Of the many colorful Romanian traditions that are brought to life every year, the Bear Dance is one of the most inspiring. This folk tradition dates back to thousands of years ago.
Traditionally, the arrival of the “bears” is announced by a small group of “irozi”, who blow whistles (口哨) to a rhythm set by the head bear tamer (训兽师). Chosen for his leadership skills, the head tamer is the one who decides when each of the acts is played and gives the cues.
The “bears” dance to the beat set by the pan flutes (排萧) and the drums, after practicing for up to three months before the day of the ceremony. Wearing the special costumes requires strength and must be handled with confidence, to look fierce, with the heaviest of costumes weighing up to 50 kilos.
When the person wearing the costume is standing up straight, the “bear” looks up. During the dance, the wearer must bend forward and shake his or her body to the left and to the right while taking small steps either to the front or to the side.
Taking place every winter in villages and cities in Romania’s eastern region of Moldova, the Bear Dance symbolizes the death and rebirth of time. The Bear Dance sees men of all ages, and increasingly more women, who are dressed in real bear skins and dance to the rhythm of pan flutes and drums to drive off evil spirits and ring in the new year. Performed between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, this ancient ritual brings together the whole community, who gather to watch the performance.
By tradition, the procession of the Bear Dance, which includes 6 to 24 “bears”, would visit every family of the village, accompanied by up to three singing bear tamers, several characters wearing women’s clothes and drummers. While this tradition is still observed in many villages, in cities and towns it usually takes the form of a parade that takes place at the end of a major performance in the center.
1. What do we know about the Bear Dance?| A．It is performed by “bears”only. |
| B．It is a tradition with a long history. |
| C．It is better celebrated in cities. |
| D．It is used for sports by the locals in Romania. |
| A．A group of people blow whistles. |
| B．The head bear tamer dances to a rhythm. |
| C．Some performers blow the pan flutes. |
| D．Several characters beat drums. |
| A．To call on people to protect wild animals. |
| B．To celebrate a good harvest in the past year. |
| C．To welcome the arrival of the new year. |
| D．To provide themselves with a way to have fun. |
| A．Nature. | B．Travel. | C．History. | D．Culture. |
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【推荐1】It’s very likely that at some point, whether in school or elsewhere, you’ve come across pi, the mathematical term which is about 3.142 and most commonly represented by the Greek letter “π” .
Pi has interested people around the world for over 4,000 years. Many mathematicians — from famous ones such as Fibonacci, Newton, Leibniz, and Gauss to lesser well-known mathematical minds — have toiled over pi, calculated its digits (数位), and applied it in many areas of mathematics. Some spent the better parts of their lives calculating just a few digits.
In 2009, the United States House of Representatives recognized March 14 as National Pi Day. For Pi Day 2010, Google presented a Google Doodle celebrating the day, with the word Google laid over images of circles and pi symbols. The entire month of March 2014 (3/14) was observed by some as “Pi Month”. In the year 2015, pi Day had special significance on 3/14/15 at 9:26:53 a.m. and also at p.m., with the date and time representing the first 10 digits of π.
Pi Day has been observed in many ways, including eating pies, throwing pies and discussing the significance of the number π, due to a pun (双关语) based on the words “pi” and “pie” in English, as well as pies tending to be round, and thus related to π. Massachusetts Institute of Technology has often mailed its application decision letters to would-be students for delivery on Pi Day. Starting in 2012, MIT has announced it will post those decisions privately online on Pi Day.
1. What does the underlined part “toiled over” in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．Fought against. | B．Noted down. | C．Worked on. | D．Broke into. |
| A．Pi Day became official in the USA in 2010. | B．Pi Day has become a worldwide holiday. |
| C．Google designed a Doodle for Pi Day. | D．Pi Month referred to March, 2015. |
| A．They sound similar. | B．They are both mysterious. |
| C．They are valuable in math. | D．They are useful in our life. |
| A．Pi Day is gaining popularity | B．People celebrate strange festivals |
| C．MIT officially announces Pi Day | D．Researches on Pi are making progress |
【推荐2】Does your school have any problems with discipline? What happens when students step out of line? Here are some examples of bad behaviour:
◎Playing truant(missing school without permission from parents).
◎Stealing，smoking，hitting，swearing(说脏话)，running，kissing.
◎Cheating in exams.
◎Calling a teacher or another pupil bad names.
◎Not doing homework.
◎Not listening or not paying attention in lessons.
◎Wearing unsuitable clothes.
Here are some of the ways that UK school children can be punished:
Exclusion:a pupil is asked to leave the school and not come back.The pupil has to find a new school or a different method of education.
Suspension:a pupil cannot enter the building or attend lessons until the school has a meeting about their situation.Suspension can last from one to 45 days.The pupil is usually given work to do at home with a special teacher.
Detention:a pupil is asked to stay after school and work for 30—60 minutes before they Can leave.
Lines:a pupil has to write a sentence many times(e.g.100 or more)on a sheet of paper，e，g，“I must not shout in class”.
Freya MacDonald，a 15-year-old pupil from Scotland，made the news when she refused to accept her school’s punishment.Her family says that she was given 11 detentions for trivial things in class and coming into school through a fire door.
Freya says that repeated detentions disrupted her fight to an education under Scottish law and made it difficult for her to learn.She refused to return until the school respected her civil rights.She wants the headmaster and her teachers to sign a letter to promise this.Hundreds of schools in Scotland were told not to use detention as a punishment because of her legal action.
Many UK schools now give parents a home-school contract，explaining their discipline and rules.Parents must sign this document to agree that they accept the school’s rules and discipline and that they are responsible for their child’s behaviour.
1. What does the text mainly talk about?| A．Some examples of bad behaviour in schoo1. |
| B．Common discipline and rules in UK schools. |
| C．How UK schools discipline and punish students. |
| D．What UK parents think of school punishment. |
| A．It is the most serious punishment for students. |
| B．A pupil is not permitted to come back to schoo1. |
| C．It forces students to write a critical self-review. |
| D．A pupil can come back within one and half a month. |
| A．She didn’t want to study at a11. |
| B．Many schools cancelled detention to punish students. |
| C．She didn’t step out of line after that. |
| D．Teachers signed a letter to respect her civil rights. |
| A．To make it easy for students to learn. |
| B．To help parents know about school rules. |
| C．To share responsibility for their child’s actions. |
| D．To avoid their own responsibility for education. |
【推荐3】Carnival: One Day in Rio
Last year I went to the Rio de Janeiro Carnival, and it blew my mind. It had been my dream to attend the famous carnival for many years, so I was excited. However, the moment I arrived, I was a little bit nervous because there were so many people on the streets. They say that five or six million people come to Rio during carnival time and about two million of them are on the streets on any given day. Luckily, I had a local guide, my sister’s friend Ronnie. He said he would take care of me and show me all the highlights. He did not let me down.
Well, the carnival is most definitely all about the samba. It’s a style of music and dance which has its roots in Africa. Lots of Africans were used as slave labor by the Portuguese when Brazil was being colonized, so this mixed culture of African, Latin and European styles is really strong here. Samba music is usually fast and exciting with a lot of drums and harmonic vocals. It’s the kind of music that you can’t help dancing to, and I was learning that as I followed Ronnie through the crowd, my hips and shoulders were swinging almost involuntarily.
Ronnie had got us tickets for the samba parade, the icon of Brazilian culture, inside the Sambadrome where the top samba schools compete for the championship title, but we still had a long way to go through the street parties. He said most people enjoy the carnival by making their own parties in the street. About the samba parade, twelve main teams compete for the championship, and if they win, their performance will be talked about for years to come. So, you must be wondering how it was. Well, I’m afraid I can’t tell you. Ronnie and I never made into the Sambadrome. We spent the day moving from one street party to another. There were more snacks, more drinks and lots of dancing. Do I regret missing the main parade? Not at all. I experienced the carnival like the locals, and it was truly amazing.
1. What was the main cause for the author’s tension in the beginning?| A．The doubts about the visit. | B．The nervousness over the crowd. |
| C．The inability to find a local guide. | D．The anxiety about visiting a new country. |
| A．Samba has its roots in America. |
| B．Samba is not the taste of the writer. |
| C．Samba has a long and mixed culture. |
| D．Samba music is usually slow and soft. |
| A．she met some amazing local people |
| B．she didn’t have the tickets for the parade |
| C．she celebrated the festival in a local way |
| D．she enjoyed the carnival by making her own parties |
| A．Modest and determined. | B．Humorous and ambitious. |
| C．Creative and sympathetic | D．Reliable and considerate. |
【推荐1】Elephants on the coast of Thailand are acting strangely. They stamp their feet and want to move towards the hills. The sea draws back from the beaches. Fish flop (扑腾) on the seabed. Suddenly, a huge wave appears. This is no ordinary wave. It is a tsunami!
Tsunami waves are larger and faster than normal surface waves. A tsunami wave can travel fast as a jet plane and can be as tall as a ten-storey building. Tsunamis begin when the ocean rises or falls very suddenly. Lots of seawater is displaced and this movement causes huge waves.
If a tsunami happens, there must be some kind of force that causes the ocean water to become moved. Most tsunamis are caused by underwater earthquakes. Sometimes, volcanoes, and slides, and large icebergs may also cause one of these huge waves.
Tsunamis are extremely powerful. Ordinary waves lose power when they break. Tsunami waves can remain powerful for several days. Because tsunami waves are so strong, they can kill people, damage buildings, and completely ruin an ecosystem in just one hour.
Scientists have no way of telling people in advance when a tsunami will hit. However, if a powerful enough earthquake happens, scientists can send out a warning or a watch. A warning means that a tsunami will very likely hit soon. A watch means that conditions are suitable for a tsunami. When people receive a watch or a warning, they have more time to prepare. It’s best to get prepared before a tsunami is on the way!
1. What’s the main idea of the first paragraph?| A．The power of the tsunami. | B．The signs of the tsunami. |
| C．The causes of the tsunami. | D．The damages from the tsunami. |
| A．Moved. | B．Trapped. | C．Destroyed. | D．Stopped. |
| A．The floods, storms, and typhoons. |
| B．The earthquake that happens on the land. |
| C．The volcanoes, and slides, and large icebergs. |
| D．The force that causes ocean water to get displaced. |
| A．A warning is more serious than a watch. |
| B．A watch is more serious than a warning. |
| C．A watch is set out before a big earthquake. |
| D．There are many ways to tell a tsunami in advance. |
·In many countries, it is standard procedure to attach a photo or have your photo printed on your résumé. Do not attach a photograph to your résumé if you are sending it to the United States, though.
·Educational requirements differ from country to country. In most cases of “cross-border” job hunting, just stating the title of your degree will not be enough. Provide the reader with details about your studies and any related experience.
·Pay attention to the résumé format(格式) you use—chronological(时间的) or reverse-chronological order. If you find no specific guidelines, the general preference is for the reverse-chronological format, which means listing your current or most recent experience first.
·The level of computer technology and accessibility to the Internet varies from country to country. Even if a company or individual lists an e-mail address, there is no guarantee that they will actually receive your email. Send a paper copy of your résumé, as well as the emailed copy, just to make sure that it is received.
·If you are writing your résumé in English, find out if the receiver uses British English or American English because there are variations between the two versions.
·Although English is widely accepted today as being the universal language of business, most multinational companies will expect you to speak the language of one of the countries in which they do business, in addition to English. Have your résumé prepared in both languages, and be ready for your interview to be conducted in both languages. Most companies will want to see and hear proof of your language skills.
·Be aware that paper sizes are different in different countries. The United States standard is 8½ by 11 inches, while the European A4 standard is 21 by 29.7 centimeters. When you send your résumé by email, reformat it to the receiver’s standard. Otherwise, when it is printed out, half of your material may be missing!
1. The passage is most probably intended for _____.
| A．job hunters that seek careers abroad |
| B．companies that do international business |
| C．people that are employed by companies overseas |
| D．graduates that can speak over one foreign language |
| A．Write it in American English. |
| B．Prepare it in more than two languages. |
| C．Attach or print your photo on it. |
| D．Send both a paper and an emailed copy. |
| A．we can’t list the oldest experience first in a résumé |
| B．Asian countries may have the same standard paper size |
| C．a résumé can help us know about a person’s personality |
| D．a person’s educational background should be included in a résumé |
| A．be highly professional |
| B．be especially informative |
| C．be culturally proper |
| D．be completely chronological |
【推荐3】To develop one's taste in English, the most effective way is to read English books extensively. Yet one may be at a loss to choose the appropriate books, especially as a beginner. As a native Spanish, I would like to share some of my experience.
My first English novel was Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, recommended by many English teachers and professors as an ideal book for English learners. But my experience was somewhat disastrous. I had great difficulty in understanding the novel, let alone enjoying it. It's not the vocabulary that troubled me, but rather the way Austen constructs sentences, and her way of thinking, which seemed too remote to me at that time. My fading enthusiasm was much recovered after reading Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms. No long and complicated sentences. And I particularly liked his brief and straightforward (简洁的) style. So my first suggestion is, as a beginner, you'd better choose contemporary novels instead of classical ones.
However, if you restrict yourself to novels you will miss a lot of treasures. English essays can at once inform you, entertain you, and improve your taste in English. The best example is Bertrand Russell's work. Its language is plain, yet you cannot help feeling the elegance and the peculiar sense of humor. His simple language enables his philosophy within the reach of ordinary people. Here comes my second suggestion — essays are indispensable.
Never follow others' recommendations and opinions blindly, however famous or influential (有很大影响的) the person might be. We should be open to various ideas, but always think and determine for ourselves. As a saying goes, one man's meat is another man's poison. With that in mind, we are bound to find out our favorite writers through reading and develop our fine taste in English.
1. What made the first English novel that the author read hard to understand?| A．Complicated conversations. |
| B．Sentences and Austen's thinking pattern. |
| C．The old-fashioned vocabulary. |
| D．Not knowing the social background. |
| A．Necessary | B．Challenging | C．Relevant | D．Inspirational |
| A．Choose books that challenge us most. |
| B．Read books that are instructive. |
| C．Don't be affected by others' choices. |
| D．Compare books before buying. |
| A．Give comments on literature works. |
| B．Tell beginners how to choose English books. |
| C．Encourage people to read more English books. |
| D．Recommend first class books to English learners. |
