ii) Rich Chinese collectors with refined taste are willing to fork out large sums to buy their favourite artworks

iii) Good modern Chinese paintings are very rare, so they can fetch very high prices at auctions

a) i and ii b) ii and iii c) all of the above

2. Works by contemporary Chinese artists Zhang Xiaogang and Yue Minjun can fetch very high prices at auctions. What are their paintings about?

a) strong rebukes against the communist government

b) praising the good governance of modern China

c) satires about the Mao era

3. According to the passage, who created the most expensive contemporary Chinese painting in history?

a) Zhang Xiaogang

b) Yue Minjun

c) Xu Beihong

4. Under the agreement, for how long can the United Arab Emirates use the name Louvre for its museum?

a) 10 years

b) 30 years

c) forever

5. What are the reasons cited by the French for objecting to the Louvre agreement?

i) France is 'selling' its national museum and treasures

ii) France lent the name to the United Arab Emirates because it wanted to thank the Arab country for buying French products

iii) The French government did not consult the public about the Louvre decision

a) i and ii b) ii and iii c) all of the above

Language Focus

The use of phrasal verbs

A phrasal verb refers to a group of words which, when combined together, gives a totally different meaning to the words in the expression.

Below is an example from the passage.

With rising purchasing power and an increasingly refined taste, Chinese collectors are willing to fork out millions of dollars to buy their favourite artworks.

(Note: While fork is a kind of cutlery, 'fork out' means to pay.)

Fill in the blanks below with the correct prepositions to complete the phrasal verbs

1. I can't put _____ with the heat anymore. I want to switch on the air conditioner.

2. Smoking will give rise _______ cancer and other illnesses.

3. The plane will take ____ at any time. Fasten your seat belt!

4. Don't bring ____ the topic of marriage in front of her. She has just been dumped by her boyfriend.

Answers: Multiple-choice questions - 1. a, 2. c, 3. c, 4. b, 5. a; Language Focus - 1. up, 2. to, 3. off, 4. up