1 . Here are some wonderful festivals around the world that happen in spring. If you want to know more about them, please click Here or visit http://wws.buddhanet.netlfestival.Htm
SongKran — Thailand
Dates: 13th — 15th, April
In Thailand, people celebrate a festival called Songkran, when people bead out to the streets with water guns to spray (喷洒) everyone who walks past. It’s a very important traditional celebration in the country.
Naghol — Vanuatu
Dates: Every Saturday from April to May
Every year, villagers come together to celebrate the harvest of yams (甘薯), an important part in the people’s diet in Vanuatu. The festival is most famous for its “land diving ceremony”. During the ceremony men and boys dive to the ground from high wooden towers with only two thin vines (藤) tied to their feet.
Cherry Blossom Viewing — Japan
Dates: The cherry blossom season is different from year to year depending on the weather.
The festival is well-known. The Japanese celebrate the days when the flowers finally blossom. Only a few days later, the petals (花瓣) fall to the ground, like pink snowflakes. That means the traditional festival only lasts for several days. In Japan, almost everyone has picnics in the parks to view the flowers.
Sinhalese New Year — Sri Lanka
Dates: 13th or 14th, April
Just like in many other countries in South East Asia, this is the time when people celebrate the traditional New Year, an ancient celebration which marks the end of the harvest season and is one of two times of the year when the sun is straight above Sri Lanka. There are a lot of delicious foods during the celebration.
1. What will most likely happen to a tourist walking in the street during SongKran in Thailand?| A．He will get wet. | B．He will hurt his feet. |
| C．He will be treated to delicious foods. | D．He will see some petals falling. |
| A．Thailand. | B．Vanuatu. | C．Japan. | D．Sri Lanka. |
| A．It is a traditional festival. | B．It is a very famous festival. |
| C．Its date is different every year. | D．It provides visitors with delicious foods. |
| A．On TV. | B．In a report. | C．On the Internet. | D．In the newspaper. |
As we all know, festivals
The first Buy Nothing Day
Buy Nothing Day challenges people to avoid
Another activity
4 . Immersion (沉浸) in music is a remarkable way to relax. Now, music lovers he a chance to please your ears. The following four festivals must bring you great surprise.
Moab Music FestivalWhere: Moab, Utah
When: Aug. 29-Sept. 9
This area is better known for mountain biking than for music. But since 1992, it has hosted a private festival that brings classical, jazz, Latin and other types of music to the land. This year there will be 16 concerts, including there “Grotto Concerts”, where guests take a 45-minute boat ride down the Colorado River to performances.
Events start at $25. moabmusicfest.org.
Jacob’s Pillow Dance FestivalWhere: Becket, Massachusetts
When: June 15-Aug. 24
Each summer, this influential dance center presents a number of classes and performances by more than 50 companies from around the world. Highlights (最精彩的部分) this season include the Dance Theater of Harlem’s production of Alvin Ailey’s “The Lark Ascending”, which opens the festival.
Many events are free. Ticketed performances start at $22. jacobspillow.org.
Cheyenne Frontier DaysWhere: Cheyenne, Wyoming
When: July 19-28
There’s something for everyone at this 117-year-old festival, from an “Indian village” and Old West museum to country concerts. But the competition is still the main attraction, with cowboys and cowgirls competing for major money in the world’s largest outdoor stage.
Competition tickets start at $18, and concert tickets at $23. cfdrodeo.com.
The Glimmerglass FestivalWhere: Cooperstown, New York
When: July 6-Aug. 24
Each summer, opera lovers from around the country (and the world) travel to upstate New York to watch productions that include stars like Nathan Gunn and Ginger Costa-Jackson. This year’s performances include Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman” and Verdi’s “King for a Day”, in honor of the 200th birthdays of both composers (作曲家).
Tickets start at $26. glimmerglass.org.
1. Which date is suitable for you to enjoy a “Grotto Concert”?| A．June 15. | B．September 4. | C．August 24. | D．July 19. |
| A．Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. | B．Cheyenne Frontier Days. |
| C．The Glimmerglass Festival. | D．Moab Music Festival. |
| A．Art. | B．Literature. | C．Business. | D．Education. |
Shijing, also The Book of Songs or Shih Ching, is the
Shijing is rich in content,
Poems included in Shijing fall into three sections-poems that come from villages belong to Feng; those written to persuade or praise the rulers belong to Ya; those used at religious
The opening poem of Shijing, “Cooing and Wooing” (《关雌》), is about love,
By riverside are cooing, a pair of turtledoves;
A good young man is wooing, a fair maiden he loves.
It is vivid that the man is longing
Shijing enables people to have a better understanding of Chinese civilization and is also
6 . While I was working at a French school, I was often preparing my work in the staff room. Sometimes I would hear the school secretary talking. At first I thought she was talking to me, as there was no one else in the room except me, so I tried to respond to her. However, I soon realized that in fact, she was talking to herself. I noticed a lot of people do this in France. In the UK, people might think you’re a bit strange if you talk to yourself at work, but there it seemed quite normal. It really did confuse me at times, because I was not sure whether people were talking to me or just talking to themselves.
Another area of confusion involved the French language. In French, there are two ways to say “you”: “tu” is the informal form while “vous” is the formal form. This is an aspect of French which, even now, I do not really understand. When I learnt French, I was taught to call everyone vous unless they were my family or friends. So I was surprised that virtually everyone in France used the informal tu all the time. School children used tu when they stayed with their teachers and all the staff called the head teacher tu. But I continued to use vous because I didn’t want people to think I was impolite.
As you might know, school children in the UK traditionally wear school uniforms but in France pupils do not wear a uniform. It was a culture shock for me to see children wear Spiderman T-shirts and baggy (宽松的) blue jeans in the classroom.
I found the differences puzzling at times, but I couldn’t deny what a great opportunity it was to live and work in another country. The UK and France are only separated by a small channel of the sea, but there are many differences between the two countries.
1. In the staff room, the school secretary ________.| A．always chatted online |
| B．interrupted the writer |
| C．talked to herself often |
| D．always made speeches |
| A．She tried to be polite to others. |
| B．She couldn’t tell tu from vous at all. |
| C．She didn’t have close friends in France. |
| D．She couldn’t understand French very well. |
| A．Pleased. | B．Embarrassed. |
| C．Frightened. | D．Surprised. |
| A．Experiencing different cultures. |
| B．Communicating in an informal way. |
| C．Traveling along the channel of the sea. |
| D．Having a chance to work with French teachers. |
Yesterday, we had great fun participating in a contest of
| A．Lighting firecrackers. | B．Getting red pocket. | C．Eating traditional food. |
| A．Peru. | B．Britain. | C．Mexico. |
1. How long did the man live in San Francisco?
| A．Ten years. | B．Five years. | C．One year. |
| A．They are very outgoing. |
| B．They are usually quiet. |
| C．They often drink much. |
| A．In America. | B．In China. | C．In Middle East. |
| A．A guide. | B．A hostess. | C．A traveler. |
