Comprehension: Abidjan's Artists Given New Lease of Life

Two years after Ivory Coast's post-electoral crisis left more than 3000 people dead; the country is slowly getting back on its feet. In Abidjan, artists and gallery owners are enjoying a revival of the contemporary art scene with exhibitions springing up in the city and buyers keen to invest in local talent.
Decide if the statements are True or False.

1. The Cécile Fakhoury gallery has opened recently.
a. True
b. False

2. Frédéric Tapé has bought eight pieces of art.

a. True
b. False

3.Frédéric Tapé has bought a piece of art from Paul Sika.
a. True
b. False


For transcript and answers see below.

Transcript and Answers:

A sign of Ivory Coast's revival- a contemporary art gallery in Abidjan reopens doors that have been closed since the post-electoral crisis two years ago.  Here, up-and-coming artists are supported as well as promoted:
"The Foundation wants to promote contemporary art, give the means to young artists, locally, to be able to work - and to be able to become known by the outside world."
The Cécile Fakhoury gallery is another to open recently in Abidja. But selling the work that goes on display can't be taken for granted. The market here is still very young.
"To create a market, is to start from zero. Although things were being created, the market is still a little neglected and needs complete development. And market creation will only happen by way of Africans and Ivorians buying from their artists."
Frédéric Tapé is one such Ivorian buyer; a young media entrepreneur with disposable income - he has recently acquired eight works.
"It's a pleasure but at the same time a mission. I think it's important for anyone who is financially stable to make the same sort of investment - because for me, it is more than anything an investment."
Frederic has invested in artists like Paul Sika - a photographer who puts a unique and colourful slant on the world he sees around him.
“I am convinced, I really feel, that in the world of art we're going to have the type of evolution that we've seen in football with the generation of Drogba, Kolo Toure and Yaya Toure. I think the generation of artists in Ivory Coast is going to experience the same kind of growth..."
With relative peace in Ivory Coast and a government focused on economic growth, it’s likely that art will be just one of the winners of the country's recovery.


Answers:
1. a
2. a
3. a

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Comprehension: Buffaloes a Divisive Link to Hong Kong's Past

Just a short journey from the hectic centre of Hong Kong, water buffaloes roam over jungle-clad hills. But a decision to move some of them has sparked a row between villagers who view them as a nuisance, and nature lovers who see them as part of a beautiful rural setting.
Decide if the statements are True or False.

1. The buffaloes are related to farm animals.
a. True
b. False

2. Most of the buffaloes have been moved to the nature reserve.

a. True
b. False

3.The buffaloes help to create a good environment for birds at the nature reserve.
a. True
b. False


For transcript and answers see below.

Transcript and Answers:

Buffaloes are perhaps the last thing you'd expect to find in Hong Kong. Yet scores of the majestic beasts roam just a short journey from gleaming skyscrapers. But many residents aren't happy to share their island with the farm animal descendants.
"If they get into parks, it’s dangerous for the children playing there, and they get frightened by them. There are a lot of buffaloes on the beaches too and we’re afraid when we swim because they look fierce. Sometimes they cross the road, which is dangerous for drivers, who often have to stop to let them pass."
 But now a handful of the buffaloes have a useful job to do. They've been moved to a nature reserve in northwest Hong Kong where they graze wetlands and there is little risk of coming into conflict with humans.
"We found that buffalo are actually very good at managing the habitats, at keeping short vegetation, keeping  wetland areas, which provides very good habitat for the birds that we get here."
The WWF hopes to take in more buffaloes soon. But not everyone's so happy to see their neighbours leave.
 "This is their home. They make this place beautiful for the community. Without them, we do not have this beautiful scenery."
Proof then that the beasts do have friends - of all shapes and sizes.


Answers:
1. a
2. b
3. a

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Comprehension: Tattoo Artists Gather In Paris

The world's leading tattoo artists get together in Paris. AFPTV meets with Tin-tin, tattoo artists with a VIP client base.
Decide if the statements are True or False.

1. 10% of 25 to 35 year olds of France’s population have a tattoo.
a. True
b. False

2. According to Tin-tin all social classes like tattoos.

a. True
b. False

3.In primitive societies, tattoos would often mark an important stage in someone’s life.
a. True
b. False


For transcript and answers see below.

Transcript and Answers:

What Shiming is fighting bravely is overwhelming pain.
"It hurts, a lot. It's like an operation."
Yes it hurts, and yet, tattooing is attracting more and more people. Here in France, 10 percent of the population has a tattoo, for 25 to 35 year olds it's even 20 per cent. Tin-tin, France's star tattoo artist, says contrary to prejudice, his art is appreciated by all social classes.
"Stalin had a tattoo, Roosevelt had a tattoo, Churchill had a tattoo, Juan Carlos has a tattoo. Judges, lawyers, cops and robbers, shop owners, bakers, rock stars, singers, actors ... Everyone likes tattoos, and it's spreading."
Tin-tin's shop is usually crowded. He has dozens of customers daily who lay down 100 euros to several thousands of euros to have their skin pierced. Former tennis star Yannick Noah and fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier have been here, along with plenty of ordinary people.
"I do graffiti and I paint, and I really wanted to try skin as my canvas. It's alive, and everybody's skin is different."
In primitive societies adorning the skin in an indelible way was often part rites of passage. Today it's simply fashionable to wear a guiding image on one's skin. Like this phoenix.
"It's about rising from my ashes. Whatever adversity or trials I may face, I can handle them. I'll always manage, get back on my feet and move on."
And that alone may well be worth four hours of excruciating pain...



Answers:
1. b
2. a
3. a

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Comprehension: Young US Blacks See Lives Shattered By Gun Violence

Columbine, Aurora, Newtown -- it's mass killings like these that revive the debate on US gun laws. But for thousands of young African Americans, gun violence is a day-to-day ordeal.
Decide if the statements are True or False.

1. All the group of men that meet are in wheelchairs because they were shot.
a. True
b. False

2. There are nearly 300 thousand privately owned firearms in America.
a. True
b. False

3.Murder was the biggest cause of death amongst African Americans aged between 10 and 24 in 2012.
a. True
b. False

For transcript and answers see below.

Transcript and Answers:

Every Tuesday afternoon at Washington Hospital, this group of men meets to talk about life bound to a wheelchair. All are paralysed, victims of a bullet that spared their lives but changed them forever.
"I was coming from the club. My friend was at the car, waiting for me because I was talking to this girl. And they rushed me to come and get in the car. So I ran to the car and pulled off. As soon as I pulled off, I blanked out."
38-year-old Kwame was only 25 when he was shot. He's one of thousands of black men injured or killed every year in gun-related violence. With nearly 300 million privately owned firearms across the US, Americans are the most powerfully armed civilians in the world. Mass killings, like the Newtown school shooting that left 20 young children and 6 adults dead, always stir the debate on US gun laws. But experts say these massacres don't reflect the real problem.  "The reality of gun violence in the United States is that it is concentrated in the inner-cities, among the poor and the victims are disproportionately, overwhelmingly young black and Hispanic men."
More than 30 people are shot and killed every day in America, and nearly half of them are black - mostly killed by other black men. After a youth marred by crime, "Ish" was shot in 1998 by an armed robber. One bullet grazed his head, and another ripped through his neck. He was lucky to survive and says he's learned a hard lesson.
"It's not worth it. Just think first before you react, you know. Because once you get punished, there is no way out. It's easy to get in trouble but it's hard to get out."
Homicides were the leading cause of death among 10 to 24-year-old African Americans in 2012, and since the Newtown shooting in December, more than 2,000 men and women have been shot and killed. Sobering statistics that reflect the nationwide problem of gun violence.



Answers:
1. a
2. b
3. a

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Comprehension: Reviving the Philippine Capital's Polluted Heart

A toxic black river that cuts through Manila is being cleaned up at a cost of more than 240 million dollars a year.
Decide if the statements are True or False.

1. The Pasig river has nothing living in it.
a. True
b. False

2. The people who lived by the most polluted ‘estero’ have been relocated.
a. True
b. False

3. Experts say it will take a decade for the river and its tributaries to be revived.
a. True
b. False
For transcript and answers see below.

Transcript and Answers:

It may look like fun and games but these children are playing in some of the most polluted waters in the Philippines. Once the social and economic heart of the nation's capital, the Pasig River is now biologically dead.  Much of Manila's industrial waste ends up here – along with untreated sewage and rubbish of the millions living close by.
"There have been people who have gone into this with an open wound and died, literally. Whoever planned the city years ago really saw the esteros and the river as dumping grounds."
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent in failed attempts to clean up the river. The latest effort involves trying to relocate about 300,000 slum dwellers living directly along the river and its tributaries, known locally as esteros.
"As long as there are illegal dwellers living along the estero, using the place as their toilets and dumping garbage there, there’s no clean-up that can happen. So that's the beginning."
The project’s showing some early signs of success. A few years ago this estero was one of the city's most polluted, choked by squatters living in shanties. Thousands of people living within three metres of the waterway have been relocated. Boardwalks and plants have replaced their ramshackle homes.
"We are happy living here now. It's like living in a sub-division. When you wake up it is breezy, and there is a sunset, so you really feel like you are in a beautiful sub-division."
Nevertheless, even these waters remain dangerously polluted. Experts say it will likely take decades for the Pasig River and all its forty-seven tributaries to be revived. 



Answers:
1. a
2. a
3. b

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Comprehension: Argentine Cowboys Turn Trendsetters

In Argentina, the traditional ‘cowboy’ lifestyle is dying out -- but their traditional trousers, known as bombachas, are enjoying a new lease of life. Decide if the statements are True or False.

1. Gaucho is another word for cowboy.

a. True

b. False

2. Since 2003 a third of Argentina’s cultivated land has been livestock.

a. True

b. False

3. All the bombachas made in the shop “Aux Charpentiers” are handmade.

a. True

b. False

For transcript and answers see below.

Transcript and Answers:

It’s a classic postcard image of Argentina – the gaucho, or cowboy, rounding-up his cattle on horseback. But this traditional way of life is dying out – as cattle ranches give way to more lucrative soya plantations grown for biofuel.

“The world is globalized now, so people have changed. We no longer have real roots in the land and so there’s been a deep loss of identity”

Since 2003 a third of Argentina’s cultivated land has switched from livestock to crops. But at least part of the cowboy lifestyle is still going strong – their billowing trousers, called bombachas. Legend has it they arrived in Argentina in the nineteenth century, when the country accepted a shipment of military uniforms from Turkey, left over from the Crimean War. Perfect for horseback riding, the trousers caught on among cattle herders and wealthy landowners alike.

“I’m very used to wearing these clothes, they’re comfortable and I’m proud to wear them”

 And to buy your bombachas – this is the place to come. “Aux Charpentiers” is a Buenos Aires boutique founded by French immigrants at the end of the 19th century. A classic cotton pair costs about 60 euros. The shop has featured in fashion magazines around the world and is a key stop for stylish tourists. ,

“They'll never disappear, because they're something clients tell us they wouldn’t change for anything in the world, because they're cool and comfortable”

Here, the bombachas are entirely handmade.

“Bombachas are a lot of work. The strap, a pocket here, a pocket there… this pair has five pockets. Those over there only have three pockets, thank goodness, and they don’t have buttons. That takes time”

 The shop now sells new designs for a younger clientele – narrower bombachas for the city, or linen ones for the summer. Argentina’s gauchos may be making way for soya in the country – but in the city, they’re fashion icons. 



Answers:
1. a
2. b
3. a

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