【推荐1】On Saturday night, a five-person team of the Chinese e-sports club, with the full name EDward Gaming, won the 2021 League of Legends World Championship in Reykjavik , Iceland , beating defending champion Damwon KIA (DK) from South Korea. The live streaming of the championship had over 200 million viewers on two major domestic smartphone apps and other channels.

The team has taken the opportunity to share Chinese culture with the world. At the beginning of the championship, the members of EDG and other staff displayed tai chi, martial arts and traditional Chinese costumes in Reykjavik, launching a “Chinese hurricane” in the Icelandic capital. Now the posting of photos and videos on social networks have spread that hurricane to the whole world.

With the popularity of digital technology, new forms of cultural exchanges have been appearing, of which e-sports are of the hottest. Unlike texts and videos, e-sports go beyond the barriers of language and are understandable around the world.

Also e-sports appeal most to those in their early 20s, as shown by the carnival of college students on Saturday night. That in turn makes them a good bridge of communication between Chinese youngsters and their counterparts (同行) around the world. More importantly, the e-sports industry is sustainable (可持续的) in spreading Chinese culture, as the large audiences mean huge commercial potential. In 2020 alone, the sales profit of the domestic e-sports industry went beyond $ 43.56 billion, and involved 280,000 companies, which in turn created over 10 million jobs.

As early as 2019, Hainan province announced its ambitious plan of building an international e-sports center. On Nov 5, the Organizing Committee of the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou city, announced it had listed eight e-sports as events in the Games. Both show the strong policy support being given to e-sports.

With more Chinese star gaming clubs and teams appearing, the industry is expected to boom and continue spreading Chinese culture to the world.

1. What can we know from the news report?

A．E-sports play a significant role in bridging cultures between nations.

B．The number of the viewers around the world reached over 200 million.

C．There was a severe hurricane in Reykjavik, Iceland on Saturday night.

D．EDward Gaming has won the LoL World Championship twice on end.

2. What do the numbers in Paragraph 4 indicate?

A．E-sports appealed to people of all ages.

B．2020 witnessed a turning point of e-sports.

C．E-sports gave birth to many new companies.

D．E-sports boosted economic development.

3. What can we infer from the last but one paragraph?

A．The first international E-sports centre was built in 2019.

B．E-sports enjoyed great popularity in Hainan and Zhejiang.

C．E-sports received official support from the authorities.

D．E-sports were first listed as events in the Asian Games.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the e-sports industry?

A．Doubtful.

B．Critical.

C．Positive.

D．Cautious.

【推荐2】Italy’s Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo have been announced as the hosts of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Italy’s bid ahead of Stockholm, Sweden.

Skating sports and ice hockey will be held in Milan, while most skiing events will take place in the resort of Cortina. Other snow sports will be held in the Italian Alps, including Bormio and Livigno.

The 2026 Winter Olympics will take place from February 6 to 22. Cortina hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956, while Turin staged the 2006 Winter Olympics.

There were only two bidders left that were considered suitable for the Winter Olympics after four other bidders — the Swiss city of Sion, Japan’s Sapporo, Graz in Austria and the Canadian city Calgary, which had earlier dropped out of the race with concerns over the event’s size and cost.

The results showed Milan-Cortina had received 47 out of the 82 votes cast. Sweden has never hosted a Winter Games before and received 34 votes.

IOC president Thomas Bach said: “Congratulations to Milan-Cortina. We can look forward to an outstanding Olympic Winter Games in a traditional winter sports country. The passion and knowledge of Italian fans, together with experienced sporting event operators, will create the perfect atmosphere for the best athletes in the world.”

Knowing the winning, Italian people shouted “Italia, Italia” as the decision was announced.

1. How many votes did Italy get?

A．22.

B．34.

C．47.

D．82.

2. What can we know from the text?

A．All events will be held in Milan.	B．The 2026 Winter Olympics will last about two weeks.
C．Sweden held the Winter Olympics once.	D．Calgary gave up the bid considering the time.

3. Which word best describes the Italians’ feeling when they knew they had won the bidding?

A．Discouraged.

B．Surprised.

C．Doubtful.

D．Excited.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The 2026 Winter Olympics Games

B．The competition for holding Winter Olympic Games

C．Italy’s successful bidding for 2026 Winter Olympic Games

D．The introduction of Winter Olympics Games

【推荐2】Parents in the U.S. are claiming the popular children’s TV show Peppa Pig has caused their kids to start speaking in a British accent. The cartoon follows the life of a pig, Peppa, and her family as they go about their day-to-day life in a fictional U. K. town made up of various animal families.

And now parents of children who love the show are noticing that Peppa’s southern British accent and vocabulary seem to be rubbing off on those watching the show. One parent wrote online: “My 4-year baby girl loves watching Peppa Pig and I have noticed her accent and grammar is extraordinary. I’d like to thank Peppa Pig for the slight yet adorable British accent my toddler (幼儿) is acquiring.” added by another parent. A third parent wrote: “The most entertaining aspect of my life right now is that my toddler now speaks with a British accent.”

Writer Janet Manley called it the “Peppa effect”. Janet revealed that immediately after her daughter’s first time watching the show two years ago, she started calling her “mummy”. Her daughter also began snorting at the end of her sentences, just like the cartoon pig. And the “Peppa effect” isn’t anything new. Parents have been discussing about it for a number of years. Since the show first aired, there have been a total of 241 episodes created as the show surged in popularity.

1. What’s the background of the cartoon?

A．A made-up U.K. town.	B．A traditional U.K. town.
C．An ancient U.K. town.	D．A fictional U.K. city.

2. What’s the most obvious influence of Peppa Pig on kids according to some parents?

A．Dressing preference.	B．Diet preference.
C．Emotions.	D．Accent.

3. What’s the attitude of parents toward the show?

A．Critical.	B．Doubtful.
C．Positive.	D．Indifference.

4. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Peppa Pig is a popular U. S. cartoon.

B．Peppa Pig is popular with children of all ages.

C．Children who love the show are influenced in every aspect of their life.

D．Parents have been concerned with the ‘Peppa effect’ for a long time.

【推荐3】One summer evening I was sitting by the open window, reading a good science story book. I was so interested in the story I was reading that I did not notice that it was getting dark. When I realized it was too dark for me to read easily, I put the book down and get up to turn on the light. Just then I heard someone crying: “Help! Help!” It seemed to come from the trees at the other end of the yard. I looked out but it was now too dark to see anything clearly. Almost immediately I heard the cry again. It sounded like a child, but I could not imagine what anybody would be doing in our backyard, unless one of the neighborhood children had climbed a tree and had not been able to get down.

I decided that I ought to go out and have a look in the yard, just in case someone was in trouble. I got a flashlight and a stick, I thought it might be useful. Armed with these, I went out into the yard. Once again I heard the cry and this time there was no doubt that it came from the trees at the far end of the yard. “Who’s there?” I called out as I walked across the yard toward the trees. But there was no answer. With the help of my flashlight, I searched all over that end of the yard, including the branches of the trees. There was no sign of anybody or anything. I came to the conclusion that my imagination was playing tricks to me, probably because of the story I was reading about strange creatures on another planet.

Feeling rather foolish about hunting around in my own backyard with a baseball bat, I went back into the house and put the bat and flashlight away. I had just sat down to read my book again when I was frightened by the cry of “Help! Help!” This time from right behind me. I dropped my book and jumped up. There, sitting on the table was a large green and red bird. It was my neighbour’s parrot! While I was out in the yard, the parrot must have seen the light in the living room and come in through the open window.

1. One summer evening the writer was reading ________.

A．with the window open

B．in the open air

C．in the back yard

D．with the window closed

2. The cry the writer first heard seemed ________.

A．to come from the trees in the backyard

B．to come from the neighbour’s house

C．to come from the writer’s reading-room

D．to come from far away

3. The writer searched the yard carefully ________.

A．and found a child

B．but found nobody and nothing

C．and found something called imagination

D．and found some strange creatures from another planet

4. The book that the writer was reading was ________.

A．an ordinary story book

B．a science book about sound

C．a story about creatures on another planet

D．a book on how to play tricks

5. The cries were made by ________.

A．the writer’s imagination

B．the neighbour’s parrot

C．the neighbour’s child

D．the writer’s son

【推荐1】Whether it is for a special festival, to express thanks or to just let someone know that you care about them, giving gifts is a common custom. The purpose of giving gifts may be similar, but the tradition varies from country to country. A gift of respect in one place may be considered rude in another. Take a look at three unique gift-giving traditions.

India

If you’re invited to someone’s home in India, you should bring a small gift, whether it’s a box of chocolates or some flowers. Gifts shouldn’t be wrapped (包裹) in black or white colors. because they are considered unlucky. Instead, use bright colors such as green, red or yellow. When giving money for any occasion, it should have an odd number(奇数) value. That’s believed to bring good luck. Instead of receiving a gift with both hands, Indians generally only use their right hand because left hands are considered unclean.

Japan

For most Japanese, the ritual (礼节) of giving presents is more important than the gifts themselves. The correct way is to present or receive gifts with both hands. Every gift should be wrapped. That’s because uncovered gifts are considered disrespectful. To show politeness and thanks, those who are receiving the gift may turn it down once or twice before finally accepting it. Gifts should be given in pairs, but four should be avoided just like in China. Lucky numbers also include eight. Eight is said to bring prosperity.

Native America

While it may be common for guests to prepare gifts for hosts, this is different in Native American communities. From weddings to birthday celebrations, guests are the ones who receive gifts. Gifts are usually homemade arts and crafts that are made by hand to show love, respect and appreciation.

1. What kind of gift would you bring to an Indian home?

A．Some chocolates in a green box.	B．Flowers wrapped in black paper.
C．Sixty dollars in a yellow envelope.	D．Seventy-five rupees wrapped in white paper.

2. Why don’t Japanese accept a gift at once?

A．To get another better gift.	B．To be more polite and thankful.
C．To refuse one’s kindness.	D．To be more outgoing and active.

3. What can we know about Native America from the text?

A．The guests should prepare gifts for hosts.

B．It’s respectful for hosts to prepare guests a scented candle made by themselves.

C．You will appreciate the homemade arts in a wedding.

D．It’s rude to prepare a bunch of flowers.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To list some attractive festivals.	B．To compare some countries.
C．To recommend some formal gifts.	D．To introduce some gift-giving traditions.

【推荐2】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 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 Westerners did. “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．pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth

B．consider facial expressions universally reliable

C．observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways

D．have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions

2. What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 6 refer to?

A．The participants in the study.

B．The researchers of the study.

C．The errors made during the study.

D．The data collected from the study.

3. In comparison with Westerners, Easterners are likely to ________.

A．do translation more successfully

B．study the mouth more frequently

C．examine the eyes more attentively

D．read facial expressions more correctly

4. What can be the best title for the passage?

A．The Eye as the Window to the Soul

B．Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions

C．Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills

D．How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding

【推荐3】To the Swedes, there are few smells more pleasing than the smell of surströmming(盐腌鲱鱼). To most non-Swedes, there are probably few smells more disgusting. In determining which smells people find pleasant and which they do not, surströmming suggests culture must play a quite large part. New research, however, suggests that might not be the case.

Dr Arshamian and Dr Majid supposed that culture would play an important role in determining pleasant smells initially. To study how smells and culture relate, they presented nine different groups of people with ten smells. All 235 participants were asked to rank the smells according to pleasantness.

The team compared their results to earlier work on New Yorkers who had been exposed to the same smells. The researchers noted that pleasantness rankings of the smells were surprisingly consistent regardless of where people came from. The smell of isovaleric acid was rejected by the vast majority of the participants. On the other hand, more than 190 people gave the smell of vanilla a score of 1 to 3 and only 12 people found it extremely unpleasant enough to rate 8 to 10(where 1 was very pleasant and 10 was very unpleasant).Generally, the chemical composition of the smells explained 41% of the reactions that participants had. In contrast, cultural backgrounds accounted for just 6%of the results.

Dr. Arshamian and Dr. Majid pointed out that this is very different from how visual perception(感觉) of faces works-in that case a person’s cultural background accounts for up to 50%of the explanation for which faces they find beautiful. While culture did not shape perception of smells in the way that it is known to shape perception of faces, the researchers did find that personal feelings of liking some smells more than others made up 54%of the difference in which smells people liked.

1. What is the function of the first paragraph?

A．Introducing the topic.

B．Describing a phenomenon.

C．Presenting the background.

D．Explaining an experiment.

2. How might the researchers find the result of their research?

A．It is persuasive.

B．It is unexpected.

C．It is confusing.

D．It is practical.

3. What affects pleasantness rankings of smells most?

A．Participants’ living environment.

B．Participants’ eating habits.

C．The chemistry of the smells.

D．The personal preferences.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．How culture affects visual perception.

B．Why the Swedes prefer surströmming.

C．What shapes people’s perception of smells.

D．Why people have different preference for smells.