The South African town Hamburg is situated by one of the most beautiful estuaries (河口) in the Eastern Cape. It’s known for its rich Xhosa culture. It is also home to a group of women who have produced a series of extraordinary artworks that have been exhibited around the world.
Keiskamma Art Project was created to teach local women embroidery (刺绣) skills to help them at a tough time economically and socially, but unexpectedly it has grown into something much bigger. Having been shown at international art galleries, many of their tapestries (挂毯) are now being displayed under one roof for the first time, at an exhibition in Johannesburg.
Their story began in 2000, when Dr. Carol Hofmeyr moved from Johannesburg to Hamburg. She found that the town was struggling with high unemployment and that local women were desperate to find ways to feed their families. Having studied embroidery herself, she hoped that passing on that knowledge to local women would help empower them.
From humble beginnings, more and more women heard about the project through word of mouth. Now, over 150 women are part of the project. Selling their works provides a source of income, but the project has also created a support system for the women.
Initially, the women started out simply creating cushions (坐垫) and small handbags to sell to tourists. Eventually, they started receiving tasks for larger pieces. They were given panels about a meter in size to work on at home. By joining the completed panels together, they created the first of their large works and one of their most celebrated, “The Keiskamma Tapestry”, which tells the history of the Xhosa people who were subjugated (征服) through colonization and the Xhosa British Frontier Wars from 1776 to 1876.
Another celebrated piece is “The Keiskamma Altarpiece”, which was produced by 130 women. The four-meter-high, four-meter-wide piece reveals the struggles that elderly Xhosa women endured when the youth in their community were hit by HIV two decades ago, and they stepped in to care for children.
Recent artworks engage with contemporary issues. “COVID Resilience Tapestry” deals with the pandemic; “A New Earth and Our Sacred Ocean” is a call for environmental consciousness.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To inform readers of the situation. | B．To bring in the topic of the text. |
| C．To introduce an ancient culture. | D．To promote the local artworks. |
| A．It helps a lot of women. | B．It gains international fame. |
| C．It helps develop local economy. | D．It sponsors an exhibition in Johannesburg. |
| A．Historical. | B．Game-changing. | C．Cooperative. | D．Time-consuming. |
| A．It shows the Xhosa people’s sufferings. | B．It reflects on some contemporary issues. |
| C．It covers some pandemic-related content. | D．It aims to arouse the environmental awareness. |
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【推荐1】With the development of the economy, loose change (零钱) is often ignored by most of us. We have forgotten how those little, round metal pieces can add up. However, if you were a kid that had to clean the house for extra money, you’ll understand how important it is.
When I was a kid, I knew my parents could afford whatever I wanted, but Dad made me work for things that were “wants”. I knew Dad always carried a lot of change in his pockets. He had taught me that enough pennies would still get me what I wanted in the end.
Dad had his favorite reclining chair (躺椅) in his room where he would go after a long day at work. When he reclined in the chair, the change would fall from his pockets onto the floor under the chair, which was really a good chance for me to collect pennies. I’m sure he realized he had empty pockets when he took his clothes off, but he never said anything and never stopped sitting in the chair.
My kids learned early that change worked just as well as dollars and they also knew their dad saw no value in change. In fact, he saw it as a pain-in-the-neck so instead of asking him for money, they always asked if they could have his change.
Whenever I see a penny on a floor, I always pick it up. They’ve come in handy over the years, like at the check stand when someone needs a penny to check out, or my children are twelve cents short of their bus fare — little things, but important things.
1. Why is loose change ignored at present according to the author?| A．Because people’s lives have improved a lot. |
| B．Because loose change is often noisy. |
| C．Because loose change isn’t easy to carry. |
| D．Because people find it is of no use. |
| A．To help her earn a lot of money. |
| B．To tell her that pennies add up. |
| C．To save enough money for future use. |
| D．To let her know it was hard to earn money. |
| A．didn’t care about loose change | B．taught the author a good lesson |
| C．was really a hard-working person | D．was too tired to look after his child |
| A．was really rich | B．was very generous |
| C．had a problem with his neck | D．paid little attention to change |
He flew to New York on January 31st and found a nice hotel in the center of the city. He put his things in his room and then he sent his wife a telegram. He put the address of his hotel in it.
In the evening he didn't have any work, so he went to a cinema. He came out at nine o'clock and said, "Now I'm going back to my hotel and have a nice dinner."
He found a taxi and the driver said, "Where do you want to go?" But Dick didn't remember the name and address of his hotel.
"Which hotel are my things in?" he said, "And what am I going to do tonight?" But the driver of the taxi did not know. So Dick got out and went into a post office. There he sent his wife another telegram, and in it he wrote, "Please send me my address at this post office."
1. Dick flew to New York because ___.
| A．he went there for a holiday |
| B．he had work there |
| C．he went there for sightseeing (观光) |
| D．his home was there |
| A．Because she didn't know his address yet |
| B．Because she wanted to go to New York, too |
| C．Because she might send him another telegram |
| D．Because she couldn't leave her husband by himself in New York |
| A．The manager of his hotel. | B．The police office. |
| C．The taxi driver. | D．His wife. |
| A．Dick stayed at a nice hotel in the center of the city. |
| B．Dick didn't work on the first night of his arrival. |
| C．Dick forgot to send his wife a telegram. |
| D．Dick wanted to go back to his hotel in a taxi. |
【推荐3】Due to Covid-19, moms have had a rough year. Day care centers are closed.
Looking back 50 years or so, I found that my own mother was a mysteriously effective role model. She never hit me or raised her voice. She didn't directly boss anyone around. She indirectly gave my sisters and me very clear guidance on what behaviors were expected in our home, and out in the world.
One time, she was driving and a car roared past us in a no-passing zone.
Once, when the family was out watching a film, a violent scene started.
She'd always find a way to show us how we should admit our mistakes, take personal responsibility, and resist the temptation to blame others.
| A．My mother said it once. |
| B．Moms are working from home. |
| C．She would gather us for a lesson. |
| D．She sighed and glanced over at me. |
| E．Rarely did my mother tell us how to behave. |
| F．Immediately, my mom patted my dad on the shoulder. |
| G．All this led me to wonder how my mother would handle it. |
Jessica Tandy was born in London in 1909. After her father died, her mother taught and took other jobs at night to make extra money to raise her, three children. Jessica’s older brothers showed an interest in the theater and often put on shows at home. Jessica said later that she was terrible in all of them. But she said taking part in those plays as a child created a desire in her to be someone else.
Jessica loved going to the theater. This love led her to attend an acting school in 1924. She performed in her first play called The Manderson Girls at 18. But few people watched this play. In 1932, she married the famous actor Jack Hawkins. Their wedding pictures were on the front page of many British newspapers. In the same year, critics in London recognized her great acting skill in her performance in the play Children in Uniform.
In 1940, Jessica ended her first marriage and moved to the USA. In New York, she met actor Hume Cronyn. Two years later, they married and moved to Hollywood.
Her turning point came in 1947 when she played the lead part in Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire. Tandy won the first of her four Tony awards for best actress in it. After that Hollywood producers began to choose her to be in the movie.
Jessica Tandy said she hated seeing herself in the movies. She was surprised when she won the Academy Award for Driving Miss Daisy. She said that the wonderful part she had made up for her lack of experience in movies.
1. Jessica’s early interest in acting came from __________.
| A．her natural gift for acting | B．her brothers’ influence |
| C．her hope of helping raise her family | D．her mother’s encouragement |
| A．Attending an acting school. |
| B．Her first play The Manderson Girls. |
| C．Her marriage with Jack Hawkins. |
| D．Her wonderful performance in Driving Miss Daisy. |
a. Jessica performed in The Manderson Girls.
b. Jessica married Hume Cronyn
c. Jessica played the lead part in A Streetcar Named Desire.
d. Jessica moved to the USA.
| A．a, d, b, c | B．a, b, c, d | C．b, d, a, c | D．b, c, a, d |
| A．Jessica wasn’t interested in acting in movies |
| B．winning the Academy Award was a surprise to Jessica |
| C．Jessica would perform better if given a better part |
| D．Jessica was as confident as commonly considered |
【推荐2】A couple from Miami , Bill and Simone Butler , spent sixty-six days in a life-raft (救生艇)in the seas of Central America after their boat sank.
Twenty-one days after they left Panama in their boat, Simony, they met some whales(鲸鱼). “They started to hit the side of the boat, ” said Bill, “and then suddenly we heard water. ”Two minutes later , the boat was sinking. They jumped into the life-raft and watched the boat go under the water.
For twenty days they had tins of food , biscuits , and bottles of water. They also had a fishing-line and a machine to make salt water into drinking water-two things which saved their lives. They caught eight to ten fish a day and ate them raw(生的). Then the line broke. “So we had no more fish until something very strange happened. Some sharks(鲨鱼) came to feed , and the fish under the raft were afraid and came to the surface. I caught them with my hands. ”
About twenty ships passed them, but no one saw them. After fifty days at sea, their life- raft was beginning to break up. Then suddenly it was all over. A fishing boat saw them and picked them up. They couldn't stand up. So the captain carried them onto his boat and took them to Costa Rica. Their two months at sea was over.
1. Bill and Simone were traveling________ when they met some whales.| A．in a life-raft . | B．in Miami . | C．in Simony | D．in Panama |
| A．the boat was sinking | B．they bit the boat |
| C．they pulled the boat | D．they bit the couple |
| A．jumped into the life-raft | B．heard water |
| C．watched the boat go under water | D．stayed in the life-raft |
| A．They were too excited to stand up. |
| B．They knew their two months at sea would end. |
| C．They couldn’t wait to climb onto the boat. |
| D．Their life-raft was beginning to break up. |
【推荐3】If it had not been for Fan Jinshi and her team, the world cultural heritage at Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in a remote Chinese desert might have long been destroyed by sand, weather or humans.
Born and raised in Shanghai, Fan has spent half a century fighting an uphill battle to preserve the ancient Buddhist wall painting at Dunhuang, in Northwest China’s Gansu Province. The 1 651-year-old Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes are a huge collection of Buddhist art—more than 2 000 buddha figures and 45 000 square meters of paintings spread among 735 caves. It is China’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Archaeologist Fan was sent to Dunhuang after graduation from Peking University in 1963. While in Dunhuang, a remote village in the desert then, Fan lived in an abandoned temple. At first, she did not even dare to go out to the toilet at night. To protect the treasures from sand and dampness, Fan and other workers put doors on the caves, planted trees and started monitoring temperature and humidity（湿度） in the caves. They also controlled the number of visitors.
In the late 1990s, with tourism booming nationwide since national holidays were extended, the local government planned to go public with Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, but found Fan firmly in their way. “The heritage would have been destroyed if it had been listed,” she said.
Dunhuang Academy has now photographed and cataloged（编入目录） online all the sculptures and paintings. “Despite our efforts to minimize damage, we can’t completely stop them from being eroded（侵蚀）. But the digital database will last. ”
Fan was grateful when her husband joined her in Dunhuang in 1986 after 19 years of separation. Her two sons grew up in Shanghai with their aunt. “I have not been a good mother or wife. With regard to my family, I’m full of guilt,” she said. Fan, 79, retired two years ago as the director of Dunhuang Academy but continues her efforts as a national political adviser.
1. Which of the following measures didn’t Fan Jinshi take to protect Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes?| A．Opening Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes to the general public . |
| B．Planting trees and stopping the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes being eroded. |
| C．Picturing and classifying all the sculptures and paintings online. |
| D．Putting doors on the caves and monitoring temperature and humidity. |
| A．In 1963. | B．In 1967. |
| C．In 1986. | D．In the late 1990s. |
| A．Go to a place. | B．Be in favor of something. |
| C．Reject something. | D．Give in to something. |
| A．Considerate and easy-going. | B．kind and intelligent. |
| C．Humorous and sweet-tempered. | D．Devoted and persistent. |
