1 . MUSICAL HERITAGES FROM ANCIENT CHINA
Since remote antiquity, Chinese people have used music to record their lives and describe the ideals in their hearts. Catchy tunes are not only played on precious instruments, but also visualized in carvings, paintings, and buildings. Feel free to explore here!
Han Dynasty (202 BC — AD 220)
This period marked the significant development of the manufacturing of guqin and its music. The example unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Dynasty Tomb in Changsha, Hunan province, proves that guqin had developed into the form known today during that period.
Northern Wei Dynasty (386 — 534)
Buddhism (佛教) and its musical culture spread extensively during this period. Buddhist temples provided places for musical activities, which were recorded in many of the-existing stone carvings. Located in Gongyi, Henan province, the Grotto Temple is famous for its reliefs (浮雕) representing musical events. They are precious historical materials reflecting the music characteristics of the dynasty.
Song Dynasty (960 — 1279)
With economic development, a variety of musical cultures emerged to meet the entertainment needs of different social classes. Part of the painting “Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival” vividly reveals a storytelling performance. The painter adopted delicate techniques to truly record a street performer, whose superb skills are reflected by each listener’s show of appreciation.
Ming Dynasty (1368 — 1644)
At this time, traditional Chinese operas developed rapidly, promoting the formation of many singing styles. People began to enjoy operas and drama stages were built. Covering a construction area of more than 160 square meters, the Fancun village drama stage in Shanxi province provides rich materials for the study of the local folk culture.
1. Which heritage would a fan of classical instruments explore?| A．The Ming Dynasty drama stage. | B．The Song Dynasty painting. |
| C．The Northern Wei Dynasty temple. | D．The Han Dynasty tomb. |
| A．Religion. | B．Economy. | C．Politics. | D．Technology. |
| A．Ming Dynasty witnessed the boom of traditional Chinese operas. |
| B．Most of the drama stages were built during the Northern Wei Dynasty. |
| C．The musical culture of Buddhism was developed during the Han Dynasty. |
| D．Buddhist temples were the main places for music al activities in the Song Dynasty. |
2 . Dragons, a famous imaginary creature born from fantasy, are often present in stories in the west and east. In both cultures, dragons are recognized as massive creatures capable of flight. They have great power and magical abilities. However, due to their different cultural roots and images, there are significant differences in the different dragon elements in the west and east, particularly in China.
Chinese dragons most look like snakes, and have four claws (爪) and no wings. They often have features of other animals, including carp, tigers, and eagles. In the contrast, Western dragons look like huge lizards (蜥蜴) with big claws and large bat-like wings, and are often shown rough scales.
In traditional Chinese culture, a dragon is a symbol of luck, power and high position. They can cause weather changes and bring rainfall to the fields to ensure rich harvests. They are considered sacred creatures, which hold an important position as the head of the four spirits. Therefore, to symbolize their power, ancient Chinese emperors decorated their clothes with dragon patterns. These clothes are known as dragon robes. Many Chinese view the dragon as a national symbol, proudly referring to themselves as “descendants of the dragon”. In the west, however, a dragon symbolizes an evil creature that spreads violence and terror throughout the land. They are believed to be transformed by the devil (魔鬼), with the ability to breathe fire or spit poison. Many western tales show dragons being defeated and killed to protect people from danger.
Today, dragons continue to change, finding new significance in global culture. They are no longer connected with evil or good, but with their own unique personalities and motivations. For example, Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon begins as a dangerous dragon but changes into a misunderstood creature with love and kindness. This changes the idea of dragons as naturally evil, showing their both emotions and motivations.
1. What do western dragons and eastern dragons have in common?| A．They have rough skin. | B．They have big claws and wings. |
| C．They are in the shape of snakes. | D．They are huge and powerful. |
| A．Dragons are believed to make trouble in western culture. |
| B．Dragons in China can protect people from danger. |
| C．Chinese dragons can control rainfall and breathe fire. |
| D．Western dragons are a symbol of authority. |
| A．They are regarded as adventurous creatures. |
| B．They are closely linked with evil or good. |
| C．They have more various emotions and personalities. |
| D．They represent human spirits facing challenges. |
| A．The Origin of Dragons in Chinese History | B．The Dragon Elements in World Culture |
| C．The Magical Animals in Different Countries | D．The Images of Dragons in Western Traditions |
3 . Each year Canada Chocolate Town, St. Stephen, New Brunswick, celebrates our community’s rich and delicious heritage with our annual Chocolate Fest. Now in its 30th year, this week-long, family-oriented festival is “choc-full” of activities, fun events, and all things chocolate-related. Our beloved mascot, the Great Chocolate Mousse, and his lovely wife Tiffany, invite you to join us this August for the sweetest festival of the year — Chocolate Fest!
Carma Charlotte County Coffee Morning9:30 a.m. to 12 noon
Location: St. Stephen Town Square
Come out and join us for a Starbucks coffee, cup of tea or juice and scrumptious home-baked goods, many featuring chocolate. Sponsored (赞助) by Carma Charlotte County and adoption programs — caring for homeless and feral cats.
Dots Delecto Birthday Party11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Location: Boys and Girls Club of Charlotte County
Who does St. Stephen love? Dot Larsen! Please join us for chocolate cake and chocolate milk and help celebrate Dot’s birthday. Come and play in our indoor/outdoor playground, have your face painted and enjoy a barbecue to help raise funds for the Barracuda Swim Team. For details call BGCCC, 466-4300.
Lucy the Lady Bug’s Birthday Party12 noon to 3 p.m.
Location: Kingsbrae Garden, St. Andrews
Come to celebrate with Lucy and her friends for a picnic on our front lawn (草坪) — bring your own picnic or have lunch at our Garden Cafe. At 2 p.m., join Lucy and her friends for an amazing race adventure through the big maze (迷宫), find treasure in the fantasy garden!
Cost: $38/Family Day Pass, $16/Adult, $12/Students and Seniors, Free/Children 6 and younger.
1. When is it available if you are interested in barbecue?| A．9:30 a.m. | B．2:30 p.m. | C．12:00 a.m | D．3:00 p.m. |
| A．$12. | B．$44. | C．$38. | D．$32. |
| A．To compare the three activities. |
| B．To raise funds for a swimming team. |
| C．To introduce a popular festival. |
| D．To appeal to people to care for homeless cats. |
4 . There comes a time when the old must give way to the new, and it is not possible to preserve everything from our past as we move towards the future. Finding and keeping the right balance between progress and the protection of cultural sites can be a big challenge.
Big challenges, however, can sometimes lead to great solutions. In the 1950s, the Egyptian government wanted to build a new dam across the Nile in order to control floods, produce electricity, and supply water to more farmers in the area. But the proposal led to protests. Water from the dam would likely damage a number of temples and destroy cultural relics that were an important part of Egypt’s cultural heritage. After listening to different voices, the government turned to the United Nations for help in 1959.
A committee was established to limit damage to the Egyptian buildings and prevent the loss of cultural relics. The group asked for contributions from different departments and raised funds within the international community. Experts investigated the issue, conducted several tests, and then made a proposal for how the buildings could be saved. Finally, a document was signed, and the work began in 1960.
The project brought together governments and environmentalists from around the world. Temples and other cultural sites were taken down piece by piece, and then moved and put back together again in a place where they were safe from the water. In 1961, German engineers moved the first temple. Over the next 20 years, thousands of engineers and workers rescue d 22 temples and countless cultural relics. Fifty countries donated nearly $80 million to the project. When the project ended in 1980, it was considered a great success. Not only had the countries found a path to the future that did not run over the relics of the past, but they had also learnt that it was possible for countries to work together to build a better tomorrow.
The spirit of the Aswan Dam project is still alive today. If a problem seems too difficult for a single nation, the global community can sometimes provide a solution.
1. What was the major concern regarding the construction of the new dam?| A．The damage to local farms. |
| B．The high cost of the construction. |
| C．The disapproval of local communities. |
| D．The potential harm to cultural remains. |
| A．By rebuilding similar cultural sites. |
| B．By building fences around them. |
| C．By taking them down into pieces. |
| D．By removing and piecing them together again. |
| A．International cooperation is not necessary for large-scale projects. |
| B．It is possible to achieve progress without sacrificing cultural heritage. |
| C．The opinions of experts should be ignored in favor of popular opinion. |
| D．Countries should always prioritize their own interests over global concerns. |
| A．Trial and error. | B．Adequate investment. |
| C．Global cooperation. | D．Careful investigation. |
5 . Adults generally dislike getting older.
In the United States, the 16th birthday is a mark that a girl has come of age. She is not a legal adult yet, but at 16, many girls can begin to learn to drive.
Society and media often put great importance on a girl’s 16th birthday.
There are many theories about how the sweet 16th birthday came into being. Most connect the birthday celebration with the Mexican Quinceanera, which takes place on a girl’s 15th birthday, or European ancient coming-of-age celebrations.
| A．She is still just a little kid. |
| B．Many parties show a girl’s interest. |
| C．However, kids find “growing up” exciting. |
| D．The big part of a sweet 16th birthday is the party. |
| E．They can get jobs and take other adult responsibilities. |
| F．No matter where the celebration began, it has become a tradition. |
| G．Many movies show girls’ 16th birthdays are just as important as graduations. |
6 . People from East Asia tend to have more difficulty than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions — and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why.
Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly (均匀的) across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes.
“We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions,” Jack said. “Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and neglect (忽略) the mouth.”
According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed. As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations.
The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral. They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies.
It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than did Westerners. “The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions,” Jack said. “Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion, Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less.”
In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion. From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion. Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation.
1. The discovery shows that Westerners ______.| A．consider facial expressions universally reliable |
| B．pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth |
| C．observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways |
| D．have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions |
| A．To make a face at each other. | B．To get their faces impressive. |
| C．To observe the researchers’ faces. | D．To classify some face pictures. |
| A．examine the eyes more attentively |
| B．study the mouth more frequently |
| C．do translation more successfully |
| D．read facial expressions more correctly |
| A．The Eye as the Window to the Soul |
| B．Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills |
| C．Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions |
| D．How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding |
7 . In the day, the view of Wuzhen is dominated by white walls and brown wooden doors, but this scene changes in the night when the different lights in the water town create various stunning colors against the black sky.
Of all the shops in Wuzhen, the workshop selling traditional handmade lanterns stands out the most during the night. The man behind these amazing creations is Gu Yeguang, a 53-year-old craftsman who was born into a family of lantern makers in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province.
Although Gu has spent nearly his entire life making lanterns, he has never grown weary of the profession, saying that getting to teach the craft to young people is what motivates him these days.
To craft the frame of the lantern, Gu has to chop bamboo carefully into long and thin sticks before using a candle to scorch (烧焦) the areas that need to be handled. After bending the sticks, Gu binds the ends together and wraps the completed frame with paper. All these have to be done with great skills and rich experience.
The lantern workshop is without doubt one of the most popular attractions in Wuzhen. According to Gu, the workshop would receive more than 100 people during its opening hours from 9 am to 5 pm during the peak summer season. To craft a simple round lantern costs 30 yuan ($4.54). The more unique ones cost 50 yuan each.
After a large group of people departs the workshop following their short class on lantern making, Gu returns to his seat and continues work on a complex dragon-shaped creation. But before he could even pick up his tools, a small girl and her mother enter the space.
“Mummy, mummy, I want a lantern!” the girl exclaims excitedly. Gu raises his head and gets back on his feet. “Sure, let’s get started then,” he says. “Let us begin with this bamboo stick.” And with those few words he lights up the workshop, not with his lanterns but the child’s cherubic (天使般的) smile.
1. Why is Gu still committed to making lanterns?| A．He masters better skills than others. |
| B．He regards making lanterns as a family business. |
| C．He has to earn enough money to support his family. |
| D．He wants to pass down the craft to the young generation. |
| A．Distinctive. | B．Romantic. | C．Significant. | D．Demanding. |
| A．The educational methods of Gu Yeguang. |
| B．The busy but peaceful life of Gu Yeguang. |
| C．The promising future of handmade lanterns. |
| D．The commercial value of handmade lanterns. |
8 . The Symbolism of Chinese Foods
China is a country with a long history, and food has played an important role in the development of Chinese culture. Every year many traditional festivals and events are celebrated with special foods. Some of these foods have particular meanings, such as good luck, best wishes, unity and commemoration (纪念).
Chinese New YearSpring Festival(Chinese New Year)is the most important traditional festival in China. So New Year foods usually symbolize good luck and best wishes.
·Year cake (niángāo) means “increasing prosperity (繁荣)” because the name sounds the same as “year high” or “yearly increase”.
·Dumplings mean “wealth”, due to their traditional gold / silver ingot (锭) shape.
Lantern FestivalLantern Festival is the first full moon night in the Chinese calendar year, and the full moon as well as the food symbolizes family reunion.
·Sweet round sticky rice balls in soup (tāngyuán) mean “togetherness and reunion”.
Dragon Boat FestivalDragon Boat Festival is an important celebration in China to commemorate Qu Yuan, a famous patriotic poet of China in ancient times.
·Glutinous rice dumplings (zòngzi) wrapped in bamboo leaves symbolize Qu Yuan commemoration.
Mid-Autumn FestivalMid-Autumn Festival is the second most important traditional Chinese festival. It is a time for family members and loved ones to get together to celebrate family reunion. Therefore, people celebrate it by preparing foods with family-reunion symbolic meanings.
·Mooncakes mean “family unity”, as they’re round, like the harvest moon.
·Pomeloes (yòuzi) mean “family unity” and “abundance”, as they’re round, too, and the Chinese sounds like the word for “to have”.
1. What makes dumplings symbolic?| A．The size. | B．The color. | C．The history. | D．The shape. |
| A．Chinese New Year. | B．Lantern Festival. |
| C．Dragon Boat Festival. | D．Mid-Autumn Festival. |
| A．Year cake. | B．Sweet round sticky rice balls in soup. |
| C．Glutinous rice dumplings. | D．Pomeloes. |
9 . Yu Zeling, an award-winning master of paper cutting, fills her studio with cutouts of animals, people, and scenes that are so vivid that they seem to leap from the walls. Her art covers village life in Ansai, a rural district in Shaanxi Province.
Ms. Yu came to paper cutting in the late 1970s as naturally as she breathed the earthy air.“We were very poor, and when it was time to celebrate the New Year, we all put paper-cuts on the windows to decorate our houses,” she says, recalling the holiday at her childhood home. Ms. Yu and others are working to keep the folk art alive, even as it evolves away from its roots as adornment for farmhouses.
The art originated in China in the centuries after paper was invented in A.D.105. Full of auspicious (吉利的) symbols from daily life, the decorations represented good weather, many offspring, long life, wealth, and happiness.
Using newspaper, Ms. Yu first practiced cutting the image of a Chinese national flag that she saw in a school textbook. She cut it 100 times before she was satisfied. Then her aunt took over, introducing her to increasingly complicated traditional themes.
Ms. Yu was later invited to train in the Ansai's Cultural Center. After years of training,Ms.Yu became a master in her own right, winning one award after another. Her works are on display in museums. But she's humble about her achievements. “I was, and still am, a farmer,” she says with a smile.
Hoping to carry on and grow the folk art, Ms. Yu volunteers to teach at free community training sessions. Paper cutting is also taught in Ansai’s public schools. Ms. Yu is aware of the need to go beyond protecting traditions and embrace new paper-cut experiments.
1. What does the underlined word “adornment” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Celebration. | B．Symbol. | C．Invention. | D．Decoration. |
| A．It has cultural value. | B．It features animals. |
| C．It attracts the young. | D．It remains in fashion. |
| A．Authoritative. | B．Vain. | C．Devoted. | D．Competitive. |
| A．A brief history of paper cutting. |
| B．A new approach to paper cutting. |
| C．An introduction to a paper cutting master. |
| D．The direction of a traditional paper cutting. |
10 . How China’s Dancing Lions Get Their Heads
Bamboo and silk strips cover every surface in He Yubin’s workshop. The 37-year-old jokes that he’s an expert in“3D modeling.”
The skeleton (骨架) of the lion’s head alone takes two or three days for an experienced craftsman to make.
Though the number of lion head orders has increased over the last decade, his factory has had difficulty in getting enough hands.
| A．Still, He is positive that the craft “won’t disappear.” |
| B．The craft of making lion heads is more at risk of being lost than the lion dance itself. |
| C．He has confidence in the spread of lion dancing, because where there are Chinese, there is lion dancing. |
| D．The four major parts of traditional Foshan lion-making is shortened as “bind, paper, paint, and decorate.” |
| E．“My family runs the largest manufacturer of lion dance costumes in the city of Foshan in southern China,” He claimed proudly. |
| F．“I’m just using a human brain instead of an electronic brain,” says the craftsman, who makes the heads of the “dancing lions” seen at traditional Chinese festivals around the world. |
