READING

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Introduction to a book about the history of colour

DO YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE COLOUR OF YOUR CLOTHES?WHAT COLOUR SUITS YOU THE MOST?

This book examines how the ever-changing role of colour in society has been reflected in manuscripts,
stained glass, clothing, painting and popular culture. Colour is a natural phenomenon, of course, but it is
also a complex cultural construct that resists generalization and, indeed, analysis itself. No doubt this is
why serious works devoted to colour are rare, and rarer still are those that aim to study it in historical
context. Many authors search for the universal or archetypal truths they imagine reside in colour, but
for the historian, such truths do not exist. Colour is first and foremost a social phenomenon. There is no
transcultural truth to colour perception, despite what many books based on poorly grasped
neurobiology or - even worse - on pseudoesoteric pop psychology would have us believe. Such books
unfortunatley clutter the bibliography on the subject, and even do it harm.

The silence of historians on the subject of colour, or more particularly their difficulty in conceiving colour
as a subject separate from other historical phenomena, is the result of three different sets of problems.
The first concerns documentation and preservation. We see the colours transmitted to us by the past as
time has altered them and not as they were originally. Moreover, we see them under light conditions
that often are entirely different from those known by past societies. And finally, over the decades we
have developed the habit of looking at objects from the past in black-and-white photographs and,
despite the current diffusion of colour photography, our ways of thinking about and reacting to these
objects seem to have remained more or less black and white.

The second set of problems concerns methodology. As soon as the historian seeks to study colour, he
must grapple with a host of factors all at once: physics, chemistry, materials, and techniques of
production, as well as iconography, ideology, and the symbolic meanings that colours convey. How to
make sense of all of these elements? How can one establish an analytical model facilitating the study of
images and coloured objects? No researcher, no method, has yet been able to resolve these problems,
because among the numerous facts pertaining to colour, a researcher tends to select those facts that
support his study and to conveniently forget those that contradict it. This is clearly a poor way to
conduct research. And it is made worse by the temptation to apply to the objects and images of a given
historical period information found in texts of that period. The proper method - at least in the first phase
of analysis - is to proceed as do palaeontologists (who must study cave paintings without the aid of
texts): by extrapolating from the images and the objects themselves a logic and a system based on
various concrete factors such as the rate of occurrence of particular objects and motifs, their
distribution and disposition. In short, one undertakes the internal structural analysis with which any
study of an image or coloured object should begin.

The third set of problems is philosophical: it is wrong to project our own conceptions and definitions of
colour onto the images, objects and monuments of past centuries. Our judgements and values are not
those of previous societies (and no doubt they will change again in the future). For the writer-historian
looking at the definitions and taxonomy of colour, the danger of anachronism is very real. For example,
the spectrum with its natural order of colours was unknown before the seventeenth century, while the
notion of primary and secondary colours did not become common until the nineteenth century. These
are not eternal notions but stages in the ever-changing history of knowledge.
I have reflected on such issues at greater length in my previous work, so while the present book does
address certain of them, for the most part it is devoted to other topics. Nor is it concerned only with the
history of colour in images and artworks - in any case that area still has many gaps to be filled. Rather,
the aim of this book is to examine all kinds of objects in order to consider the different facets of the
history of colour and to show how far beyond the artistic sphere this history reaches. The history of
painting is one thing; that of colour is another, much larger, question. Most studies devoted to the
history of colour err in considering only the pictorial, artistic or scientific realms. But the lessons to be
learned from colour and its real interest lie elsewhere.

(Source: CAE Handbook. Reproduced with permission from Cambridge English)

Questions

1) What problem regarding colour does the writer explain in the first paragraph?

? Our view of colour is strongly affected by changing fashion.

? Analysis is complicated by the bewildering number of natural colours.

? Colours can have different associations in different parts of the world.

? Certain popular books have dismissed colour as insignificant.

2) What is the first reason the writer gives for the lack of academic work on the history of
colour?

? There are problems of reliability associated with the artefacts available.

? Historians have seen colour as being outside their field of expertise.

? Colour has been rather looked down upon as a fit subject for academic study.

? Very little documentation exists for historians to use.

3) The writer suggests that the priority when conducting historical research on colour is to

? ignore the interpretations of other modern day historians.

? focus one's interest as far back as the prehistoric era.

? find some way of organising the mass of available data.

? relate pictures to information from other sources.

4) In the fourth paragraph, the writer says that the historian writing about colour should be
careful

? not to analyse in an old-fashioned way.

? when making basic distinctions between key ideas.

? not to make unwise predictions.

? when using certain terms and concepts.

5) In the fifth paragraph, the writer says there needs to be further research done on
 ? the history of colour in relation to objects in the world around us.

? the concerns he has raised in an earlier publication.

? the many ways in which artists have used colour over the years.

? the relationship between artistic works and the history of colour.

6) An idea recurring in the text is that people who have studied colour have

? failed to keep up with scientific developments.

? not understood its global significance.

? found it difficult to be fully objective.

? been muddled about their basic aims.

The Architecture of Happiness

WHAT DO YOU BASE YOUR HAPPINESS ON?

Four reviewers comment on philosopher Alain De Botton's book called The Architecture of
Happiness.

Alain de Botton is a brave and highly intelligent writer who writes about complex subjects,
clarifying the arcane for the layman. Now, with typical self-assurance, he has turned to the
subject of architecture. The essential theme of his book is how architecture influences mood
and behaviour. It is not about the specifically architectural characteristics of space and design,
but much more about the emotions that architecture inspires in the users of buildings. Yet
architects do not normally talk nowadays very much about emotion and beauty. They talk
about design and function. De Botton's message, then, is fairly simple but worthwhile precisely
because it is simple, readable and timely. His commendable aim is to encourage architects, and
society more generally, to pay more attention to the psychological consequences of design in
architecture: architecture should be treated as something that affects all our lives, our
happiness and well-being.

Alain de Botton raises important, previously unasked, questions concerning the quest for
beauty in architecture, or its rejection or denial. Yet one is left with the feeling that he needed
the help and support of earlier authors on the subject to walk him across the daunting
threshold of architecture itself. And he is given to making extraordinary claims: 'Architecture is
perplexing ... in how inconsistent is its capacity to generate the happiness on which its claim to
our attention is founded.' If architecture's capacity to generate happiness is inconsistent, this
might be because happiness has rarely been something architects think about. De Botton
never once discusses the importance of such dull, yet determining, matters as finance or
planning laws, much less inventions such as the lift or reinforced concrete. He appears to
believe that architects are still masters of their art, when increasingly they are cogs in a global
machine for building in which beauty, and how de Botton feels about it, are increasingly beside
the point.

In The Architecture of Happiness, Alain de Botton has a great time making bold and amusing
judgements about architecture, with lavish and imaginative references, but anyone in search
of privileged insights into the substance of building design should be warned that he is not
looking at drain schedules or pipe runs. He worries away, as many architects do, at how inert
material things can convey meaning and alter consciousness. Although he is a rigorous thinker,
most of de Botton's revelations, such as the contradictions in Le Corbusier's theory and
practice, are not particularly new. However, this is an engaging and intelligent book on
architecture and something everyone, professionals within the field in particular, should read.

Do we want our buildings merely to shelter us, or do we also want them to speak to us? Can
the right sort of architecture even improve our character? Music mirrors the dynamics of our
emotional lives. Mightn't architecture work the same way? De Botton thinks so, and in The
Architecture of Happiness he makes the most of this theme on his jolly trip through the world
of architecture. De Botton certainly writes with conviction and, while focusing on happiness
can be a lovely way to make sense of architectural beauty, it probably won't be of much help
in resolving conflicts of taste.

(Source: CAE Handbook. Reproduced with permission from Cambridge English)

Questions

Which reviewer

1) has a different opinion from the others on the confidence with which de Botton discusses
architecture?

? Reviewer A

? Reviewer B

? Reviewer C

? Reviewer D

2) shares reviewer A's opinion whether architects should take note of de Botton's ideas?

? Reviewer A

? Reviewer B
 ? Reviewer C

? Reviewer D

3) expresses a similar view to reviewer B regarding the extent to which architects share de
Botton's concerns?

? Reviewer A

? Reviewer B

? Reviewer C

? Reviewer D

4) has a different view to reviewer C on the originality of some of de Botton's ideas?

? Reviewer A

? Reviewer B

? Reviewer C

? Reviewer D

Starting out on your career

HOW DO YOU IMAGINE YOUR CAREER WILL START? WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE FOR IT?

Are you a graduate trying to plan out the best career path for yourself? We've asked five
careers consultants to give some tips on how to go about it.

Consultant A

A university degree is no guarantee of a job, and job hunting in itself requires a whole set of
skills. If you find you are not getting past the first interview, ask yourself what is happening. Is
it a failure to communicate or are there some skills you lack? Once you see patterns emerging
it will help you decide whether the gaps you have identified can be filled relatively easily. If you
cannot work out what the mismatch is, get back to the selection panel with more probing
questions, and find out what you need to do to bring yourself up to the level of qualification
that would make you more attractive to them: but be careful to make this sound like a genuine
request rather than a challenge or complaint.

Consultant B

Do not be too dispirited if you are turned down for a job, but think about the reasons the
employers give. They often say it is because others are 'better qualified', but they use the term
loosely. Those who made the second interview might have been studying the same subject as
you and be of similar ability level, but they had something which made them a closer match to
the selector's ideal. That could be experience gained through projects or vacation work, or it
might be that they were better at communicating what they could offer. Do not take the
comments at face value: think back to the interviews that generated them and make a list of
where you think the shortfall in your performance lies. With this sort of analytical approach
you will eventually get your foot in the door.

Consultant C

Deciding how long you should stay in your first job is a tough call. Stay too long and future
employers may question your drive and ambition. Of course, it depends where you are aiming.
There can be advantages in moving sideways rather than up, if you want to gain real depth of
knowledge. If you are a graduate, spending five or six years in the same job is not too long
provided that you take full advantage of the experience. However, do not use this as an excuse
for apathy. Graduates sometimes fail to take ownership of their careers and take the initiative.
It is up to you to make the most of what's available within a company, and to monitor your
progress in case you need to move on. This applies particularly if you are still not sure where
your career path lies.

Consultant D

It is helpful to think through what kind of experience you need to get your dream job and it is
not a problem to move around to a certain extent. But in the early stages of your career you
need a definite strategy for reaching your goal, so think about that carefully before deciding to
move on from your first job. You must cultivate patience to master any role. There is no
guarantee that you will get adequate training, and research has shown that if you do not
receive proper help in a new role, it can take 18 months to master it.

Consultant E

A prospective employer does not want to see that you have changed jobs every six months
with no thread running between them. You need to be able to demonstrate the quality of your
experience to a future employer, and too many moves too quickly can be a bad thing. In any
company it takes three to six months for a new employee to get up to speed with the structure
and the culture of the company. From the company's perspective, they will not receive any
return on the investment in your salary until you have been there for 18 months. This is when
they begin to get most value from you - you are still fired up and enthusiastic. If you leave after
six months it has not been a good investment - and may make other employers wary.

(Source: CAE Handbook. Reproduced with permission from Cambridge English)

Questions

1) Keep your final objective in mind when you are planning to change jobs.

? Consultant A

? Consultant B

? Consultant C
 ? Consultant D

? Consultant E

2) It takes time to become familiar with the characteristics of a company you have joined.

? Consultant A

? Consultant B

? Consultant C

? Consultant D

? Consultant E

3) You should demonstrate determination to improve your job prospects.

? Consultant A

? Consultant B

? Consultant C

? Consultant D

? Consultant E

4) Make sure your approach for information is positive in tone.

? Consultant A

? Consultant B

? Consultant C

? Consultant D

? Consultant E

5) It is not certain that you will be given very much support in your job initially.

? Consultant A

? Consultant B

? Consultant C

? Consultant D

? Consultant E

6) Stay optimistic in spite of setbacks.

? Consultant A

? Consultant B

? Consultant C

? Consultant D
 ? Consultant E

7) Promotion isn't the only way to increase your expertise.

? Consultant A

? Consultant B

? Consultant C

? Consultant D

? Consultant E

8) Ask for information about your shortcomings.

? Consultant A

? Consultant B

? Consultant C

? Consultant D

? Consultant E

9) Some information you are given may not give a complete picture.

? Consultant A

? Consultant B

? Consultant C

? Consultant D

? Consultant E

10) It will be some time before you start giving your employers their money's worth.

? Consultant A

? Consultant B

? Consultant C

? Consultant D

? Consultant E