Graded reading: Graffiti and street art (level 1) – exercises

Do the preparation exercise first. Then read the text and do the exercises to check your understanding.

Preparation
Write the correct word in the box below the picture.

gallery twins artist

aerosol paint castle graffiti

1. Check your understanding: matching

Write the correct place name from the box next to the sentence below.

Taiwan Cape Town São Paulo New York Scotland Bristol

1. Os Gêmeos painted a castle here.

…………………………………….
2. Faith47 comes from this South African city.
…………………………………….
3. There is a street art festival here every August. …………………………………….
4. Tourists visit this city to see the street art.
…………………………………….
5. In the 1970s, young people wrote ‘tags’ on the city walls.
…………………………………….
6. Here, artists can paint and write in ‘graffiti zones’.
…………………………………….
2. Check your understanding: true or false
Circle True or False for these sentences.

1. Demetrius’s tag was ‘TAKI 457’. True False

2. Demetrius wrote his tag in pen. True False

3. Aerosol paint graffiti became popular in the 1970s and 1980s. True False

4. Some galleries have exhibitions of street art. True False

5. Os Gêmeos paint pictures of homeless people in big cities. True False

6. Faith47 doesn’t paint on walls. True False

Discussion

What do you think about graffiti? Is it really art?

Is there graffiti in your town or city?
Do you think it makes your town or city look good?
Should the police stop graffiti artists?
 Graded reading: Graffiti and street art (level 1) – text
Graffiti and street art isn't new. Find out about its history in this article.

The story of street art

Modern graffiti began in big cities in the United States in the 1970s. In New York, young people wrote their
names, or 'tags', in pen on walls around the city.
One of the first 'taggers' was a teenager called Demetrius. His tag was TAKI 183. He wrote his tag on walls
and in stations in New York. Other teenagers saw Demetrius's tag and started writing their tags too. Soon,
there were tags on walls, buses and trains all over New York.
Then, some teenagers started writing their tags with aerosol paint. Their tags were bigger and more
colourful. Aerosol paint graffiti became very popular in the 1970s and 1980s. It appeared on trains, buses
and walls around the world.
In the 1990s and 2000s, a lot of graffiti artists started painting pictures. Some artists' pictures were about
politics. Other artists wanted to make cities beautiful and painted big, colourful pictures on city walls.

Graffiti in galleries
In some countries, writing or painting on walls is a crime. Sometimes, graffiti artists have problems with the
police. In other countries, artists can draw and paint in certain places. For example, in Taiwan, there are
'graffiti zones' where artists can paint on walls. In São Paulo in Brazil, street artists can paint pictures on
walls and houses. Their pictures are colourful and beautiful. Some tourists visit São Paulo just to see the
street art!
In Bristol in the UK, there is a street art festival in August every year. Artists paint all the buildings in a
street. Lots of people come to watch the artists and take photos. You can see exhibitions of street art in
some galleries too. There have been exhibitions of street art in galleries in Paris, London and Los Angeles.

Who are the artists?

Some street artists have become famous. Here are three stars of the street art world:
• Os Gêmeos are twin brothers from São Paulo. They paint big, colourful pictures of people on
buildings. In 2007, they painted a castle in Scotland!
• Blek le Rat is from Paris. He is famous for painting pictures of homeless people in big cities.
• Faith47 is from Cape Town in South Africa. She paints big, colourful pictures of people and
animals. She likes painting in different places and you can find her work on pavements, postboxes,
buses and, of course, on walls!

The future of street art

Many street artists use the internet to look at photos of street art from around the world. They communicate
with other artists online and share ideas. Some street artists are famous and you can see their pictures in
galleries. We don't know about the future of street art, but it is here to stay for sure!
Robin Newton
 Video zone
Turning plastic waste into art
These young people in Nigeria collect plastic waste and make it into art! Watch and see how
they do it.

Tasks
Do the preparation task first. Then watch the video and do the exercises.

Preparation task
Match the definitions (a–j) with the vocabulary (1–10).

Vocabulary Definition
1. …… to dispose of something a. a picture on the wall of a room or building
2. …… cement b. something you wear that is not essential but is
3. …… an accessory useful or looks nice
4. …… fishing line c. to throw something away
5. …… wire d. a group of houses or apartment buildings
6. …… a mural e. something you use to stick things together,
7. …… single-use usually in buildings
8. …… an estate f. a pattern made by using lots of small pieces of
coloured glass, plastic, etc.
9. …… to protest
g. strong plastic string that you use to catch fish
10. …… a mosaic
h. strong thin metal thread used for fastening things
i. something you just use one time
j. to show that you disagree with something

Task 1
Circle the best answer.

1. What does the Greenfingers Changemakers group do?

a. They design and b. They try not to use c. They grow flowers in
make things out of any plastic. their school.
waste plastic.

2. Where does the Greenfingers Changemakers group collect plastic for their projects?

a. from a recycling b. from the streets c. on the beach

centre where they live

© British Council 2021 www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishteens

3. What kinds of accessories do the group make?

a. earrings, bracelets b. hats and scarves c. bags and purses

and necklaces

4. How much of the material used for their jewellery is waste plastic?

a. 50 per cent b. 75 per cent c. 95 per cent

5. What decoration did the group make for Christmas?

a. a Christmas tree b. a snowman c. a Santa

6. Why does the group make plastic dresses?

a. because they are b. because they are c. to show they don’t

fashionable cheaper than normal agree with single-use
dresses plastic

Task 2
Complete the sentences with words from the box.

green plastic
cut out cups caps wire
bottles

cement recycle patterns single-use plastic fishing line

1. To make a mural, the group mixes ……………………………… and puts it on the wall. Then they
stick bottle ……………………………… onto the cement.
2. They use things like plastic ……………………………… and ……………………………… to make earrings,
bracelets and necklaces.
3. They ……………………………… different shapes and ……………………………… from the plastic.
4. When they made the Christmas tree, they used ……………………………… to fix ………………………………
to a frame.
5. They made dresses to tell people to stop using ……………………………… , or at least to
……………………………… it.

Discussion
What would you make from things people throw away?

© British Council 2021 www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishteens