Visual Arts & Crafts – B2 English Listening Exercise
Listening 1
You will hear a boy called Harry telling his class about an art event he took part in recently. For questions 9-18, complete the sentences with a word or short phrase.
Art Day
Fiona, the person running the art day, had once worked as a (9)……………………… .
Harry uses the word (10)……………………… to describe his feelings when he first arrived.
Harry was inspired by the variety of (11)……………………… paper in the drawing book he was given.
Harry put a (12)……………………… on the cover of his drawing book.
Harry first painting was a (13)……………………… .
Harry was particularly impressed by the (14)……………………… that another student had done.
With Fiona’s help, Harry attempted a more (15)……………………… style of drawing than he’s tried when he started.
After lunch, the group chose the theme of (16)……………………… for the sculpture they intended to make together.
Harry found a collection of (17)……………………… to include in the sculpture.
The (18)……………………… of the art group was what made Harry decide to sign up for the next session.
ANSWER KEY
9 (fashion) designer 10 anxious 11 recycled 12 dragon 13 landscape 14 cartoons 15 abstract 16 nature 17 feathers 18 enthusiasm
AUDIO SCRIPT
Harry: Hello, everyone. I want to tell you about an event I attended at the art centre near our town recently – an art day for teenagers! The whole day was run by a woman called Fiona, who’s well-known as a filmmaker in our town. But she’d also worked previously as a fashion designer, and is a painter in her spare time, so she knew a lot about art.
Usually when I’m faced with new situations, I’m quite self-confident, and find it easy to chat to people. This time, for some reason, I was aware of being anxious as I got to the centre – I guess in case everyone was brilliant at art, and I wasn’t! In fact, though, all the people there were really friendly!
To begin the session, Fiona gave us all a drawing book, so we could record our ideas and do initial drawings. I’d expected it to contain instructions about what we were going to do – and sort of hoped it might have pictures for us to copy! Instead, it turned out the book had lots of different types of recycled paper in it, which I really approved of, as I’m always trying to help look after the environment. It also made me want to get creative!
First, Fiona asked us to decorate the cover of the drawing book. I tried to create something using a photo of myself I’d brought along, but then decided it looked boring, so I ended up decorating it with a dragon – which everyone liked!
Then after we’d done a few drawings in our books, we moved on to doing some painting – but I couldn’t really think what to paint. Fiona saw I needed help, and suggested doing a portrait of the girl next to me. That sounded hard – so, as the centre was out in the country, I decided to do a landscape instead, as it wouldn’t matter so much if it wasn’t very good!
After a while, Fiona suggested we have a break and look at what other people had done. One person had done some animal drawings, which were quite good, and someone else had produced some cartoons, which I thought were the best in the group. I was a bit discouraged after that, but some people said my stuff was good, too, so I kept going!
I soon decided that my painting was looking a bit traditional, and as there were some amazing colourful paints available, I used them to make my work more abstract. With Fiona’s help, I focused on creating something in that style, and the result was fantastic – much better than when I’d started.
After lunch, Fiona proposed a new activity – working together to make a big sculpture from wire and cardboard based on a theme chosen by the group. Fiona had brought along some objects from home, and suggested those as a theme – but we thought it might be too limited. The theme of the sea was also rejected, as we were far from the coast and ideally we wanted our sculpture to reflect our local area. Finally we decided that as we were near the forest, we’d look for objects for the project there. We all agreed this was a task we could tackle.
Anyway, we made an enormous tree sculpture, and then went off to search for objects to decorate it with. I wondered about bringing things like wild flowers to hang in the tree, but Fiona reminded me we weren’t allowed to pick them. Then I noticed people seemed to be collecting leaves, so I started picking up feathers I saw on the ground, which were a great contribution to the sculpture!
It was a wonderful day – and Fiona filmed our work as a souvenir for us! All the people there had real talent, and showed a great commitment to producing art. They were also fun and had loads of enthusiasm, which was the key thing for me. I’ve already booked for the next art day – just being with them was really inspirational!
Listening 2
You will hear an art student called Leo talking about his transition into abstract art. For questions 9-18, complete the sentences with a word or short phrase.
Leo – Art Student
Initially, Leo enjoyed working with (9)……………………… more than other materials.
Leo’s class were asked to focus on a (10)……………………… for their first major project.
Leo used an (11)……………………… to give him ideas for his artwork.
Leo was inspired to try abstract art after discovering some (12)……………………… in a shop.
Leo chose to represent a (13)……………………… in his first abstract painting.
Instead of traditional tools, Leo used a (14)……………………… to create texture on the canvas.
Leo’s finished abstract painting was first exhibited in the (15)……………………… .
To Leo’s surprise, his painting was purchased by a (16)……………………… .
Leo later submitted a new piece of art to an event called the (17)……………………… .
Leo has decided that he needs to purchase a (18)……………………… to improve his workspace.
ANSWER KEY
9 watercolours 10 landscape 11 old photograph 12 vibrant paints
13 stormy sky 14 sea sponge 15 college library
16 local musician 17 Spring Festival 18 studio easel
AUDIO SCRIPT
Leo: Hi everyone, my name is Leo, and I’m a second-year art student. I’m here today to talk about my journey through the world of visual arts and crafts. Specifically, I want to tell you about how my artistic style has completely transformed recently.
When I first started at the academy, I thought I’d spend all my time focusing on detailed pencil sketching. My teachers actually thought I’d be brilliant with charcoal because of my bold shading techniques. However, my absolute favourite medium to work with was watercolours, which I found incredibly relaxing and fluid.
During the first term, we had to complete several minor tasks. For our first major assignment, I confidently assumed the tutor would ask us to paint a portrait, since we’d spent weeks extensively studying faces and human anatomy. Instead, we were instructed to produce a landscape, which was quite a sudden departure from our usual curriculum.
To get ideas for this challenging composition, a lot of my classmates relied entirely on their imagination. I briefly considered painting a scene from my daily commute to college, but I actually found my true inspiration by looking at an old photograph I’d stumbled upon in my grandmother’s dusty attic.
My transition into abstract art happened quite by accident shortly after that project. I was planning to buy some soft pastels for my next piece of traditional artwork. But while browsing the aisles at the local supply store, I spotted a set of vibrant paints on the top shelf. They were so highly pigmented and glossy that I immediately abandoned my conventional drawing techniques to try them out.
Deciding exactly what to paint in an abstract style was surprisingly tough. My initial thought was to represent the ocean, as I absolutely love spending time on the coast. Ultimately, though, I decided to capture the chaotic energy of a stormy sky, using lots of bold, unpredictable, sweeping strokes.
To apply the paint to the canvas, I didn’t want to use standard brushes at all. I picked up a palette knife at first, thinking it would add a great, thick texture to the surface. But to my complete surprise, using a sea sponge gave me the exact chaotic, blended effect I was aiming for.
When the piece was finally completely dry, I needed to figure out where to show it off to the public. A close friend suggested asking the local gallery if they had any spare wall space. As a student, that felt a bit too intimidating, so I managed to get it hung up in the college library instead, where everyone passing by could see it.
I wasn’t expecting anyone to actually want to own it. My art teacher said she genuinely loved the colours, but she didn’t offer to purchase it herself. Out of the blue, a local musician who happened to be visiting the campus saw it and offered to buy it right there and then to use as the cover for his new album!
That unexpected sale gave me a massive boost of self-confidence. I’d unfortunately missed the deadline for the big Summer Showcase event in town, which was a real shame. Fortunately, I managed to submit a brand-new abstract piece to the Spring Festival, which always attracts a really diverse and enthusiastic crowd of art lovers.
Now that my abstract work is really starting to take off, I’m slowly upgrading my workspace at home. I initially thought I just needed to invest in a much larger canvas to properly express myself. Actually, what I desperately need right now is a sturdy studio easel, as painting flat on my tiny desk is starting to give me a terrible backache. It’s been an incredible journey, and I can’t wait to see where my art takes me next.