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TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN EXERCISES
Unit 1
It is almost impossible to write of the Arts in Australia
without mentioning the building that
first put Australia firmly on the world cultural map-the Sydney
Opera House. Completed in 1973
after 14 years of much heated discussion and at a cost of over $85
million, it is not only the most
well-known Australian building in the world but perhaps the most
famous design of any modern
building anywhere.
Its distinctive and highly original shape has been likened to
everything from the sails of a
sailing ship to broken eggshells, but few would argue with the claim
that the Opera House is a
major contribution to world architecture. Set amidst the graceful
splendour of Sydney Harbour,
presiding like a queen over the bustle and brashness of a modern
city striving to forge a financial
reputation in a tough commercial world, it is a reminder to all
Australians of their deep and
abiding love of all things cultural.
The Opera House was designed not by an Australian but by a
celebrated Danish architect, Jorn
Utzon, whose design won an international competition in the late
1950s. However, it was not, in
fact, completed to his original specifications. Plans for much of
the intended interior design of the
building have only recently been discovered. Sadly, the State
Government of the day interfered
with Utzon's plans because of concerns about the escalating cost,
though this was hardly
surprising - the building was originally expected to cost only $8
million. Utzon left the country
before completing the project and in a fit of anger vowed never to
return. The project was
eventually paid for by a State-run lottery.
The size of the interior of the building was scaled down
appreciably by a team of architects
whose job it was to finish construction within a restricted budget.
Rehearsal rooms and other
facilities for the various theatres within the complex were either
made considerably smaller or cut
out altogether, and some artists have complained bitterly about them
ever since. But despite the
controversy that surrounded its birth, the Opera House has risen
above the petty squabbling and is
now rightfully hailed as a modern architectural masterpiece. The
Queen officially opened the
building in 1975 and since then, within its curved and twisted
walls, audiences of all nationalities
have been quick to acclaim the many world-class performances of
stars from the Australian opera,
ballet and theatre.
a. The building is possibly the most famous of its type in the
world.
b. The Opera House drew world attention to the Arts in Australia.
c. Utzon designed the roof to look like the sails of a sailing ship.
d. A few people claim that it is a major architectural work.
e. According to the author, Sydney is a quiet and graceful city.
f. The cost of construction went more than $75 million over budget.
g. Utzon never returned to Australia to see the completed building.
h. There is only one theatre within the complex.
i. The Government was concerned about some artists' complaints.
j. Australian artists give better performances in the Opera House.
answer:
a.T b.T c.NG d.F e.F f. F g..NG h.F i.NG j.NG
Unit 2
When was the last time you saw a frog? Chances are, if you
live in a city, you have not seen con
for some time. Even in wet areas once teeming with frogs and toads,
it is becoming less and less
easy to find those slimy, hopping and sometimes poisonous members of
the animal kingdom. All
over the world, and even in remote parts of Australia, frogs are
losing the ecological battle for
survival, and biologists are at a loss to explain their demise. Are
amphibians simply over-sensitive
to changes in the ecosystem? Could it be that their rapid decline in
numbers is signaling some
coming environmental disaster for us all?
This frightening scenario is in part the consequence of a
dramatic increase over the last quarter
century in the development of once natural areas of wet marshland;
home not only to frogs but to
all manner of wildlife. However, as yet, there are no obvious
reasons why certain frog species are
disappearing from rainforests in Australia that have barely been
touched by human band. The
mystery is unsettling to say the least, for it is known that
amphibian species are extremely
sensitive to environmental variations in temperature and moisture
levels. The danger is that planet
Earth might not only lose a vital link in the ecological food chain
(frogs keep populations of
otherwise pestilent insects at manageable levels), but we might be
increasing our output of air
pollutants to levels that may have already become irreversible.
Frogs could be inadvertently
warning us of a catastrophe.
An example of a species of frog that, as far as is known, has
become extinct, is the platypus frog.
Like the well-known Australian mammal it was named after, it
exhibited some very strange
behaviour; instead of giving birth to tadpoles in the water, it
raised its young within its stomach.
The baby frogs were actually born from out of their mother's mouth.
Discovered in 1981, less than
ten years later the frog had completely vanished from the crystal
clear waters of Booloumba Creek
near Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Unfortunately, this freak of
nature is not the only frog species
to have been lost in Australia. Since the 1970's, no less than eight
others have suffered the same
fate.
One theory that seems to fit the facts concerns the depletion
of the ozone layer, a
will-documented phenomenon which has led to a sharp increase in
ultraviolet radiation levels. The
ozone layer is meant to shield the Earth from UV rays, but increased
radiation may be having a
greater effect upon frog populations than previously believed.
Another theory is that worldwide
temperature increases are upsetting the breeding cycles of frogs.
a. Frogs are disappearing only from city areas.
b. Frogs and toads are usually poisonous.
c. Biologists are unable to explain why frogs are dying.
d. The frogs 'natural habitat is becoming more and more developed.
e. Attempts are being made to halt the development of wet marshland.
f. Frogs are important in the ecosystem because they control pests.
g. Frogs usually give birth to their young in an underwater nest.
h. Frogs usually give birth to their young in an underwater nest.
i. Eight frog species have become extinct so far in Australia.
j. There is convincing evidence that the ozone layer is being
depleted.
k. It is a fact that frogs' breeding cycles are upset by worldwide
increases in temperature.
answer:
a.F b. F c.T d..T e. NG f.T g.T h.NG i.F j.T k.F
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