Practical Exercises On The Topic Formal Style

1 Read the following excerpts and find examples of each of the features of formal and informal style listed in the table above.

EXCERPT A
A matter of considerable controversy at present is the issue of whether works of art should remain in their country of origin, or rather the owners of such works should be allowed to sell them to collectors abroad, thus depriving the country's population of a vital part of its cultural heritage. Strong arguments exist in support of both sides of this debate, which implies that it is worth examining both points of view before reaching any conclusions.
Should such sales be permitted, it is argued that the country of origin would lose pieces of art which rightfully belong where they were created. In addition, works of art which were created to be viewed in a certain setting, or as part of a particular struc¬ture, lose a great deal of their artistic impact when removed from this context. Venus de Milo, an ancient statue of Aphrodite is a clear case in point: this conspicuous example of the Hellenistic sculptural tradition, carved in 150 BC and found on the Aegean island of Melos in 1820, is now decorating nothing more inspiring than a room at the Louvre Museum in Paris …
EXCERPT B
People argue a lot nowadays about whether or not works of art from one country should be sold to another, don't think they should be. If they are then the people in the country of origin lose out on the chance to see stuff that really belongs to them. This just isn't right. It's a problem, too, when you see works of art in the wrong place. I mean the Parthenon friezes look boring the way they show them in the British Museum. That's just not where they belong. But if you could see them on the Parthenon, they'd look great…

Works consulted
Taken from "Successful Writing Proficiency" by Virginia Evans

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