【推荐1】Confucianism (儒家思想) has been followed by Chinese people for more than two thousand years.

To help people understand how to behave towards others, Confucianism teaches the Five Constants (五常). These are ren, yi, li, zhi and xin. They are general virtues (美德) around the world. The most important two are ren and li.

Ren is the feeling of care and love we should have for others. Confucius explained ren could best be understood as loving others. He is famous for teaching people "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others". It is quite similar to what is known in the West as the Golden Rule (treat others as you wish to be treated).

While the meaning of ren is easy to understand, li is a little harder to express. It can be thought of as duty or even respect. Generally, li is the way we should connect with people in our everyday life. In Confucian writings, discussions about li include the proper way to drink tea and how to remember ancestors (祖先). While ren is mostly about our opinions and feelings, li is about how we express our opinions and feelings towards others and towards the world around us.

Perhaps the most well-known Confucian virtue is xiao. This is the duty children have to their parents. Xiao means loving, respecting, obeying and taking care of one's parents in their old age. In Confucianism, xiao is important for a harmonious (和谐的) society. Without it, the whole world would fall into a mess.

1. Which are the most important of the Five Constants?

A．Ren and yi.

B．Ren and li.

C．Li and xin.

2. What is the best Chinese for the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3?

A．己所不欲，勿施于人。

B．博学于文，约之以礼。

C．学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。

3. Which of the following is an example of li?

A．Building a peaceful society.

B．Taking care of one’s children.

C．Obeying rules for drinking tea.

4. What does the passage mainly tell us about Confucianism?

A．Its general virtues.

B．Its long history.

C．Its new challenges.

【推荐3】

The brush pen, one of the “Four Treasures of the Study”, was invented thousands of years ago. However, the oldest pen ever known was just a stick or a piece of bamboo. It was difficult for people to write well on thin silk using such a pen.

It is said that Meng Tian, a general of the Kingdom of Qin, improved the pen. When Meng was leading an army to fight against the Kingdom of Chu, he had to report the situation to his king in time. But his pen was too difficult to use and it caused him much trouble. He began to think of ways to improve it.

One day after hunting, Meng made his way home with some wild rabbits on the horseback. Fat and heavy, one rabbit’s tail left a long trail(痕迹) on the ground. When Meng saw this, suddenly a good idea came to his mind. “If I tie the rabbit’s hair to a stick, would it be easy to write with?”

On arriving home, he tied the rabbit’s hair to a stick and tried writing with it. But the rabbit’s hair was too smooth to write well and wasted a lot of silk. Meng was so disappointed that he threw his “invention” into a stone hole in the yard.

However, Meng never gave up and kept trying all the time. A few rainy days later, he happened to find his “invention” fatter in the stone hole. He picked it up with hope. The brush worked beautifully on silk. It turned out that the special water had cleaned the oil from the hair. Meng succeeded at last.

Thanks to Meng, the brush pen is playing a key role in Chinese culture. Today, students are taught to use brush pens in school. It makes their life more colorful and helps them better understand Chinese culture.

1. Why did Meng Tian want to improve the pen?

A．Because the king asked him to do so.

B．Because he wanted to be an inventor.

C．Because the pen brought him much trouble.

2. When did Meng Tian think of the good idea in Paragraph 3?

A．When he saw the trail.

B．After he wrote a report.

C．Before he hunted animals.

3. Which is the right order of improving the brush pen?
a. The brush pen could write well. b. Meng tied the rabbit’s hair to a stick.
c. The special water washed the oil away. d. Meng dropped the stick into a stone hole.

A．d-b-a-c

B．b-d-c-a

C．c-d-b-a

4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．Meng Tian’s achievement.

B．The brush pen’s importance.

C．Students’ love for Chinese culture.

【推荐3】If you cannot live without your car, Zurich might be the last city you would like to visit. In Zurich, people are welcome, but cars are not! Over the past 20 years, this city has used smart ways to make traffic lighter.

One is to keep the same number of parking spaces. For example, if 50 new parking spaces are built in one part of the city, then 50 old spaces in other parts are taken away for other uses. So the total number doesn't change. Some are unhappy that there are never enough spaces. That is just what the city has in mind: If people find parking more difficult, they will drive less.

Also, the number of cars in the city is counted (数). Over 3,500 little computers are put under Zurich roads to check the number of cars that come into the city. If the number is higher than the city can deal with (处理), the traffic lights on the roads that enter the city will be kept red. So drivers who are traveling into Zurich have to stop and wait until there are fewer cars in the city.

Now, you may ask why Zurich is doing this. This is simply because the city wants to make more spaces for its people.

1. The writer tells us how to keep the same number of parking spaces by _______.

A．giving a reason	B．giving an example
C．sharing a story	D．drawing a picture

2. The writer says “Zurich might be the last city you would like to visit” because _______.
1. Zurich only welcomes people with mini cars
2. Zurich is a small city with a long history
3. it's difficult to find a parking space in Zurich
4. you can't drive into Zurich at any time you want

A．1, 3

B．2, 3

C．3, 4

D．1, 4

3. What will happen if the cars in Zurich are more than the city can deal with?

A．People will build more parking spaces under Zurich roads.

B．All the computers under Zurich roads will stop working.

C．Drivers will stop and wait before traveling into Zurich.

D．The lights on the roads in Zurich will be always kept red.

4. Which of the following shows the structure (结构) of the passage?

A．

B．

C．

D．

【推荐1】Chinese Paper Cutting

As traditional Chinese art, paper cutting has a long history. The first and earliest paper cutting was found in China 1,500 years ago.     1    . Luckily, Woo, a Chinese immigrant（移民）in America, is trying to bring this art back to life.

One Saturday in 2022, Ms. Woo held a paper cutting show at a shopping center near Washington.     2    . She hoped more people would enjoy the art of paper cutting.

Ms. Woo began to study the art of paper cutting as a 14-year-old girl in her hometown in China. She said all the students at school had to learn paper cutting. But she had a deep love for it.     3    . Later, she won the second prize in a national painting and art competition. Ms. Woo went to America after she finished college in 2018. Soon after that, she took part in an activity to promote（宣传）Chinese paper cutting.     4    . “It is important to promote this art to Americans or anyone who is interested in it. Maybe it will make this art more popular.” Woo said.

From the art of paper cutting, people can know about Chinese cultural values, history and stories of people’s life. Ms. Woo uses the art as a tool to show Chinese culture to people who know little about it.     5    , but also for people all over the world.

根据短文内容，将下面方框内的句子还原到文中空白处，使短文内容完整、通顺（每个选项只能用一次）。

A．Just because Chinese art is not only for Chinese

B．She got much fun and peace from the show

C．But this traditional art is at risk of disappearing now

D．So her teacher spent more time teaching her after class

E．And then she was invited to show the art in many important activities

【推荐2】阅读短文内容及文后 A-E 选项，选出可以填入 1-5 空白处的最佳选项。

What is calligraphy (书法)? It’s handwriting. Any language can be written in calligraphy, but Chinese calligraphy is especially beautiful. It takes a lot of patience and practice to write Chinese calligraphy. People take lessons to learn how to do it.     1     They also learn how to make different strokes (笔画) to make Chinese characters.

There are many different kinds of brushes people can buy to do calligraphy.     2     But here is one kind of calligraphy brush that is extra special. This brush is made from baby hair! Hundreds of years ago in China, people started to believe a baby-hair brush could bring good luck. It is a tradition.     3    

    4     To make a brush, a family will cut off a baby’s hair when he or she is about one month old. Then they will take some of the baby’s hair to a shop to make it into a brush.     5     It takes more than 80 steps to make one brush. That’s why these brushes are such a treasure.

A．Making a brush is not easy.

B．They learn how to hold a brush during the lessons.

C．Different brushes are made from different animals’ hair.

D．But no one is really sure where the tradition came from.

E．Today people in Asia still have brushes made from baby hair.

【推荐3】Embroidery (刺绣) is an important traditional art form in Chinese culture. The most famous embroidery styles are Su embroidery from Suzhou, Shu embroidery from Sichuan, Xiang embroidery from Hunan and Yue embroidery from Guangdong. Shu embroidery has the longest history of all.

Since modern machines can make cheaper embroidery products today, fewer people buy hand-made Shu embroidery products. There are also very few young embroidery workers. So the skill is endangered.

Meng Dezhi, a national-level inheritor (传承人) of the art form, has been making Shu embroidery for over forty years. She used to work at the Chengdu Shu Embroidery Factory. But in 2005, the factory closed down and Meng lost her job. Wanting to save the art, Meng wanted to have her own place and teach Shu embroidery to others.

It’s hard work. Embroidery takes time and patience. Workers need to divide each silk thread (线) into more than ten or even thirty pieces. Each piece is thinner than a single human hair. Meng was once invited to make a logo for Qixi Festival. It was a small logo, but it required the use of 45 types of sewing skills and 35,000 stitches (针).

Meng is teaching in different universities and communities to save Shu embroidery. “I feel that it’s my duty to pass on Shu embroidery skills to young people, to make it be famous all over the world.” she said.

1. How many embroidery styles are mentioned in the passage?

A．Three.

B．Four.

C．Five.

D．Six.

2. Why are the Shu embroidery skills endangered?

A．Because embroidery takes time and patience.

B．Because Shu embroidery has the longest history.

C．Because the Chengdu Shu Embroidery Factory closed down.

D．Because there are fewer people buying hand-made Shu embroidery products.

3. How is Meng trying to save Shu embroidery?

A．By making more logos for companies.

B．By making more Shu embroidery products.

C．By encouraging young people to learn the skill.

D．By teaching in different universities and communities.

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．A hard job.	B．A traditional art form.
C．Embroidery needs protecting.	D．A famous embroidery inheritor.