Every April, there is a special day when people remember and honor their ancestors. It is called Tomb-Sweeping Day, also known as Qingming Festival. This year, the day falls on April 4th.
Tomb-Sweeping Day is a traditional Chinese festival. It began over 2000 years ago. A well-known poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu describes the day, “(1) Rains fall heavily as Qingming comes, and passersby with lowered spirits go.”
Tomb-Sweeping Day (2)_______ a public holiday on the Chinese mainland since 2008. On this day, families bring flowers, food and wine to their ancestors’ tombs. They put food like cakes and fruits in front of the tombs. After that, they sweep the dirt off the tombs and remember their dead family members.
Why do Chinese people do this? That’s because people think that visiting tombs during Qingming Festival is to show respect to their dead family members.
However, Tomb-Sweeping Day is not only about this. During that time, the weather is getting warmer. So Tomb-Sweeping Day also means finally being able to garden and enjoying outdoor activities in China. Families often get together for outings or to fly kites at this time.
1. When did Tomb-Sweeping Day begin?2. 翻译(1)处画线句。
3. 请在(2)处空格处填入一个适当的词让句意完整。
4. Why do people visit tombs during Qingming Festival?
5. What do your family often do during Qingming Festival besides visiting tombs?
Wukong. Tiangong. Tianwen. Do you know where the names of Chinese space programs come from?
Wukong, the Dark Matter Particle Explorer satellite （暗物质粒子探测卫星）, is named after Chinese superhero Monkey King. According to Journey to the west, Monkey King has a pair of sharp eyes which can tell the difference between good and evil. The Wukong satellite is just as sharp-eyed as Monkey King to help scientists search for dark matter in space.
The name of the space station, Tiangong, means “Heavenly Palace”. In Chinese myths（神话）, this is the home of Tian Di. Now Tiangong Space Station is a home for Chinese astronauts in space. And China welcomes foreign astronauts to Tiangong in order that they can work together.
Tianwen, China’s Mars missions（任务）, gets its name from the poem Tianwen by Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan is a well-known poet from ancient China. In Tiamwen, he had the questions about the sky, stars, nature, myths and the real world, showing his hunger for truth. Perhaps the Tianwen missions will end up answering some of Qu Yuan’s questions.
If you look into more names of Chinese space programs, you will find that they all have beautiful meanings. We, the Chinese people, have a long-cherished （珍藏已久的） space dream. So it is serious to take the naming of Chinese space programs.
| What Beautiful | |
| Wukong | ◆It is named after Chinese superhero Monkey King. ◆The Wukong satellite is just as sharp-eyed as Monkey King to help scientists |
| Tiangong | ◆It means “Heavenly Palace” ◆Tiangong Space Station is a home for Chinese astronauts in space. ◆We hope that astronauts from other |
| Tianwen | ◆It gets its name from the poem Tiamwen by Qu Yuan. ◆Perhaps the Tianwen missions will help to find out the |
| Chinese people have a long-cherished space dream. So the naming of Chinese space programs is taken very | |
3 . Most people drink tea in the world. But tea does not mean the same thing to different people. In different countries, people have different ideas about drinking tea.
In China, for example, tea is often offered when people get together. Chinese people drink it at home or in tea houses at any time of the day. They often use hot water to boil（煮沸）tea leaves.
Tea is also important in other Asian countries. People in these countries have a special way of offering tea. They hold a tea ceremony（仪式）in their houses when important guests come. It is very old and full of meaning. Everything must be done in a special way in the ceremony. There is even a special room for it in their houses.
In the United States,people usually drink tea at breakfast or they drink it after meals. Americans usually use tea bags to make tea. This way is faster and easier than the way of making tea in the teapots. In summer, most Americans drink iced tea. They like to put some ice in their tea.
1. What do Chinese people often use to boil tea leaves?（根据短文内容，简要回答问题）
2. Chinese people drink it at home
（根据短文内容，填入恰当的词）
3. In the United States, people have a special way of offering tea.(判断正误T/F)
4. Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.（请把文中画线句子译成汉语）
5. Give a proper title to the passage.（请给短文拟一个恰当的标题）
Reading books is a good hobby for all kinds of reasons. First, reading books is fun. You can always keep pleased if you like reading. It is a relaxing (放松) hobby too. You can really become lost in a book.
Next, you can read a book anywhere: in a car, in a waiting-room, on a plane, in bed—even in the bath.
All you need is a book! Reading is an easy hobby because you can stop and then start again.
Another good reason for reading books is that it is useful. If you read as a hobby you will get better and better at it. This means that you will read faster and will become better at understanding what you read. As your reading becomes better, you will probably find your schoolwork becomes much easier.
Some people say that reading is out of date. This is not true. You have to be able to read on the Internet.
The better you read, the better your computer skills will be.
Good readers are most likely to be good writers, too. They are usually good at spelling as well, and have more things to write about. Reading books is a wonderful hobby. What else could be more enjoyable!
Reading is good
| Fun | Because reading can make you feel |
| Easy | Because you can read at any |
| Because if you read better, you will do better in understanding. Reading can help you do the homework | |
| Reading on the Internet can make our computer skills become better. | |
| Reading is good for |
5 . After appearing as a special event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, Wushu, widely known as Chinese Kungfu, will make its first appearance as an official（官方的）sport at the 4th Youth Olympic Games in 2022.
It’s a long-awaited breakthrough（期待已久的突破） for IWF（国际武术协会）, which made applications（申请） to IOC（国际奥林匹克委员会） in 2001, 2008 and 2011, but failed. The first two applications were refused at the very beginning. The third application made it to the final voting for taking part in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games but missed out once again.
Over the years, both IWF and CWA（中国武术协会） have done a lot to make improvement with strong support from the State General Administration of Sport of China（中国体育总局）. The Administration not only offers technical （技术的）support, often sending experts or teachers to help their Wushu training camps, but also generously（慷慨）provides a great deal of Wushu equipment（设备）for free.
Every year, many local Wushu groups are sent abroad to put on Wushu shows, trying to improve the influence of Wushu in foreign countries. Through their continuous efforts, Wushu has become widely popular across the world, especially among young Wushu fans. Studies show that, today, about 120 million people are attracted to Wushu around the world.
China successfully included Wushu as an official Olympic sport in January, 2020, which helps to make it more international quickly.
A total of 48 athletes from across the world will compete in four Wushu events: men’s and women’s Changquan and men’s and women’s Taijiquan.
| News: Wushu Is Included in Youth Olympics | |
| News lead | ●Wushu will |
| News body | ●IWF made applications to IOC three times but didn’t ●In order to ●Through continuous efforts like putting on Wushu shows abroad, Wushu has been widely ●48 athletes from across the world will join in the |
Where does your food come from? How is it made? These days, many people worry about food safety. But food safety is not a new worry. In 1906, Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle. The book is the story of a poor family in Chicago. It is also about the dangerous ways that food was prepared. People were so worried that the U.S. started testing food.
These days, most food in the world is safe. The reason is laws control where food comes from. They also control how food is managed and prepared. Laws are important. But it’s more important to make sure the rules are followed. A good food safety system keeps people safe. It also helps them eat healthy food. Labels (标签) on food give people important information. Then they can make good choices about their food.
Although food safety systems usually work, there can be problems. Sometimes mistakes are made. For example, a truck might carry eggs and then ice cream. The ice cream could make people sick when the truck isn’t cleaned before carrying it. Other problems are not mistakes. Sometimes companies break rules to make more money. When this happens, people don’t know if their food is safe.
As we all know, food is closely related to our everyday life. We should take action to make food safer!
Title: Food safety | |
Introduction | ●These days, lots of people ●Upton Sinclair wrote a book about food safety in 1906. |
Measures | ●Nowadays most food is safe ● ●A good food safety system helps keep food safe. ●Labels on food help people choose safe food. |
Problems | ●There can be problems in food safety systems. ●Sometimes mistakes are made. ●When some companies break rules to make more money, people have no idea |
Hope | ●We’d better act to make food much |
Whenever the exam season comes, stress may come along. Here are some ways that have helped me and my friends through this season.
When the stress of exams is really hitting me, I stop and take a walk. I usually borrow my neighbors’ dogs and walk for about fifteen minutes. Many boys would simply choose to run for a while, or play ball games. Having some sports drives away your stress easily most of the time.
And if you find music helpful, give it a go. Listening to your favorite songs will surely make you happy. The best thing about this is that you don’t have to go anywhere.
But if you are a book lover just like me, read a book you like for half an hour. Reading can take you to places you’ve never been to. Putting yourself into a new world helps you forget your stress in this world for a little bit.
For sure, laughing is the best medicine. It can really keep worry off your mind! Very often I call my best friend and we talk about our good time or something funny, and I’m feeling better than before.
Remember many others also face the problems of stress just like you, and it is not something that cannot be dealt with.
| ※Take a walk; ※Run; ※Play ball games. | |
| Listening to music | ※It will make you happy. ※And there is no need for you to go |
| Reading books | ※It can take you to places you’ve never been to. ※It helps you |
| Laughing | ※Nothing is ※Call your best friend and talk about your good time or something funny. |
| Face the problems of stress bravely and you can know how to deal with them . | |
What will the house of the future look like? Could it have gardens on its walls, or a pool with fish for dinner? Architects believe that they are all possibilities. The only thing for sure is that the houses will be as green as possible.
The tree house
Many architects in the world would like to build a “tree house”. Like a leaf, the surface of the house collects sunlight during the day. The energy can be used to heat water, produce electricity, and even create fresh air for the home. The “root” of the house is deep under the ground. It uses the soil (土壤) to control the home’s temperature.
The Lizard house
Like a lizard (蜥蜴), changing colour with the weather is the most important design of a lizard house. When it’s in the bright sun, the cover of the house will turn dark to protect it from strong heat. During dark days, it turns white and takes in as much light and heat as possible to produce energy.
Meals at home
The future of food production (生产) will be one part of the house design. Gardens may appear on the outside walls of the house. People can plant tomatoes, carrots and green tea on them. So every day in the morning, you just need to walk outside and collect your meals.
Learning from the past
Looking to the future isn’t the only way to be green. Sometimes, ancient techniques can also help cut down energy use. For example, a chimney (烟囱) in the future house can be a useful air-conditioner because it is easier for hot air to go out at the chimney.
1. How many kinds of future houses are mentioned in the passage?2. What can we use the energy to do for the tree house?
3. What is the colour of the lizard house on sunny days?
4. Where can people plant tomatoes, carrots or green tea in the future house according to the passage?
5. According to the last paragraph, how can we make future houses green?
9 . Cooking should be considered as art just like any other activity which requires skills and knowledge. It is often said that students are supposed to learn scientific facts as well as how to prepare meals. The following will explain why cooking should be taught in schools.
Cooking is an important skill in life.
Schools are supposed to teach knowledge to the students so that they can lead successful independent lives when they are out of school. Also, they can step into the world knowing how to make a living.
Cooking helps discover future career.
When schools offer cooking lessons, students will show an interest in it and might take cooking as a career. This will give them the chance to perfect their basic skills and be creative in the kitchen.
Cooking avoids wasting money.
One of the main reasons why cooking should be taught in schools is that the students always use a lot of money to buy ready-made food, while in the real sense they could prepare a nice meal with less cost by buying the required ingredients.
Cooking betters math learning.
Schools do not just teach how to prepare delicious meals. Students are also taught to follow the instructions in a standard when mixing ingredients. If it is “add 1/4 spoon of salt”, students should only add that amount. So there is no more or less.
Cooking Should Be Taught in Schools. | ||
| Opinion | Students should learn scientific | |
An important skill in life | ●Students can lead independent lives successfully when at home ●Students can depend on themselves for basic living after graduation. | |
Discovering future career | ●Students might take cooking as a career. ●Students can | |
Avoiding waste money | Students can prepare nice dishes with less money to buy the required ingredients. | |
Bettering math learning | Students are taught to follow the instructions in a | |
10 . Since early 2020, the use of mask (口罩) has increased greatly. Sadly, lots of used masks ended up in our ocean.
Single-used masks are mainly made of plastic. When they enter the ocean as litter, they will take as long as 450 years to break down. Straps (带子) of masks pose an entanglement (缠绕) risk for wildlife. In addition, masks can easily be mistaken for food and eaten by wildlife.
What can be done to help? Since most masks are made of several materials, it’s difficult to recycle them. Therefore, many people are calling for masks made of a single material. Degradable (可降解的) or reusable masks are also good choices. More importantly, the straps of masks should be cut off to prevent entanglement risks for wildlife.
Government policy is also important. Creating an effective disposal (处理) system is as important as letting the public know the importance of proper disposal of used masks. What’s more, it would be helpful to encourage technological development in producing reusable or degradable masks.
1. How long will it take for a single-used mask to break down in the ocean?2. Why might some animals eat masks?
3. What should we do with mask straps?
4. How many suggestions for the government are mentioned?
5. What does the passage mainly talk about?
