Food Festivals Around the World

Stilton Cheese Rolling

May Day is a traditional day for celebrations, but the 2,000 English villagers of Stilton must be the only people in the world who include cheese rolling in their annual plans. Teams of four, dressed in a variety of strange and funny clothes, roll a complete cheese along a 50-metre course. On the way, they must not kick or throw their cheese, or go into their competitors’ lane. Competition is fierce and the chief prize is a complete Stilton cheese weighing about four kilos (disappointingly, but understandably the cheeses used in the race are wooden ones). All the competitors are served with beer or port wine, the traditional accompaniment for Stilton cheese.

Fiery Foods Festival — The Hottest Festival on Earth

Every year more than 10, 000 people head for the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They come from as far away as Australia, the Caribbean and China, but they all share a common addiction-food that is not just spicy, but hot enough to make your mouth burn, your head spin and your eyes water. Their destination is the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival which is held over a period of three days every March. You might like to try a chocolate-covered habanero pepper — officially the hottest pepper in the world—or any one of the thousands of products that are on show. But one thing’s for sure—if you don’t like the feeling of a burning tongue, this festival isn’t for you!

La Tomatina — The World’s Biggest Food Fight

On the last Wednesday of every August, the Spanish town of Bunol hosts La Tomatina-the world’s largest food fight. A week-long celebration leads up to an exciting tomato battle as the highlight of the week’s events. The early morning sees the arrival of large trucks with tomatoes — official fight-starters get things going by casting tomatoes at the crowd.

The battle lasts little more than half an hour, in which time around 50, 000 kilograms of tomatoes have been thrown at anyone or anything that moves, runs, or fights back. Then everyone heads down to the river to make friends again — and for a much-needed wash!

1. In the Stilton cheese rolling competition, competitors on each team must ________.

A．kick or throw their cheese	B．wear various formal clothes
C．roll a wooden cheese in their own lane	D．use a real cheese weighing about four kilos

2. Where is the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival held?

A．In China.

B．In New Mexico.

C．In the Caribbean.

D．In Australia.

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．An exciting tomato battle takes place at the beginning of La Tomatina.

B．More than 10,000 Chinese take part in the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival.

C．The chief prize for the Stilton cheese rolling competition is beer or port wine.

D．Thousands of spicy foods are on show in the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival.

Each year people are crazy about different ceremonies. Many graduation ceremonies look special and different. But for Melody, it looked so unique because of the classmate who graduated alongside her — her grandmother, 75-year-old Pat Ormond. They both went to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and graduated together.

Pat took her first college class 42 years ago. After one semester, she dropped out to move to Chattanooga, where she spent the next several decades working as an accountant and raising a family. While she did take an occasional class at UTC, she says her family continued to encourage her to go back to finish her degree, especially after she retired. She agreed when her granddaughter decided to move to study psychology at UTC after a year at Berea College. They both entered UTC with enough college credits to make graduating together a possibility.

Pat and Melody graduated on November 20 as part of UTC’s 2020 class. The achievement has also made Pat somewhat of a celebrity.

“We are so proud to have graduates like Melody and her grandmother, Pat Ormond, in the UTC class of 2020,” said Steven, UTC Chancellor. “Together, they personify the determination, commitment and love for lifelong learning we encourage in every UTC graduate.”

Pat hopes that she can be an example to other non-traditional college students who want to get their degrees. “Learning never stops,” Pat said. “That’s something that my father taught me when I was young. No matter what you do, learning never stops.” Pat isn’t planning to stop anytime soon. She’s already working on another degree-a bachelor’s degree in history.

Meanwhile, her granddaughter, who is hunting jobs, is interested in getting a master’s degree in clinical psychology so she can become a lawyer. But she says she’s in no rush. Her nanna has taught her that she has plenty of time.

4. Why was Melody’s graduation ceremony so special?

A．Because her grandmother graduated alongside her.	B．Because her grandmother was 75 years old.
C．Because it looked quite different from others.	D．Because she celebrated it with all her classmates.

5. What can we know about Pat’s family?

A．They are anxious to be celebrities.	B．They prefer attending non-traditional colleges.
C．They never stop creating opportunities.	D．They support and encourage each other.

6. What does the underlined word “personify” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Repeat.

B．Represent.

C．Identify.

D．Follow.

7. Which of the following can best describe Pat Ormond’s story?

A．Love me, love my dog.	B．Passion gives life power.
C．A good beginning is half done.	D．It’s never too late to learn.

In the Beijing Winter Olympics, we were treated to incredible displays of athleticism as competitors took to the snow and ice. As a popular sport at the Winter Olympics, ski jumping is one of the best examples to showcase the “superhuman” power of athletes.

Ski jumpers soar into the air and appear to be almost flying in the sky. How do they achieve this? Physics can offer us an explanation of how they achieve this feat. It involves the manipulation of the laws of aerodynamics (空气动力学) to fight against gravity and increase lift while reducing drag.

To understand how ski jumping works, we need to consider three elements：gravity, lift and drag. Gravity is the force that pulls us towards an object, such as the Earth. Lift occurs when an object is moving through the air, as its surface comes into contact with air particles, the particles are pushed down and away from the object, allowing it to move up. At the same time, this interaction creates drag, or resistance, and slows down an object’s movement.

While there is nothing that the skiers can do about gravity, they can contort their bodies into positions that allow them to achieve greater lift and avoid as much drag as possible.

According to the Smithsonian Magazine, “to do this, athletes align their skis and body nearly parallel to the ground and place their skis in a V-shape just outside the form of the body. This position increases the surface area that generates lift and puts them in the ideal angle of attack that will also maximize lift.”

Because of how the sport works, athletes’ equipment is strictly controlled according to weight and height in order to avoid any unfair advantages. This means suits must be tight in order to ensure athletes cannot use them as a way to gain more lift. For athletes, minor day -to-day water weight changes as little as 300 grams. It can mean that suits will not be tight enough according to their body mass indexes.

8. What contributes to lift in ski jumping?

A．The force of gravity.	B．The upward force of air.
C．The drag from air particles.	D．The interaction between athletes and air particles.

9. What should ski jumpers do in order to achieve the best performance?
a. Keep their bodies parallel to the ground.
b. Position their skis in a V-shape when they jump.
c. Adjust their skis to become parallel to the ground.
d. Maximize the angle of attack.

A．abc.

B．abd.

C．acd.

D．bed.

10. What rule is adopted to ensure fair play in ski jumping?

A．Expensive equipment is used to avoid unfair advantages.

B．Athletes must strictly control their emotions.

C．Equipment must match the athletes’ weight and height.

D．Athletes are grouped according to their body mass indexes.

11. What’s the main idea of the article?

A．Some rules of the ski jumping competition.

B．The scientific principles behind ski jumping.

C．The techniques used by ski jumpers.

D．How the laws of aerodynamics work in sports.

We all love our parents and turn to them when we’re in need, but would you like them to hear the conversations you have with your friends in the school playground or lunch queue? Social networking sites have become virtual extensions of the school hallways, so would you add your parents as “friends” and allow them to view your online activities and conversations with friends?

In the past the generation gap included a technology gap, where children were up to date with the latest technology and parents were left behind, content to continue their day-to-day lives as they always had because they had no need to be tech-savvy. However, more and more parents are beginning to realize just how important social networks are in their lives. This realization has given many parents the motivation to educate themselves about social networking sites.

These days many people are attracted to social networking sites because they can choose who they have around them; there’s also a certain amount of control over privacy that we don’t get in real life. Sometimes we feel that privacy is violated when we must accept a “friend” request from a parent or family member.

It’s a difficult choice whether or not to allow a parent to become a part of our online lives. On the one hand we don’t want to “reject” their request because that might hurt their feelings or make them feel you have something to hide. On the other hand if you do accept, then you could have a sense of being watched and no longer feel free to comment or communicate the way you did before.

A recent survey suggested that parents shouldn’t take it personally if their child ignores their request: “ When a teen ignores a parent’s friend request, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are hiding something, but it could mean that this is one part of their life where they want to exert their independence.”

Perhaps talking with parents and giving explanations would help soften the blow when you do choose not to add them to your friends list.

12. Many parents teach themselves social networks because ________.

A．they are not content with their daily life	B．they regard social networks important
C．they are curious to explore new technologies	D．they want to view their children’s online activities

13. What might be the reason for teens to reject their parents’ request?

A．They can’t choose friends around them.	B．They have nothing to hide.
C．They don’t want to teach their parents.	D．Their privacy can not be guaranteed if so.

14. A recent survey suggested that ________.

A．teens value their privacy and independence	B．a teen’s rejection means they have something to hide
C．a teen’s rejection means nothing special	D．independence is everything teens desire

15. What is most likely to be talked about next?

A．How to bridge the generation gap.	B．How to make friends on social networks.
C．How to explain to parents about the rejection.	D．How to use the social networking sites.