PRACTICE TASK D

The Pompidou Centre

More than three decades after it was built, the Pompidou Centre in Paris has survived its moment at the
edge of architectural fashion and proved itself to be one of the most remarkable buildings of the 20th
century. It was the most outstanding now building constructed in Paris for two generations. It looked like
an explosion of brightly coloured service pipes in the calm of the city centre. However, when in 1977
the architects Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano stood among a large crowd of 5,000 at the opening of the
Centre Culturel d'Art Georges Pompidou (known as the Pompidou), no one was really aware of the
significance of this unusual building.

Rogers was only 38 when he and Piano won the competition to design a new cultural centre for Paris in
the old market site. Young, unknown architects, they had been chosen from a field of nearly 700 to design
one of the most prestigious buildings of its day. After six difficult years, with 25,000 drawings, seven
lawsuits, battles over budgets, and a desperate last-minute scramble to finish the building, it had finally
been done.

Yet the opening was a downbeat moment. The Pompidou Centre had been rubbished by the critics while
it was being built, there was no more work in prospect for the architects, and their partnership had
effectively broken down. But this was just a passing crisis. The Centre, which combined the national
museum of modern art, exhibition space, a public library and a centre for modern music, proved an
enormous success. It attracted six million visitors in its first year, and with its success, the critics swiftly
changed their tune.

The architects had been driven by the desire for ultimate flexibility, for a building that would not limit
the movement of its users. All the different parts were approached through the same enormous entrance
hall and served by the same escalator, which was free to anyone to ride, whether they wanted to visit an
exhibition or just admire the view. With all the services at one end of the building, escalators and lifts at
the other, and the floors hung on giant steel beams providing uninterrupted space the size of two football
pitches, their dream had become a reality.

The image of the Pompidou pervaded popular culture in the 1970s, making appearances everywhere - on
record-album covers and a table lamp, and even acting as the set for a James Bond 1 film. This did much
to overcome the secretive nature of the architectural culture of its time, as it enabled wider audience to
appreciate the style and content of the building and so moved away from the strictly professional view.

The following year, Rogers was commissioned to design a new headquarters for Lloyd's Bank in London
and went on to create one of Britain's most dynamic architectural practices. Piano is now among the
 world's most respected architects. But what of their shared creation?

It was certainly like no previous museum, with its plans for a flexible interior that not only had movable
walls but floors that could also be adjusted up or down. This second feature did not in the end survive
when the competition drawings were turned into a real building. In other ways, however, the finished
building demonstrated a remarkable degree of refinement - of craftsmanship even - in the way the original
diagram was transformed into a superbly detailed structure. It was this quality which, according to some
critics, suggested that the Pompidou should be seen as closer to the 19th-century engineering tradition
than the space age.

Nevertheless, as a model for urban planning, it has proved immensely influential. The Guggenheim in
Bilbao* and the many other major landmark projects that were built in the belief that innovatively
designed cultural buildings can bring about urban renewal are all following the lead of the Pompidou
Centre.

Other buildings may now challenge it for the title of Europe s most outlandish work of architecture.
However, more than a quarter of a century later, this construction - it is hard to call it a building when
there is no façade, just a lattice of steel beams and pipes and a long external escalator snaking up the
outside - still seems extreme.

Today, the Pompidou Centre itself still looks much as it did when it opened. The shock value of its
colour-coded plumbing and its structure has not faded with the years. But while traditionalists regarded
it as an ugly attack on Paris when it was built, they now see it for what it is - an enormous achievement,
technically and conceptually.

Questions 1-4: Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. What does the writer say in the first paragraph about the opening of the Pompidou Centre?
A. The elderly did not like it. B. The architects were not present.
C. The atmosphere was very noisy. D. The people did not realise its importance.

2. What does the writer say in the second paragraph about the construction of the Pompidou?
A. There was a hurry to complete it. B. It cost less than expected.

C. Other experts helped draw the plans. D. The market location was criticised.
3. What is the writer’s main purpose in the third paragraph?
A. to explain the multi-functional role of the centre
B. to praise the architects for their design ideas

C. to say why some people’s opinions quickly altered

D. to show how the media benefited from its success

4. What was the architects’ ‘dream’, referred to in the fourth paragraph?

A. to become famous B. to provide entertainment

C. to allow visitors to use it freely D. to build the biggest museum in the world
Questions 5-8: Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below.

5. The escalators and lifts inside the Pompidou

6. In the 1970s, pictures of the Pompidou

7. The original plans for the floors of the Pompidou
8. The detailed structure of the finished building

A. reminded some people of past building styles.

B. were used to decorate everyday objects.
C. fitted in well with the external surroundings.
D. were situated on one side of the building.
E. showed people which area to visit.
F. were changed during the construction process.

Questions 9-14: Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the Reading
Passage? Write
YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
9. The Pompidou has influenced the way cities are designed.
10. The Guggenheim has been more popular than the Pompidou.

11. The word building fits the Pompidou better than the word construction.
12. The Pompidou’s appearance has changed considerably since it opened.
13. Nowadays, the design of the Pompidou fails to shock people.
14. The traditionalist view of the Pompidou has changed over the years.
PRACTICE TASK E
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE FOOD WE EAT?
A Most of us tend not to think about what we eat. Sure, we might have our favourite recipes, or
worry about whether our food has been sprayed with pesticides, but the processes and discoveries
that have gone into its production remain a closed book. Some, however, think differently. Why,
they wonder, is frozen milk yellow? Why does your mouth burn for longer when you eat chillies
than when you eat mustard? And what would happen if you threw yourself into a swimming pool
full of jelly?
B It was for such people that New Scientist developed its ‘Last Word’ column, in which readers
pose - and answer - questions on all manner of abstruse scientific issues, as they relate to everyday
life. Many of the issues raised have simple answers. For the questions above, they would be: the
riboflavin in milk begins to crystallise; it depends on your taste - the relevant chemical in mustard
is more easily washed away by your saliva; and, you’d float, but don’t dive in headfirst!
C Other questions allow us to explore issues that are relevant to everyone. For example, what’s
the difference between sell-by dates and use-by dates? You might expect the answer to involve
overcautious health and safety regulation. But it’s more complex than that. The shelf life of food
is actually determined by its manufacturers, although lab tests and government guidelines also
come into play. Food is tested periodically, at various temperatures, to check the level of bacterial
spoilage over a few hours or days - the warmer it is, the more likely your prawn sandwich is to
make you ill. After the lab tests, producers set a use-by date or a best-before date. Fresh shellfish
need to be consumed by their use-by date (the date by which you must eat them). But tinned beans
will probably last long beyond their best-before date (the date by which it’s best to eat them),
although they might not taste as good as they once did.
D The same research explains why even bottled mineral water, which had previously lain
underground for decades, needs a best-before date. The problem isn’t the water, but the bottling
process: either bacteria can be introduced that multiply and, over time, contaminate the water, or
unpleasant chemicals, such as antimony, leach into the water from the plastic bottles.
E Sometimes, this kind of scientific study takes us to some strange places. For example, we now
know that the amount of oxygen in the air inside green peppers is higher than in red (by a whopping
1.23 percent), probably due to the different rate at which green peppers photosynthesise. The
relevance of this research is that green peppers will decay faster than red if kept in sunlight: higher
oxygen levels provide more resources to feed any bacteria that are present. Generally, cooler
environments preserve food best - apart from tropical fruit. Banana skins, for example, have
evolved to survive in warm conditions, because that is where they grow best. Anything below
13.3°C damages the membranes, releasing enzymes which lead to skin blackening. To avoid a
mushy banana, keep it away from the chiller.
F It is not just fears for our health that keep food scientists busy. They are also involved in other
areas. Their precision has, for example, also been applied to bottles - in particular, to the discovery
that the optimum number of sharp pointy bits on a bottle cap is 21. Go on, count them. Years of
trial and error led to the internationally accepted German standard DIN 6099, which ensures that
almost every bottle cap is the same. This is because 21 is the ideal number when you take into
account the circumference of the cap, the likelihood of its metal splitting, and the chances of it
sticking in the capping machine. So, next time you open a bottle with a cap on it, pay homage to
those who bothered to find out, starting with William Painter, in 1892.
G Of course, some researchers do care about the more serious stuff, driven by fear of the future
and an ever- increasing population on a warming, land-impoverished planet. Sadly, New Scientist's
correspondents concluded that there was no one foodstuff that could feed the world on its own.
However, they did come up with a menu that could feed a family of four for 365 days a year, using
only eight square metres of land. Rotating crops (so that the soil didn’t lose one nutrient more than
any other) would be vital, as would ploughing back dead plant matter and maintaining a vegetarian
diet. After that, you would need to grow crops that take up very little space and grow vertically
rather than horizontally, if possible.
Questions 1-7: The reading passage has seven paragraphs, A-G. Choose the correct heading for
paragraphs A-G from the list of headings below.

i Why a particular piece of information is given

ii An unsolved problem and a solution to a problem
iii Reasons that remain a mystery
iv A source of information for some people
v Development work leading to a conclusion
vi Contrasting levels of interest in food
vii The need to change a system
viii Information connected with keeping certain kinds of food
ix How certain advice is decided on
x Ideas not put into practice

1 Paragraph A 5 Paragraph E
2 Paragraph B 6 Paragraph F
3 Paragraph C 7 Paragraph G
4 Paragraph D

Questions 8-9: Which TWO of the following are explained by the writer in the text?
A why the ‘Last Word' column was created
B why use-by dates are more important than sell-by dates
C how to prevent bacteria getting into bottled water
D a way in which peppers are similar to bananas
E why most bottle caps have a common feature

Questions 10-11: Which TWO problems connected with food does the writer mention?
A confusing information about the use of pesticides
B feeling pain when eating something
C sell-by dates sometimes being inaccurate
D feeling ill because of eating food after its best- before date
E the effect of sunlight on green peppers

Questions 12-13: Which TWO of the following would a family of four need to do to feed itself
every day of the year, according to New Scientist?
A use more than one piece of land
B grow the same crop all the time
C put dead plants into the soil
D plant only crops that grow very quickly
E concentrate on crops that grow vertically

THE END