Technical English

For Arts

Contents
Unit 1 : Defining
Unit 2 : Classifying
Unit 3 : Comparing
Unit 4 : Cause / Effect
Unit 5 : Signs and Instruction
Unit 6 : Describing Process
Unit 1 : Defining

Task 1
List the materials you know which are used in Fine Arts and combine your
list with your friends.
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________

Task 2
Match the following names with the pictures below.
a. Whittling Kit e. Sharpener i. Sandpaper
b. Brush f. Drawing Inks j. Frame
c. Clay g. Gouge
d. Cutter h. Mold Knife

__ __
__ __
__

__ __
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Task 3
Study the information in the table and write down the uses of each item.

Materials Description Uses

Watercolor a paint which is mixed
with water

Tempera a method of painting with

colours which are mixed
with egg and water

Oil Color a thick type of paint with

an oil base

Acrylic a type of paint made by

chemical processes from
a type of acid

Crayon a small stick of coloured

wax used for drawing or
writing

Coloured a long thin wooden object

Pencil for drawing, made from a
type of carbon, at one
end

Task 4
Match the following pictures with the shapes below.

A. C. D. E.
B.

F. G. H. I. J.

K. L. M. N. O.
 Shapes Description Pictures
a shape with three straight sides
____
Triangle
a shape which has four sides, two sets of
parallel opposite sides with equal length ____
Parallelogram
a shape which has two adjacent sides with
equal length ____
Kite
a shape with 90° angles and four sides, with
equal length of opposite sides ____
Rectangle
a shape with four sides of equal length and
four angles of 90° ____
Square
a five-sided shape with five angles
____
Pentagon
a shape which has six straight sides
____
Hexagon
a flat eight-sided shape
____
Octagon
a shape which has ten sides and ten angles
____
Decagon
a continuous curved line having the same
distance from a central point ____
Circle
a circle that is flattened either at one place
or at two opposite places ____
Oval
a shape which like a cresent moon

____
Lune
an object shaped like a round ball
____
Sphere
a solid or hollow tube with long straight sides
and two equal-sized circular ends ____
Cylinder
a shape with a flat round or oval base and a
Cone top which narrows to a point ____
Task 5
Study the information in the table below.

Terms Class Properties Uses

Purposes Supports
Acrylic Paint fast dry, strong bond, painting in a paper, canvas
very tough and durable, quick and wooden board,
water-washable expressionistic plastic, nail
way
Water Paint transparent, firm showing paper, plastic,
color adherent when laid on luminosity with vellum, leather,
paper, light, thin, light and fabric, wood,
varnish shadow canvas
Pastel Paint dry, chalky, dusty, preliminary paper,
spontaneous-looking, color studies, canvas, wood,
reflect light drawing fine metal, glass
details and
outlines

Task 6
Read the passage and fill in the table.

WAX CRAYON

Wax crayon is a type of paint which is natural and non-toxic with fresh
color. The natural transparency of the wax has a positive effect on varnishing. It
is mostly used for drawing and coloring by children. Wax crayon can be used on
paper, wall, wooden board, canvas and glass. There are charming effects when
layering one on top of the other, scraping or melting the colors.

Terms Class Properties Uses

Purposes Supports
Language Focus 1

A. To give the definition

is
Term Description (Noun/ Noun phrase/Gerund)
are
Ex: Watercolor is a paint which is mixed with water.

B. To define the term

is/are
is called
Description (Noun/ Noun phrase/Gerund) is defined as Term
is known as
is termed
Ex. A paint which is mixed with water is called watercolor.

C. To describe the properties

is
Term Properties (Adjective)
are
Ex. Acrylic paint is durable.

Term V.1 (object)

Ex. Pastel paint reflects light.

D. To describe uses
D.1 To describe purposes
is
Term are used for Purposes ( Noun, Noun Phrase, Gerund)

Ex. Acrylic paint is used for painting in a quick and expressionistic way.

D.2 To describe supports

is
Term used on Supports ( Noun, Noun Phrase)
are
Ex. Acrylic paint is used on paper, canvas wooden board, plastic, and nail.
Task 7
Read the following passage, circle the terms and underline the definitions.

Supports, Sizes and Grounds

The basic substructure of painting, such as paper, wood, cloth, etc. is

called support. For oil painting, linen or canvas on a stretcher is the most common.
Supports which are made from wood or plywood are called Panels. But if you put
paint on a support directly, the paint soaks the support and the fabric of the
support is eroded by acid of oil in the paint. Therefore, painters paint a glue
solution or the like on the surface of the support to prepare for painting. It's
called size. Solutions of animal skin glue, gelatin, casein, synthetic resin and so on
are used as materials for sizing. For oil painting or acrylic, painters paint the next
layer over the size. This layer covers up grains and color of woods or clothes, and
offers bright opaque base color for subsequent painting films. This layer is called
ground or sometimes also called primer.

Task 8
Use the pattern A in Language Focus to write the definitions of the terms above.
1. ______________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________

Task 9
Use the patterns A-D to write down the properties, purposes, and uses of the
Acrylic, Watercolor, and Pastel.
______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Language Focus 2 : Using Relative clause
Task 10.
Study the structures below and write down other examples.
1.
is/are description for purposes
Term which is/ are properties (adj.) is used on supports
v.1 + (object)

Ex. Watercolor which is a paint mixed with water is used for showing luminosity.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

2.
description
for purposes is/are
Term which is used properties
on supports
v.1 + (object)

Ex. Watercolor which is used for showing luminosity is a paint mixed with water.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

3.
is for purposes
Term which is a kind of class is used on supports
may be defined as

Ex. Pastel which is a kind of paint is used for preliminary color studies.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

4.
is/ are properties (adj.)
is v.1
Term is a kind of class which for purposes
may be defined as is used
on supports

Ex. Pastel is a kind of paint which is chalky and dusty.

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Task 11
In each sentence, write the letter T for the term, D for description, C for the
general class, P for the properties, and U for the uses

1. Pigment is a substance which gives something a particular color

when it is added to it.
_________________________________________________________

2. Black Oxide of Iron is a kind of pigment which is dense, opaque, and not greasy.
_________________________________________________________

3. Mosaic is a pattern which uses many small pieces of colored stone or glass
for wall decoration.
_________________________________________________________

4. The lowest member of the petroleum solvent family is the Kerosene

which is a poor solvent and evaporates slowly.
_________________________________________________________

5. Solvent is a liquid in which solids will dissolve.

_________________________________________________________

6. Gelatin is a kind of adhesive which is used for chemical and biological

laboratory purposes,
_________________________________________________________

Task 12
In group, find the term, description, general class, properties, and uses of the
tools on task2.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

End of Unit 1