartments modernist multi-Storey car park post-modern
pleasing geometric forms porch practical reinforced concrete skyscraper
standardized steel stone timber traditional ugly
walls well-designed

Building materials (6 words/phrases) Aesthetic perception (how we feel about a building) (6

Concrete, words/phrases)
Stone, Controversial,
Steel Elegant,
, Timber, An eyesore,
Reinforce concrete, pleasing geometric forms,
glass ugly,
well-designed

Architecture style (4 words/phrases) Types of building (6 words/phrases)

art deco, high-rise apartments,
international style, low-rise apartments,
modernist, p multi-Storey car park,
ost-modern, skyscraper
standardized,
traditional

Parts of a building (4 words/phrases) Features (that make the building easy to live or work in)
Foundations, energy-efficient,
Walls, functional,
Porch, high-tech,
facade practical

2. Complete these sentences with an appropriate word or phrase from A, B, C.

1. The building is ......................... It's been ruined and abandoned for years.
A. destabilised B. derelict C. defunct
2. She lives on a large housing ......................... near the centre of the city.
A. estate B. state C. estuary
3. There are several run-down districts inside the city where the housing is in a bad state, although most of
these ....................... are going to be replaced by high-rise apartments.
A. slumps B. scrums C. slums
4. The city council are going to ....................... .the old church and built a new one in its place.
A. demobilise B. demote C. demolish
5. You can't knock down that house; there's a ................. order on it which makes it illegal to destroy it.
A. preservation B. preservative C. presentable
6. Sir Richard Rogers is the .............................. who designed the Lloyds building in London.
A. architect B. architecture C. architectural
7. Some of the problems in our .............................................. are drug related.
A. inter-cities B. internal cities C. inner cities
8. The council hope to reduce crime in the t o w n by introducing new ........................................................ facilities so
that people have something to do in the evening.
A. sociable B. socialist C. social
9. Th e cinema is going to be closed for two months while the owners ............................it.
A. renovate B. remonstrate C. reiterate
10. If you want to add an extension to your house, you will need ................... permission from your local council.
A. planning B. construction C. plotting
11. In the US, the ground floor is called t h e ........................................................ floor.
A. basement B. first C. bottom
12. One way of creating more space in a house is to convert the ....................... int o an extra room.
A. attic B. ceiling C. roof
3. Complete this report with words and phrases from Exercises 1 and 2. In some cases, more than one answer is
possible, and you will need to change the form of one of the words.
Report from the director of the West Twyford Town Planning Committee
The last year has been a busy one for the West Twyford Town Planning Committee. Outlined below are a few of the
areas we have concentrated on.
1. Applications for 1...PLANNING...... permission from home owners who want to develop their properties have
increased by 50 per cent. However, m any of these homes are historic buildings and have 2.....PRESERVATION.....
orders which prevent the m from being altered externally. At present, we can only allow owners to 3...RENOVATE.....
the inside of their homes (including installing central heating and improved wall insulation).
2. Last summer we invited several 4 .....ARCHITECTS.......to design plans for the new council offices on Peach Street.
We eventually chose Barnard, Jackson and Willis, a local company. It was generally agreed that their design, which
included a grey tinted 5........GLASS.......... 6 at the front of the building, was the most aesthetically pleasing. They are
currently in the process of laying the 7.............FOUNDATIONS............for the new building, which we understand is
taking some time as the land must be drained first.
3. In response t o a lot of complaints about the lack of 8 ......SOCIAL...... facilities in the town, it was agreed at last
month's meeting that funds should be set aside for the construction of a new sports centre and youth club.
4. Several 9 ...........DERELICT............. buildings which have been ruined and abandoned f or over five years are to be
knocked down. In their place, a new housing 10.............ESTATE.......... will be built. This will provide 20 new homes
within the next two years.
5. Everybody agrees that the new shops on the High Street are 11.....AN EYESORE.......It is certainly true that they are
very ugly and out of keeping with the other buildings on the street. In future, we must ensure that all new buildings
are built in a 12..........TRADITIONAL.......... style so that they fit in with the older buildings around them.
6. There has been an increased crime rate in the 13............SLUMS.......... to the east of the town . We plan to
demolish these run -down areas within the next eight years and re-house the residents in new
14........................HIGH-RISE........apartments in the Berkely Heat h district. In an attempt to help the environment,
we are going to make the town hall more 15.............ENERGY-EFFICIENT............. Windows will be double-glazed,
walls and ceilings will be insulated and we will replace the current central heating system.
The arts
1 Look at the extracts from newspaper reviews, and decide w h a t is being talked about in each one. Choose your
answers from the box.
Fine / Visual arts
abstract art a landscape photography a portrait a sculpture
a still life
Literature an autobiography a biography a collection of short stories drama
a novel poetry
Performing arts
a ballet a concert a film a modern dance piece
a musical an opera a play
1. Mimi Latouche is getting a little too old for this kind of thing, and as I watched her pirouette across the stage in a
tutu two sizes too small, she reminded me not so much of a swan as a rat her ungainly
crow. ........................................
2. The scenery was wonderful. Th e costumes w ere marvellous. Th e cast w ere incredible. I wish I could say t he
same about the script. The playwright should be shot .......................................
3. In his new book on Ernest Hemingway, acclaimed writer Michael Norris has brought the great man to life in a way
nobody else could.......................................
4. Move over Michelangelo! You have a rival. Vittorio Manelleto's marble pieces embody the hum an form in a way
that has not been achieved in over 500 years.......................................
5. I had to study the picture for almost two minutes before I realised who it was. It was none other than our Queen. I
doubt she would have been amused.......................................
6. Th e re are no great tenors in Britain. That is until now. Brian Clack's performance in La Traviatta sent shudders
down my spine. What a man! What a voice! What a size! ...................................
7. Herbert von Erding has been conducting now for almost 40 years, and his final appearance yesterday was greet ed
w it h a standing ovation from both musicians and members of the audience.
8. Stone Angel is an hilarious tale about the fall and rise of an opera singer. I picked it up and didn't put it down until
I had finished. A fantastic book ........................................
9. Dylan Thom as showed remarkable eloquence, and this latest compilation of some of his finest prose will surely be
a bestseller. ...................................
10. Bruschetta's studies of dead animals might not be to everyone's taste, but it is impossible to deny his skill in
representing inanimate objects like these on canvas.......................................
11. He usually work s in black and w hit e, and in my opinion that's the medium he should stick to. His colour shots
are too static and are heavily over-filtered, the strong lighting washes out any subtlety, and much of it is out of
focus.......................................
12. Shot entirely on location in Iran, this is perhaps the director's finest hour. A stunning setting, fine performances
from the leads, and a cast of thousands of extras make this a truly visual feast.
13. The painting shows a lot of red circles and triangles inside squares floating in the sky above a yellow sea, and is
titled 'Contractual Obligation Metamorphosis'.........................................
14. 'Dawn View of London' takes in the whole of the city as seen from the top of Parliament Hill, although the artist
has removed some of the less attractive buildings from the foreground.
2 The words in bold in these sentences are either wrong, or the wrong word form has been used. Change them so
that they are correct.
1. Tonight's perform of Romeo and Juliet begins at 7.30. performance
2. Camford University Press have just released a collection of Shakespeare's workings...................................
3. A new limited editor of the CD 'Here we go !' by rock gro u p Glass Weasel contains a DVD of their latest
tour. ...................................
4. His last book received some excellent revues in the papers........................................
5. Tate Modern is currently running an exhibit of Tracey Emin's early work ........................................
6. The British National Opera says that it is delighted with the government's promise of a £500,000
granting. ......................................
7. Tickets have already sold out for the first day's showing of Tom Cartmill's paintings at the National Art Galley.
.....................................
8. Ernest Hemingway was one of the twentieth century's most famous novels.....................................
9. French impressionism, which included Money, Manet and Degas, had a profound influence on nineteenth-century
art ........................................
10. Apparently, Oldhaven Press are going to publication a collection of short stories written by
schoolchildren. ........................................
11. I loved the film's atmosphere music and use of visual metaphor. ...................................
12. I've always had an arty eye, and think I would make a good fashion photographer. ...................................
13. I hate reality shows, talent shows and similar television programmes that form the bulk of today's popularity
culture........................................
14. Orson Welles' film Citizen Kane was made over 70 years ago, but remains a cinema masterpiece……………………..
15. Andre Breton is widely regarded as the founder of the surreal art movement ........................................
16. The college runs a varied programme of cultured activities which are open to ordinary members of the
public.......................................
3 Complete this extract f rom a radio programme w it h the words or phrases f rom Exercises 1 and 2. In some
cases, more than one answer is possible, and you will need t o change some of the w o rd forms.
Hello, and welcome to today's edit ion of 'But is it Art?' Now, I don't usually enjoy 1.............................. - all those
pirouettes and pas de deux's and dying swans usually send me to sleep, but last night's 2 ................................. of
Sleeping Beauty at Nureyev Hall had me on the edge of my seat. And I'm not the only one: rave 3…………………………..
in the national press praised the excellent choreography and the incredible stage set. It's on again tonight , but you'll
have to move fast if you want a ticket!
The current 4 ....................................... of Monetto's paintings at the Wheatley Art 5...................................... has been
a disappointment. The pictures themselves are excellent, especially the great artist's 6.................................... of film
stars, and of course his stunning 7..................................... of a vase of daffodils, but the lighting inside the room was
terrible. I would have thought that , having received a government 8 .............................................................of almost
£100,000, the Wheat ley Art s Council could have invested it in some good lights.
Fans of the great twentieth-century 9.............................................................. George Orwell will be delighted to hear
that Swansong Press are going to release a collection of his greatest 10............................................................ which
will of course include Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty Four. Also included are some rare short stories which w ere
not 11.............................................................. until after his death. Look out for the book, which will be in the shops
from the end of the month.
On the subject of books, a new 12............................................................. of the life of conduct or Charles
Worsenmost is due to be released in January. Worsenmost conducted his last 3............................................ in 1998
after a long and eventful career. This is highly recommended for anyone who is remotely interested in classical
music.
Have you ever wanted to be an 14.............................................................singer? Well, now's your chance! The
National Music Company are looking for tenors and sopranos to audition for a new production of Mozart's Marriage
of Figaro. If you're interested, we'll give you the number to call at the end of the programme.
Potential Michelangelos and Henry Moores can try their hand at 15............................................................. this
weekend. The Gleneagles Museum is holding a series of workshops which will give you the chance to chip away at a
lump of stone to produce a piece of three-dimensional art. There's no need to book - just turn up at the door on
Saturday at nine o'clock.