Statues

1. Read about different statues. Which statue…? (There is more than one possible answer)
1 Took 17 years to complete? A. Chopin’s statue is one of the most famous monuments in
Poland. The project was chosen in 1909, but because of the
2 Can we see from the sea?
First World War the monument was only unveiled in 1926.
3 Is the most recent? The cast from which it was produces was made in France.
4 Has a copy on the other side of the world? The worst thing that happened to the statue was in 1940
during the Second World War, when the statue was blown
5 Was inspired by a poem?
up. Because of its importance, it was reconstructed and
6 Is a venue for musical events? unveiled again in 1958. The cast consists of 116 pieces and
7 Welcomes immigrants? weighs 16 tons. It is 6.4 metres high. Nowadays, in the
summer there are live piano concerts
8 Remembers a faithful animal? by the monument. There is even a copy
9 Was a present? of it further away in Hamamatsu in
Japan, where the composer has some
10 Has an existing older version?
of his biggest fans.
11 Can we see from trains and cars?
12 Was recreated after its destruction?
B. The Dog in the Tuckerbox is the C. The Angel of the North stands on a hill above an
smallest of our selection of statues. It old coal mine near Newcastle in the UK, and reminds
is probably the least recognised us of the people who worked underground for two
outside of Australia. It has an hundred years. At 20 metres high it isn’t as tall as the
interesting history: in the 1850s, an Statue of Liberty, but it is wider because of its wings.
explorer wrote a poem about a faithful dog that guarded the It was completed in 1998 and used 200 tons of steel
master’s tuckerbox. The town of Gundagai decided to and 600 tons of concrete for its
remember it with a small statue. A local stonemason carved foundations, so it is heavier than
the statue and the Prime Minister of Australia introduced it to many other statues. It is less
the public in 1932. It may be less impressive than many famous than Lady Liberty, but
statues, but few are more important to their local economy 100.000 road and rail users see it
than the dog, which has transformed the little town into a every day.
popular touristic destination
D. The Statue of Liberty is probably the most famous statue in the world. Situated in New York harbour,
it was a gift from the people of France, and it has welcomed immigrants to the USA since it was finished
in 1886. The statue is 46 metres tall, but with its foundations measures 93 metres. It used 31 tons of
copper and 125 tons of steel. Another version stands in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. It is smaller
than the one in New York, but older, as it was the model for its much bigger sister.
From Matura Explorer Pre-intermediate. National Geographic

2. Complete the sentences using the comparative, the superlative, or as… as..
a) The Dog on the Tuckerbox was certainly ________________________ (expensive) and ____________________ (easy)
to make of all statues.
b) I think The Angel of the North is _________________________ (strange) of the statues.
c) Chopin’s Statue is not _______________________ _(tall) the Statue of Liberty
d) I’m not sure which is ____________________________ (heavy) – the Angel or the statue of Chopin.
e) The statue of the dog is __________________________________ (charming) of them all.
f) At the moment The Angel isn’t ________________________________ (famous) the Statue of Liberty, but it’s only
because it is a lot ____________________________ (young)
g) Chopin’s statue was _____________________________ (difficult) to make than the one of the dog
h) The version in the Luxembourg Gardens isn’t ___________________________ (tall) its American sister
i) Some people say that the Angel is _______________________________ (big) waste of money ever
j) I think the one of Chopin has ____________________________________ (interesting) history of all