Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Day) is a traditional Chinese festival for families to pay respect (尊敬) to their ancestors. People visit their ancestors’ grave sites and offer food, drinks and flowers. The festival falls on April the fourth this year. There are some Chinese poems that offer clues to Chinese history and culture through ancient expressions. Here we look at one of the classic poems in the history of Chinese literature:
In China around the time of Qingming Festival, there is more rain. The poet is traveling far away from home on these rainy days. The rain and lonely walks lead to the separation of the soul and body, which adds a sad mood to this poem. The writer, Du Mu describes a rainy scene in a village in the first two lines. Then in the last two lines, the poet wants to find a place to take a rest, drink some wine (酒) and get rid of the sad mood. Where can I find a good tavern? In the last line, a cowherd points to a direction, which vividly depicts (生动描绘) two people looking far ahead on the rainy day.
Mourning Day
Drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day,
The mourner’s heart is going to break on his way.
Where can a wineshop be found to drown his sad hours?
A cowherd points to a cot amid apricot flowers.
(Translated by Xu Yuanchong, Chinese translator)
In this poem, Du Mu presents a village with apricot flowers around as the direction of the tavern. He doesn’t describe its details on a rainy day but leaves it to the readers’ imagination.
Qingming is not only a sad festival, but can also be a happy time for people to enjoy the spring and get closer to nature in an outing. Trees are green and flowers are blooming, so it’s a good time to be outside.
1. The Chinese title of this poem is ________.| A．《清明》 | B．《咏柳》 | C．《春望》 | D．《秋思》 |
| A．snowy | B．windy | C．cold | D．rainy |
| A．make friends | B．eat some food | C．drink some wine | D．buy a raincoat |
| A．a boy sits on the cow | B．a place where the cow lives |
| C．a person who herds (放牧) the cow | D．a place where the cow eats grass |
| A．offer food, drinks and flowers to old people |
| B．pay respect to our ancestors and enjoy the spring |
| C．feel sad all day and drink some wine with family |
| D．find a beautiful place with a lot of flowers around |
相似题推荐
There are many ways to exercise. You can walk, run, swim, skate, or play ball games. Make sure you exercise in the following ways. You have to like what you’re doing. Exercise enough---but not too much. It’s best to exercise twice a week. Thirty minutes each time is enough. Try all kinds of things until you find one, two or even three sports that feel right for you.
You can exercise at
Exercising can be fun. Friends can exercise together at a fitness center or they can play sports together. How do you exercise?
1. In the text, the writer tells us that we need to _____.
| A．drink | B．sleep |
| C．exercise | D．work |
| A．running | B．skating |
| C．swimming | D．studies |
| A．Fishing. | B．Running. |
| C．Swimming. | D．Walking. |
| A．商务中心 | B．健身中心 |
| C．购物中心 | D．医疗中心 |
| A．it makes your heart and body strong |
| B．it makes you study better |
| C．people can buy equipment for their home |
| D．friends can play sports together |
【推荐2】In the USA，it is normal for men to shake hands when they meet，but it is quite unusual for men to kiss when they greet each other. Greetings are casual—a handshake，a smile and a“hello”will do just fine.
The British often simply say“hello”when they meet friends. They usually shake hands only when they meet for the first time. Social kissing，often just a peck（轻吻）on the cheek（脸颊），is common in an informal（非正式的）situation between men and women and also between women who know each other very well.
In Japan，the common greeting for both men and women is to bow when they greet someone，instead of giving a handshake or a hug.
Hungarians like to greet in a friendly way—kiss each other on both cheeks. The most common way is to kiss from your right to your left. When men meet for the first time，a handshake is the norm.
In Albania，men shake hands when greeting one another. A kiss on the cheek may also be common if there is a close relationship. Women may shake hands or kiss each other on both cheeks.
In Armenia，by tradition，a woman needs to wait for a man to offer his hand for a handshake. Between good friends and family members，a kiss on the cheek and a hug are also common.
1. In Britain，when two people meet for the first time，they usually _______.| A．Hug | B．bow | C．shake hands | D．kiss on the cheek |
| A．规范 | B．意图 | C．象征 | D．结果 |
| A．In Japan，hugging is as common as bowing. |
| B．In Hungary，people usually kiss each other on the cheeks from left to right. |
| C．In Albania，it is unusual for men to kiss if there is a close relationship. |
| D．In Armenia，it is necessary for a woman to wait for a man to offer his hand for a handshake. |
| A．Four. | B．Five. | C．Six. | D．Seven. |
| A．Country and Culture |
| B．Culture and People |
| C．Greeting Customs Around the World |
| D．Body Language in Different Cultures |
【推荐3】MONSTERS OF THE DEEP
①Sea monsters are not just imaginary. Millions of years ago, real monsters actually lived on Earth.
Eyes in the Dark
②Temnodontosaurus (切齿鱼龙) was definitely an unusual animal. Its name means “cutting-tooth lizard,” and with good reason—it had very big teeth. It also had some of the largest eyes in nature. They were over 25 centimeters across! With such big eyes, Temnodontosaurus could easily find its food in the dark water.
Terror of the Deep
③Kronosaurus (克柔龙)—the “Kronos lizard”—lived in the seas that once covered Australia. But it probably used its fins to climb out of the water and lay its eggs on land. Its head was two meters long, and its teeth were as big as bananas! The main purpose of strong jaws and teeth like these was to catch smaller animals. In fact, Kronosaurus was one of the most dangerous predators (捕食者) of all time.
The Stalker
④Known as the “lord of the seas,” Thalassomedon (海霸龙) was a large sea monster with a very long neck. It also had a special way of hunting fish: It carried stones in its stomach! These helped keep the largest part of its body and tail down in the dark water. Meanwhile, its long neck slowly rose up toward the fish. The fish didn’t have a chance to get away from Thalassomedon. They couldn’t see the sea monster until it was too late!
1. What can we infer (推断) about Temnodontosaurus?| A．Its teeth were very sharp. | B．It only ate plants. |
| C．It was bigger than Kronosaurus. | D．It has the largest mouth in nature. |
| A．two meters | B．20 centimeters | C．2.5centimeters | D．5 centimeters |
| A．stones | B．its stomach | C．ways to catch fish | D．fish |
| A．It is too dark in the water. |
| B．Thalassomedon attacked the fish from above. |
| C．The fish didn’t see Thalassomedon as it came near. |
| D．The fish were not as fast as Thalassomedon. |
【推荐1】The Spring Festival is the Chinese New Year. It usually comes in February. Sometimes it comes in January. Everyone in China likes it very much.
When it comes, Chinese people start to clean their houses and do shopping about a week before. Li Shanshan is always glad to help her mother clean their house and put up (张贴) new pictures and do other housework. On the Spring Festival, everybody in China often eats jiaozi, tangyuan and fish. They can also enjoy some other delicious food. Li Shanshan likes fish very much. But her brother, Li Kun likes jiaozi best. They eat jiaozi and tangyuan in their house. How happy they are!
根据语篇内容，选择最佳选项。
1. The Spring Festival comes in ________.
| A．January or February | B．February or March | C．March or April |
| A．do shopping | B．clean their houses | C．put up maps |
| A．tired | B．happy | C．angry |
| A．jiaozi | B．mooncakes | C．noodles |
| A．Li Shanshan | B．Li Shanshan’s brother | C．Li Shanshan’s mother |
The Double Ninth Festival is a special day for elderly people in China. The festival is on the ninth day of the ninth month on the lunar calendar. As the Chinese word for “nine” sounds the same as the word for “long”, people take the Double Ninth Festival to show their wishes for long life for elderly people.
There are many traditions of this festival. On that day, families get together and climb mountains for luck. They also drink chrysanthemum wine (菊花酒) and wear a plant called Zhuyu to celebrate it. Both chrysanthemum and Zhuyu are regarded as clean plants that can clean houses and cure diseases.
Respecting elderly people is shown not only on this special day but also in daily life. For example, when an older person enters a room, it is polite for everyone to stand up. When there are several guests at the table, the host usually introduces them from the oldest to the youngest.
It is a traditional virtue in China to respect elderly people. That’s because the Chinese know that elderly people have knowledge and experience that young people can learn from. So, Chinese people are proud of being old.
1. The Double Ninth Festival is celebrated for the elderly people in the world.2. Because the Chinese word “nine” has the same meaning as “long”, people call this special day “The Double Ninth Festival”.
3. On the Double Ninth Festival, people always climb mountains to plant Zhuyu.
4. Respecting elderly people is an important part of Chinese daily life.
5. The Chinese are proud of being old for the elderly people full of knowledge and experience.
【推荐3】You may have known about many traditional Chinese festivals such as Spring Festival or Lantern Festival, but have you ever heard of Dragon Heads-raising Day? It came from an old story. It is said that every year on the second day of the second lunar (阳历的) month, the dragon wakes up from its winter sleep and raises its head.
This year, it falls on Mar 11. Old people believed that after Dragon Heads-raising Day, there would be more rain.
The most popular one is to have a haircut. Many believe that a haircut during the first lunar month may bring bad luck to your uncles—mainly your mother’s brothers.
Among Chinese people’s festival traditions, there is always a place for food. During the Dragon Heads-raising Day people eat food named after dragons.
People also hold activities like dragon dancing on the day. In some places in Shandong province, people make dragon lanterns too. Small reed boats (芦苇船) go down the rivers and carry the lanterns,
| A．And rain is very important to farming. |
| B．They hope getting a haircut on Dragon Heads-raising Day gets rid of bad luck. |
| C．Although it’s not true, many people still do it. |
| D．Noodles are called dragon’s beard (胡须). |
| E．Because of this, the day is called “Dragon Heads-raising Day” (龙抬头). |
| F．which stand for people’s best wishes and good luck. |
