Text 35.
THE BEAUTIES OF THE STONE AGE
Jane Howard reviews some ancient works of art
I have just come home after viewing some astonishing works of art that were recently discovered in
Church Hole cave in Nottinghamshire. They are not drawings, as one could expect, but etchings – shapes
cut into the rock – and they depict a huge range of wild animals. The artists who created them lived around
13,000 years ago, and the images are remarkable on a variety of counts. First of all, their sheer number is
staggering: there are 90 in all. Moreover, 58 of them are on the ceiling. This is extremely rare in cave art,
according to a leading expert, Dr. Wilbur Samson of Central Midlands University. “Wall pictures are the
norm”, he says. “But more importantly, the Church Hole etchings are an incredible artistic achievement.
They can hold their own in comparison with the best found in continental Europe. I am not the student of
the subject, so I have to take his word for it. However, you do not have to be an expert to appreciate their
beauty.
In fact, it is the wider significance of the etchings that is likely to attract most attention in academic
circles, since they radically alter our view of life in Britain during this epoch. It had previously been thought
that ice-age hunters in this country were isolated from people in more central areas of Europe, but the
Church Hole images prove that ancient Britons were part of a way of living, thinking and seeing the world
that had spread right across the continent. And they were at least as sophisticated as their counterparts on
the mainland.
News of such exciting discoveries spreads rapidly, and thanks to the internet and mobile phones, a
great many people probably knew about this discovery within hours of the initial expedition returning. As a
result, some etchings may already have been adversely affected, albeit inadvertently, by eager visitors. In a
regrettably late response, the site has been cordoned off with a high, rather intimidating fence, and
warning notices have been posted.
An initial survey of the site last year failed to reveal the presence of the etchings. The reason lies in
the expectations of the researchers. They had been looking for the usual type of cave drawing or painting,
which shows up best under direct light. Consequently, they used powerful torches, shining them straight
onto the rock face. However, the Church Hole images are modifications of the rock itself, and show up best
when seen from a certain angle in the natural light of early morning. Having been fortunate to see them at
this hour, I can only say that I was deeply – and unexpectedly – moved. While most cave art often seems to
have been created in a shadowy past very remote from us, these somehow convey the impression that
they were made yesterday.
Dr. Samson feels that the lighting factor provides important information about the likely function of
these works of art. “I think the artists knew very well that the etchings would hardly be visible except early
in the morning. We can therefore deduce that the chamber was used for virtual involving animal worship
and that they were conducted just after dawn, as preliminary to the day’s hunting”.
However, such ideas are controversial in the world of archeology and human origins. Dr. Olivia
Caruthers of the Reardon Institute remains unconvinced that the function of the etchings at Church Hole
can be determined with any certainty. “When we know so little about the social life of early humans, it
would be foolish to insist on any rigid interpretation. We should, in my view, begin by tentatively assuming
that their creators were motivated in part by aesthetic considerations – while of course being prepared to
modify this verdict at a later date, if and when new evidence emerges”.
To which I can only add that I felt deeply privileged to have been able to view Church Hole. It is a
site of tremendous importance culturally and is a part of the heritage, not only of this country, but the
world as a whole.
Choose the correct answer
1. According to the text, the images in Church Hole cave are
A unique examples of ceiling art
B particularly beautiful cave paintings
C superior in quality to other cave art in Britain
D aesthetically exceptional in their own right
2. What is the cultural significance of these images ?
A They indicate that people from central Europe had settled in Britain
B They prove that ancient Britons hunted over large areas
C They reveal the existence of a single ice-age culture in Europe
D They suggest people in Europe were more advanced that Britons
3. According to the text,
A the discovery of the images should not have been made public
B the images in the cave are vulnerable to damage
C many people visited the cave within hours of its discovery
D the measures taken to protect the images have proved ineffective
4. Why were the images not discovered during the initial survey?
A They were not viewed from the right direction
B People were not expecting to find any images
C The search took place at the wrong time of day
D the torches used were too bright
5. What conclusion does Dr. Samson draw from the lighting factor?
A Rituals were common in animal worship
B The artists never intended to make the images visible
C The images were intended to be seen at a certain time of day
D Ice-age hunters kept animals in the cave
6. According to Dr. Olivia Caruthers,
A we cannot make inferences from cave art
B the images in Church Hole do not serve any particular purpose
C experts know absolutely nothing about life 13,000 years ago
D the reasons such images were created are open question
Text 36
PEACH OF AN IDEA
At the end of the 1990s, three friends in their mid-20s, Adam Balon, Richard Reed and John
Wright were thinking of starting a business. They took £500 worth of fruit to a music festival in
West London, made a huge batch of smoothies – fruit drinks blended with milk and yoghurt – and
asked their customers for a verdict.
1___________________.
Looking back, they now admit that they were amazingly naїve, thinking it would just take
off once they had the recipes and packaging figured out. In fact, the three budding entrepreneurs
had nine months living on credit cards and overdrafts before they sold their first smoothie.
2____________________
Only five years later, though, Innocent had become Britain’s leading brand of smoothie,
selling about 40% of the 50 million downed annually by British drinkers. Eight years after that,
Innocent employed 250 staff, were selling over 200 million smoothies per week around the world,
and a majority stake in the company had been bought up by the international giant, Coca Cola.
What was the recipe for this startling success?
3______________________
Innocent’s refusal to compromise on this point presented them with some problems when
they first started talking to potential suppliers, Adam says. This was when they discovered the truth
about the majority of so-called natural fruit drinks.
4______________________
“Naїvety”, adds Richard, who is always ready with a soundbite, “can be a great asset in
business because you challenge the status quo”. Although Innocent’s drinks are fiendishly healthy,
the company has always been very careful not to preach. “Everyone knows what they’re supposed
to do”, says Richard. “But people just don’t, especially when they live in a city. We just thought,
“Wouldn’t it be great to make it easy to get hold of his natural fresh goodness?” Then at least
you’ve got one healthy habit in a world of bad ones”.
5_____________________
“In essence’, explains John, “we simply froze some of our smoothies and threw a bit of egg
to make it all stick together”. To help testers make up their minds about which combinations
worked, they dusted off the old “yes” and “no” bins and put them out again. And once again, their
methods proved fruitful.
6________________________
“We didn’t rule it out completely”, says Richard. “But the three of us have always gone
away once every three months to talk about what we want out of the business and we’ve always
been in the same place. So as long as we’re excited and challenged and proud of the business, we’re
going to want to be a part of it”.
Choose the correct answer
A. Most are made from concentrated juice with water – and perhaps sweeteners, colours and
preservatives – added. “We didn’t even know about that when we started,” Adam explains. “It
was when we started talking to people and they said, “Ok, we’ll use orange concentrate”, and
we said, “What’s concentrate?” and they explained it and we said, “No, we want orange juice”.
B. Probably something to do with pure, unadulterated ingredients with a dash of quirky
advertising. As one campaign put it, their drinks are not made from fruit, they are fruit.
C. “We decided to keep it simple”, says Richard. We had a bin that said “yes” and a bin that said
“no”, and at the end of the weekend, the “yes” bin was full of empty bottles. We quit our jobs
the next day.”
D. Their early years of success coincided with increasing consumer concerns about healthy
eating, and Innocent soon became worth a lot of money to potential buyers. Was there ever a
temptation in those early years to sell up, go, and live on a desert island?
E. They also seem to have managed to stay friends, and the fact that each member of the team
brings different and complementary set of skills to Innocent seems to have helped them avoid
any big bust-ups over strategy..
F. So, at another festival in 2004, the Innocent team tried extending their range of products into
desserts. “ For us there was this problem of Sunday evenings, sitting down to watch a film
with a big tub of ice cream – it’s nice to munch through it, but very bad for you”, Richard
adds.
G. They found that the finances were the basic stumbling block. But they eventually had a lucky
break when Maurice Pinto, a wealthy American businessman, decided to invest in them. In
total, it took 15 months from the initial idea to taking the product to market.
CHECKLIST
TEXT 35 TEXT 36
1 astonishing дивовижний 1 peach персик
2 etching офорт - різновид гравюри на 2 batch партія, серія
метал
3 to depict зображувати, 3 to admit визнавати
змальовувати
4 remarkable чудовий 4 naïve наївний
5 image зображення 5 to take off злітати
6 sheer чистий 6 to figure out з'ясовувати
7 staggering хитаючись 7 budding багатообіцяючий
8 ceiling стеля 8 entrepreneur підприємець
9 rare рідко, десь-колись 9 overdraft овердрафт - перевищення
кредиту
10 cave печера 10 downed (by) збитий (від)
11 achievement досягнення 11 innocent невинний
12 incredible неймовірно 12 to bring up виховувати
13 to appreciate оцінити 13 to startle налякати
14 significance значення 14 refusal відмова
15 to alter змінити 15 soundbite звуковий фрагмент, слоган
16 epoch епоха 16 asset актив, ресурс, цінність,
перевага
17 previously попередньо 17 status quo статус кво
18 hunter мисливець 18 fiendishly по-диявольськи
19 sophisticated вишуканий 19 to preach проповідувати
20 counterparts колеги, партнери, аналоги 20 habit звичка
21 mainland материк 21 in essence по суті
22 adversely негативно 22 to stick together злипатися, триматися купи
(разом)
23 inadvertently ненавмисно 23 to make up one’s вирішити, прийти до
mind кінцевого рішення
24 cordoned off відгороджений 24 to dust off пилити
25 intimidating залякуючий 25 bin смітник
26 fence паркан 26 fruitful плідний
27 to reveal виявляти 27 to rule out виключати
28 consequently отже, як наслідок 28 sweetener підсолоджувач
29 torch факел 29 preservative консервант
30 angle кут 30 unadulterated справжній, непідробний
31 to be deeply moved бути глибоко зворушеним 31 ingredient інгредієнт
32 to convey передати 32 dash тире
33 to deduce робити висновок, 33 quirky химерний
вичислити
34 chamber палата 34 to quit the job кинути роботу
35 to involve залучати 35 to coincide with збігатися з, співпадати із
36 worship worship поклоніння 36 temptation спокуса
37 dawn світанок 37 desert пустеля
38 preliminary попередній 38 complementary доповнює
39 controversial суперечливий 39 bust-up розпад, сварка
40 (un)convinced (не) переконаний 40 to munch жувати, гризти
41 to determine визначати 41 stumbling спотикаючись
42 rigid жорсткий 42 to invest інвестувати, вкладати
43 tentatively орієнтовно 43 initial початковий
44 to assume припустити 44
45 aesthetic естетичний 45
46 consideration розгляд 46
47 to modify модифікувати 47
48 verdict вирок 48
49 evidence докази 49
50 to emerge появлятися 50
51 privilege привілей 51
52 tremendous приголомшливий 52
53 vulnerable вразливий 53
54 to take measures вжити заходів 54
55 survey опитування 55
56 inference умовивід, логічні 56
висновки
57 57
58 58
59 59
60 60
61 61
62 62
63 63
64 64
65 65
