【推荐1】

You must have read or heard of the love story between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu from the classic Chinese novel A Dream of Red Mansions(《红楼梦》). But can you imagine the two singing opera(歌剧) in English?

Recently, the novel has been made into an English-language opera. After being performed in San Francisco, US, the performance came to Beijing, Changsha and Wuhan. It is welcomed by audiences(观众) at home and abroad.

Many of the opera’s creators have backgrounds (背景) in both Chinese and American cultures. Their understanding of both cultures helped them to change a Chinese classic into a foreign-language opera.

The opera writer David Henry Hwang cut down the number of characters to just seven. Huang, a Chinese-American, focused on the love story between Jia and Lin instead of the rise and fall of the Jia family and tried to write a heart-broken tragedy (悲剧) that everyone would understand.

The art director Timmy Yip tried to help foreign people understand the characters using costumes (服装) and stage settings(布景). He compared Lin to water and gave her a light green costume. When Lin shows up on stage, there is usually water around her on the stage.

It isn’t the first time that they have made an opera adapted (改编) from Chinese literature. The creators consider it to be a meaningful job to introduce a Chinese classic to western audiences, spreading Chinese culture to the world. They are happy to have made a contribution to the land where their parents were born.

1. The opera was ________.

A．sung in Chinese	B．first performed in San Francisco
C．written by Timmy Yip	D．performed in many languages

2. The underlined word “land” in the last paragraph has the same meaning as that in Sentence ________.

A．The land was dry and hard after the long and hot summer.

B．It isn’t clear whether the plane went down over land or sea.

C．As a plane fan, he often goes to see planes land and take off.

D．Those soldiers help people in danger and protect our land in time.

3. According to the passage, we can infer(推断) that ________.

A．it’s easy for the creators to make the opera

B．there may be more operas adapted from western literature

C．the creators feel proud to introduce Chinese culture to westerners

D．the creators made an opera adapted from Chinese literature for the second time

4. The best title of the passage is ________.

A．the Rise and Fall of the Jia Family	B．the Opera of A Dream of Red Mansions
C．Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu Sing Foreign Opera	D．the Love Story Between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu

【推荐2】Dumplings are one of the Chinese people’s favorite traditional dishes. According to an ancient Chinese legend: dumplings were first made by the medical saint—Zhang Zhongjing.

There are three steps in making dumplings:

①make dumpling wrappers (饺子皮) out of dumpling flour;

②prepare the dumpling stuffing;

③make dumplings and boil them.

There’s an old saying in China, “Nothing could be more delicious than dumplings.” During the holidays like the Spring Festival, or when treating relatives and friends, Chinese people like to follow the auspicious(吉利的) custom of eating dumplings.   

1. Who first made the dumplings?

A．Wu Zixu.

B．Wang Zhaojun.

C．Zhang Zhongjing.

2. Which of the following is true according to the saying?

A．Dumplings are the only delicious food.

B．Dumplings are more delicious than anything else.

C．Anything could be more delicious than dumplings.

3. When do the Chinese probably make the dumplings?

A．On Thanksgiving.

B．During the Spring Festival.

C．When they are treating themselves.

【推荐1】Trees in cities "live fast but die young" compared to forests in the countryside, warns a new study.It’s time for us to understand city trees from a new way.

Researchers found that trees in cities die younger than ones in the countryside because of the higher levels of CO₂. City-living trees suffer(遭受) a loss of carbon storage(碳储量). That means trees produce less energy from the air.

Now researchers say more must be done to deal with the situation. Ian Smith, a PhD student of Boston University in the United States, said, “Cities are in the important position in fighting against rising temperatures and increasing CO₂.”. “We find that tree planting alone may not be enough to keep and increase city canopy cover(树冠覆盖率). Because of the age and size of the present canopy, efforts to improve and protect tree health are badly needed for increasing city tree cover and canopy cover.”

The research team used a model to watch changes among street trees for several planting and management methods. Researchers also used the model to watch tree growth, death and planting rates(率)both among trees in Boston city and forests in the countryside in Massachusetts.

It was discovered that rates of carbon cycling and growth rates among city trees were nearly four times faster than those in the countryside. However, loss of carbon storage and death rates are also higher, especially death rates are more than double higher than those in countryside forests.

The study, published in PLOS ONE, has reminded scientists to encourage communities to do more to plant and protect trees. It is important to increase city canopy cover and carbon storage.

Researchers say planting and protecting will be needed to make sure cities can develop healthily, but more needs to be done to have a better understanding of city trees ---which may be different from countryside forests.

1. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．The more carbon storage loses, the more energy the trees produce from the air.

B．The higher the levels of CO2 are, the harder it will be for the plants to survive.

C．If we plant enough trees, we are sure to increase city canopy cover.

D．Cities do better in fighting against rising temperatures and increasing CO2.

2. Paragraph 4 mainly tells us ____________.

A．the results of the study	B．the discoveries from the researchers
C．the methods of the study	D．the suggestions from the researchers

3. What does“ those” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Death rates.	B．Rates of carbon cycling.
C．Growth rates.	D．Loss of carbon storage.

4. The writer’s main purpose of writing the passage is ____________.

A．to teach us how to improve and protect tree health

B．to warn us that trees in cities live fast but die young

C．to let us have a better understanding of city trees

D．to tell us to take action to increase city canopy cover

【推荐3】The 31st Summer Olympics will be held in Brazil in 2016. Before this global sporting event, we started thinking about sports that didn’t exist any more and sports that were maybe a little strange. Read the following ones that have ever been included in the past Olympic Games.

Live Pigeon Shooting (1900)

This bloody event was only held once, at the 1900 Paris Games. Nearly 300 birds were killed during the competition, leaving a crime scene of feathers and blood. This is the only event in Olympic history that involved killing live animals.

Kabaddi (1936)

This sport is popular in South Asia. The object is for one member of a team to enter the other side’s half of the field, and score points. The attacker then returns to his half of the field.

12 Hour Bicycle Race (1896)

Seven riders got on their bikes at 5 a.m. and rode until 5 p.m. Four riders dropped out before noon, but the winner, Adolf Schmal of Austria, managed about 180 miles. Only Schmal and one other finished.

Tug of War (1900—1920)

This may seem like a basic PE class sport more than an Olympic event, but Tug of War was actually one of the first sports played at the Olympic games in 500 BC.

There are two teams of eight; the winning team must pull the other team six feet forward.

Swimming Obstacle Race (1900)

The athletes had to climb over a pole (杆子) and a row of boats, and then swim under another row of boats. All of this was done in the Seine River, so they also had to fight against the water. This event was only ever held in 1900, in Paris.

1. What do you probably think of these events?

A．Strange.

B．Fantastic.

C．Modern.

D．Interesting.

2. Which sport looks like a common activity more than an Olympic event?

A．Swimming Obstacle Race.	B．12 Hour Bicycle Race.
C．Live Pigeon Shooting.	D．Tug of War.

3. How many athletes finished the event 12 Hour Bicycle Race?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Four.

D．Seven.

4. What does “drop out” mean in English according to the passage?

A．Give up.

B．Run out.

C．Fall off.

D．Break down.

5. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Athletes took part in all of the events in teams.

B．Tug of War was held in the Olympics only once.

C．Some of the events may be in the 31st Summer Olympics.

D．These events are not as popular as they used to be.