Text 14

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STUDYING OF ARTS

To enjoy the special value of works of arts, we must be ready to give a great deal to them. The greatest works of music and poetry often present difficulties. We cannot expect to master them all at once. And we cannot always find what is worthy in them at a glance. It is possible to get some satisfaction out of music while reading a newspaper or peeling potatoes. But we must listen with full attention before we can find the riches in great works of music.

Some of us feel that we cannot find much to enjoy in one art or another. But most of us can find aesthetic satisfaction in some of the arts - if we know how to go about it. And many of us find that music, painting, or poetry provides an inexhaustible source of joy for a lifetime. At the same time, we may discover whether we ourselves have the ability to create art. If we do, we have a source of satisfaction we do not want to miss. Children take music lessons, learn to sing together, and study drawing. Many persons try amateur acting, or write stories and poems. Some have great talent and become professional artists. Other may remain amateurs. And even those of us who conclude that we do not have much creative ability find that trying to paint or write sharpens our perceptions and adds to our enjoyment of the arts.

There is also a more theoretical approach to the arts. We may begin to think about some of the deeper problems they represent. This is the study of aesthetics. It tries to find what makes one work of art better than another, and whether there are objective standards of criticism. It considers how our interest in art is connected with our other great philosophic interests - science and religion. Critics and philosophers have studied such questions. In asking them, we become philosophers ourselves.

Do the exercises below.

Exercise 1. Answer the questions below.

1. What must we be ready to do to enjoy the special value of works of arts?

2. What can most of us find in some of the arts?

3. How do children learn to create art?

4. What do some people try to do to create art?

5. What is the study of aesthetics?

Exercise 2. Complete the sentences from the text.

1. To enjoy the special value of works of arts, we must be ready to ... . 2. It is possible to get some satisfaction out of music while ... . 3. But we must listen with full attention before ... . 4. And many of us find that music, painting, or poetry provides ... . 5. Children take ... . 6. Many persons try ... . 7. Aesthetics tries to find what makes one work of art ... .

Exercise 3. Find English equivalents of the following words from

the text and memorize them:

багато; естетичне задоволення; невичерпне джерело; здатність; втратити; аматорська гра (на сцені); загострити відчуття.