1 . Many traditional Chinese festivals remind us of the aromas of special foods. As zongzi are to Dragon Boat Festival and mooncakes are to Mid-Autumn Festival, yuanxiao—sweet dumplings made of sticky rice flour—are special to Lantern Festival.
Lantern Festival falls on the 15th of the first lunar month, marking the end of the Spring Festival celebrations. This year, it falls on March 2.
Apart from the round-shaped yuanxiao, another beloved part of the celebration is the lanterns, which come in almost every possible size and shape. In old times, riddles were pasted onto them so that people could try to solve them while looking at the beauty of the lanterns. However, both tradition and handicraft have become less popular among young people.
Lantern Festival was at its height in the Tang and Song dynasties. It was a day of great fun back then. In the evening, people went into the streets with all kinds of lanterns, watching lion or dragon dances, eating yuanxiao and setting off firecrackers.
The festival also provided a chance for unmarried young girls to go out freely in search of their true love, since they weren’t normally allowed to do so. The famous Song Dynasty poet Ouyang Xiu recorded this romantic tradition with the well-known line: “Atop the willow tree hangs the moon: my date comes in the evening soon.”
1. Besides eating yuanxiao, what other tradition is popular during Lantern Festival?| A．Setting off fireworks. | B．Solving riddles on lanterns. |
| C．Watching movies. | D．Eating mooncakes. |
| A．Tang and Song. | B．Ming and Qing. | C．Qin and Han. | D．Sui and Tang. |
| A．月上柳梢头，人约黄昏后。 | B．床前明月光，疑是地上霜。 |
| C．海上生明月，天涯共此时。 | D．明月几时有，把酒问青天。 |
2 . Lion dancing is very popular among Chinese all over the world. It often happens during the new year days. The lions dance to the beat of a drum. They are not
The lions are part of the
Usually, a lion is made up of two dancers. One dancer controls the head, the other controls the body and
“I think of it
In the past, lion dancing was performed mostly by men.
Betty Chen is 17. She says anyone can
| A．big | B．real | C．smart | D．strong |
| A．story | B．skill | C．tradition | D．history |
| A．way | B．luck | C．time | D．habit |
| A．counted | B．changed | C．collected | D．celebrated |
| A．tail | B．head | C．legs | D．arms |
| A．as | B．by | C．for | D．with |
| A．sings | B．watches | C．acts | D．teaches |
| A．If | B．And | C．But | D．Because |
| A．He | B．It | C．One | D．She |
| A．take off | B．take down | C．take away | D．take up |
3 . Baduanjin Exercise for Children (《少儿八段锦》) is a new book for children to do exercise. It is the very first of its
Baduanjin can date back to the Song Dynasty. It is easy to learn, and doesn’t
To meet the needs and tastes of young learners, the writer of the book have made some
By scanning QR codes (二维码) in the pages, readers can watch videos and
Now the book has been translated into English and Russian. It becomes popular in many countries.
1.| A．kind | B．invention | C．value | D．form |
| A．personal | B．natural | C．traditional | D．national |
| A．cotton | B．wood | C．wool | D．silk |
| A．until | B．while | C．as | D．since |
| A．spend | B．take | C．cost | D．pay |
| A．boring | B．exciting | C．healthy | D．surprising |
| A．cards | B．mistakes | C．changes | D．laws |
| A．busy | B．full | C．filled | D．careful |
| A．local | B．classical | C．musical | D．historical |
| A．remember | B．study | C．instruct | D．follow |
As one of the operas that started in Beijing, Beijing Opera has a history of over 200 years. In the beginning, there was no Beijing Opera. Kun Opera (昆曲) was the most popular, but Emperor Qianlong gradually became bored with this style. Plenty of local operas were brought to Beijing to please the emperor. Then new Beijing Opera formed and became Qianlong’s favorite. Later, it became popular among the public. Beijing Opera gradually became the most influential style of opera in China and was named the “national treasure” of China.
It’s not easy to become a Beijing Opera actor. They have to train from early childhood as they need to master almost all the performing arts, like singing, dancing and acting. Lulu, an 8-year-old girl who was learning the skills in a group, had to get up at 5:00 a. m. in the early morning to practice. The biggest problem Lulu had was learning the way of singing. “In the beginning, my throat was painful because I was using my voice in the wrong way.” she said. Then she asked the teachers for help. With the help of the teachers, she improved a lot.
It’s time to think about Beijing Opera’s development. The young generation (一代) doesn’t grow up in the environment of watching Beijing Opera. Besides, it’s not easy for them to understand the dialogue. Also, the music doesn’t fit young people’s taste. So we still have to rethink the development of its unpopularity among young people so that it can be passed down from generation to generation and become a shining star that never falls through human art history.
1. Before Beijing Opera formed, people liked2. To become a Beijing Opera actor, they have to
3. Lulu’s teachers helped her to
4. Beijing Opera is not
5. If a Beijing Opera actor is invited to your school, what do you want to ask him/her about Beijing Opera? Why?
| A. by B. also C. because D. sky E. growing F. of |
Many popular legends and poems are about the moon. They all show how Chinese people admire the moon.
The most famous legend is about the lady Chang’e. Long ago, people said there were ten suns in the
Another legend tells the story of a woodcutter (伐木工) named Wu Gang. He had to cut down the tree
The moon
6 . In our country, we often see people happily sitting together, eating noodles, cakes when it is one family member’s birthday. This is a typical Chinese birthday. How birthdays are celebrated in other countries? Here are four examples.
Many people regard their birthday as their own special day, but not in Vietnam, where everyone celebrates their birthday on the same day. This day is called TET. It means the start of spring and New Year. Families get together for a large meal and perform lion dances. Parents and relatives give children “Lucky Money” on that day.
In Australia, people sometimes eat “Fairy Bread” instead of birthday cake, which is a kind of buttered bread cut into cute shapes. Many Australian celebrate a birthday with a barbecue (烧烤) in the garden. Being given the key to the house is an important tradition. This takes place when someone turns the age of twenty-one, which means the birthday girl or boy officially become adults.
In Norway, the birthday child dance with a friend in front of their class, while the others sing a happy birthday song. Most birthday parties have chocolate cake with chocolate freezing and fishes of red gelatin (明胶). At birthday parties, guests may go fishing, but not for fish; They play a game known as “fishing for ice cream”.
In Korea, a child’s first “birthday” is called Baekil and celebrated at 100 days. One of the traditional customs is making the birthday baby sit at a table filled with all kinds of objects. The first two objects they pick up predict their future. Money and rice stand for wealth; a pen means intelligence, and so on.
1. Which country is the writer probably from?| A．Vietnam. | B．Norway. |
| C．Korea. | D．China. |
| A．Families get together for a large barbecue. |
| B．Everyone celebrates their birthdays on TET. |
| C．All Vietnamese’ birthdays are on the same day. |
| D．Everyone can get some “Lucky Money” as a gift. |
| A．It is an old tradition in his family. |
| B．He has turned the age of twenty-one. |
| C．He has become the owner of the house. |
| D．It means he’s become an adult from now on. |
①Dance with a friend. ②Pick up his or her favorite objects.
③Go fishing by the lake. ④Share the chocolate cake.
| A．①④ | B．①③④ |
| C．②③ | D．①②③ |
Do you often see someone make coffee art? But do you know people can do the same thing with tea? People make tea art in cups, or dian cha in Chinese. It was a ritual (仪式) during the Song Dynasty.
Chinese tea culture started to become popular during the Tang Dynasty. Different from the way of brewing tea (泡茶) during the Tang Dynasty, in the Song Dynasty the popular way of having tea was through dian cha. It begins like this. First people pour to water over fine powered tea to make a paste (糊状物). Then they pour more hot water slowly. At the same time, people need to whisk (搅动) the tea. This action of pouring hot water is called dian, so it’s called dian cha.
Now many people are interested in this special way of drinking tea. They think dian cha makes drinking tea fun.
1. When was Dian cha a ritual?2. Did Chinese tea become popular during the Tang Dynasty?
3. How did most people drink tea in Tang Dynasty?
4. How many steps are there to make Dian cha?
5. What do you think of Dian cha?
8 . 
In the UK, we’re mad about hats. Just think of the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. There’s nothing he loves more than drinking tea and wearing hats. There’s also the wartime British prime minister, Winston Churchill, who famously wore the homburg hat (霍姆堡毡帽). I have always been a big fan of wearing hats. My favorite is the pork pie hat.
In my country, some hats are popular for everyday wear while others are just for events. At the yearly British horse racing event, women usually wear hats with flowers and bright colors while the men wear bowler hats (圆顶硬呢帽).
Rich men in England have liked to wear bowler hats since Victorian times, said the Britain Magazine. This showed they were rich gentlemen. In the 20th century, the bowler hat was famously worn by the British actor and comedian, Charlie Chaplin.
Another popular British hat is the flat cap (鸭舌帽). The working class wore flat caps because they were light and suitable while doing physical work. By the 19th century, the flat cap had become a symbol of working-class culture. Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, the orphan child, famously wears a flat cap.
While bowler and homburg hats have gone out of fashion except at the fanciest events, the flat cap is still popular today and it’s a hat I often wear. My grandpa and my dad would always wear these caps and I guess I’ve continued the traditional culture.
1. What hat is the author’s favorite?2. Do English people like to wear hats at the yearly British horse racing event?
3. Which British actor wore a bowler hat in the 20th century?
4. Why did working-class people like wearing flat caps?
5. Our country also has its own traditional culture. Please give an example.
9 . 
You may think you cannot live through summer without air conditioners (空调). But in ancient China, hand fans were almost the only help for people to drive the heat away.
Chinese people started to use hand fans over 2,000 years ago. The fans came in different shapes, such as round and square. They were also made from all kinds of materials (材料). Palm leaf (棕榈叶) fans were cheap and easy to make. Feather fans showed the owner’s high status (地位). Sandalwood fans could send out a sweet smell.
Later, hand fans became far more than just something that could cool you down. They developed into artworks, in which tuanshan and zheshan were the most common.
In the shape of a full moon, tuanshan was usually made of silk. They had beautiful embroidery(刺绣) of birds and flowers on them. Women liked to use them very much. Poets in ancient China often compared a woman’s life to tuanshan, Nalan Xingde wrote during the Qing Dynasty, “If only life were as beautiful as when we first met, why should the autumn wind bother to pity deserted painted fans? ”
However, men, especially the literati (文人), used zheshan. The literati liked them because zheshan were usually made of paper and they could paint and write something on them. It was a way for them to show off their talents in literature (文学), painting and calligraphy (书法). In fact, almost anything can be painted on zheshan.
Today, Chinese people still use these fans. So the next time you use a fan, you may think of the stories behind it.
1. When did Chinese people begin to use hand fans?| A．Over 2000 years ago. |
| B．During the Qing Dynasty. |
| C．During the Tang Dynasty. |
| A．裁作合欢扇，团圆似明月 |
| B．银烛秋光冷画屏，轻罗小扇扑流萤 |
| C．人生若只如初见，何事秋风悲画扇 |
| A．tuanshan was important to women |
| B．tuanshan was usually made of silk |
| C．tuanshan was popular among the literati |
a. Zheshan were made only for the literati. b. Most zheshan were made of paper.
c. People could write and paint on them. d. The literati could paint nothing on them.
| A．ab | B．cd | C．bc |
| A．Hand fans can help people to drive the heat away. |
| B．All the hand fans were cheap and easy to make. |
| C．Hand fans were seen as a symbol of rich people. |
Many foreigners move to China because of a strong interest in its culture. One man has turned his interest
In 1988, Lao Pan first came to China and worked as a teacher at
Lao Pan’s new book
