Đề Thi Thử THPT Quốc Gia Lần 2 Tiếng Anh 2020-2021 Sở GD&ĐT Bắc Ninh

South Pole explorer Ernest Shackleton never reached his goal of crossing Antarctica, but the circumstances that prevented him from reaching that goal pushed him to achieve an even more amazing feat. In January 1915 Shackleton“s ship Endurance became trapped in the ice of Antarctica. He and his crew of twenty-seven lived on the ship trapped in the ice floes for nine months, until they had to abandon the ship when the ice crushed it. The day the ship sank, Shackleton wrote his new goal: “The task is to reach land with all members of the expedition.” The group camped on the ice floes for six months, until the ice broke up and they took small lifeboats to nearby uninhabited Elephant Island. During their time on the ship, ice, and island, Shackleton“s group endured temperatures as low as twenty degrees below zero and had no daylight from May to July. They had to hunt scarce seals and penguins for food, and were hunted themselves by killer whales and sea leopards, which would rise through the ice in search of prey. Throughout this time, Shackleton demonstrated his leadership by rationing food, rotating use of warmer sleeping bags, and keeping a calm, positive attitude that helped morale. He also showed great courage as he and five of his men crossed eight hundred miles of dangerous ocean to the nearest inhabited island to seek help. Despite no maps and terrible weather, Shackleleton“s small boat reached the island where Shackleton and an even smaller group crossed unexplored, jagged mountains to reach a whaling station. He organized a rescue party to retrieve the rest of his crew, and despite the perils of living in south polar waters for almost two years, all twenty-seven men came back from the expedition. Shackleton never crossed the South Pole, but he completed the task of bringing back all of his crew alive.

Free-standing sculpture that is molded or carved is a type familiar to almost everyone. Although certain free-standing figures or groups of figures can have only a single side intended for viewing, others are completed on all sides. As with all other forms of art, the ultimate shape of a sculpture reflects the artist's vision of individuals or experiences represented by the work. Throughout history, people everywhere have discovered a need for sculpture as a record of events and feelings.
Materials which can be sculptured do much to contribute to the artist's imagination. Wood, stone, metal, and various types of plastic and synthetics are all used as sculpting media. When sculptures are made of stone, wood, ivory, or even ice, the sculptor carves or chips the substance to reduce it to the necessary shape. Developing a sculptured image on all sides represents a change from the older approach when artists left the back portion of the figure unfinished and rough. In fact, sculpture in relief is completely attached to the flat background material and appears to be a part of it. Relief, which is completed only on one side intended for viewing, was the first type of sculpture created by man, when ancient sculptors removed the background material in a side of a tree or a cave to make their drawing appear more realistic.
While creating a statue, the artist depends on the appropriate lighting to develop the figure because the quality of the final product relies on the interplay between light and shade. When the work is finished, the sculpture must be displayed in the same light as it was originally created. If a light from a source is too weak or too strong, the effect that the sculptor intended may be lost. For example, in painting, the light and shade give the image shape and solidity that cannot be altered by an external light in which it is displayed. When a sculpture is exhibited, the artist's work is brought to life by light, and its character can be altered by the control of the light source. A fundamental difference between a painting and a sculpture is that when viewing a painting, the audience can only see the point of view that the painter had intended. A free-standing sculpture can be seen from practically any angle. The job of the sculptor is then to attain the quality and the volume of the image from any possible point of view.
In addition to carving a work, sculptures can be cast. In the process of casting, a sculpture can be reproduced in a mold when a liquefied medium is poured into shape. After the material from which the sculpture is made hardens, the mold is removed, and the work is cleaned of the excess and polished. Casting allows the artists to produce as many replicas as needed. Most commercially sold sculptures are made in this way. Casting metals requires special care and skill. Bronze is the preferred metal because of its versatility and malleability. To make bronze sculpture, the space in a mold is filled with wax until it is melted by the heated metal. This process, sometimes called lost-wax, was favored by Benvenuto Cellini and was common among the artists in ancient China.

Urbanisation can bring (39)_____a lot of benefits. It can offer people from rural areas not only opportunities for better-paid jobs, but also access to schools, hospitals and other social services. As a result, people's overall standard of living can improve.
People in rural areas tend to be more conservative and follow old-fashioned practices like child marriage and gender discrimination. The process of urbanisation can actually (40) _________their mindset and help them to accept more progressive ideas.
However, there are also some obvious disadvantages. High rates of urbanisation can contribute to more crime in big cities. (41)__________many people benefit, not all get the opportunity of a good and stable job. Unemployed, people are more likely to engage in robbery, kidnapping, murder and other illegal activities. Another problem caused by urbanisation is the shortage of affordable housing in big cities, (42)__ can result in growth of slums with no sanitation or drinking water. In addition, urbanisation leads to the shift of the working population from agriculture to industries. Labour shortages in rural areas are likely to result in a decrease in agricultural and food production as well.
To sum up urbanisation can bring social and health benefits; however, it also has its own drawbacks. I've only discussed some of them. If you have any questions or comments, please (43)_free to raise them and I'll try my best to answer them.