Woodcut is a kind of art work on a piece of wood. Many traditional woodcuts are printed either black and white or simple in color, but reduction woodcuts (绝版木刻) often show rich colors like Western oil paintings.
The reduction woodcuts are famous for their rich colors. On the same piece of wood, the artist cuts and prints different layers (层) in order. The artwork was listed as an intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) in Pu’er city, Yunnan province, in 2009.
Leng Guangmian, 40, is a reduction woodcut artist. He started learning the art at college in 2003. He thinks that making reduction woodcut prints is just like an amazing journey. “Every time we cut a model on the woodblock and then print, we never know what it will be like in the end.” As he sees beautiful models layer by layer, he gets more excited.
But finishing such work is not easy. Before cutting, he needs to plan for the whole print and choose colors for different layers. A big print usually takes months to finish.
Leng hopes his artwork can show not only excellent woodcutting skills but also local culture and life. “My works have two series (系列). One is called the Tea Horse Road, since Pu’er is one of the starting points of that road. The other is the Disappearing Villages.” Leng said. “Many old villages in Pu’er need rebuilding for safety, so I want to make people remember their beauty before they are gone.”
1. What’s special about the reduction woodcut?| A．It has one layer. | B．It is colorful. |
| C．It uses a piece of wood. | D．It is simple in color. |
① Start to print ② Cut on the wood
③ Plan for the whole print ④ Choose colors for different layers
| A．③④②① | B．④②①③ | C．④③①② | D．③②④① |
| A．To tell his personal stories. | B．To rebuild old local villages. |
| C．To teach woodcut skills in Yunnan. | D．To show local life and culture. |
| A．An artist’s story | B．A Chinese artist |
| C．Making a colorful artwork on wood | D．Learning special works in Yunnan |
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Tai Chi has always been a symbol of Chinese culture and is becoming popular around the world.
One thing that makes Tai Chi popular is its value in health. As you move, you breathe deeply and naturally, paying your attention to your body. This helps you relax and find peace in your mind. According to Harvard Health, Tai Chi is suitable for almost anyone, from healthy people to those who have disease. This is because its movements are never forced—the muscles (肌肉) are relaxed.
What makes Tai Chi even more interesting might be the philosophical (哲学的) ideas behind it. The word “Tai Chi” comes from Taoism (道家), which thinks that inaction, opposite to action, is the way to solve problems. That’s why Tai Chi movements are slow and soft. It is not used to fight an enemy—it is used to protect yourself. That doesn’t mean it is weak though. The secret of Tai Chi is to use softness to beat hardness.
When you think of Tai Chi, you might think of the famous yin-yang diagram (图形). It shows how ancient Chinese people saw the world. The world is full of yin and yang: dark and light, soft and hard, male and female, life and death. But they do not absolutely opposite each other. After a dark night, the sun will rise. Leaves fall in autumn but grow in spring. Everything keeps changing—that’s how we should see the world.
Tai Chi also pays attention to the balance between yin and yang. For example, if you work too hard and feel tired, you have too much “yang”. So it’s time for you to calm down and get more “yin”. This idea of keeping a healthy balance can be used in almost everything in life. It makes Tai Chi far more than just a Chinese Kungfu.
1. Tai Chi almost suits anyone because ________.| A．it is a symbol of Chinese culture and philosophy |
| B．it tells people how to breathe deeply and naturally |
| C．when people do Tai Chi, their muscles are relaxed |
| D．It is useless |
| A．无为 | B．行动 | C．治理 | D．创造 |
| A．Father and son. | B．Water and ice. |
| C．Tree and sun. | D．Day and night. |
| A．When you play Tai Chi, you will feel relaxed and peaceful. |
| B．Tai Chi movements are slow and soft, so they can’t be used to beat hardness. |
| C．The idea of keeping a balance between yin and yang can’t be used in many things in life. |
| D．When you play Tai Chi, you are unhappy. |
| A．Tai chi is a good way to exercise. |
| B．Tai chi is a good lifestyle. |
| C．The history of an ancient Chinese sport, Tai Chi. |
| D．How to learn Tai Chi. |
【推荐2】
| The film, first released in 1983, displays many aspects of traditional Chinese culture. The Legend of Sealed Book tells the story of how two boys fight against three fox spirits. The look of the three fox spirits comes from Peking Opera makeup (造型). The waters and mountains are in the style of traditional Chinese ink wash paintings. |
| China’s first ink wash animation (动画) actually came out in 1960. The film Little Tadpole (蝌蚪) Looking for Mummy has all the elements of the animals, plants and rocks drawn with ink and brush. The animators (动画制作者) learned from the great artist Qi Baishi. The film is only about 15 minutes long, but it took lots of work. Without computers, the animators had to draw everything by hand. To save time, the clever artists stamped the tadpoles’ bodies on paper with a special seal. |
| In the past few years, ink wash animations have become popular in China. Now, animators are combining (结合) ink wash painting with computer technology. For example, Fog Hills of Five Elements, which came out in 2020, is in the ink wash style, just like Ma Liang and His Magical Writing Brush. It’s about five elemental envoys fighting against evil. |
| A．The Legend of Sealed Book | B．Little Tadpole Looking for Mummy |
| C．Fog Hills of Five Elements | D．Ma Liang And His Magical Writing Brush |
| A．Chinese ink wash style | B．the gardens and palaces |
| C．the elements of the animals | D．Peking Opera makeup |
| A．The animators drew the tadpoles’ bodies with a special computer. |
| B．Little Tadpole Looking for Mummy is only about 30 minutes long. |
| C．The look of the three fox spirits comes from Yangzhou Opera makeup. |
| D．Fog Hills of Five Elements was made by computer and ink wash painting. |
A man in black clothes jumps high into the air. Before he lands, he makes a pose. Sometimes, he carries a red fan. With long white sleeves (袖子), he spreads his arms like wings (翅膀). His dance is often drawing crowds.
He is the Chinese dancer Ma Jiaolong. Since 2020, he has begun to make short videos of himself dancing in London. He has performed at the city’s parks. Till now, the 35-year-old has already 5 million followers on Douyin, where he shares his videos.
Classical Chinese dance joins martial arts (武术) movements with traditional Chinese opera. He started to learn it at 12. “I was attracted by the dancers who played the roles of ancient heroes through classical Chinese dance”, said Ma. Later, Ma studied at a dancing school in Beijing. Since 2019, he has been teaching classical Chinese dance at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Two years ago, Ma began to give online classes. In his small home, he could only make small moves. One day, he took his wife’s suggestion and danced at Greenwich Park, a popular place for tourists. She recorded Ma. He then edited (剪辑) the video, and sent it to friends. His friends loved it and shared it online. People often want to know more about his performances. While dancing, he likes to interact (互动) with them. As his videos went popular, he received messages from people around the world.
“It’s a great way to introduce Chinese dance to the world,” said Ma.
1. From Paragraph 1 we can know that __________.
| A．Ma can spread his wings | B．Ma often wears black clothes |
| C．Ma’s dance is very beautiful | D．Ma has many fans on Douyin |
| A．joined martial arts with Chinese opera | B．edited the videos recorded by himself |
| C．got more fans from around the world | D．shared his video online |
| A．Creative. | B．Careful. | C．Humorous. | D．Independent. |
| A．Ma often depends on his wife | B．Ma has performed all over the world |
| C．Ma started teaching at the age of 32 | D．Ma turned to his friends for help |
| A．show a way to spread Chinese culture | B．introduce a great dancer |
| C．encourage people learn Chinese dance | D．draw people’s attention to dance |
Thousands of people die because of bad weather in the world every year. Snowstorms, strong winds, high temperatures and heavy rains are all bad weather. Almost 700 Americans died last year. The bad weather affects (影响) homeless people, or people without (没有) a home.
Homeless people live in the street. They don’t have jobs. They stay outside when it is very hot or cold. They don’t have warm clothes and blankets (毯子) for cold weather. They do not have enough food. Homeless people can sometimes stay in shelters and churches (教堂). A shelter is a building for homeless people. They can live there for some time. But most homeless people don’t like living in the same place. And so sometimes they say “no” to any help.
Bad weather makes more people homeless. 20 million people in the world have to leave their homes every year because of it. It is very difficult to work out the problem because there is more and more bad weather.
1. ________ make(s) 700 people die in America.| A．Snowstorms | B．Strong winds | C．Bad weather | D．Heavy rains |
| A．They have to work every day. | B．They don’t have homes. |
| C．They usually have good meals. | D．They can keep themselves warm. |
| A．商场 | B．收容所 | C．别墅 | D．遮挡物 |
| A．Because they live in churches. | B．Because they have enough food. |
| C．Because they live in buildings. | D．Because they don’t want to live in the same place. |
| A．Bad weather and homeless people. | B．Where do homeless people live? |
| C．Many people leave their homes. | D．We have too much bad weather. |
【推荐2】Beijing Opera is one of the Chinese traditional drama art forms and the largest Chinese opera form. Having a history about 200 years, it is developed from many other drama forms, mostly from the local drama “Huiban”. It is especially popular in south China during the 18th century.
Theatrical(戏剧的) forms in many other countries do not have singing, dancing and spoken parts together in one single drama. An opera singer, for example, neither dances nor speaks on stage; there are no singing or dancing parts in a modern play; in a dance drama, the dancer doesn’t speak or sing. Traditional Chinese drama, including Beijing Opera, is a kind of entertainment. It includes spoken parts, singing and dancing.
Beijing Opera has spread to many other places. Mei Lanfang, one of the most famous performers of all, was the first to introduce Beijing Opera to foreigners and made highly successful tours to foreign countries.
“You will doubt and sometimes be a little bored, but you will be interested gradually. You will be strongly attracted by Beijing Opera, even if you know nothing about the drama background.” This is how one traveler described his first experience in watching Beijing Opera.
Beijing Opera is China’s national opera and it is full of Chinese cultural traditions. Welcome to China and enjoy Beijing Opera!
1. Beijing Opera is ________.| A．unpopular in north China | B．only developed from the local drama “huiban” |
| C．a much larger Chinese opera form | D．a Chinese traditional drama art form |
| A．Beijing Opera | B．local drama | C．an opera singer | D．a modern play |
| A．Beijing Opera is a kind of entertainment. |
| B．An opera singer neither dances nor speaks on stage usually. |
| C．Only old people are interested in Beijing Opera. |
| D．Mei Lanfang was the first one to introduce Beijing Opera to foreigners. |
| A．ask young people to learn Beijing Opera |
| B．tell us something about Beijing Opera |
| C．show why Beijing Opera is popular in Europe |
| D．introduce everything about foreign Opera |
【推荐3】Are you a gourmand（吃货）? Do you want to eat every delicious food in the world? Then do you watch the popular program? “A Bite of China” is a documentary on Chinese delicious food which has been broadcast by CCTV. Can you find any holiday celebrated without a special festival food? Food is very important in China. Here are several traditional Chinese foods.
Eggs hold a special meaning in many cultures. Chinese believe that eggs mean producing something new. For example, after a baby is born, parents may hold a “feast party”, where they pass out eggs to announce the birth.
Noodles are a symbol of long life in Chinese culture. They are as much a part of a Chinese birthday celebration as a birthday cake with lit（点）candles in many countries. Since noodles represent long life, it is considered（认为）very unlucky to cut them off.
In China, a whole fish is a symbol of richness. In fact, at a party it is traditional to serve the whole fish last, fish head pointed toward the valued guest. Fish also has a special meaning because the Chinese word for fish, yu, sounds like the word for richness or plenty, and it is believed that eating fish will help your wishes come true in the future.
Another very popular food during the Dragon Boat Festival is Zongzi. This tasty food is made of rice with meat, peanut or other delicious food in bamboo leaves. The tradition of Zongzi is meant to remind us of a great man, Qu Yuan.
The 50-minute program tries to bring something new by presenting more cultural elements（元素）, such as eating habits and the quality of eating.
1. A bite of China is ________.| A．a history | B．a TV program | C．a guide book | D．a radio talk |
| A．give presents | B．get presents | C．ask for | D．stand for |
| A．cooking | B．eating | C．making | D．meaning |
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |
| A．Science | B．Travel | C．Health | D．Culture |
【推荐1】Paper-cutting is one of the traditional folk arts(民间传统艺术) in China. It has a long history of about 1,500 years. Artists use paper, scissors and knives to make paper-cuttings. People find happiness and luck in paper-cuttings. In Spring Festival, they paste paper-cuttings like “Fu” on windows to bring good luck for the new year. And parents may paste “Xi” inside the houses when their sons or daughters get married.
In many places, the paper-cuttings are red. In old times, people worked on the farm and respected the sun. Red is the colour of the sun. They see red as the symbol of hope and life. Now, you can see red everywhere in China, the walls of old palaces, lanterns, weddings and so on.
Do you know some of the paper-cuttings are black in Shanzhou? Shanzhou is in Henan province(省). The paper-cuttings there are black. Black is the best colour there. Since Shanzhou is a dry place, people make black paper-cuttings and wish for rain.
Moreover, paper-cuttings are colourful in Yuxian(蔚县), Hebei province. Artists put five pieces of paper-cuttings together. They just paint the first piece with brushes. And the colour goes through. Soon a beautiful paper-cutting is made.
1. The underlined word “symbol” means “________” in Chinese.| A．象征 | B．暗示 | C．出现 | D．记录 |
| A．Because they see it as the symbol of hope. |
| B．Because black is their favourite colour. |
| C．Because they wish for rain. |
| D．Because they think black is lucky. |
| A．Red paper-cuttings. |
| B．Green paper-cuttings. |
| C．Black paper-cuttings. |
| D．Colourful paper-cuttings. |
| A．The history of paper-cuttings. |
| B．When do people paste paper-cuttings. |
| C．Paper-cutting museums around us. |
| D．How do people in Yuxian make paper-cuttings. |
【推荐2】Tangchang, a town in Chengdu, is well-known for cloth shoes. With over 20 types, Tangchang cloth shoes are strong, comfortable, breathable and friendly to the environment. In 2018, they were added to Sichuan’s intangible cultural heritage list（非物质文化遗产名录）.
63-year-old Lai Shufang has spent over 40 years making Tangchang cloth shoes. Now she is a master. She said there are 32 steps to make a pair, but the most important step is making the soles.
Layers（层）of white cloth are glued together with flour paste（糨糊）. “To make good paste, we make it at a temperature of 85℃. If it’s too low or too high, the paste will not work,” Lai said. Then the pasted layers are dried and cut into different shapes. After this, the layered cloth is beaten again and again until it is tight（紧实的）enough to make soles and upper parts. The next step is to shape the two parts and glue them together. But still the soles’ edges look fluffy. Through repeated polishing and trimming, the fluffy edges（毛边） will become smooth. Then the cloth shoes are ready.
Lai’s hard work touched her son Ai Peng. In 2015, Ai decided to leave his job and help his mother. He used Shu embroidery to make the shoes look more beautiful and opened a cloth shoe store online. He also set up shop windows to show the steps of making shoes, helping more people learn about the art of cloth shoes.
1. What is the most important step in making Tangchang cloth shoes according to Ms. Lai?| A．Making the soles. | B．Making the upper parts. | C．Making good flour paste. |
①beating the layered cloth
②making flour paste at an exact temperature
③gluing the upper parts and the soles together
| A．③②① | B．②③① | C．②①③ |
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. |
| A．What are the features of Tangchang cloth shoes? |
| B．When did Ms. Lai become a master of cloth shoes? |
| C．What’s the most important material in making cloth shoes? |
| A．A Talented Shoemaker, Lai Shufang |
| B．Hand-made Cloth Shoes in Tangchang |
| C．Tangchang, a Well-known Town in Chengdu |
【推荐3】At a long table in Gaolamei workshop, a young woman is busy with Tantou-style New Year pictures, a folk craft(手艺) that has been carried forward by her family for four generations. She is Zhong Xinglin, a folk artist in Tantou town, Longhui county, Central China’s Hunan province.
Tantou-style New Year pictures feature auspicious(吉祥的) figures and elements from folklore that carry people’s prayers for good luck in a new year. As an intangible cultural heritage, the art style can be traced to the late Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644). In the early 1900s, this form of woodblock-printed New Year pictures entered a golden age, not only making its way across the country but also being exported to more than 10 countries and regions in Southeast Asia.
Zhong’s interest in this craft stemmed from the influence of her family. Her grandparents were all national-level inheritors(继承人), and her father won the title in 2018. Their century-old family workshop is named after Zhong’s grandmother Gao Lamei.
“My childhood memories mostly revolve around the workshop, where I watched them (grandparents and parents) making the New Year pictures,” she says, adding that she then spent time learning the craft and played with the tools lying around. “The engraved pear wood for printing, various pigments, and the stories behind each picture still often come into my mind,” she says.
In 2011, Zhong landed a job at a local news agency in Changsha, the provincial capital of Hunan, after completing her Japanese-language studies at Guizhou Normal University in southwestern China. “I got exposure to various cultural development models and discovered the charm of traditional culture,” Zhong says.
After her grandparents passed away, she felt a great sense of responsibility to carry on with the family’s work. In 2017, she quit her job and learned more about the New Year pictures from her father. To make Tantou-style New Year pictures, some 20 steps are followed, including using pear wood for engraving and bamboo to make paper, as well as multiple uses of woodwork and hand-painting before vivid, colorful folk paintings are produced by the skillful hands of craftsmen. Although things have changed a lot over the years, the New Year pictures are still a name card for the town and an emotional connection for people from the province.
In recent years, Tantou-style New Year pictures have gained attention beyond the country’s borders. “Foreign friends love this traditional Chinese culture,” Zhong says, “Each time we went abroad for such exchanges and exhibitions, the several large boxes of New Year paintings that we took with us were sold out.”
In her works, Zhong has incorporated elements of Tantou’s culture and tourism to attract travelers to Hunan. She plans to incorporate more local natural landscape and folk stories into the New Year pictures in the future.
Zhong has started Tantou-style New Year picture classes in Changsha to popularize the craft. Zhong has worked with local beverage and clothes brands and restaurants, as well as game designers to expand the presence of the pictures in daily life.
1. When was Tantou-style New year pictures spread to Southeast Asia?| A．In the 1360s. | B．In the early1900s. | C．In the year 2011. | D．In the year 2018. |
| A．Folk stories | B．Zhong’s grandma. |
| C．Tantou’s culture. | D．A local news agency. |
| A．They are produced by the skillful hands of craftsmen. |
| B．They help improve the way of making paper from bamboo. |
| C．They are auspicious not only in China but all over the world. |
| D．They stand for the town and connect people from Hunan as well. |
| A．Include. | B．Refuse. | C．Discover. | D．Force. |
| A．She has studied Japanese at Guizhou Normal University. |
| B．She has made plans for working with different businesses. |
| C．She has started classes about the traditional art in Changsha. |
| D．She has created new pictures based on local natural landscape. |
