Celebrating the Harvest Around the World
A harvest festival is a celebration of the fall months and the harvest that often accompanies these months. Many countries celebrate harvest festivals in different forms.
Canada
In Canada, people celebrate their harvest on Thanksgiving. This tradition is said to date back to the 16th century. The English explorer Martin Frobisher(1535—1594) came upon the land, searching for the “New World”. As he arrived in Canada in 1578, he celebrated surviving the long journey by holding a formal celebration and eating salt beef and peas. Today, it has become a recognized holiday in the country that falls on the second Monday in October. On Thanksgiving, most return home to gather with their family. One of the highlights(高潮) of the holiday is a big Thanksgiving Day meal, which usually includes turkey and bread, which are prepared and presented in a unique Canadian way.
The United Kingdom
Harvest festival activities are considered a special time for communities to come together in celebration. The harvest festival may start with carrying baskets of fruits and vegetables to a local church where people sing praise songs for a healthy harvest while praying for future harvests. A special effort may be made to give food to the less fortunate. Large dinners may also be hosted where each member brings a special dish to share with each other.
China
In 2023, the Farmers’ Harvest Festival was launched in China. It’s held on the day of the autumn equinox(秋分), which falls roughly on Sept. 22 or 23. Every year, a range of events are organized nationwide. In Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, farmers brought 100 seed varieties to the main site of the ceremony in Hanhu District and placed them in a wall to mark the achievements of the seed industry. In Heilongjiang Province, the festival was combined with local traditions of the Daur people and the locals danced around bonfires.
1. Originally, Thanksgiving was celebrated in Canada for .| A．their harvest | B．finding the new world |
| C．surviving the long journey | D．gathering with their family |
| A．attending a church service | B．donating food to the poor |
| C．sharing food at a dinner party | D．dancing around bonfires |
| A．Different countries celebrate their harvest in different ways. |
| B．There are similarities in celebrating the harvest among different places. |
| C．The Farmers’ Harvest Festival is an annually nationwide thing in China. |
| D．Local traditions are included in celebrating the harvest around China. |
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【推荐1】The Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) opened its doors again this weekend for the University of Rochester’s Clothesline Arts Festival. This event has been an annual tradition at the Centennial Sculpture Park right outside the MAG for the last 62 years. Initially organized with less than 100 artists showing their work on clothes lines and fences, this festival has attracted over 500 artists from across the nation.
The park was decorated with colorful tents where artists proudly displayed their works. Each tent was a story within itself — a display of skill, creativity, and years of experience.
Piche Design, a unique custom creation art store owned by Chuck Peashy, had one of the most interesting tents: an eye-catching, old setting with lamps shaped like musical instruments. “People come to me with objects that belonged to their long-gone loved ones, and I make beautiful items out of those for them. It is, indeed, rewarding,” said Peashy.
Jill Schiller started doodling (涂鸦) when she was very young. Her hobby gave way to a series of super cool modern designs. She now draws with Swedish weaving techniques on scarves, carpets, bags, and T-shirts in her tent. Schiller believes that it is evidently a great method of expressing creativity and emotion.
George Banagis’ tent, which presented watercolor and pen and ink pieces, had a variety of options. His complicated pen and ink illustrations were available in the original full-size versions, which were made after weeks of effort, and also small, affordable postcards, notepads, and other souvenirs. Visitors loved this inexpensive form of art and flooded inside to buy.
Visitors also experienced all seven continents in one tent, Tatarzyn Photography. From penguins lined up on an Antarctic coastline to swans and wandering African elephants, Ted Tatarzyn has traveled all around the world to catch these moments of amazing creatures with a camera. “This is actually my second career,” said Tatarzyn, who interestingly worked at Kodak for many years before its shutdown. He then started touring around the world for the pictures.
Strolling across the little artistic showcases is a learning experience that every student should take advantage of. And Clothesline had many other stories to tell.
1. What was the Clothesline Arts Festival most probably named after at first?| A．The hosting place of the festival. | B．The diverse artists joining the event. |
| C．The unique way of displaying works. | D．The cloths and various materials used. |
| A．It focuses on the musical instrument design. | B．It helps people recall their loved ones. |
| C．It repairs valuable things for people. | D．It mainly sells classical furniture. |
| A．They are both about art drawings with strong personal styles. |
| B．They are both popular among university students. |
| C．They both display products with local cultures. |
| D．They are both about inexpensive paintings. |
| A．Travel experience sharing. | B．Artistic creativity training. |
| C．Professional camera skill teaching. | D．Animal photos displaying. |
| A．To remember a 62-year-old tradition. | B．To recommend some excellent artists. |
| C．To advertise a secondhand market. | D．To introduce a special artistic festival. |
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 Ea 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. Where is the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival held?
| A．In New Mexico. | B．In the Caribbean. |
| C．In Australia. | D．In China. |
| A．three days | B．seven days |
| C．less than three days | D．more than seven days |
| A．The chief prize for the Stilton cheese rolling competition is beer or port wine. |
| B．More than 10,000 Chinese take part in the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival. |
| C．Thousands of spicy foods are on show in the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival. |
| D．An exciting tomato battle takes place at the beginning of La Tomatina. |
【推荐3】Learn How to Have a Learning Vacation
Going on a vacation to learn a skill you have long hungered to pick up sounds like a good thing, but be careful, said John Spence, the president of a travel company in Calif. “If you don’t pick the right skill for you, or go in without realistic expectations, your time won’t enjoyable,” he said.
Here, he shares his advice on planning a learning vacation that you won’t regret taking:
◆Follow your passion.
◆
◆Consider your budget. No matter the skill, you can learn it by taking a vacation in a wide range of price choices.
◆Don’t forget the children.
| A．A little, or a lot |
| B．Don’t be influenced by others’ interest |
| C．What skill do you want to learn |
| D．Learning vacations can be great family trips, too |
| E．The choices for what you can learn on your vacation are limitless |
| F．Having a clear idea of your budget will help you home in on the right trip |
| G．Spending your entire break learning something new can be stressful |
【推荐1】Having No Sense of Humor
A sense of humor is a quality that is usually considered valuable in a social context. If you are worried that you may not have it, don’t panic just yet.
Remember that everyone is different.
You might sometimes feel like you are the only one who isn’t witty or funny, but remind yourself that everyone is different, with different strengths and weaknesses.
Practice self-acceptance.
Determine what you are good at and what brings out your personality. Think about your most joyful activities as a child, or what you were doing the last time you lost track of time. You may have a hidden gift that hasn’t been discovered yet.
Though it may seem that the dominant culture likes and accepts humor, it’s totally okay that some people don’t.
| A．Discover your talents |
| B．Develop your personality |
| C．Everyone has their role to play |
| D．Accept your flaws and let them go |
| E．There are over seven billion people in the world |
| F．First, determine where your sense of humor lies |
| G．Your culture can have an effect on your sense of humor |
I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive(敏感) Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.
In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.
However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.
After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words.
By Jack
1. Jack brought the couple their food very fast because _______.
| A．the manager asked him to do so |
| B．he respected the elderly |
| C．the couple wanted him to do so |
| D．he wanted more pay |
| A．nervous | B．satisfied | C．Unhappy | D．excited |
| A．people dislike being called “old” |
| B．people are proud of being old |
| C．many people reach the age of seventy or eighty |
| D．the elderly are the first to get food in restaurants |
| A．lost his job in the restaurant |
| B．made friends with the couple |
| C．no longer respected the elderly |
| D．changed his way with older people |
| A．The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got. |
| B．Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience. |
| C．The manager went back to the table and apologized to the couple. |
| D．From this experience, Jack learned more about American culture. |
【推荐3】Dragon dances, acrobats, fireworks, a parade (庆祝游行) --- London is buzzing with excitement for Chinese New Year. Find out more about how people in London celebrate.
The event
For London's Chinese community (and everyone else who loves a good party), Chinese New Year is a huge event. Before Chinese New Year, people make sure their houses are clean and tidy, buy new clothes and get a haircut to bring good luck for the new year. Hundreds of thousands of people watch the parade, which stretches from the West End to Trafalgar Square. It includes Chinese acrobats and traditional lion and dragon dances.
The celebrations
In central London, there are fireworks and stage performances with all kinds of acts and special guests. Previous celebrations have included fashion shows and Chinese hip-hop acts, as well as more traditional performances with Chinese acrobats. Chinatown is buzzing with excitement. The streets are decorated with lucky red lanterns and full of craft and food stalls (货摊). If you're thinking of eating in one of the Chinatown's excellent Chinese restaurants, you have to book a table early, or you won't find one on the night.
Chinese people in Britain
For young Chinese people studying or working in the UK, web conferencing is a good way to join family celebrations back home. Those who miss home might also cook dumplings for friends in Britain or organize an evening of karaoke, another popular way of celebrating. The festivities (欢庆) are not as noisy as back home, where loud firecrackers are traditionally used to frighten away a terrible monster called “Nian”. But there is still plenty of excitement, happiness and good feelings as people come together to enjoy the celebrations.
1. How do people in London's Chinese community celebrate Chinese New Year?a. Clean up their houses.
b. Get a haircut.
c. Sing songs at Trafalgar Square.
d. Watch traditional dragon dances.
| A．abc | B．acd | C．bcd | D．abd |
| A．Bring some small gifts. | B．Wear red clothes. | C．Book a table early. | D．Prepare enough money. |
| A．they can't talk with their families |
| B．they can't make dumplings with their families |
| C．they can't sing karaoke with their friends |
| D．they don't set off loud fireworks at night |
| A．It is rather old-fashioned. | B．It is colorful and exciting. |
| C．It is limited to Chinatown. | D．It is much noisier than in China. |
| A．To introduce how Chinese people in the UK celebrate the Chinese-New Year. |
| B．To describe the activities in Chinatown during the Chinese New Year. |
| C．To compare Chinese tradition with British tradition. |
| D．To tell the story of the terrible monster “Nian” |
Four Hotels That Will Make Your Life Easier By John Brandon For the business traveler who’s all about efficiency: check out these hotels that will get you in and out with minimum trouble. When you’re pressed for time on a business trip, nothing can infuriate you more than a slow hotel check-in process. On your next trip, try these hotels that offer a speedier check-in process. Yotel New York The self-service kiosks （一体机）at this high-tech New York hotel are open 24x7 and work just like the ones you’d see at an airport. There are just five-steps to register and obtain your card key. There’s even a robotic luggage bellboy. You tap in the number of bags you’re carrying and sizes, then wait for a robot arm to swing down and store your luggage in a locker (say, for a day trip). This also speeds up the check-in process if the first thing you need to do, like me, is head to a series of meetings. Marriott Detroit Airport Another option for business travelers in a hurry: Marriott is rolling out its mobile check-in app to 325 hotels this year, including the Marriott Detroit Airport hotel. (I’ve tested the app itself but not for a real visit quite yet.) here is the basic idea: you download the iPhone or Android app. The night before, you can “check-in” virtually. When you arrive, you get an alert that the room is ready and your key, which is already tied to your reservation, is waiting for you at the desk. Hyatt Regency Minneapolis I happened to stay at this hotel recently and liked how fast the kiosk check-in works. Like the Yotel, the kiosk asks you to insert your credit card, similar to an airport terminal. The whole process took about three minutes. When I left, I was equally impressed with the fast check-out. An agent meets you in the lobby with an iPad and asks for an email to use for a receipt. The big advantage is you never have to wait in line. Radisson LaCrosse The Radisson is trying to make the kiosk process even faster. At a few select hotels like the Radisson Lacrosse in Wisconsin, you use a mobile app to register and then receive a barcode （条形码）by email or text. When you get to the kiosk, you can scan the barcode to get your key without any other steps required. It’s super fast. You can find this new check-in system at the Radisson hotels in Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Phoenix as well. |
| A．To annoy. | B．To remind. | C．To amuse. | D．To impress: |
| A．Yotel New York and Marriott Detroit Airport. |
| B．Marriott Detroit Airport and Radisson LaCrosse. |
| C．Marriott Detroit Airport and Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. |
| D．Hyatt Regency Minneapolis and Radisson LaCrosse. |
| A．Yotel New York. | B．Marriott Detroit Airport. ’ |
| C．Radisson LaCrosse. | D．Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. |
From the day she was born, she has been your treasure. Now our craftsmen have created this extremely attractive locket (纪念盒吊坠), a unique present from Danbury Mint, to represent your love for her.
Sparkles with eight diamonds!The beautiful double-sided locket has a pair of hearts — representing you and your daughter — on one side, and a beautiful heart pattern on the other. The locket shines with eight diamonds, and she’ll really love the distinctive heartfelt message inside. The locket is plated (镀) in luxurious 18ct gold and presented on a trace chain, which can be worn up to 20 inches in length. It will arrive in an attractive presentation box, perfect for gift-giving.
Affordable monthly installments (分期付款)! Satisfaction guaranteed!This complex piece of jewellery makes the perfect gift! The My Daughter Forever Locket can be yours to give for only £90, payable in three monthly installments of £30; postage and handling is £7.80 no matter how many you order. Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you or your daughter are not delighted, you may return the locket within 90 days for a FULL refund — including our postage and handling charge!
Don’t delay, order today!Go to www.danburymint.co.uk or call now on 0344 557 1000. Alternatively, post your order form to the following address: Danbury Mint. Davis Road, Chessington KT9 1SE.
Attention: Our locket is also available for your granddaughter!
1. What is special about the locket?| A．It is designed for daughters. |
| B．It can be extended to 20 inches. |
| C．It is made of gold and diamonds. |
| D．It includes a sincere message inside. |
| A．£180. | B．£97.8. | C．£187.8. | D．£90. |
| A．A travel guide. | B．An advertisement. |
| C．A textbook. | D．An academic article. |
【推荐3】Special breaks: four UK’s creative places
Chair-making, Leicestershire
Spend a week in the National Forest woodlands learning to make your own chair. People having different levels of experience are welcomed. Beginners can make a single Windsor chair, while the more advanced learners can design their own chairs.
Price: £650 per person
Dates: 21-27 Jun., 31 Jul.-6 Aug, 4-10 Oct.
Drawing, North Yorkshire
Learn how to create beautiful pen and ink drawings on this four-day art holiday in the North York Moors. Aimed at beginners, it teaches a range of styles and techniques to build confidence and improve drawing skills. The course is mainly based at Larpool Hall, Whitby in Yorkshire, a Georgian house with views over the Esk Valley.
Price: £405 per person
Dates: 25-28 Sept.
Clothes-mending, West Sussex
West Dean College of Arts and Conservation has a wide range of textile (纺织) courses, from making belts to weaving, dyeing and printing. Those who have reconsidered their shopping habits may enjoy the Mending Your Clothes course, in which the well-known textile artist Celia Pym teaches techniques for repairing woven clothes.
Price: £381 (course only) per person, and £196 for accommodation and meals
Dates: 21-23 Aug.
Wildlife photography, Dorset
Red squirrels are now very rare in England, but Brownsea Island has a large population of red squirrels. On this short trip, guests will explore the island and learn how to photograph the creatures in the woodlands. Led by Emma Healey and Sean Weekly, the course is an opportunity to take advantage of the best light of the day to take wildlife photographs.
Price: £475 per person (including accommodation, most meals and tuition)
Date: 14 Sept.
1. Which place will you choose if you want to enjoy a four-day holiday?| A．Leicestershire. | B．West Sussex. |
| C．North Yorkshire. | D．Dorset. |
| A．Protect the wildlife in the woodlands. | B．Explore the beautiful Esk Valley. |
| C．Take photographs of red squirrels. | D．Team up with Celia Pym. |
| A．They are all aimed at beginners. |
| B．They all have noisy surroundings. |
| C．They are all held in September. |
| D．They all inspire creativity and improve practical skills. |
