For nearly 50 years, Zhao Yuming has been absorbed in his own world of clay figurines (泥塑). At age 62, Zhao is the only remaining clay sculpture master craftsman in Laoting County, Hebei Province. He has been officially recognised as a master of intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产).
Nowadays, shopping malls are full of high-end toys, so the Laoting clay figurines have gradually fallen out of favor.
Facing a demand for economic development, many regions are increasingly attaching importance to the protection of valuable traditional cultural skills. People come to realise that developing our cultural relics promotes the development of local economies.
| A．But for him, this is not only an honor. |
| B．Later, it became known as “literary clay figurines”. |
| C．Clay figurines were sold for just a few pennies each. |
| D．Laoting clay sculpture has a nearly 500-year history. |
| E．Laoting clay sculpture is an important part or Zhao’s life. |
| F．However, some craftsmen have chosen to continue the tradition. |
| G．More importantly, it contributes to the goal of building “a beautiful China”. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Ollivier Jean-Baptiste, 25, a vlogger from France living in China, delivered a speech on the latest episode of the China Daily Youth Power series on Jan 30. In his speech, Jean-Baptiste spoke about his initial impressions of China. Just like his family and friends, he saw China as a mysterious place with a culture entirely different from Western countries.
The idea of visiting China first came to him when his uncle, who worked in China, returned with endless praise for the Chinese lifestyle. “Everything, from the food to the scenery, was incredibly appealing,” he recalled.
Later, a Chinese woman introduced him personally to the everyday life of Chinese people, which exposed him to a different way of living. The woman later became his wife, and they moved to Beijing in 2022, which Jean-Baptiste described as “eye-opening” for him. “She took me to see the flag-raising ceremony. Witnessing countless people rushing toward the flag, I was deeply moved. It’s a country of strength, unity, and love,” he said.
When Jean-Baptiste went to his wife’s hometown, the beautiful countryside located in Southwest China, for the first time, a group of locals started shouting “waiguoren”, which means “foreigner”, and ran after him. He understood that this was their way of showing interest and hospitality. “Many, even those who spoke little English, would say ‘welcome to China’. I felt the warmth of home in a foreign country,” he said.
These experiences made Jean-Baptiste eager to spread Chinese culture. When he returned to France for vacation and shared photos in China with his family, they were also excited. After learning about the 15-day visa-free travel from France to China, they couldn’t wait to book their trip to China. “I’m overjoyed to host them showcasing China’s modern development and rich history,” he said. “I may be just an ordinary person with limited influence, but everyone can be a cultural ambassador.”
1. What inspired Jean-Baptiste to visit China from France?| A．His plan to start a new business. | B．His interest in his uncle’s experience. |
| C．His dream of having an international tour. | D．His passion for spreading French culture. |
| A．He lived in Beijing with his wife for years. | B．He learnt the daily life of Chinese people. |
| C．He encountered many people in a ceremony. | D．He realized people’s love for the national flag. |
| A．The experience of visiting a village. | B．The introduction to cultural diversity. |
| C．The recommendation of Chinese custom. | D．The significance of communication. |
| A．Ambitious and courageous. | B．Cautious and persistent. |
| C．Devoted and enthusiastic. | D．Patient and dedicated. |
【推荐2】The Notre Dame (巴黎圣母院) fire has been put out, but its spire (尖顶) and a large portion of its wooden roof have been damaged. The terrible destruction causes a sudden sharp pain to people around the world. “What a pity that we cannot see the damaged parts of the wonder anymore.”
But the good news is that there is at least one way of seeing them, namely through a video game called Assassin’s Creed: Unity. In this game, the player can travel to one city after another and enter the buildings exactly like what they are in reality, and see Notre Dame as it was before the fire. Further, with virtual reality technology, which is already quite mature, one can even look around the undamaged Notre Dame as if it is still there. Maybe digital technology could help to better protect architectural cultural heritage.
The idea of making digital models of ancient buildings to save their data dates back to the 1990s and the necessary technology has continued to advance since then. By scanning the ancient buildings with lasers, building 3D models with multiple images, as well as measuring everything precisely, engineers can make a copy as accurate as the real one.
As computers and smartphones are hugely popular, the digital model has great useful value. First, it allows tourists to feel the cultural relics without touching them. The virtual tour of Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province is a good example of this as tourists can view the paintings without standing near them. Furthermore, it can make the digitized cultural relics more famous by spreading awareness about them via the Internet. In 2000, a virtual tour of the Great Wall became very popular at the Hannover World Expo, which increased the number of foreign tourists visiting the site in the following years. Above all, it preserves all the information of the cultural relics.
Maybe we will have better technologies in the future, but the digital technology offers a practical way to preserve architectural cultural heritage at the moment.
1. What can we see about Notre Dame in the game?| A．The damaged Notre Dame. | B．Its former look. |
| C．The big fire. | D．Its wooden shape. |
| A．Build 3D models of full size. | B．Scan the photos of the buildings. |
| C．Improve the technology needed. | D．Measure all the parts exactly. |
| A．By classification. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By comparison. | D．By listing numbers. |
| A．Negative. | B．Doubtful. | C．Supportive. | D．Uncertain. |
【推荐3】In the world of Chinese archaeology (考古学), a sign of a dig's importance is the sight of Zhou Mingsheng at work. A field technician who has worked at archaeological sites all around China. Master Zhou is credited with the gentlest touch in his profession. Born into a farming family, he is a “national-level craftsman” with a talent for using simple tools to get relics (遗物) that would crumble in other hands, says his current boss, Wang Xu, director of an archaeological site at Shuanghuaishu, a Neolithic (新石器时代的) settlement near the Yellow River in the central province of Henan.
It is not beauty that attracts visitors to Shuanghuaishu. At 5, 300 years old, the settlement is the work of a culture too simple to have left behind many buried treasures. The single most precious find, to date, is a finger-length sculpture of a silkworm. Nor is the setting lovely: an area surrounded by deafening insects, between a highway and two power stations. Rather, the site's importance is historical. For since the birth of Chinese archaeology in the 1920s, it has been inseparable from claims that China has the oldest unbroken civilisation on Earth.
Leading archaeologists say that the site has the right combination of location, age and distinctive cultural elements to be the capital of an early Chinese kingdom. That would make it a bridge between China's written history and the era of the Yellow Emperor, who is said to rule over these central plains almost 5,000 years ago, though many foreign scholars doubt his existence. Chinese media call the site proof of China's 5,000 years of history.
Foreigners complain about a lack of written records, Mr Wang notes. Perhaps they are missing symbols that will one day be understood, for instance in patterned pottery. Outsiders "can't keep using Western standards to apply to Chinese ruins," he argues.
1. What does the underlined word “crumble” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Result. | B．Break. | C．Wait. | D．Shine. |
| A．It is of great historical significance. | B．It has various precious treasures. |
| C．It has appealing scenery. | D．It is easily accessible. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Tolerant. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Sympathetic. |
| A．Chinese history amazes the world | B．Chinese archaeology catches on |
| C．China follows its tradition | D．China digs its past |
【推荐1】MY AMAZING NAADAM EXPERIENCE
I experienced the Naadam Festival in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for the first time this year. The festival falls on the fourth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, usually lasting for three days. Naadam means “games” in Mongolian, and it is represented by three events: horse racing, wrestling, and archery, which are all so exciting to watch!
On the first day, I set off to the games early with my friend Burin. I saw a lot of people wearing fancy Mongolian robes. Some were feeding their horses, some were practising archery, and others were chatting or taking photographs. Burin told me that Mongolians travel every year from near and far to attend the festival, just as their ancestors had done for centuries.
After the opening ceremony and some amazing performances the wrestling competition began. Mongolian wrestling is different from the wrestling in the Olympic Games. There are no rounds, and wrestlers are not separated by weight. The wrestler loses if any part of his body above his knee touches the ground. After singing some songs, the competitors danced onto the green field waving their arms in the air as if they were eagles. I was quite moved by their show of strength and grace.
I absolutely enjoyed the archery, too, but the horse races were my favourite part. However, l was surprised to see that the riders were boys and girls! I heard it is because children are lighter and the horses can run faster and farther. At first, I was a little worried about the children’s safety, but Burin said, “Don’t worry. They’ve been riding horses all their lives. They’ll be just fine.” That was the moment I started to understand why people say “Horses are at the heart of Mongolian culture”. …
I’m finally back home now, feeling really tired, but celebrating Naadam with my friend was totally worth it. He invited me back for the winter to stay in a traditional Mongolian tent and eat hot pot. L can’t wait!
Question:1. From the title, we can find that the text is mainly about
2. Read the diary and try to find out the topic sentences of each paragraph.
Para.1
Para.2
Para.3
Para.4
Para.5
【推荐2】BEIJING — Eating at a Beijing restaurant is usually an adventure for foreigners, and particularly when they get the chance to order “chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head”.
Sometimes excited but mostly confused, embarrassed or even terrified, many foreigners have long complained about mistranslations of Chinese dishes. And their complaints are often valid, but such an experience at Beijing’s restaurants will apparently soon be history.
Foreign visitors will no longer, hopefully, be confused by oddly worded restaurant menus in the capital if the government’s plan to correctly translate 3,000 Chinese dishes is a success and the translations are generally adopted.
The government office of foreign affairs has published a book to introduce English translations of Chinese dishes, which aims to help restaurants avoid confusing translations. “It provides the names of main dishes of famous Chinese cuisines in plain English,” an official with the city’s Foreign Affairs office said. Restaurants are encouraged to use the proposed translations, but it will not be compulsory. It’s the city’s latest effort to bridge the culture gap for foreign travelers in China.
Coming up with precise translations is a daunting task, as some Chinese culinary (烹饪的)
techniques are untranslatable and many Chinese dishes have no English-language equivalent (对应词). The translators, after conducting a study of Chinese restaurants in English-speaking countries, divided the dish names into four categories: ingredients, cooking method, taste and name of a person or a place. For some traditional dishes, pinyin, the Chinese phonetic system, is used, such as mapo tofu (previously often literally translated as “bean curd made by woman with freckles”), baozi (steamed stuffed bun) and jiaozi (dumplings) to “reflect the Chinese cuisine culture,” according to the book.
“The book is a benefit to tourist guides like me. Having it, I don’t have to rack my brains trying to explain Chinese dishes to foreign travelers,” said Zheng Xiaodong, a 31- year – old employee with a Beijing-based travel agency.
It is not clear if the book will be introduced to other parts of China. But on Tuesday, this was the most discussed topic on weibo.com, China’s most popular micro blogging site.
1. “chicken without sex life” or “red burned lion head” are mentioned in the beginning of the passage to show some Chinese dishes are .| A．mistranslated. | B．hard to translate. |
| C．not well received. | D．not acceptable. |
| A．Introducing a book on Chinese dishes |
| B．Publishing a book on China’s dietary habits |
| C．Providing the names of main Chinese dishes |
| D．Suggesting using accurate translation for Chinese dishes |
| A．disappointing | B．discouraging |
| C．inspiring | D．amazing |
| A．unconcerned | B．negative |
| C．divided | D．favorable |
【推荐3】Different cultures
The cultures of the East and the West really distinguish each other a lot.
The origin of the eastern cultures is mainly from two countries: China and India Both of the two cultures are developed by rivers-the Yellow River in China and the Hindu River in India.
The differences are everywhere.
| A．They are obvious and affect people's ways of thinking and their views of the world. |
| B．They helped the two cultures develop for centuries and form their own styles. |
| C．This is because the culture systems are two separate systems on the whole. |
| D．At the same time, some other differences add to the cultural differences. |
| E．And these two are well-known as the base of the European culture. |
| F．One important thing is to learn about other cultures. |
| G．Let us work together to keep a variety of culture. |
