In China, writing brushes, ink sticks, paper and inkstones are called the Four Treasures of the Study. Among the high-quality treasures, the writing brush produced in Huzhou, the ink stick produced in Huizhou, the Xuan paper made in Xuancheng and the inkstone made in Duanxi are the best-known.
The writing brushes are mainly made of the hair of animals. Those made of wool are called yanghao and those made of the weasel’s tail hair are called langhao. Their artistic effects（效果） in writing and painting cannot be copied by any other pens.
The ink stick is the pigment（颜料） used in writing and painting. The ink stick produced in Huizhou is of high quality. A story goes like this: Xi Chao and his son produced a kind of high-quality ink stick. As a result, Emperor Li Yu in the Southern Tang Dynasty agreed to give them the family name “Li”. In the Song Dynasty, its producing area was changed into Huizhou, and it was then called the Hui Ink Stick.
Paper is among the four great inventions in ancient China. The famous Xuan paper appeared in the Sui and Tang dynasties. In Xuanzhou, （now Xuancheng, Anhui）, where the Xuan paper is produced, it’s said that Cai Lun’s pupil Kong Dan happened to see the ebony （黑檀） in a river. It was wet with the water and turned white. Then he used the bark（树皮） to produce the world-famous Xuan paper.
The inkstone was already, very popular in the Han Dynasty. The Ming and Qing dynasties saw the appearance of the Four Famous Inkstones-Duan Inkstone, She Inkstone, Tao Inkstone and Chengni Inkstone. They can be used not only in writing and painting but also for admiration.
The title: | |
Writing brushes | The writing brushes |
| The ink stick is the pigment used in writing and painting. The high-quality ink stick was produced in Huizhou. | |
Paper | Paper is one of the four great inventions in ancient China. The Xuan paper is produced in Xuanzhou,（now Xuancheng, Anhui）, Kong Dan happened to see the ebony in the river and then the bark |
Inkstones | Duan Inkstone, She Inkstone, Tao Inkstone and Chengni Inkstone are the Four Famous Inkstones. They appeared |
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You may know tea was invented by accident. In fact, many everyday things around us invented by accidents, such as jeans, fireworks (烟花), the Band-Aid (创可贴) and microwave ovens (微波炉). Take a look at a few of them. You may be surprised.
Now, we wear jeans all the time, but at first they were only for workers. Jeans are hard to wear out. Later, more and more people liked them and wore them, too. Jeans become popular around the world.
Fireworks are fun and colorful. However, when you see them, do you think of a cook? A Chinese cook invented fireworks in old times. He mixed a few kitchen things together by accident. The mixture burnt and made a beautiful light.
The invention of the Band-Aid was also a surprise. About 90 years ago, American Earle Dickson made the first Band-Aid. His wife always cut her fingers in her daily cooking. Dickson longed for a ready-made bandage (绸带) which his wife could use by herself. From this need, the Band-Aid was born. Now, Band-Aids are a part of our daily lives.
Nowadays, microwave ovens are popular around the world. But, at the beginning, people used microwaves in the war. An American named Percy Spencer found that microwaves could cook. He felt a candy in his pocket melting (融化) when he worked beside the microwaves Spencer then did many tests. In 1947, the first microwave oven in the world came out. They make our daily life easier.
1、2题完成句子；3~5题简略回答问题。1. Jeans were only made
2. In the old times,
3. What did Earle Dickson’s wife always do in her daily cooking?
4. When did the first microwave oven in the world come out?
5. Which invention in the text do you think is the most important? Why?
Chinese chopsticks are a pair of sticks to be used when eating. They were first used in China and then introduced to other areas in the world. Chopsticks are considered one of the symbols of Chinese food culture.
When were chopsticks invented? In fact, before the invention of chopsticks, Chinese ancestors actually used hands to eat. Chinese people started to use chopsticks about 3,000 years ago during the Shang Dynasty. During the pre-Qin period, chopsticks were called “Jia”, and in the Qin and Han Dynasties, they were called “Zhu”. Because “Zhu” shares the same pronunciation with “stop” in Chinese, which is an unlucky word, by the Ming Dynasty people began to call them “Kuai”, meaning “fast” in Chinese. This is the origin of today’s name of Chinese chopsticks.
Who invented chopsticks? There is no exact historical record about the question, but there are many folk stories about it. One story is that Jiang Ziya was inspired to create chopsticks by a mythical (神话中的) bird. Another one is that Daji, the favorite wife of the King Zhou of Shang, invented chopsticks in order to please the king. It is also said that Yu the Great, who founded the Xia Dynasty used sticks to pick up hot food in order to save time to control flood.
What should we pay attention to when using chopsticks? When eating with the elders, Chinese people usually let the elders take up chopsticks before anyone else. Besides, playing with chopsticks is thought to be a bad manner. It’s also impolite to tap chopsticks on one’s bowl, because in ancient China beggars (乞丐) often did it to draw attention.
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Have you ever heard about automata(机关人偶)? Automata, the ancient art form, look like humans or animals. Actually, the name comes from the Greek word automatos which means “moves on its own”.
Automata were machines produced in ancient times, and how they work hasn’t changed for thousands of years. But in the modern times of technology, there are plenty of electronic products in the market. As a result, automata have attracted(吸引) no more than 10 full-time makers across our country China.
Yu Chenrui is one maker of automata. When he studied at the Communication University of China in Beijing, he first met automata at a fair in 2015. From then on, he falls in love with making them and doesn’t refuse to use modern technology. He has made some amazing works with the help of modern technology. Last year, he made a cycling machine for the Community Art Project in Chengdu. It uses pedal (脚踏板) power to control wheels that “fire” tennis ball-sized objects.
Although the start of automata dates back thousands of years, a fascinating thing about Yu’s works is that they are loved by people of all ages. Adults admire them as art, while children regard them as toys to be played with.
Technology makes it possible to produce plenty of automata and makes the ancient art form more popular. But Yu thinks technology brings automata back to life.
1. What does the name automata mean?2. Do you think there are many full-time makers in China?
3. Where did he first meet automata?
4. 请把文章中划线的句子翻译成汉语。
5. 请给文章拟一个合适的题目。
In China, Lichun means “Start of Spring”. It is the first solar term (节气) in the 24 solar terms of China, and it begins on February 4 and ends on February 18.
“Start of Spring” makes the end of winter and the beginning of the spring. The weather becomes warmer and plants start to grow again. It is the last relaxing period (时期) before the busy farming time. After this period, farmers can start farming again.
There are many traditional activities held on the day to welcome spring. Some people made sculpture (泥塑) of a cow and they call it the “spring cow”. Women and their children go around the cow three times, and it is said that in that way the children can stay away from bad luck. In some areas, people dressed up and dance to enjoy the spring season. Some made “spring roosters” with colorful cotton cloth to wish to bring good luck. The most popular one is standing up eggs. It is an interesting activity to try to stand eggs. If you can make an egg stand up on the first day of “Start of Spring”, you will have good luck in the new year.
The main dish for this period is spring pancakes. Eating the spring pancakes together with other cooked dishes is called biting (咬) the spring. You need a thin pancake and put different fillings inside according to your taste, then fold it together, finally eat it from top to bottom. And of course, people believe that this dish bring them good luck.
As a Chinese saying goes, “the whole year’s work depends on a good start in spring”.
Let’s take the best time of the year and make the most of it!
1题完成句子；2、3题简略回答问题；4题找出并写下第四段的主题句；5题将文中画线句子译成汉语。1. Lichun begins
2. Why is Lichun the last relaxing period?
3. What are the traditional activities in the day of Lichun? (Please list two of them.)
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【推荐2】In recent years, a growing number of Chinese books and movies have been translated into other languages. Many of the translators are young people who are interested in learning Chinese culture.
Anna Holmwood is one of them. Before she translated in Yong’s novel Legends of the Condor Heroes(《射雕英雄传》), the writer was little known to English readers. One reason for this is that his works were too difficult to translate.
But Anna managed to do it. Attracted by the book’s themes as well as Chinese philosophy(哲学), Anna hoped to bring it to Englishmen. After five years of work, the translated book came out in 2018. It was printed seven times in several months in the UK. Many people think Anna did a good job of explaining things that are “untranslatable”.
Learning history at the University of Oxford, Anna began to learn Chinese at 21 after a trip in China. She calls herself “a clumsy(笨拙的) student, just like Guo Jing, but with a truthful heart”.
As more young people learn to translate Chinese texts and films, more Chinese stories will become available to the world.
根据短文内容完成表格，每空一词。
| More Chinese Stories will Become | |
| Although Anna learned | She learned Chinese at the |
| Attracted by the theme and Chinese philosophy | She began to translate in the year of |
| Before Anna translated Legends of the Condor Heroes | |
With the interest in traditional culture, the “new Chinese style” clothes are becoming popular during the Spring Festival this year! Different Hanfu suits, Song brocade combinations, and the horse-faced skirts have not only become hot searches on short videos, but have also become a travel choice for young people. They wear the “new Chinese style” clothes to go to popular tourist attractions, act out in restaurants, and visit temple fairs. It also becomes a beautiful scenery (风景) during the Chinese New Year. The “new Chinese style” clothes cleverly connect Chinese traditional elements (元素) with new styles. They win the hearts of Chinese young people and make them “awake their blood”.
Among all the “new Chinese style” of clothing, the horse-faced skirts have been the center of attention. Besides China, people can see horse-faced skirts all over the world. From France to Australia to America, many young Chinese wear them themselves, and also bring their foreign friends, lovers, classmates to wear them together. They confidently show off the beauty of the “new Chinese style” and a sense of national pride in front of famous buildings around the world.
With cultural confidence, the young Chinese can be seen in many fields of intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) inheritance (传承). They express the traditional culture in new ways, such as wearing intangible cultural heritage paper-cuts on their bodies, turning 2D pictures into 3D forms.
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These intangible cultural heritages were almost endangered in the past and have now become top fashion on the Internet and a new sign of local tourism. It can be said that these positive and active young Chinese make efforts. Ancient traditional culture is the source of our creations, continuous innovation (创新) is the way of inheritance, and rich and long-lasting culture is our confidence to look at the world. Now it is finally understood by the Chinese young generation.
1. What becomes popular during the Spring Festival this year?2. Why do the young Chinese like the “new Chinese style” clothes?
3. What do Chinese young people do to spread the “new Chinese style” clothes to the world?
4. What does Wang Qiyang do to inherit (传承) the “sugar painting” traditional art?
5. What do Zhai Ziqian, Wang Qiyang and Jiang Xunqian have in common?
6. How do you inherit intangible cultural heritages?
As a kind of traditional Chinese dress, Ma Mian Qun first appeared in the Song Dynasty and became popular during the Ming Dynasty. The two sides of Ma Mian Qun are pleated (起褶的), and there is a smooth part in the middle, known as “Ma Mian”.
Why is it called “Ma Mian”? When it comes to “Ma Mian”, people may connect it with the animal horse. But in ancient times, “Ma Mian” was a kind of structure (结构) that was used to protect the city. The smooth part is similar to such structure.
Ma Mian Qun is colorful, mostly red and blue. Red means good luck and joy. According to Han customs, women would wear red skirts during festival celebrations. In the Qing Dynasty, blue was also common.
Ma Mian Qun has different kinds of patterns with good meanings. For example, fish patterns show people’s good wishes for the future. Peonies (牡丹) are a symbol of wealth and honor.
Recently, Ma Mian Qun has become popular among Hanfu fans. It is mixed with modern clothes. Some people match (与……相配) Ma Mian Qun with T-shirts or blouses perfectly to make the dress fit for everyday wear. Even many foreigners are falling in love with this beautiful traditional costume.
Ma Mian Qun is a kind of traditional Chinese dress that dates back to the Song Dynasty. The two sides of it are pleated and the middle |
Do you drink milk every day? We believe that milk is good for our health. But is that the whole truth? Let's take a closer look!
Milk might be one of the best things we can drink. It has a lot of nutrients（营养物质)to help children grow. It's rich in calcium(钙)and vitamins(维他命). Calcium gives us strong bones.
Doctors say that milk is also good for our teeth and heart. And a glass of warm milk helps us get a good night's sleep. Milk is great!
However, some studies show that milk may cause some health problems. For example, drinking a lot of milk(three or more times a day) may make children fat, Lives Science reported. Also, milk might not actually make our bones stronger. Scientists found that some people who drank more milk also had more broken bones;
So should we still drink milk? Milk may not be a superfood. But it does give us a lot of nutrients. Drink milk if you like it, but not because you think it is the best thing for your health.
1. Is drinking too much milk good for our health?_____________________________________________________________
2. What does milk have to help children grow?
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3. What are the disadvantages(缺点)of milk?
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4. Do you like drinking milk? Why or why not?
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In today’s fast world, everyone of us may have too much stress(压力). It is important that you understand and do with it in a right way. The US Department of Health and Human Services offers the following advice:
TRY PHYSICALACTIVITY
When you are nervous, angry or sad, try releasing(释放) the stress through exercise of physical activity. Running, walking, playing tennis, or working in your gardens are just some of the activities you might try. Physical exercise will bring your worry and help you relax. Your body and your mind will work together to ease(减轻) the stress in your life.
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF
You should make every effort to eat well and to get enough rest. If you’re angry and nervous from lack of sleep, or if you’re not eating correctly, you’ll be more painful to stressful states. If stress keeps you from sleeping, you should ask your doctor for some advice.
GO AHEAD AND CRY
A good cry can be a healthy way to bring relief to your worry. It might even help you avoid a headache or other kinds of worry and stress.
1. List two activities mentioned to release the stress.a.
2. If you take care of yourself, you can
3. Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.
4. What advice should you take if you want to avoid a headache?
5. What’s the best title of the passage?
