As traditional Chinese art, paper cutting has a long history. The first and earliest paper cutting was found in Chins more than 1,500 years ago. But this traditional art is at risk of disappearing now. Luckily, Voyo Woo, a Chinese immigrant(移民) in America, is trying to bring this art back to life.
One Saturday in 2014, Ms. Woo held a paper cutting show at a shopping center near Washington. She got much fun and peace doing it. She hoped more people would enjoy it.
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. So her teacher spent more time teaching her after class. Later, she won the second prize in a national painting and art competition. Ms. Woo went to America after she finished college in 2008. And then she was invited to show the art in many important activities.
From the art of paper cutting, people can know about Chinese cultural values, history and stories of people’s life. Chinese art is not only for Chinese, but also for people all over the world.
Complete the summary of the passage above with only one word for each blank.
Chinese paper cutting has a long history. People have had it for over 1,500 years. But now it is going to
相似题推荐
Animals like elephants, beavers and ants could not seem more different. Yet they have one important thing in common: they are what scientists call “ecosystem (生态系统) engineers.” As they go about their daily business of living, they change their own living environments. This is good not only for themselves, but many others as well.
Ants
Ants have a great influence on the environment. They help to keep the soil (土壤) healthy by stirring it around and digging tunnels (挖隧道) that let in air and water. They also help to transport water and other important things to the roots of plants. Ants take care of the trees by clearing weeds and eating the eggs of some insects. What’s more, they keep the ground clear of the bodies of smaller dead animals.
Elephants
Elephants are an excellent example of an ecosystem engineer. They play a big part in looking after the health of the environment.
By digging up grass and knocking over large trees, elephants make more space for other animals and some plants. This enables some small plants to get more water and sunshine. Elephants sometimes use their tusks (象牙) to dig dirt out of dry riverbeds, creating waterholes for other animals to drink. When they walk through the forest in groups, they always leave large footprints. When it rains, water fills the footprints and they become places in which frogs and insects lay eggs.
Beavers
Beavers are among the most hard-working ecosystem engineers, and they are always busy with their building work. They use their large front teeth to cut down some older trees, which clears the way for new growth and then create dams (水坝) to make ponds (池塘)—their favorite place to live. The pond provides beavers a place to get away from danger and to live. It is also a perfect home for other wildlife like birds, fish, frogs, turtles and some plants.
Beavers often build their house—which is called a lodge, in the middle of the pond or on the river bank. Inside the lodge, they have one area for storing their food, and another higher dry area for sleeping. The mud walls of the lodge help keep it warm in winter.
These are only a few of the best-known ecosystem engineers in natural world— others can be found almost everywhere!
1. Can ants help to make the soil healthy?2. Who can help to keep the ground clear of the bodies of dead animals?
3. How can elephants make more space for other animals and some plants?
4. What do ponds provide for beavers and other wildlife?
5. What is the passage mainly about?
Science is everywhere. The school bus is a product of many areas of science and technology, including engineering and creativity. And the smartphone in the student’s hand is a magic of modern computer engineering.
Ⅰ. The importance of science in education
Many educators believe science education should begin much earlier. Kids usually form a basic opinion about the science shortly after beginning school. Showing young students interesting materials and experiences will drive them to learn and use science in life.
Science education is one of the most important subjects in school because it can improve students’ problem-solving and critical (批判的) thinking skills. These are lifelong skills that allow students to produce ideas and make decisions intelligently. Teaching technology, critical thinking, and problem-solving through science education give students the knowledge they need to get great achievements when they grow up.
Ⅱ.
How much do you know about science? Biology, chemistry, archaeology…They are all quite different. Here is the basic introduction of some common fields.
●Chemistry is about the smallest things that other bigger things are made of, and what happens when they change. For example, the cheese you put on top of your tomato sauce is itself made out of a chemical change from milk.
●Climatology is the study of the climate. The climate doesn’t always stay the same. It changes slowly over hundreds or even thousands of years. But today’s climate is changing very quickly. The Earth’s temperature is getting warmer faster than ever before.
●Biology is about all the things in our world that are alive plants, animals, as well as very small living things that we cannot see. Biology tries to explain why life is like it is.
Ⅲ. Young people’s opinions to science and scientific spirit
On June 2, 2022, China Youth Daily showed results from a survey on what young Chinese people think of science and scientific spirit. The graphs (图表) on the following reflect the opinions of 1,560 peopl aged 14-35.
1. What examples are used to show “Science is everywhere.”?
2. According to the passage, how can we make young students interested in learning science?
3. Why are problem-solving and critical thinking skills important for students?
4. What is the best subtitle (小标题) for the blank?
5. Do most young people admire science and scientific spirit in the survey? How do you know?
6. What is your favorite way to learn scientific knowledge? Why?
Have you noticed that time seems to pass more slowly when you’re waiting in a long line? But when you’re playing with your friends, hours seem like minutes. Of course, time is always passing at the same speed—but why does it sometimes feel different?
A study in the Journal of Neuroscience can tell us the answer. Lead researcher Masamichi Hayashi and his research team in the US have found that it has something to do with neurons (神经元) in our brains that are sensitive (敏感的) to time.
The researchers studied the brain activity of 18 adults who were asked to look at a picture on a screen for a certain length of time. They were then asked to guess how long they’d been looking at the picture. They tended to (倾向于) guess incorrectly in the end when they were asked to stare at the picture for very long or very short periods of time.
After researching into their brain activity further, the researchers discovered neurons that work actively in response to (对……有反应) certain amounts of time, which are called time-sensitive neurons. When they receive repetitive stimulation (重复的刺激) (such as staring at a screen), these neurons finally get “tired” and don’t work properly. It doesn’t matter whether this amount of time is long or short, as long as the stimulation is repetitive. However, other neurons still work normally, having an influence on the ways we experience time.
When you stand in line or do some other repetitive things, such as math homework, your time-sensitive neurons get tired and cause you to feel like time is going slowly. But when you’re doing something more fast-changing, such as playing soccer, you feel like time is flying. Either way, you’d better be careful with your brain when it comes to your experience of time. It may lie.
| Researchers | An American research team |
| Participants | 18 adults |
| 3 | *Participants looked at a picture on a screen for some time. *Participants guessed how long they had spent. |
| Result | Participants usually got wrong guessing when the screen time was too long or short. |
| Discoveries | There are some time-sensitive neurons in the brain. *They work actively in response to certain amounts of time. *A very important factor (因素) to make the time-sensitive neurons “tired” is the 4 of the stimulation. |
| Conclusion | Treat your brain’s telling of time with some 5 when doing some repetitive or fast-changing activities. |
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【推荐1】
Do you know traditional Chinese flower arrangement? Do you know Zhang Yan? Zhang Yan is an inheritor (传承人) of traditional Chinese flower arrangement. She first met traditional Chinese flower arrangement in college from an optional course (选修课程) she took. Back then, she never imagined that a single course could be the starting point of her life-long career.
The art of traditional Chinese flower arrangement has been handed down since 1046 BC. Historical records show it has served as offerings at temples, decorations in the palace and art at homes. “Though flower arrangement has a history of more than 3,000 years, the flower arrangement is still limited to the bouquets (花束) in flower shops,” Zhang said. To break that stereotype (刻板印象), traditional Chinese flower arrangement was included in the second batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage (非物质文化遗产). It is the art form’s rich historical connotation (内涵), and this national recognition (赏识) would lead to more public awareness.
Traditional Chinese flower arrangement is not only a decoration, but can also serve as a form of therapy (治疗) for modern busy people.“Unlike its Western counterpart, Chinese traditional flower management highlights simplicity.” Zhang said. The arranger must decide on what is truly necessary in his or her work and remove the rest. Sometimes learners are moved to tears because they begin to reflect on what is truly necessary in their lives.
“It came from traditional Chinese culture, and it is part of it,” Zhang argued. “Only when it absorbs lots of nutrition (营养) from traditional Chinese culture can it bloom and be world-known. Our aim is to develop and inherit traditional Chinese culture.”
1. What is people’s impression of flower arrangement?2. Ask ONE question about one of the following numbers from the passage.
A. 1046 B. 2008
3. What made the traditional flower arrangement our national heritage?
4. What can traditional Chinese flower arrangement be used for?
5. Which sentence in the passage has the similar meaning to the following one?
Sometimes people who learn to arrange flowers are moved to tears because they start to think about what they really need in life.
6. What can we do to make this art world-known?
【推荐2】Yangzhou paper-cutting
Yangzhou paper-cutting is known for its clear and fluent lines, fine and elegant patterns, novel and creative techniques. It represents the paper-cutting styles of southern China. Yangzhou paper-cutting, with a history of more than 2,000 years, made Yangzhou one of the places where paper-cutting first became popular.
Yangzhou paper-cutting can be dated back to the Sui dynasty. In the Sui dynasty, the people of Yangzhou had the custom of cutting colourful paper or silk to celebrate festivals. In the Tang dynasty, the paper-making industry highly developed and it helped speed up the development of the paper-cutting art. In the Qing dynasty, the people of Yangzhou became interested in wearing embroidered clothing. The embroidered patterns were based on paper-cuts. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the government realized paper-cutting played an important role both in our culture and daily life. In 2002, China Paper-cuts Museum was open to the public in the back garden of the Wangs’ Residence, Yangzhou.
There are many different kinds of subjects of Yangzhou paper-cutting, such as birds, animals, insects, mountains, etc.
Zhang Yongshou was the most outstanding representative among many artists of Yangzhou paper-cutting. He was the fifth generation descendant（后裔）of Yangzhou’s Magic Scissors Zhang. Born in 1907 from a paper-cutting family, Zhang learned this craftsmanship from his father from the age of twelve. Throughout his lifetime, he produced thousands of paper-cuts, of which the most famous are All the Flowers Blossoming, One Hundred Chrysanthemums, and One Hundred Butterflies with Gorgeous Flowers. Since Zhang Yongshou passed away in 1989, his daughter Zhang Muli has continued his paper-cutting tradition, and has won the title Master of Arts and Crafts in Jiangsu.
根据短文内容，完成下面的表格。
| Introduction | * Yangzhou paper-cutting is very |
| * It represents the paper-cutting styles of | |
| * It has a history of | |
| * In the Sui dynasty, the people in Yangzhou | |
| * In the Tang dynasty, the paper-cutting art highly developed with the | |
| * In the Qing dynasty, the people in Yangzhou showed | |
| * After the establishment of the PRC, the Chinese | |
| * In 2002, China Paper-cuts Museum was open to the public. | |
| * Yangzhou paper-cutting has many subjects, such as birds, animals, insects, mountains, etc. | |
| Masters of paper-cutting | * Zhang Yongshou was born in 1907 from a paper-cutting family and passed away at the age of 84. |
| * Zhang Muli is the |
【推荐3】In the late 1960s, when Li Zhenxia was 5, she liked oil-paper umbrellas and dreamed of buying a beautiful, red oil-paper umbrella in a store next to her grandmother’s house. It was too expensive for her family to afford one at the time.
When she was 10, she saw a young bridegroom (新郎) pass by her house on his way to pick up his bride. He and his friends were carrying six red oil-paper umbrellas, and the image touched her heart. When she was in high school, her physics teacher would arrive with an oil-paper umbrella every time it rained. She and the teacher became good friends.
In 1996, Li’s dream of oil-paper umbrellas came true when she started learning how to make them by herself. Two years later, she produced her first one. Of course, it was red.
Today, Li is a boss and has her own stores. She enjoys talking to her customers and passing on her skills to her students.
“The oil-paper umbrella is like my lover; it has been with me my whole life and always makes me feel better,” the 58-year-old said.
Li’s store in Datong ancient town in Chishui City, Guizhou Province—a town where there is a lot of rain—welcomes many visitors who buy her umbrellas to model in photos, decorate their homes or add to collections, and sometimes even to use for catwalks at shows and performances.
Production involves over a hundred individual steps, from cutting the bamboo and threading (穿线) the pieces together, to pasting the paper shade, drying it in the sun and brushing it with oil. The whole process is complicated and takes between 15 days and several months, depending on the umbrella’s design, and all the work is done by hand.
One of her regulars, a 38-year-old woman surnamed Cai, has bought eight oil-paper umbrellas from Li since 2016. She uses them on rainy and sunny days, matching them with her outfits. “It is a classic item with great cultural meaning. I don’t use ordinary umbrellas anymore,” Cai said. “I like Li’s hand-painted umbrellas. They’re pretty, good quality and nicely priced. She offers free maintenance, too.”
根据短文内容，回答下列问题。
1. What did Li Zhenxia dream of when she was young?
2. When did Li make her first oil-paper umbrella?
3. Please list two reasons why many visitors buy Li’s umbrella.
4. What is the first step to make an oil-paper umbrella?
5. What do you think of the oil-paper umbrella after reading the last paragraph?
