What is fashion all about? Why is it so important in our lives? What does it say about us?
During World War Ⅱ, women in England and America wore simple clothes. This was because many men were away at war. And women had to work at men’s jobs. After work, women wore short, straight skirts because the government needed all the extra material for the war.
Later, women grew tired of wearing long, full dresses, though. Skirts started getting shorter and tighter (紧的) once again. By the 1960s, teenagers, especially in England and America, began wearing mini-skirts. Mini-shirts showed women’s legs above the knees for the first time in history.
By the early 1970s, fashion changed once again, and skirts became longer. Trousers also became very fashionable in the 1970s, and for the first time, women started wearing trousers suits when they went out.
Today many different types of clothes are in fashion for both sexes (性别). In fact, many clothes are suitable for both men and women.
| A．Soon women of all ages wore mini-skirts. |
| B．Many people didn’t like to see women in trousers. |
| C．It made them feel very good to wear such feminine clothes. |
| D．After World War Ⅱ, fashion in these countries changed greatly. |
| E．For most people, the word “fashion” just means clothes. |
On Easter Day 1722, some European explorers found an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. They surprisingly found that there were around 800 big stone statues（石像）called Moai, just like human heads. They weigh up to 270 tons and the tallest one is over 11 meters.
Since their discovery, these stone men have created one of the greatest mysteries of all time. Who built them? Why did they do it?
Some experts say the stone statues were created by people of Peruvian descent（秘鲁人后代）. Others believe that they came from other space. However, the latest information suggests that it is a kind of wasting in human history.
It is said that a small group of Asians lived on Easter Island sometime between 400 and 700 AD. At the top of their civilization（文明）. The Asians began to build the stone men. Why they did this is still unknown, but it is believed that they do this to worship（祭拜）their gods or ancestors.
As the statues grew larger, the people’s lifestyles became more and more wasteful. The forest began to disappear and animals died out. The people had food shortage and they had to eat other humans to live. From then on, the society began to break down and the stone men were finally destroyed by the islanders themselves.
1. Where did European explorers find the big stone statues?2. How high is the tallest Moai?
3. Is it believed by some people that Moai were created by aliens?
4. Why did Asians in the island build Moai?
5. What did the islanders do when they couldn’t get enough food?
3 . Oktoberfest (十月节) is considered as one of the most popular events in Germany, 1. and it is also known as the biggest beer festival in the world. Oktoberfest, which attracts large numbers of visitors world-wide, is celebrated every year in Munich. 2.它在巴伐利亚文化中扮演了重要的角色。
The history of Oktoberfest began on October 12, 1810. It was a celebration of Bavarian (巴伐利亚的) Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese's marriage. They organized a great horse race in the field where Oktoberfest is still being held until this day. 3.这个重大活动如此成功以至于他们决定每年都庆祝它。
Main attractions in the early days of Oktoberfest were large public horse races. 4. It is said that beer wasn't served until 1818. In 1896, the first beer tent was established. The modern Oktoberfest started in the 1950s. By the year 1960, Oktoberfest had become widely known by foreigners as a world-famous beer festival.
Throughout the 200 years of celebration of Oktoberfest, the beer festival has been canceled (取消) 24 times for some reasons. This year, the local government has also called off the festival because of COVID-19. 5. But do not let this disappoint you as you can still enjoy beer with your family at home.
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4 . Before 1800, many people spent one day a week at church. On that day, they rested and prayed. However, many workers played games and had fun on that day. And they felt too t
5 . The History of Tofu
In China |
1.Over 2000years ago, there was an ancient picture which shows a kitchen scene where soya milk and tofu were being made; 2.At about AD 1500,apoem called“Ode to Tofu" was witten by Su Ping. |
In Japan | 1.Duinghe Nara era (奈良时代), Kento broug tofu back to Japan from China; 2. In 1489, the word "tofu" was first written in the actual Japanese characters;, 3.In 1782,a popular cooking book Tofu Hyakuchin was published. |
In Western Countries | 1.In 1603, a Spanish book A Cllecion of Voyages and Travels introduced how tofu was made; 2. In 1704, the book A Cllection of Voyages and Travels was published in English; 3. In 1880, tofu was first produced in France by Pillieux; 4. In 1895, tofu was made in San Francisco, US. |
1. Which of the following was the earliest evidence（证据）of tofu production?
| A．A book. | B．A poem. | C．A picture. |
| A．1489 | B．1500 | C．1603 |
| A．Four | B．Five | C．Six |
6 . Want to say "hello" from Disneyland? Send a postcard! Want to say "hello" from abroad? Send a postcard! Beautiful scenes (风景), wild animals, excellent buildings, silly pictures, wonderful handwriting—you can find them all in one place. Where? On a postcard! Have people always sent postcards? No. Before postcards, people like to send letters in envelopes (信封).
The idea for the first decorated postcard was first patented (取得专利) in 1861. Sending a simple postcard with decorations (装饰) would be a great way to send a note. Then in the early days, postcards with pictures appeared (出现). By law, people had to write their note on the front— on the picture! The back was only for the address. Several years later, England allowed a divided—back postcard. Then people could write their note on the back left side and put the address on the right. During the early 1900s, the golden age of postcards, picture postcards became a craze of the world. Many people love these postcards. For example, in 1908 Americans
alone mailed over 677 million postcards. Today, postcards are the third most popular collection (收藏品) in the world after stamps and coins.
1. When was the idea for the first decorated postcard first patented?
| A．In 1861 | B．In 1908 | C．During the early 1900s |
| A．Under the picture. | B．Beside the picture. | C．On the picture. |
| A．唾弃 | B．热潮 | C．象征 |
| A．Stamps and coins | B．Postcards and coins | C．Stamps and postcards. |
| A．Letters. | B．Postcards. | C．Collections. |
Coffee has been a part of people’s lives for thousands of years, and today it is still a favorite drink of millions of people in the world. Coffee is so popular, but do you know the story of coffee and how it was discovered?
There is an old story that says coffee was discovered in Africa long, long time ago. One day, a farmer was watching his goats, and he saw them eat some small berries(干种子) from a plant.After they ate the berries, the goats became very active. The man often felt tired, so he decided to try the berries too. Surprisingly, he did not feel tired any more. Coffee plants were thus discovered.Then coffee was taken from Africa to Arabia(阿拉伯半岛), and there it was first used as medicine. The Arabs kept coffee a secret for many years. Later, coffee came to Turkey, then Italy, then France. From Europe, the coffee plant was taken to America.People found that plants were grown. On these farms, coffee beans were picked from the plants by hand. Then the beans were dried and prepared for market to sell. Different coffee beans were mixed together to produce different kinds of coffee. Coffee was sent to all over the world, and soon became very popular.
1. Where did coffee come from?
2. What was coffee first used as in Arabia?
3. Why were large coffee farms started in South America?
4. Were coffee beans picked by machine?
5. Where was coffee sent?
8 . Today anyone will accept money in exchange for goods and services. People use money to buy food, furniture, books, bicycles and hundreds of other things they need or want. When they work, they usually get paid in money.
Most of the money today is made of metal or paper.
Shells were not the only things used as money. In China, cloth and knife were used. In the Philippine Islands， rice was used as money for a long time. Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used as money in parts of Africa.
The first metal coins were made in China. They were round and had a square hole in the center.
But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive. Again the Chinese thought of a way to improve money.
Money has had an interesting history from the days of shell money until today.
| A．The first coins in England were made of tin(锡). |
| B．But people used to use all kinds of things as money. |
| C．People strung(串连) them together and carried them from place to place. |
| D．They began to use paper money. |
| E．Today cash is not used in many occasions. |
“I must do something about the noise,” he thought. At last he had an idea. “Ah, I’ll put some cotton in my ears. Then I won’t be able to hear the noise.” The next day he went to the door of his neighbor’s and held the bell again. This time he pulled even harder. The bell rang loudly, but the thief did not hear anything. With another hard pull he got the bell out. Just then the neighbor ran out. “Steal my bell? I’ll teach you a lesson(教训),” the angry man shouted. And he hit the thief on the nose.
The foolish thief did not know how the neighbor found out he was stealing the bell.“Why did he come out just then?”he wondered.
1. The thief was trying to get ___________.
| A．his neighbor | B．his neighbor’s doorbell | C．some cotton |
| A．safe | B．difficult | C．dangerous |
| A．亡羊补牢 | B．智子疑邻 | C．掩耳盗铃 |
The first people who drank tea were the Chinese, because the bush grew wild all over the south of China. The liked the taste, and found the drink could refresh (使精力恢复) them.
People living in Europe first learned about tea growing and drinking from a book printed（印刷） in Italy in 1599. The writer said that tea was a wonderful medicine. Although people in Europe knew about tea in 1599, It was another fifty years before the first tea from China reached Holland(荷兰).
A few years later, tea was brought overland from China to Russia. The long difficult journey was made over mountains and across deserts（沙漠）.
The new drink reached England in 1657. It was sold at one of the coffee houses. Only the very rich people could afford to drink.
1. Who found the tea could refresh people first?
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2. Was tea a kind of medicine according to a book printed in Italy?
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3. When did the people in Europe first know about tea?
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4. Could everyone afford to drink tea when it was sold in England in 1657?
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5. Do you like drinking tea?
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