Question

[Lê Quỳnh Anh]

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to  indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from  39 to 46.

       The term  “art deco” has come to  encompass  three distinct but related design trends  of the 1920‘s and 1930‘s.  The  first  was  what  is  frequently  referred  to  as  “zigzag  moderne”  –the  exotically  ornamental style of such skyscrapers as the Chrysler Building   in New York City and related structures such as the Paramount  Theater  in  Oakland,  California.  The  word  “zigzag” alludes  to  the  geometric  and  stylized ornamentation of  zigzags, angular patterns, abstracted plant and animal  motifs,  sunbursts, astrological imagery, formalized fountains, and related themes that were applied in mosaic relief  and mural form to the exterior and interior of the buildings. Many of these buildings were   shaped in the ziggurat form, a design resembling an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower that recedes in progressively smaller stages to the summit, creating a staircase-like effect.

        The second manifestation of art deco was the 1930‘s  “streamlined moderne” style—a  Futuristic-looking aerodynamic  style of rounded corners and  horizontal  bands known as  “speed  stripes” In architecture, these  elements were frequently accompanied by round  windows, extensive use of glass block, and flat rooftops.

        The third style, referred to as    “international  stripped classicism”  also came to the forefront  during the Depression,  a  period  of  severe  economic  difficult  in  the  1930‘s.  This  was  a  more  conservative  style, blending  a  simplified  modernistic  style  with  a  more  austere  form  of  geometric  and  stylized  relief sculpture  and  other  ornament,  including  interior  murals.  May  buildings  in  this  style  were  erected  nationwide through government programs during the Depression .

       Although  art  deco  in  its  many  forms  was  largely  perceived  as  thoroughly  modern,  it  was  strongly influenced  by  the  decorative  arts  movements  that  immediately  preceded   it.  For  example,  like  “art nouveau”  (1890-1910),  art  deco  also  used  plant  motifs,  but   regularized  the  forms  into  abstracted repetitive  patterns  rather  than  presenting  them  as  flowing,  asymmetrical  foliage,  Like  the  Viennese craftspeople of the Wiener Werkstatte,  art deco designers worked with exotic materials, geometricized shapes, and colorfully ornate patterns. Furthermore, like the artisans of the Arts and Crafts Movement in England  and  the  United  States,  art  deep  practitioners  considered  it  their  mission  to  transform  the domestic environment through well-designed furniture and household accessories.

The streamlined  moderne style is characterized by all of the following EXCEPT ………..

A. animal motifs     

B. flat roofs      

C. round windows      

D. “speed stripes”

Answer 1

[Dương Hoàn Anh]

Đáp  án A

Đoạn  số  2:  …  as  “speed  stripes”  In  architecture,  these  elements  were  frequently accompanied by round windows, extensive use of glass block, and flat rooftops