Table of Contents
BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 489
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST 489 – PASSAGE – 2
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST – 489
READING PASSAGE – 2
THE MOD SUBCULTURE
Sociologically defined, a subculture is a group which exists within a larger culture and has differing interests or beliefs to those of the majority. There are many facets which can define what a subculture looks like, including fashion, political beliefs, and musical tastes. One such subculture exploded onto the social scene in the late 50s and early 60s, and still has some resonance in today’s society. The Mod subculture was predominantly a youth culture, with its origins in London, England, although researchers such as Paul Jobling and David Crowley have stated that the culture is difficult to define because it kept changing as a result of constant reinvention.
The Mod subculture started to emerge as a result of increased economic prosperity in England following a period of post-war austerity in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This prosperity allowed the youth of the era to have more disposable income, combined with the fact that they often didn’t have to contribute to household income as much as previous generations had. This led to a desire for more independence and an avoidance of the strict social norms and rules that had been imposed before.
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According to sociologist Simon Frith, the origins of the culture can be traced to coffee bars which were frequented by art school students, mainly because they opened later than pubs at the time. Although these cafés were originally targeted at middle class students, as time passed, the clientele became more mixed.
The independence that comes with earning more money enabled young male mods to spend the bulk of their income on clothes, travel, and leisure. Experts such as Shari Benstock and Suzanne Ferris claim that male Mods were obsessed with fashion, and even ‘worshipped leisure and money’. They say that this obsession with fashion was seen as a move away from the more masculine concerns of labour and hard work, as fashion was previously deemed to be more of a feminine pursuit. At the same time, women, as members of the Mod movement, were seen to become more autonomous. According to Stuart Hall the ability to earn their own income.
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As mentioned above, one of the defining features of the Mods was their fashion. Since the youth of the day had more money to spend, they often bought clothing which was stylish and sophisticated. Tailored suits were popular with male Mods and the initial visit to a high-end tailor for your first made-to-measure suit was a rite of passage. Some areas became associated with the movement, and shops in these places catered to Mods, one such being Carnaby Street in London’s Soho.
Much of the fashion, including in areas other than clothes, such as hairstyles and riding scooters, was influenced by continental art and fashion, especially that of France and Italy. Some male Mods even experimented with make-up, such as eye shadow or lipstick. Women, on the other hand, adopted a more androgynous look, often wearing men’s trousers and shirts while sporting a short hairstyle. The British sociologist and expert on subcultures, Dick Hebdige, commented that Mod culture was a mixture of styles rather than one single style.
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Another major characteristic of Mods was their choice of music. In fact, the term ‘Mod’ comes from ‘modernist’ because the early adoptees listened to modern jazz music. Jazz remained a staple music choice for Mods throughout the years, but was joined by soul, Rhythm and Blues, psychedelic music, and ska. Dedicated nightclubs played these types of music for the Mods to dance to.
The Mod culture is also heavily connected to scooters or mopeds, such as the Lambretta from Italy. Even though people who adopted the Mod lifestyle were working, they were often working in low-paid jobs and so the scooter was a simple and cost-effective method of transport. This was especially helpful as public transport at the time did not run late into the night, so getting home after being at a nightclub would prove a problem without a means of transport. As well as being practical and affordable, the scooter chimed with the continental aesthetic that the Mods took as their inspiration.
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As a subculture, the Mods often clashed with other groups, most notoriously the Rockers. The Rockers listened to different types of music, dressed in a more masculine fashion, and rode motorcycles instead of scooters. There were often violent clashes between the two groups, especially in Brighton on the south coast of England. This led to the acclaimed sociologist Stanley Cohen branding the situation a ‘moral panic’, the term he used to describe the exaggerated reaction of the media to the clashes between the two groups of youths.
By the late 1960s, the Mod subculture was starting to wane. Dick Hebdige has remarked that the reason for this was that the Mod lifestyle and clothing were becoming too commercial. Clothing stores started to create their own Mod-style clothes but this stole the initiative from the Mods themselves. Although the Mod scene has largely declined, there are still elements of the lifestyle in today’s society, which can be seen in singers and bands such as Oasis in the 1990s and 21st-century musicians like Miles Kane. Since its beginnings in Swinging London, the Mod subculture has travelled all over the world, but now mainly tends to exist more as an underground culture rather than a visible one.
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Questions 14-17
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below. Write the correct letter, A-F.
14. The majority of people who followed the Mod lifestyle
15. Mods tended to have more money to spare because they often
16. Women in the Mod subculture
17. Mods chose to ride scooters because they
A. were able to gain a greater sense of independence.
B. were in their 50s and 60s.
C. tended to wear eye shadow and lipstick.
D. were young people in England.
E. were a relatively cheap way to get around.
F. didn’t need to help their parents financially.
Questions 18-21
Look at the following ideas (Questions 18-21) and the list of people below. Match each idea with the correct person or people, A-E.
Write the correct letter, A-E.
18. the Mods’ attitudes towards traditional notions of masculinity
19. the results of the conflict between two subcultures
20. difficulties with the precise definition of ‘Mod’
21. the exploitation of Mod culture by businesses
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List of People
A. Dick Hebdige
B. Miles Kane
C. Shari Benstock and Suzanne Ferris
D. Paul Jobling and David Crowley
E. Stanley Cohen
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Questions 22-26
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 22-26 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
22. People in the Mod subculture wanted to follow traditional rules and norms.
23. Personal grooming was an important part of Mod culture.
24. Soho was the main place for Mods to buy clothing in London.
25. The name given to Mod subculture derived from an item of clothing.
26. The Mods and the Rockers dressed in distinct styles.
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ANSWERS
14. D
15. F
16. A
17. E
18. C
19. E
20. D
21. A
22. FALSE
23. TRUE
24. NOT GIVEN
25. FALSE
26. TRUE
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