[1] A mermaid made of rescued metal scraps with hair fashioned out of red plastic tubes was lowered into the waters near Stockholm, Sweden, on a recent windy spring day.
[2] The sculpture looked like The Little Mermaid from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, with a nod to Disney’s 1989 film. It was joined underwater by artworks inspired by famous landmarks from around the world. These included the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer and the Statue of Liberty in New York.
[3] They are all part of the “Atlantis” art project. It aims to “create an underwater city of the world’s most famous buildings”, project manager Fredrik Johansson said. All the sculptures are made from scrap recovered by his organisation Hands2Ocean, which picks up rubbish dropped in the waters around Stockholm.
[4] Johansson said that in the six years he has been doing Hands2Ocean, they have collected 43 tonnes of batteries, 44 tonnes of electric scooters, 180 tonnes of tyres and more. In total, the organisation has picked up 400 tonnes of scrap.
[5] The Atlantis project mainly seeks to bring attention to the threat posed by rising ocean levels. “All forecasts today say that the water will rise. When the glaciers melt, the water will rise 1.2 metres [four feet] in 80 years. Then the Seychelles will be gone, the Maldives are gone, Bangladesh is gone. We don’t want to go that way,” Johansson said. “Atlantis symbolises where we are heading today. When all these cities are under water, then we have a new Atlantis,” he added. Atlantis was a submerged island in Greek mythology.
[6] The artworks also include pieces inspired by London’s Big Ben and New York’s Empire State Building, complete with King Kong climbing the top. They will be submerged underwater for a year. “Then we take them up to an auction where the money goes to continue this work,” Johansson said.
[7] One of the artists, Paul Svensson, is making a replica of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. It is the world’s tallest building. “This one will be called Beer Can Khalifa,” Svensson said with a smile as he stacked beer cans. “I think the symbolism is very funny. It’s the biggest bling-bling property we have in the world. In the ocean, the bling-bling we can find are beer cans flashing back at us,” he said. The artworks can be seen on the project’s website and by divers.
Source: Agence France-Presse March 18
Questions
1. What materials was the mermaid made from according to paragraph 1? (2 marks)
2. In paragraph 2, what do the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer and the Statue of Liberty in New York have in common?
3. What do the numbers mentioned in paragraph 4 refer to?
(i) 44 tonnes
(ii) 400 tonnes
4. According to paragraph 5, Atlantis is a … in Greek mythology.
A. floating city
B. mountain range
C. submerged island
D. huge glacier
5. According to paragraph 5, what does Johansson believe will happen if ocean levels continue to rise?
6. Rewrite the following sentences in passive voice. The first one has been done for you as an example. (2 marks)
Example: Hands2Ocean collected scrap from Stockholm waters.
Passive voice: Scrap was collected from Stockholm waters by Hands2Ocean.
(i) Paul Svensson created the Beer Can Khalifa.
(ii) Johansson’s team will submerge the artworks for one year.
Answers
1. recovered metal scraps and red plastic tubes
2. They are famous landmarks.
3. (i) the amount of electric scooters Hands2Ocean picked up; (ii) the total amount of scrap Hands2Ocean picked up (accept all similar answers)
4. C
5. places like the Seychelles, the Maldives, and Bangladesh will be submerged, leading to a new Atlantis
6. (i) The Beer Can Khalifa was created by Paul Svensson; (ii) The artworks will be submerged for one year by Johanssons’ team.
