Đề Thi Thử THPT Quốc Gia 2019-2020 Môn Tiếng Anh THPT Chuyên Bắc Ninh - Lần 1

The sculptural legacy that the new United States inherited from its colonial predecessors was far from a rich one, and in fact, in 1776 sculpture as an art form was still in the hand of artisans and craftspeople. Stone carvers engraved their motifs of skulls and crossbones and other religious icons of death into the gray slabs that we still see standing today in old burial grounds. Some skilled craftspeople made intricately carved wooden ornamentations for furniture or architectural decorations, while others carved wooden shop signs and ships' figureheads. Although they often achieved expression and formal excellence in their generally primitive style, they remained artisans skilled in the craft of carving and constituted a group distinct from what we normally think of as "sculptors" in today's use of the word.

On the rare occasion when a fine piece of sculpture was desired, Americans turned to foreign sculptors, as in the 1770's when the cities of New York and Charleston, South Carolina, commissioned the Englishman Joseph Wilton to make marble statues of William Pitt. Wilton also made a lead equestrian image of King George III that was created in New York in 1770 and torn down by zealous patriots six years later. A few marble memorials with carved busts, urns, or other decorations were produced in England and brought to the colonies to be set in the walls of churches - as in King's Chapel in Boston. But sculpture as a high art, practiced by artists who knew both the artistic theory of their RenaissanceBaroque-Rococo predecessors and the various technical procedures of modeling, casting, and carving rich three-dimensional forms, was not known among Americans in 1776. Indeed, for many years thereafter, the United States had two groups from which to choose - either the local craftspeople or the imported talent of European sculptors.

The eighteenth century was not one in which powered sculptural conceptions were developed. Add to this the timidity with which unschooled artisans originally trained as stonemasons, carpenters, or cabinetmakers - attacked the medium from which they sculpture made in the United States in the late eighteenth century.

Tsunamis should not be confused with storm surges, which are domes of water that rise underearth hurricanes or cyclones and cause extensive coastal flooding when the storms reach land. Storm surges are particularly devastating if they occur at high tide. A cyclone and accompanying storm surges killed an estimated 500,000 people in Bangladesh in 1970. The tsunami which struck south and southeast Asia in late 2004 killed over 200 thousand people.

Having a relationship with someone is important to people around the world; (30) ________, dating is different from culture to culture. Here are some examples.

Group dating is popular among young people in Europe and Australia. Groups as large as 30 people take part in events, such as going camping or having a party. This is seen as a (31) ________ way to spend time together, and to help to (32) ________ tension because people feel more comfortable in the company of friends before deciding whether to go on a one-to-one date.

In Singapore, since many young people stay single, the government has tried its best to encourage dating. Dating services are offered to single people. One of them is speed dating, in (33) ________ singles will spend a few minutes talking to one person before moving on to meet the next one.

Online dating is a common way of (34) ________ in the United States. Internet companies are now offering a service called ‘online dating assistant’ to help busy people to find a partner. An assistant helps customers to build their profiles, selects potential matches, and then sends several emails to the possible matches until the two people agree to meet face to face.