Nanjing Yunjin brocade is traditional Chinese silk art with a history of about 1,600 years. Its complex weaving (编织)techniques, various colors and patterns, and its particular choices of materials make it valuable and ancient people said, “An inch of brocade, an inch of gold.” Today, the traditional characteristics and unique skills of yunjin remain to be an award-winning art treasure. Its techniques are passed down from generation to generation by artisans.
Zhou Shuangxi, a national-level inheritor (继承人) of yunjin weaving techniques, is one of them. Back in 1973, he graduated from a mining school and was selected to become a student at the NanjingYunjin Research Institute along with five other students, just because he was “in good shape”. There were only several masters in their 70s and not even a loom (织布机) to use. “The old masters finally remembered a loom was stored somewhere. When I opened the door, I saw what seemed like a pile of wood,” Zhou recalled.
“Weaving was difficult, but different from mining. Mining requires heavy physical labor, but working with the soft and thin silk requires studying and practicing in front of a loom for decades until you master the technique. My hands became quite awkward due to mining, so I used to put my hands in warm water whenever I could. In this way, they could become softer and weave the silk more easily,” he said.
Out of the six or so students, Zhou is the only one who has insisted on the trade to this day. Having devoted the past five decades to yunjin production despite all the sweat and struggles, he has developed his techniques to the point where he can weave the antique dragon robes in all their small details. He also made various artworks that not only show China's intangible cultural heritage but also serve as Zhou Shuangxi's artistic creations.
“I am lucky to be in such a good era and I have the honor of being a representative inheritor,” Zhou said.
1. What was Zhou’s original impression of yunjin weaving techniques as a student?| A．They faced an uncertain future. | B．They were popular among the public. |
| C．They required much physical strength. | D．They were closely related to his schooling. |
| A．To relieve the pain of mining. | B．To make them much more suitable for weaving. |
| C．To gain an attractive appearance. | D．To rest his hands and draw inspiration. |
| A．Determined and creative. | B．Awkward and hesitant. |
| C．Encouraging and honest. | D．Adventurous and sociable. |
| A．The ups and downs of yunjin. |
| B．People’s appreciation of a traditional art treasure. |
| C．Artisans’ struggle to pass down traditional techniques. |
| D．A national-level inheritor of yunjin weaving techniques. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】A year is divided into 24 solar terms on the traditional Chinese solar calendar. Start of Spring, to be first solar term of the year, lifts the curtain of spring. After that, everything turns green and full of energy. Here are some things you should know about Start of Spring.
1. Start of Spring and Spring Festival
Start of Spring had entered people’s lives in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC). During the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-AD 24), Start of Spring was set as the Spring Festival. Actually, it was not until 1913 that the Spring Festival was celebrated on the first day of the first month of the lunar year as now.
2. Wearing fabric swallows
Wearing fabric swallows, a custom originating during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), is observed in some regions in Shaanxi. Every Start of Spring, people like to wear a swallow made of colorful silk on their chests. The swallow is a sign of spring and a symbol of prosperity (繁荣) and happiness.
3. Welcoming spring
People in China began holding a special ceremony on the first day of Start of Spring about 3.000 years ago. They made sacrifices (祭品) to Gou Mang, the god of Spring, who is in charge of agriculture. By the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), greeting spring had become an important folk activity.
4. Flying a kite
Spring is the best season for kite-flying, a traditional folk activity with a history of more than 2, 000 years. It can help build one’s health and prevent diseases. Besides, a breath of fresh air outside can discharge the bad smell accumulated in winter.
5. Biting the spring
In many parts of China, people observe the custom of “biting the spring” on the first day of Start of Spring. They cat spring pancakes, spring rolls, or a few mouthfuls of carrots.
1. In which year might people celebrate the Spring Festival on Start of Spring?| A．In760 BC. | B．In 210 BC. | C．In 1910. | D．In 2023. |
| A．Flying a kite. | B．Biting the spring. |
| C．Wearing fabric swallows. | D．Welcoming spring. |
| A．World. | B．Business. | C．Lifestyle. | D．Culture. |
【推荐2】The 24 solar terms (节气) originated and was firstly used in China. It was created thousands of years ago on the basis of practical needs of agriculture. Ancient Chinese people used it to guide agriculture production, special climate signs and even healthy living tips. The 24 solar terms was added to UNESCO’s world cultural heritage list in 2016.Now, it has been brought to life thanks to a creative designer from Southwest China’s Guizhou Province.
On the eve of the Qingming Festival, Shi Changhong released (发布) his version of reproduced and packaged characters for each solar term in the form of “moving art” of Gifs. Since their first release on Zcool on March 29, the Gifs have won great praise among the general public and quickly flooded social media with millions of hits during the festival period.
To maximize publicity, Shi released his work in three forms: video, animation and picture. The background sounds add to the brilliance.
“When I watch the short video, I can strongly feel the Chinese style elements hidden in them. And it is really cool to liven up Chinese traditional culture in such a unique way,” WeChat user Xiao Feifei said.
“It is really a comfort to me to see so many people like my latest work. To be honest, it would really surprise me if the work does not arouse great interest among Chinese people. The 24 solar terms is a deeply rooted concept that covers the essence of Chinese wisdom. However, only a small portion of people know all the names or the correct order of those terms. My intention is to increase Chinese people’s self-awareness to learn more about our traditional fine culture. Actually, the 24 solar terms work is only a part of my whole design program ‘Charm China’, which I started over a year ago，” Shi told China Daily.
1. What do you think the underlined word “Zcool” in Paragraph 2 refers to?| A．A newspaper. | B．A magazine. |
| C．A radio Broadcast. | D．A website. |
| A．The background sounds make the work more attractive. |
| B．It really surprised Shi Changhong to see so many people like his latest work. |
| C．Most people know all the names or the correct order of the 24 solar terms. |
| D．The 24 solar terms work designed by Shi Changhong was added to UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list. |
| A．To introduce a creative designer. |
| B．To introduce the 24 solar terms work. |
| C．To introduce the origin of the 24 solar terms. |
| D．To introduce a design program “Charm China”. |
| A．Travel. | B．Culture. | C．Agriculture. | D．Education. |
【推荐3】UNIQUE AND WEIRD NEW YEAR EVE TRADITIONS
Germany
In some parts of Germany, they do bleigiessen, or lead （铅）pouring. Pour a dollop（团）of molten lead in cold water and whatever shape forms may be telling about the year to come. A heart shape, naturally, means love will come your way. A crown predicts wealth and fortune. A star indicates happiness. But if you see a cross in the lead? You're as good as dead!
Latin America
If you're in Latin America, make sure you have some colorful underpants to ring in the new year. End — of — the — year partiers put on colorful underwear to ensure certain types of outcomes for the following year. Red for love and yellow for success.
Naples, Italy
Neapolitans like throwing things out of windows, at least on New Year's Eve. Furniture, kitchen machines, grandma. Well, maybe not the last one. Let's hope not, anyway. This tradition is meant to symbolize an out — with — the — old gesture and getting a brand new beginning for the new year. These days people are a bit more mindful about what they toss down to the street below.
Spain
In 1909, winegrowers in the Alicante region of Spain had a brilliant idea: start and promote an annual tradition that would involve people having to buy and eat more grapes. One must cat 12 grapes on New Year's Eve to encourage prosperity for the coining year. Now, it's u popular custom in Iberia. But the problem is that one has to cat a grape for each bell strike at midnight.
1. What does a cross shape mean?| A．Love. | B．Wealth. |
| C．Happiness. | D．Misfortune. |
| A．They hate using furniture. |
| B．They throw their grandma out of windows. |
| C．They are more careful about what to throw. |
| D．They like making gestures in front of the window. |
| A．Germany. | B．Brazil. |
| C．Italy. | D．Spain. |
【推荐1】Every day for a week, a strange, happy visitor would drop to play with Vanessa Prior’s pet dog Bobby. Prior thought Bobby had made a new dog friend. It seemed very friendly and got well along with Bobby. They would run after each other, play on the pool cover, gently wrestle or nap side by side.
At first she thought it was a wild dog. But when she posted a photo of the two playing on her Facebook, a pet rescue center called her. The group told her the Atlanta Wolf Project had been trying to catch the wolf for months, but they failed. Prior gave them new hope.
Because of the wolf’s friendship with her pet dog, it was likely to come back to her backyard. Researchers hoped Prior could help them. When they put some traps in the back of her yard, Prior got a very complicated feeling. She couldn’t describe what it was, but she was closely surrounded by it. The wolf would be in a safe place, but she would do something that harmed Bobby’s feelings.
Researchers told Prior that they would take the rare, black wolf to the Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary where it would live with another wolf. They didn’t think it a fulfilling situation for a wild animal like a wolf to have a connection with humans’ life. They need to keep a natural awareness to humans and pets and keep to themselves.
Wolf experts added they would look into the genetics of the animal to try to learn why it liked to get close to people and tried to play with their pets. Some experts believe it could have a history with well-meaning humans. Prior had not expected that she and Bobby should meet such a special and lovely wolf. They just hoped the dear friend all the best.
1. What happened to Vanessa Prior according to the first two paragraphs?| A．She was worried about her dog’s safety. | B．She was awarded for her meaningful picture. |
| C．She realized her dog made friends with a wolf. | D．She learned a lot about wolves from researchers. |
| A．She was afraid to lose Bobby. | B．She regretted helping the researchers. |
| C．She was worried about the wolf’s future. | D．She had bittersweet feelings about the wolf. |
| A．Changeable. | B．Satisfying. | C．Strange. | D．Worrying. |
| A．It is a kind and sociable animal. | B．It was once kept as a human pet. |
| C．It will stay with Bobby for some time. | D．It will be sent to the wild to live with other animals. |
【推荐2】I was typing papers for new school students when Mama called. We talked about some senseless things for a while before she finally told me about it. “Well, Donner, there’s this class up at the high school this summer,” she said. “They say they can teach me to read and write. I’m trying to decide whether.”
“Of course, you should do it! That would be so wonderful. I’d be so proud of you,” I answered. She was 63 and had survived two alcoholic husbands and was an expert at buying and selling garage sale junk to keep food on her own table and buy Christmas presents for me and my brother’s kids. She used food stamps to buy food and other goods. Mama laughed, seemingly with relief. “Well, you know, I’d about gotten used to being the silliest old lady in town,” she said.
It turned out that her neighbor had found the class for her. The young woman had been doing Mama’s “business” for a while in my absence, helping to allay my guilt(愧疚) over leaving Mississippi. The friend was a little crazy, but Mama liked her.
Three months into the class, Mama left a message on my answering machine: “Donner, I taught a class tonight!” She was almost singing the words. “The teacher let me teach the class!” She soon wrote me a letter in a careful, boxy print I had never seen, instead of the strange way she had long written family names she had memorized.
The next time I flew home to visit, we both laughed like 12-year-olds as she read words from billboards on the way from the airport. Her grammar was getting better. She kept talking about her classes and the other students.
1. Why did Donner’s mother phone her according to Paragraph 1?| A．To advise Donner to take a course. | B．To show her support for Donner. |
| C．To tell Donner her decision. | D．To ask Donner for advice. |
| A．admit | B．forget | C．punish | D．reduce |
| A．What progress Donner’s mother made. |
| B．The difficulty Donner’s mother had in learning. |
| C．How Donner’s mother learned to read and write. |
| D．The effects other students had on Donner’s mother. |
Many people wanted to buy it and the man's young assistant moved quickly through the crowd collecting money and handing out bottles of the cure．
Then，when he had a big crowd， the man held up a very small bottle．
“And now，ladies and gentlemen，he shouted，“Here is the medicine you have been waiting for．The cure for old age．Drink just one bottle of this and you will live forever．
“And，ladies and gentlemen，the man continued，“I'm not going to charge（向……要价……）you a hundred dollars a bottle for this wonderful medicine．I'm not going to charge you fifty dollars a bottle．I'm not going to charge you twenty-five dollars a bottle．Now，ladies and gentlemen，I'm going to charge you just ten dollars a bottle． Think，my friends，for ten dollars you can live forever．
Most of the people in the crowd did not believe this．
One person shouted，“If it can make you live forever，why don't you drink it？
Then an other person cried，“Yes， you look as if you're at least sixty years old．
“Thank you，sir，thank you，the man answered，“I'm so glad you said that． My real age is three hundred and twenty-nine．
The crowd laughed at this but there were still some people who wanted to believe the man ．One of them spoke to the man's assistant as she passed by ，“Is that true？he asked．“Is he three hundred and twenty-nine？
“Don't ask me，the assistant said，“I've only worked for him for a hundred and fifty years．
1. What did the man sell at first at the fair？
| A．a cure for colds |
| B．bottles |
| C．a cure for old age |
| D．a medicine that made people live forever |
| A．one dollar a bottle | B．twenty-five dollars a bottle |
| C．ten dollars a bottle | D．fifty dollars a bottle |
| A．仆人 | B．朋友 | C．同伴 | D．助手 |
| A．The cure for old age is very useful and not so expensive． |
| B．The man is not honest，and so is his assistant． |
| C．The cheaper the medicine is，the more people will buy． |
| D．The two men are very honest，and they would like to help people live forever． |
【推荐1】HEROES IN YOUR EYES
Everyone knows the people who have helped to change the face of the world in recent years. From Bill Gates to Steve Jobs to Jack Ma, few would not recognize their names. However, those who work tirelessly behind the scenes often go unnoticed, in spite of their great achievements. If you know anyone who deserves to have their contributions recognized, we would love to hear from you! Let us know how these people have helped to make a difference in your eyes.
●The person I respect most is the geophysicist Huang Danian, who helped China to make many technological advance. Huang was a remarkable scientist. He had studied and worked in Britain for 18 years, but when he felt that his country needed him, he gave up his well-paid job and returned to China. Over the next seven years, Huang worked to develop many devices needed for deep-Earth exploration. Unfortunately, such achievements didn’t come cheap. Due to the frantic pace of his research, Huang was absent from his father’s funeral, and even his own cancer went undetected as he had no time to see a doctor. To sum up, Huang sacrificed everything for his research and I think more people should honour him.
(Zhang Keyu, Hubei)
●I want to tell everyone about two teachers on Changyu Island, Wang Kaiquan and Lin Zhujin. Few people know about this hometown of mine. The island is beautiful, but it’s quite isolated, and there aren’t many modern conveniences. In bad weather even our water and power supplies are unstable. People who have never been to our island are often surprised by this and find it hard to adjust. Many who live on the island dream of leaving. These two primary school teachers, however, have stayed on for 23 long years! They are the only teachers here, and they plan to stay for as long as there are children who need to attend school. I want to thank them, and let the world know about these teachers who work tirelessly every day for the sake of the children.
(Chen Xueyin, Fujian)
1. What quality do Huang Danian and the two teachers have in common?| A．Ambitious. | B．Dedicated. | C．Innovative. | D．Honest. |
| A．The magazine wants readers to send in stories about admirable people. |
| B．Huang Danian kept working hard even he knew he came down the cancer. |
| C．Changyu Island is a beautiful and modern island. |
| D．The two teachers find it hard to adjust the life in Changyu Island and wanted to leave. |
| A．Economy. | B．Technology. | C．Culture. | D．Figure. |
【推荐2】Aaron Carter isn’t like other 12-year-olds. He doesn’t go to school, and he’s already got a job. He is a big pop star. A few years ago he started his singing with Crazy Little Party Girl, which became a hit at once. Now he goes around the world and his songs are in the tops.
Because he’s traveling around all the time Aaron doesn’t have to go to school, but don’t envy him too much — he still has to do lessons and homework. And he is good at learning.
“I have to fit my schoolwork around my singing,” he explains. “But I’m lucky because I have a private tutor who travels with me. I sometimes have to have lessons on a plane. That’s really interesting!”
Aaron’s favorite subject is math but he hates history. He knows clearly that having a good singing career doesn’t mean he can go without schoolwork.
“It would be easy to think that I don’t need to do well in exams, but that would be crazy,” he says. “It’s important to get my qualifications (资格) so that I have something to fall back on. Besides, it’s interesting to learn about other people and cultures.”
Aaron’s favorite type of music is rock ‘n’ roll. “The best thing about being a singer” he says, “is that you get to travel all around the world. But the worst thing is that you’re away from home so much that you don’t get to see your friends or family.”
1. According to the passage, we learn that Aaron Carter is________.| A．a composer | B．a successful singer | C．a history lover | D．a young businessman |
| A．Aaron Carter doesn’t go to school because he likes singing better. |
| B．Aaron Carter has his own teacher. |
| C．Aaron likes math as well as history. |
| D．Aaron Carter likes traveling all around the world and dislikes seeing friends and family. |
| A．check in | B．return to | C．depend on | D．decide on |
【推荐3】Most Chinese know the story of mythological Chang’e. It’s a story about a woman who takes an immortality pill and flies to the moon. The story is s0 popular that people can’t hear the word Chang’e without thinking of romantic images of a moon goddess.
For this reason, China’s mission to the moon was calling for a strong female figure. Therefore, pictures of a 24-year-old female space commander have gone viral on Chinese social media for her work on the Chang’e-5 Moon exploration programme with comments about how she is a “frontline soklier in the field of aerospace” that young Chinese can look up to.
Ms Zhou, 24-year-old lady of the Tujia ethnic group, is China’s youngest ever space commander. She was involved in the successful launch of the Chang’e-5 lunar probe on 24 November, in charge of the rocket connector system, described as a key role.
In Wenchang space launch site, though she is only 1.58 meters tall and looks “mini”, she is called “Big Sister” for her powerful core and energy. Since senior high, she has dreamed! of being a member of a space research team. With her great efforts, she was admitted to an aircraft system and engineering major of a domestic university in 2014, making her acrospace dream come true. To grow into a commander, in two and a half years, she changed five positions to be familiar with multiple posts and types of work, each of which takes great courage and is full of challenges. In a working space with no air conditioning and narrow space to accommodate only three people, she worked for 60 days until the completion of “the Long March 5 rocket goes around” battle.
Her story has received attention from Chinese state-run media as well as overseas media outlets. However, it has not appeared to have had much of an effect on her. According to the media, she declined repeated requests for interviews because she does not wish to let fame get in the way of her work.
1. Why does the writer mention the myth of Chang’e at the beginning of the passage?| A．To tell a romantic story. | B．To spread Chinese culture. |
| C．To introduce the topic. | D．To give an example. |
| A．Her youth and beauty. | B．Her pictures on the media. |
| C．Her identity of the Tujia ethnic group. | D．Her performance in the moon-landing program. |
| A．She was the youngest space commander of the Tujia ethnic group. |
| B．She was called “Big Sister” not because of her physical strength but her central status. |
| C．To become a commander, she took five challenging and courageous jobs in two and a half years. |
| D．She worked in severe conditions for 60 days until the Long March 5 rocket was-launched. |
| A．Because she was too shy. | B．Because she was not available. |
| C．Because she was devoted to work. | D．Because she hated being famous. |
| A．Attitude is altitude. | B．The early bird catches the worm. |
| C．Many hands make light work. | D．Diligence makes up for inability. |
