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A. A dishonest craftsman

B. Would Mona Lisa pass a scientific test?

C. A mysterious theft

D. A successful conspiracy – a fake Mona Lisa?

E. Are all the da Vincis by da Vinci?

F. An international conspiracy

G. The Mona Lisa comes home

1. The paintings of renaissance scientist, inventor and musician Leonardo da Vinci have always attracted controversy. Only 14 works have ever been attributed to him and experts have questioned the authenticity of several. Not even such a famous painting as the Mona Lisa is above suspicion. It is neither signed nor dated and no record of subsequent payment to Leonardo has been found.
2. The painting, believed to be a portrait of the wife of a Florentine merchant, is dated at about 1502. It has been on public display in the Louvre since 1804. Now housed in a bullet-proof glass case, it has always been surrounded by tight security. Even so, on 24 August 1911, it was stolen. Initial leads came to nothing and no clues to the thief’s motives or the whereabouts of the picture materialized for fifteen months. At one point Picasso, then relatively unknown, came under suspicion, but there was no evidence to suggest that he did anything more serious than “borrow” some neglected tribal pieces from the museum.
3. In November 1913, Florentine art dealer Alfredo Geri received a letter from someone claiming they had the Mona Lisa. The writer of the letter was prepared to sell it back to Italy for 500,000 lire. Geri contacted the director of the Uffizi museum in Florence, who arranged a meeting with the person turned out to be an Italian carpenter, Vincenzo Peruggia, who had been commissioned by the Louvre to make the painting’s protective wooden box. He had been able to steal the famous work of art because he knew the museum’s routine very well. The Mona Lisa he produced was proclaimed genuine by the Uffizi and sent back to Paris. The big question was why did Peruggia wait so long before trying to sell the painting?

4. One explanation is that he was an accomplice of the international criminal Marques de Valfierno, who had copies made of the Mona Lisa while it was still in the Louvre. Once the theft was announced, Valfierno went to America where he sold “the original Mona Lisa” six times over to wealthy collectors for two million dollars. Peruggia was left with the original painting and realizing that Valfierno was never going to contact him again, attempted to make some money by selling it. As for the American collectors, they couldn’t complain for fear of revealing their involvement in the crime. Intriguingly a number of “original Mona Lisas” have since turned up in America.
5. But there is another theory. Shortly after the theft, Parisian art dealer Eduard Jonas claimed he was in possession of the original Mona Lisa. He subsequently changed his story under threat of being charged with its theft and declared it a fake. Later, however, a British conman, Jack Dean, insisted that he had helped Peruggia steal the painting, but substituted a copy for the original before Peruggia took it to Italy. Dean claimed to have sold the original to a Paris art dealer. If Dean’s story is true, and the Jonas incident gives it some support, then the painting now in the Louvre, surrounded by impregnable security systems and seen by thousands of visitors a day, is a forgery.
6. So, is there any way of knowing for certain? It would seem that there is. A method known as “neutron activation analysis” has been used on a number of occasions to establish the authenticity of works of art. It involves bombarding the painting with neutrons so as to identify chemical elements in the paint. It can used to determine exactly when a painting was produced since chemical elements in even tiny traces of paint vary according to the period of painting. If the directors of the Louvre chose to, they could put the painting’s neutrons to the test and perhaps the real Mona Lisa would at least stand up.

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READING 2: Прочитайте текст и заполните пропуски 1-6 частями A-G. Одна из частей A-G лишняя. Занесите ответы в таблицу.
Pictures at the exhibition

There is a tendency to think of each of the arts 1________________________. Many artists, however, would testify to the fact that there has always been a warm relationship between the various spheres of human activity. For example, in the late nineteenth century the connection between music and painting were particularly close. Artists were commissioned to design costumes and sets for operas and ballet, but sometimes it was the musicians 2 ____________________. Of the musical compositions 3 __________________, perhaps the most famous is Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Mussorgsky composed the piece in 1874 after the death, at the age of 39, of the artist Victor Hartmann. 4.

__________________, Mussorgsky was shattered by Hartmann’s untimely death. The following year a critic, Vladimir Stasov, decided to hold an exhibition of Hartmann’s work. He suggested that Mussorgsky try to soothe his grief by writing something to commemorate Hartmann’s life and work. The exhibition served as Mussorgsky’s inspiration. The ten pieces that make up Pictures at an Exhibition are intended as symbols 5 ____________________. Between each is a promenade, as the composer walks from one painting to another. The music is sometimes witty and playful, sometimes almost alarming and frightening, but always spellbinding. Through a range of startling contrasts, Mussorgsky managed to convey the spirit of the artist and his work. 6. _______________________, the composer Ravel, who had already managed to carry off successful adaptation of many works for solo instruments, wrote an orchestral version of Pictures at an exhibition in 1922.
A. rather than representations of the paintings in the exhibition

B. although it was originally intended as a series of pieces for solo piano

C. as a separate area of activity

D. as they were close to each other in arts

E. though their friendship had not been a particularly long-standing one

F. that were conceived as responses to the visual arts

G. who were inspired by the work of contemporary painters

READING 3: Прочитайте текст и выполните задания А1-А6, обводя варианты 1,2,3,4 в соответствии со своим выбором.

Graffiti – a dangerous way of life.

Scrawling graffiti is seen as a crime in the UK, yet in the US it has become a recognized art form.

Just a few weeks ago eight graffiti gang members were convicted of causing 5000 pounds worth of damage on the London Underground. They are among more than 70 hard-core graffiti artists thought to be operating in London today. Most are aged under 20.

Graffiti artists, or “graffers”, operate in many British towns. They often work at night, covering walls, trains and railway stations with brightly painted murals or scrawls in spray paint and marker pen.

Some people regard graffiti as a form of vandalism and a menace. London Underground says that railusers find it ugly and offensive. It spends 2 million pounds a year dealing with graffiti, it has even introduced trains with graffiti-resistant paint. “We don’t think it’s artistic or creative – it’s vandalism. It’s a huge nuisance to our customers, and it’s ugly and offensive.” Says Serena Holley, a spokeswoman for the London Underground. “It creates a sense of anarchy and chaos,” says Richard Mandel, a barrister who prosecuted the graffiti gang. “Passengers feel as if the whole rail system is out of control.”

British Transport Police has a graffiti unit designed to catch graffers in the act. It spent five months tracking down the recently prosecuted gang. Graffiti art can also be a dangerous pastime. The London Underground says that some teenagers have died in accidents during nocturnal graffiti “raids”.

However, others say that graffiti is an art form. Art galleries in London and New York have exhibited work by increasingly famous graffiti artists. “Of course graffiti is art. There’s no question about that,” says David Grob, director of the Grob Gallery in London. Even some of those who think graffiti is wrong admit that graffers are talented. “It’s just that their artistic talent is channeled in the wrong direction,” says Barry Kogan, a barrister who represented Declan Rooney, one of the gang members.

There is a difference between “good graffiti” and vandalism,” says Dean Colmann, a 24-year-old graffiti artist. “I’d never spray private property, like someone’s house. Some graffiti are disgusting. There’s a big difference between that and graffiti which can brighten up grey walls.”

Dean makes a living as a graffiti artist. His days of illegal spraying are behind him, he says. He has worked on a television programme about graffiti, designed a series of government posters, and decorated nightclubs. He has exhibited his work at Battersea Arts Centre in London, and he has taught graffiti-spraying in youth clubs.

Dean sees himself as an artist, and thinks that graffiti art does not get due recognition. “There’s no graffiti art in the Tate Gallery and there should be,” he says. “Graffiti is a valid as any other art form.”

A1 The graffiti artists arrested recently in London were

1. put in prison.

2. fined 5 000 pounds.

3. wrongly accused.

4. found guilty.
A2 The attitude of London Underground is that graffiti

1. is a kind of art, but a problem because some passengers don’t like it.

2. is something to be stopped at all cost.

3. is irritating but they have more serious problems to worry about.

4. is causing the price of tickets to go up and therefore needs to be stopped.
A3 The British Transport Police

1. have killed some “graffers” by accident.

2. spent a lot of time trying to catch a group of graffiti artists.

3. have recently criticized the behavior of the London Underground.

4. don’t know what to do about the problem.
A4 Bary Kogan, who defended one of the convinced graffiti artists, thinks they

1. should show their work in art galleries.

2. should not have been convicted.

3. should use their abilities in different ways.

4. should be more careful when working in the Underground.
A5 Dean Colman

1. has never broken the law.

2. is concerned about how little he earns from his work with graffiti.

3. would like to see graffiti taken more seriously by the art world.

4. is worried about young people taking up graffiti-spraying.
A6 The writer

1. is for people who draw graffiti.

2. is against people who draw graffiti.

3. points his opinion quite unclearly.

4. supports the attitude of the London Underground towards graffers.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY

Read the text and fill in the gaps with the correct words.
How was Jackson going to (1) ^{rid of Simon? That was the question that had kept} him awake for the previous three nights, and which he pondered as he now walked home from work. It had all started so innocently, as a favour to a friend.

'Could you put me (2) _________________, Jackson?' Simon had asked. 'Just for a couple of nights.' Jackson of course had said yes, thinking that it would be just for two nights. How wrong he had been.

Now, more than four months on, Simon was still in the flat and there seemed little evidence to suggest he was (3) _______________ to leave. The evidence, in fact, pointed to quite the opposite conclusion. Simon seemed to have (4) __________________ in so comfortably, Jackson wondered sometimes if it was actually Simon's flat, and he, Jackson was the one staying there as the guest.

Jackson knew he should (5) ___________________ his feelings clear to Simon - that he valued his own privacy, that he didn't want to live with someone else on a permanent basis, that he felt Simon was abusing his hospitality- but the truth was he was scared. Not scared of how Simon would react physically, but scared that Simon would take offence, and would (6) _________________ him of being selfish and not caring about a friend who was in trouble. And Simon was in trouble. With no job, no money and nowhere else to stay, where would Simon go if Jackson (7) __________________ him out?

'Maybe I am being selfish, Jackson thought, 'but the situation just can't go on like this.'

He made the decision to bring the subject up sometime that evening. 'I won't ask him to leave immediately,' he reasoned. 'That would be unfair, and would put him in a difficult (8) ____________________. But I'll explain that the whole arrangement was mean t to be temporary, has gone on for a very long time now, and that, while it's been nice having Simon as a flatmate, it just can't go on indefinitely.' _{For the rest of the walk home, he rehearsed exactly what he was going to say.}

1 2	1) have 1) in	2) get 2) out	3) take 3) over	4) set 4) up
3	1) intending	2) assuming	3) devising	4) conceiving
4	1) settled	2) established	3) launched	4) relaxed
5 6 7 8	1) convey 1) charge 1) let 1) location	2) express 2) condemn 2) sent 2) position	3) make 3) blame 3) threw 3) point	4) tell 4) accuse 4) did 4) site