Buzz
Engineering and technology works are sometimes seen as opposites of art and humanity. Consider the associations with production lines, robots, and computers. Any positives found in such creations of the mind and human industry can be overshadowed by negative images of repetitive, stressful, and threatened jobs. Such images fuel the arguments of technology critics, even as they themselves may drive powerful cars and use the Internet to protest what they see as the soulless and dehumanizing aspects of living in an industrialized and digital society. Simultaneously, iconic megastructures like the Brooklyn and Golden Gate bridges are widely celebrated as majestic human achievements and engineering marvels that encapsulate the spirits of their respective cities. The relationship between art and engineering has rarely been straightforward or consistent.
B
The human laborer may have seemed like just a small part of the industrial machinery, yet photographers could capture the beauty of line and composition in a worker performing everyday tasks like tightening a bolt with a wrench. When Henry Ford's vast River Rouge plant opened in 1927 to produce the Model A, the painter and photographer Charles Sheeler was selected to photograph it. The world's largest car factory fascinated Sheeler, who described it as the most exciting subject he had ever worked on. Sheeler also created oil paintings of the factory, titling them American Landscape and Classic Landscape.
C
Long before Sheeler, other artists also recognized the beauty and humanity in engineering and technological works. Nowhere is this more evident than in Coalbrookdale, England, where iron, so crucial to the Industrial Revolution, was worked for centuries. Here, in the late 18th century, Abraham Darby III cast the large ribs that formed the world's first iron bridge on the banks of the Severn River, a significant departure from the traditional stone and timber bridges that dotted the landscape and were depicted in numerous tranquil landscape paintings. The metallic structure, simply named Iron Bridge, still spans the river today, drawing engineers, artists, and tourists alike to admire and traverse it as if on a pilgrimage to a revered site.
D
At Coalbrookdale, the reflection of the ironwork in the water completes the semicircular structure to form a wide-open eye into the future that is now the past. One painter’s serene portrayal depicts pedestrians and horseback riders on the bridge, as if on a woodland path. On one bank, a couple of elegantly dressed spectators pause during their stroll along the riverbank, perhaps to admire the bridge. On the opposite side of the gently flowing river, a solitary man guides two mules beneath an arch that allows the towpath to pass through the bridge's abutment. A lone boatman paddles across the river in a small tub boat. He is in no hurry because there is no towline to transport from one side of the bridge to the other. This was how Michael Rooker portrayed Iron Bridge in his 1792 painting. A colored engraving of the scene is displayed in the nearby Coalbrookdale museum, along with numerous other contemporary depictions of the bridge in its full splendor and context, showcasing the iron structure not as an eyesore on the landscape but at its heart. The surrounding area simultaneously radiates outward from the bridge and pales behind it.
E
In the 19th century, railways captured the imagination of artists, with a steam engine in the distance of a landscape becoming as integral as a herd of cows in the foreground. Impressionist Claude Monet painted man-made structures like train stations and cathedrals, alongside his famous water lilies. Portrait artists such as Christian Schussele found subjects in engineers, inventors, and their innovations, as well as in America's founding fathers. By the 20th century, engineering, technology, and industry had firmly established themselves as artistic subjects.
F
American-born Joseph Pennell illustrated many European travel articles and books. Pennell, who early in his career made drawings of buildings under construction and shrouded in scaffolding, returned to America later in life and documented industrial activities during World War I. He is perhaps best known among engineers for his portrayal of the Panama Canal nearing completion and his etchings of the partially constructed Hell Gate and Delaware River bridges.
G
Pennell has often been quoted as saying, “Great engineering is great art,” a sentiment he expressed repeatedly. He wrote about his contemporaries, “I understand nothing about engineering, but I know that engineers are the greatest architects and the most visual builders since the Greeks.” While some observers saw only functionality, Pennell saw beauty, if not in form, then certainly in scale. He believed he was not just depicting a tangible subject but also conveying the impression it left on him. Pennell described the feeling he experienced before a major construction project as 'The Wonder of Work'. He viewed engineering as a process, a process immortalized in every completed dam, skyscraper, bridge, or other great engineering feat.
H
While Pennell appreciated the wonder of work on a grand scale, Lewis Hine focused on the individuals engaged in the work. Hine, trained as a sociologist but best known as a photographer who exposed child labor exploitation, documented early immigrants passing through Ellis Island, along with the conditions in New York tenements where they lived and the sweatshops where they worked. After returning to New York, he was given the opportunity to photograph the construction of the Empire State Building, resulting in striking images that have become iconic representations of courage and nonchalance. He risked his life to capture workers suspended on cables hundreds of feet in the air and sitting on high girders during lunch. To engineers today, one of the most remarkable aspects of these photographs, published in 1932 in 'Men at Work', is the absence of safety ropes and hard hats. However, more than anything, the photos evoke Pennell's 'The Wonder of Work' and inspire admiration for the bravery and skill that bring a major engineering project to fruition.
Questions 14-18
The Reading Passage has eight paragraphs A-H
In which paragraph can you find the following details?
Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.
14 Art connected with architecture for the first time.
15 small artistic object and constructions built are put together
16 the working conditions were recorded by the artist as an exciting subject.
17 mention of one engineers’ artistic work on an unfinished engineering project
18 Two examples of famous bridges which became the iconic symbols of those cities
Questions 19-23
Utilize the details from the passage to associate individuals (listed A-F) with their opinions or actions below.
Record the appropriate letters A-F in boxes 19-23 on your answer sheet.
List of people
A Charles Sheeler
B Michael Rooker
C Claude Monet
D Christian Schussele
E Joseph Pennell
F Lewis Hine
19 who made a comment that concrete constructions have a beauty just as artistic processes created by engineers the architects
20 who made a romantic depiction of an old bridge in one painting
21 who produced art pieces demonstrating the courage of workers in the site
22 who produced portraits involving subjects in engineers and inventions and historical human heroes.
23 who produced a painting of factories and named them ambitiously
Questions 24-27
Finish the following summary of the passages from Reading Passage
Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet.
Iron bridge Coalbrookdale, England
In the late eighteenth century, as artists began to capture the artistic attractiveness incorporated into architecture via engineering and technology were captured in numerous serene landscape paintings. One good example, the engineer called 24……………………. had designed the first iron bridge in the world and changed to using irons yet earlier bridges in the countryside were constructed using materials such as 25……………………. and wood. This first Iron bridge which across the 26…………………… was much significant in the industrial revolution period and it functioned for centuries. Numerous spectacular paintings and sculpture of Iron Bridge are collected and exhibited locally in 27…………………….., showing the iron structure as a theme on the landscape.
Answers:
14. C (Đoạn C, “a dramatic departure from the classic stone and timber bridges that dotted the countryside and were captured in numerous serene landscape paintings.” → Kết hợp kiến trúc vào nghệ thuật)
15. E (Đoạn E, “In the nineteenth century, the railroads captured the imagination of artists, and the steam engine in the distance of a landscape became as much a part of it as the herd of cows in the foreground.”)
16. B (Đoạn B, “The world’s largest car factory captured the imagination of Sheeler, who described it as the most thrilling subject he ever had to work with. Thrilling = exciting)
17. F (Đoạn F, “He is perhaps best known among engineers for his depiction of the Panama Canal as it neared completion and his etchings..” → Gần hoàn thành chứ chưa hoàn thành)
18. A (Đoạn A, “At the same time, landmark megastructures such as the Brooklyn and Golden Gate bridges…”)
19. E (Đoạn F, Pennell, who early in his career made drawings of buildings under construction and shrouded in scaffolding, returned to America late in life and recorded industrial activities during World War I.”)
20. B (Đoạn D, “This is how Michael Rooker was Iron Bridge in his 1792 painting. A colored engraving of the scene hangs in the nearby Coalbrookdale museum, along with countless other contemporary renderings of the bridge in its full glory…
21. F (Đoạn H, “However, perhaps more than anything, the photos evoke Pennell’s “The Wonder of Work” and inspire admiration for the bravery and skill that bring a great engineering project to completion.”
22. D (Đoạn E, “Portrait painters such as Christian Schussele found subjects in engineers and inventors…”)
23. A (Đoạn B, “the painter/photographer Charles Sheeler … giving them titles such as American Landscape and Classic Landscape.”)
24. Abraham Darby III (Đoạn C, “Here, in the late eighteenth century, Abraham Darby III cast on the banks of the Severn River…”
25. Stone (Đoạn C, “a dramatic departure from the classic stone and timber bridges…”
26. River (Đoạn C, “Iron Bridge, still spans the river and still beckons engineers…”)
27. Coalbrookdale Museum (Đoạn D, “A colored engraving of the scene hangs in the nearby Coalbrookdale museum,…”Practice for IELTS
