Questions 32-40
Considered the most influential architect of his time, Frank Lloyd
Wright (1867-1959) was born in the small rural community of Richland
Center, Wisconsin. He entered the University of Wisconsin at the age of
15 as a special student, studying engineering because the school had no
course in architecture. At the age of 20 he then went to work as a
draughtsman in Chicago in order to learn the traditional, classical
language of architecture. After marrying into a wealthy business
family at the age of 21, Wright set up house in an exclusive
neighborhood in Chicago, and after a few years of working for a number
of architectural firms, set up his own architectural office.
For twenty years he brought up a family of six children upstairs,
and ran a thriving architectural practice of twelve or so draughtsmen
downstairs. Here, in an idyllic American suburb, with giant oaks,
sprawling lawns, and no fences, Wright built some sixty rambling homes
by the year 1900. He became the leader of a style known as the
"Prairie" school - houses with low-pitched roofs and extended lines
that blended into the landscape and typified his style of "organic
architecture".
By the age of forty-one, in 1908, Wright had achieved extraordinary
social and professional success. He gave countless lectures at major
universities, and started his Taliesin Fellowship - a visionary social
workshop in itself. In 1938 he appeared on the cover of Time magazine,
and later, on a two cent stamp. The most spectacular buildings of his
mature period were based on forms borrowed from nature, and the
intentions were clearly romantic, poetic, and intensely personal.
Examples of these buildings are Tokyo‘s Imperial Hotel (1915-22:
demolished 1968), and New York City‘s Guggenheim Museum (completed
1959). He continued working until his death in 1959, at the age of 92,
although in his later years, he spent as much time giving interviews
and being a celebrity, as he did in designing buildings. Wright can be
considered an essentially idiosyncratic architect whose influence was
immense but whose pupils were few.
32. With which of the following subjects is the passage mainly
concerned?
(a) the development of modern architecture in America
(b) the contributions of the "Prairie" School to modern
architecture
(c) the life and achievements of a famous architect
(d) the influence of the style of "organic architecture" in
America
33. Frank Lloyd Wright first worked as a draughtsman because
(a) for twenty years he lived above his shop and employed
draughtsmen
(b) to learn the language of architecture
(c) that is what he studied at the University of Wisconsin
(d) that is the work of new employees in architectural firms
34. The word "some" in line 11 is closest in meaning to
(a) around
(b) over
(c) nearly
(d) exactly
35. According to the passage, an idyllic American suburb is
(a) based on forms borrowed from nature
(b) blended into the landscape
(c) giant oaks, sprawling lawns, and no fences
(d) houses with low-pitched reefs and extended lines
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