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Unit 22: Quality and the arts

Từ vựng Full interactive lesson rebuilt from the source PDF, including the complete reference section, vocabulary development, idioms, word formation and all exercises from A to M.

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Chủ đề: Chất lượng (Quality)

Bài luyện các động từ chỉ cải thiện và làm xấu đi, chú ý khác biệt tinh tế: streamline = tinh gọn quy trình, enhance = nâng cao trải nghiệm, refurbish/renovate = tu sửa, better/surpass = vượt kỷ lục; ngược lại exacerbate/aggravate = làm trầm trọng thêm, contaminate = làm nhiễm bẩn, cheapen = làm mất giá trị, decline/worsen = suy giảm.

Tính từ đánh giá chất lượng

Nhóm tích cực: exquisite (tinh xảo), invaluable (vô giá), first-rate (hạng nhất), sound (hợp lý), optimum/ideal/prime (tối ưu). Nhóm tiêu cực: shoddy (làm ẩu), defective (lỗi), detrimental (có hại), inadequate (không đạt), stale (cũ, ôi), rotten (thối).

Từ vựng nghệ thuật (The arts)

Các từ chỉ giới nghệ thuật: bestseller (sách bán chạy), paperback (bìa mềm), exhibition (triển lãm), curator (giám tuyển), auction (đấu giá), portrait/sculpture/antique, score (nhạc nền phim), lines/lyrics (lời thoại/lời bài hát).

Phrasal verbs & word formation

Cụm động từ hay gặp: brush up (on) (ôn lại), write off (thanh lý), stand out (nổi bật), pick up (chỉnh sửa/khá lên), do up (tân trang), liven up (sôi động lên). Ở phần word formation, luyện chuyển đổi gốc từ: CLASS→classics, IMITATE→inimitable, DESTROY→destruction, IMPRESS→impressionable, PERFECT→perfectionist.

Thành ngữ (idioms)

Học nghĩa cả cụm: a sight for sore eyes (người/vật khiến ta mừng khi thấy), Achilles' heel (điểm yếu chí tử), steal the show (chiếm trọn sự chú ý), draw the line at (không chấp nhận vượt quá), over the top (quá lố), add fuel to the fire (đổ thêm dầu vào lửa), clean as a whistle (sạch bong).

Tổng điểm: 0/148

Topic vocabulary: Quality

aggravate (v)
better (v)
blemish (n)
chaos (n)
cheapen (v)
contaminate (v)
decay (v)
decline (v)
defective (adj)
detrimental (adj)
devastate (v)
enhance (v)
evaluate (v)
exacerbate (v)
exquisite (adj)
first-rate (adj)
flaw (n)
ideal (adj)
inadequate (adj)
invaluable (adj)
optimum (n, adj)
outclass (v)
prime (adj)
redeeming feature (n phr)
refurbish (v)
reinforce (v)
renovate (v)
rotten (adj)
rusty (adj)
satisfactory (adj)
shambles (n)
shoddy (adj)
sound (adj)
stale (adj)
streamline (v)
strengthen (v)
surpass (v)
ultimate (adj)
worsen (v)
wreck (v, n)

Topic vocabulary: The arts

abstract (n, adj)
auction (n)
audition (n)
bestseller (n)
collector's item (n phr)
curator (n)
fine art (n phr)
installation (n)
lines (n pl)
lyrics (n pl)
masterpiece (n)
paperback (n)
period (n, adj)
priceless (adj)
recital (n)
retrospective (n, adj)
score (n)
sketch (v, n)
work of art (n phr)
worthless (adj)

Phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning
brighten up	start to have more colour or light; give something more colour or light; start looking or feeling happier; if the weather brightens up, it becomes sunnier
brush up (on)	practise and improve your skills or knowledge of something
check out	examine someone or something in order to be certain that everything is correct, true or satisfactory; if information checks out, you feel that it is true after examining it
liven up	make something more interesting or exciting, or become more interesting or exciting; give something a more interesting appearance, state or other quality
make over	change or improve the appearance of someone or something; makeover (n)
mess up	make a mistake or do something badly; make something dirty or untidy; be the cause of someone's physical, emotional or mental problems
paper over	hide a problem or disagreement rather than finding a satisfactory solution to it
patch up	repair something, often quickly and not very well; become friends with someone again after a disagreement; give basic medical treatment to someone who is injured
pick up	improve
run down	if an organisation or area is run down, its size, importance and activity is reduced
scrape through	succeed in doing something, but not in a very impressive way
smarten up	improve the appearance of something, for example by cleaning or painting it; if you smarten up or smarten yourself up, you make yourself look tidy and clean
stand out	be much more impressive or important than others; be easy to see or notice because of being different
touch up	make a surface look better with small improvements
waste away	gradually become thinner and weaker over a period of time, usually because of an illness
write off	damage a vehicle so badly that it is not worth repairing; decide that someone or something will not succeed and stop giving them your attention and energy

Phrases, patterns and collocations

art have/get sth down to a fine art, art of doing, art to doing, art deco, art form, art gallery, art house

best make the best of, do your best, (all) for the best, at best, at your best, to the best of my knowledge, to the best of sb's ability, the best of both worlds, best friend

bad bad, go from bad to worse, feel bad (about), bad for, bad at (doing), in a bad way, bad faith, bad apple, bad blood

bottom come bottom, get to the bottom of, the bottom drops/falls out of, at the bottom of, from the bottom of my heart, bottom line

clean give sb a (good) clean, make a clean break, make a clean breast of, clean and tidy, a clean bill of health, a clean slate/sheet, clean sweep

nice nice of sb (to do), nice for sb (to do), nice to sb, nice to meet/see sb, nice and warm/comfortable/clean, nice as pie, nice one

clear make/get sth clear, make yourself clear, have a clear conscience, clear in your mind (about), clear as a bell, clear as mud, clear case (of), clear evidence/indication

old get/be/grow old, poor old, old age, old flame, old folk(s), old gold, old hat, old people's home, the Old Testament

dirty do the dirty on, do sb's dirty work, get your hands dirty, give sb a dirty look, dirty word, dirty tricks

quality high/good/top quality, poor/bad/low quality, personal qualities, leadership qualities, quality control, quality of life, quality time

fine cut it fine, fine by sb, fine details/points, fine line between, with a fine-toothed comb, fine print

style style sth/yourself as, style of, in style, out of style, with style

fresh fresh from, fresh out of, fresh-faced, freshwater, fresh start, fresh air

top come out on top, sth gets on top of you, at the top of, on top (of), off the top of your head, on top of the world, top prize, top priority, top secret

new new to, brand new, whole new, good as new, new-look, new age

worse / worst get worse, make matters worse, take a turn for the worse, worse for wear; do your worst, fear the worst, be your own worst enemy, if the worst comes to the worst, at worst, the worst of all/both worlds

Idioms

Idiom	Meaning
a sight for sore eyes	someone or something that you are very pleased to see
Achilles' heel	a weak feature of someone or something that could cause failure or be attacked
add fuel to the fire	make a bad situation worse
below / under par	below the usual or expected standard
clean as a whistle	completely honest or legal; extremely clean
draw the line (at)	say that you will definitely not allow or accept something
last word in	the newest and best type of something
out of this world	extremely good or impressive
over the top	more than what is considered normal or suitable
pride of place	in the place that is most central or important
steal the show	receive a lot of attention because you give the best performance in a show or other event
the edge over	an advantage that makes someone or something more successful than other people or things

Word formation

Base word	Word family
adequate	inadequacy, inadequate, (in)adequately
admire	admiration, admirer, admirable, admirably
art	arts, artfulness, artificiality, artist, artiste, artistry, artlessness, artwork, artifact/artefact, artistic, artfully, artlessly, artificially
awe	awfulness, awesomeness, awestruck, awfully, awesome(ly)
class	outclass, de/classify, classics, classified, classification, classlessness, classmate, classroom, classwork, classic, classy, classless, declassified, classically
collect	collector, collection, collectable, collected, collectively
destroy	destroyer, destruction, indestructible, destructively
good	goods, goodness, goodwill, goody/goodie
ideal	idealise, idealism, idealisation, idealist, idealistic, idealised, ideally
imitate	imitation, imitator, imitative, inimitable
impress	impression, impressionism, impressionist, impressionable, impressionistic, (un)impressed, (un)impressively
improve	improvement, improvable, improved
match	matchmaker, matching, matchstick, matchwood, matchbox, unmatched, matchless
perfect	imperfection, perfection, perfectionism, perfectible, imperfect(ly)
quality	qualitative(ly)
strong	strengthen, strength, stronghold, strongly
terror	terrorise, terrify, terrorist, terrorism, terrible, terrific, terrifying, terrified, terribly
use	abuse, misuse, reuse, overuse, (ab)user, usefulness, usage, uselessness, (un)used, (un)usable, reusable, abused, abusively, usefully
value	revalue, overvalue, evaluate, re/evaluation, evaluation, overvaluation, valuer, valuables, (in)valuable, valueless
worth	worthlessness, worthy, worthless, worthwhile

CTopic vocabulary: The arts Write a word from the boxes in each gap.

bestsellerpaperbacklineslyricsrecitalscorecuratorretrospectivepricelessworthlessjobsworks

I haven't read Susan Bashworth's latest set but I've heard it's very good. It became a (1) within weeks of being published.

I'm actually waiting for it to come out in (2) before I get it.

I've learnt all my (3) for the play, which was easy, but we have to sing a song at the end and I'm just no good at remembering (4) ...

(4)

The school orchestra's giving a (5) tonight which sounds quite interesting.

They've got a guest conductor who's quite famous. Apparently, he's written the (6) for a number of movies.

We went to that (7) of Lewis' paintings at the Granchester Museum last week.

It was very good. We got chatting to the (8) , who told us a very interesting story about one picture ...

He told us that someone had found it in their attic, thought it was (9) and so gave it to a neighbour.

In fact, it turned out to be (10) !

One of the (11) I'd love to do is restoring damaged or faded (12) ... of art.

(12) of art. It must be really satisfying seeing an old painting come to life again.

DTopic vocabulary: The arts Complete using the words in the box in the correct form. There is one word you will not need.

abstractauctionauditionfineinstallationitemmasterpieceperiodsketch

An alternative to galleries
When most of us think of works of art, we tend to think of pieces in galleries, whether they be famous (1) such as da Vinci's Mona Lisa hanging on the wall, or bizarre (2) ...

(2) (such as a pile of bricks with a red shoe on top).

Certainly, galleries are one of the main ways in which people can view art. Another way is to go to a/an (3) . You don't have to be rich to attend, usually free, although if you're going to bid for a Van Gogh, you'd better take your bank details with you.

They're actually a great way to learn about art, because the catalogue gives detailed information about each piece, and there's often more variety than in a gallery. On any one day, there may be (4) in pencil (artists generally do these before painting the actual picture), (5) ... art (which includes sculptures and ceramics as well as paintings), collector's (6) ... (anything from broomsticks to postcards), (7) ... paintings (the catalogue will help you work out what the artist was trying to express) and even (8) ... furniture.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

EPhrasal verbs Write one word in each gap so the second sentence has a similar meaning to the first sentence.

You'll have to _________ up on your general knowledge before you go on that quiz show.

The car was so badly damaged it had to be _________ off.

One of the poems is particularly _________ out due to its interesting use of imagery.

If attendance doesn't improve soon, the play will probably have to close. If attendance doesn't _________ up soon, the play will probably have to close.

I've heard a new gallery has opened in St Ives, so I'm going to _________ it out.

Susan only just passed her history of art course. Susan _________ through her history of art course.

The photo's got a couple of marks on it, so I'll scan it and _________ it up with some software I've got.

On the show today, we're going to completely _________ over the Simpsons' spare bedroom.

FPhrasal verbs If a word is in the wrong sentence, write the correct word on the line. If it is correct, put a tick.

1. The party was a bit boring to start with but everyone livened up when Rod got out his guitar.

2. I'm not very pleased with this drawing actually as I think I've papered up the perspective a little.

3. I've only wasted this up for now. I won't be able to fix it properly until we get home.

4. Julie and Simone have messed over their differences over getting their business set up, but I'm sure they'll start arguing again pretty soon.

5. The Prime Minister responded that it was the previous administration which had patched the film industry down.

6. Luckily, the weather brightened up in the afternoon so we were able to hold the reception outside after all.

7. As kids, we always ran ourselves up when our grandparents came to visit.

8. The holiday at the health farm was awful. They only gave us a few vegetables every evening. I almost smartened away.

HPhrases, patterns and collocations For each question, write one word which can be used in all three sentences.

1. The caterers didn't turn up and the guest of honour was late so we had to make the _________ of a rather disastrous situation.
I know you're not very keen on art, but just do your _________ in the exam.
I didn't get the job in the end, but it's probably for the _________.

2. I'm afraid we're _________ out of that CD.
As soon as I get out of prison, I'm determined to make a _________ start.
And now, _________ from their blockbuster tour of the USA, here's ... The Goldsmiths!

3. She wants to make a _________ break and leave the publishing industry completely.
The doctors have given me a completely _________ bill of health.
This term, you all start again with a _________ sheet, so I won't hold anything you did wrong last term against you.

4. Is long hair back in _________?
I actually don't know much about that _________ of architecture.
If I was a rock star, I'd make sure I was treated with _________ wherever I went.

5. I bumped into an _________ flame of mine in Woolworth's this morning.
Dave's an _________ hand when it comes to doing the carnival disco. He's been doing it for years.
I'm afraid we're going to have to consider putting Mum in an _________ people's home.

6. They think I'm stupid but I'm not going to let them get the _________ of me.
We could stay at a hotel near the festival or, _________ yet, camp in the grounds.
Yes, I'm certainly all the _________ for two weeks in the sun.

IWrite one word in each gap Complete the text.

Contemporary Art

There is a widely held view that artistic standards have got (1) over the last 100 years or so and that contemporary art is (2) a bad way, the clichéd response being 'my three-year-old child could have done better than that'. Yet many pieces sell for millions of dollars with the art world. How can we get to the (3) of this seeming contradiction?

Those who (4) contemporary art should be forgiven for this kind of response, but it is largely a matter of their ignorance rather than the reality. What needs to be (5) clear is that contemporary art is at the cutting edge; painting a lifelike picture of a racehorse is no longer an option for an artist attempting to break new ground. Were contemporary artists to produce pictures like this, we would actually have the (6) of all worlds, stagnant and backward-looking artistic tradition.

Having said that, some contemporary art is of poor (7) , but that's true of every art (8) at any point in history. We can only decide that novels are great, for example, by having mediocre bad novels to compare them to.

However, those (9) the top of the contemporary art world are producing innovative and challenging pieces. At (10) best, contemporary art is as exciting and productive as it's possible for art to be.

There is, of course, a (11) line between quality contemporary art and pseudo-art. Abstract pictures produced by cats, for example, have no real place in the contemporary art world. They merely relieve the gullible and the ignorant of their money.

JIdioms Complete using the words in the box.

edgefuelheellineparprideshowsighttopwhistlewordworld

Soccer Mazzo is undoubtedly the last _________ in online football simulation games at the moment.

The picture that takes _________ of place on our mantelpiece, though, is the one of our granddaughter graduating.

You're a _________ for sore eyes, Claire! Thank goodness you're here. We desperately need your input.

Jean Paul is clearly a very talented designer. His one Achilles' _________, however, may be his lack of business sense.

The buffet at the party was out of this _________. I've never tasted such exquisite strawberries.

Ann's new novel is slightly below _________ for a writer of his stature. I was a little disappointed.

All the bands were fantastic, but The Editors and Franz Ferdinand really stole the _________.

I'm happy to simplify things for the readers, but I draw the _________ at telling them blatant untruths.

I think the media's response has been a little over the _________. It's only a TV programme, after all.

Recent allegations in the press about price-fixing at the auction house have only added _________ to the fire regarding speculation about Dobbey's future.

I've spent the whole morning vacuuming the inside of the car. It's now clean as a _________.

The Gordon Gallery clearly has the _________ over other modern art galleries. They have the largest collection, and the largest budget to spend on acquiring new pieces.

KWord formation Use the word given in capitals to form a word that fits in the space.

Well, she did study _________ at Oxford, so it's hardly surprising she knows Latin and Ancient Greek. CLASS

The Pet Shop Boys' sound is _________ and unique. IMITATE

What this painting says to me is that we live in a world of _________ and despair. DESTROY

I've got enormous _________ for Ben; he's achieved such a lot in such a short space of time. ADMIRE

The main reason I believe children shouldn't be exposed to violence on TV is that they're so _________ at that age. IMPRESS

I'm a bit of a _________, so I can spend all day agonising over which choice of two words to use. PERFECT

Maybe I am an _________, but what's wrong with wanting every human being to have access to clean drinking water? IDEAL

I've read that many performers suffered feelings of _________ as children. ADEQUATE

I don't know how _________ it would be to get some of these old postcards valued. WORTH

We'll find out how much the jewellery's worth at the _________ next Thursday. VALUE

Now the government's _________ the papers, we can find out what really happened. CLASS

Being director of the National Gallery is an _________ responsibility but thankfully I have a number of highly experienced experts to help me. AWE

With her experience as both an actor and a director, Tabitha is a very _________ successor to Albert Weeks as Chairperson of the National Theatre. WORTH

There were some very interesting clay _________ dating from the third century BC at the museum. ART

Stage fright is an understatement! Performing on stage for the first time was the most _________ experience I've ever had. TERROR

Don't throw away consumer packaging. Most of it's _________ if you use a little creativity. USE

There's a _________ difference between photography and still-life drawing. QUALITY

LWord formation Use the word given in capitals to form a word that fits in the space.

The working world of: Jacob Lawson

This week we look at the working life of Jacob Lawson, who buys and sells items on Internet auction sites. In the old days, before the Internet, I had to trawl through hundreds of (1) ads each week and go to car boot sales at the weekend. Auction sites like eBay, though, are extremely (2) and a great (3) . It's just (4) what you can do at the click of a button. I love it!

I generally buy and sell (5) items. These could be anything from carriage clocks to knives and forks to plastic (6) flowers. (7) are interested in the strangest things and there's always money to be made. The best money comes from items that are in very good condition, often because they're (8) and still in their packaging, but there's also a market for things like second-hand pottery or glassware that might have (9) .

I'm quite successful. One of my (10) is that I've got a very good rating on most of these sites, people I've sold to have given me very good reviews, so new customers trust me. I'm also good at spotting what's (11) and what's completely (12) . For example, here's a pair of (13) earrings. The description says they're diamond, but if you click on the picture, a trained eye like mine can tell immediately they're (14) . Diamond's basically (15) , you see, and these have got damage marks on them. So I won't be buying them. Ideally, it's better to actually see the (16) you're buying before you purchase them, but these auction sites have pretty good policies if you're not satisfied with your purchase, and I've never had any problems.

MPrefix in-The prefix in- can often mean 'not' or 'no'. Tick the words where it means 'not' or 'no'. Put a cross next to the words where it doesn't.

The inbound flight from Chicago has been delayed due to bad weather.

I really do value my independence.

The whole family was infamous round here for their antisocial behaviour.

I left the organisation eventually because of all the infighting.

This material is inflammable, isn't it?

What an ingenious idea.

The place will soon be inhabitable, won't it?

The whole area feels very inhospitable.

The situation is intolerable.

She was charged with being disorderly and intoxicated.

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