BBC Learning English – Words in the News / Oil painting copy shop

Transcript

Could this be the most important and expensive collection of masterpieces ever?

Actually no. In fact, it’s a workshop in Dafen in southern China where more than half of the world’s oil paintings are mass-produced.

Millions of replicas of Van Goghs, Monets, and Picassos are exported, generating billions in revenue for these painters who were once farmers or migrant workers.

But because of online competition, these artists are starting to concentrate on producing original pieces of art.

Vocabulary

masterpieces
high quality and very valuable paintings

mass-produced
made cheaply and in very large numbers

replicas
exact copies

revenue
income or money

original
not a copy; the artist’s own work

To do

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from news reports.

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

masterpieces / mass-produced / replicas / revenue / original

1.      An exact __________ of an 18th Century French frigate has completed its maiden voyage – recreating a historic transatlantic journey to America.

2.      Over the years the band has seen several changes in its line-up – to confuse even the most diehard fans. Now the __________ members have decided to re-form, but under a new name, MKS.

3.      As technologies develop and become_________, costs usually fall and that is what has happened in the last 10-15 years.

4.      A Scottish aristocrat has told a court that he became “an actor” in an undercover police operation to secure the return of a stolen __________.

5.      Casino _________ in the world’s largest gaming centre, Macau, fell almost 20% in November from a year ago as gamblers’ appetite for the gambling hub continued to wane.

Answers

1.    An exact replica of an 18th Century French frigate has completed its maiden voyage recreating a historic transatlantic journey to America.

See story

2.     Over the years the band has seen several changes in its line-up – to confuse even the most diehard fans. Now the original members have decided to re-form, but under a new name, MKS.

See story

3.    As technologies develop and become mass-produced, costs usually fall and that is what has happened in the last 10-15 years.

See story

4.    A Scottish aristocrat has told a court that he became “an actor” in an undercover police operation to secure the return of a stolen masterpiece.

See story

5.    Casino revenues in the world’s largest gaming centre, Macau, fell almost 20% in November from a year ago as gamblers’ appetite for the gambling hub continued to wane.

See story

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