1 . Nowadays, more and more Chinese people go abroad to study, and they face many challenges. Because life abroad is so different from China, they need to get used to it.
The first challenge is diet (饮食), because every country eats differently. As for breakfast, most westerners enjoy a simple breakfast as bread, eggs, bacon, orange juice or coffee. However, breakfast in China is usually very delicious, and people in the morning eat more intense flavors, such as porridge, steamed buns and noodles. Many people go out for breakfast on their way to work or school. Street vendors open their doors early and sell food to students passing by or people going to work—often at very low prices.
After that is lunch and dinner. In China, people eat together, so there are many dishes. In a foreign country, each eats his own food. And there are big differences in the cooking process. Westerners usually only cook, fry, roast and roast, while Chinese people use more cooking methods, such as steaming, stewing, frying, stewing and drying. Chinese usually fry food in animal or peanut oil. Westerners use butter, sunflower oil and olive oil. It’s a very big challenge for young people.
This allows people to learn to accept different foods and to get used to them. This allows them not to be picky (挑剔的) about what they eat, but to eat everything. They can also exercise their ability to cook.
In China, students have classes very early every day. Many studies begin at six o’clock. In foreign countries, classes are usually at eight or nine. And school ends at three in the afternoon, so foreign students have more time to do their own thing. They can choose their own interests, such as football, soccer and tennis. They can be very relaxed.
1. What is the difference between Chinese and westerns in eating breakfast?| A．Westerners like making their breakfast simple. |
| B．Chinese people usually have a quicker breakfast. |
| C．Chinese people prefer going out for breakfast. |
| D．Westerners usually have breakfast at home. |
| A．To put their food to good use. | B．To cook their own food. |
| C．To better manage their eating time. | D．To spread Chinese food. |
| A．They have less homework. | B．They have more hobbies. |
| C．They have shorter school time. | D．They have less stress. |
| A．Advice on studying abroad. | B．Different school lives. |
| C．Challenges of studying abroad. | D．Advantages of studying abroad. |
2 . 2024 is the Year of the Dragon. Of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac (生肖), the dragon is the only unreal one. But Chinese people love it so much for thousands of years. And they always say they’re the “descendants (后代) of the dragon”. But how much do you know about the animal? Does it have the same meaning in different cultures?
Both people in the east and west think dragons are like snakes. Now in China, we can still find records of dragons. For example, some ancient jade carvings (古玉雕) look like snakes in a letter “C”. In the west, people see dragons as big snakes in the old book The Penguin Book of Dragons.
However, stories about dragons are very different between the East and West. Dragons in China have a horse—like head, a long body but no wings. People think they are beautiful and smart. And they can also bring good luck. While dragons in the west have shorter bodies and big wings. They often mean bad luck. Some of them can even blow fire from their mouth. For example, the evil witch (邪恶女巫) Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, can turn herself into a big dragon!
East or west, in the world of fantasy (幻想), the dragon will always play an important role!
1. Who are the “descendants of the dragon”?| A．People in China. | B．People in the west. |
| C．People in the east. | D．People all over the world. |
| A．Jade carvings. | B．Big snakes. | C．A letter “C”. | D．The evil witch. |
| A．Dragons and snakes. | B．In the world of fantasy. |
| C．The history of dragons in China. | D．Dragons in the east and west. |
The BBC recently reported a rise in the use of British English in the US. Words like “cheers”, meaning “thank you”, and “mate”, meaning “friend”, are becoming popular. No one knows h
English is the most spoken l
Don’t w
4 . A special concert performed by primary school students from China and the United Kingdom was held in the music hall of China National Traditional Orchestra on Thursday, showing the blend (融合) of Chinese and Western musical traditions.
Over 200 students from Fangcaodi International School’s Century Primary School and students and teachers from its sister school, Richard Alibon Primary School in the UK, attended the concert to exchange their stories and understandings of their cultures.
Music has no boundaries (国界), and cultural differences make the world more colorful, said Wu Jianguo, headmaster of the primary school in Beijing. He also added that these young artists combine folk songs with choirs (合唱队), blending Eastern and Western cultures through their performances.
1. When was the concert held according to the passage?| A．On Monday. | B．On Wednesday. | C．On Thursday. |
| A．relax themselves |
| B．improve their memory |
| C．exchange their stories and understandings of their cultures |
| A．交流 | B．影响 | C．比赛 |
| A．one hundred | B．two hundred | C．one hundred and fifty |
| A．The concert showed the blend of Chinese and Western musical traditions. |
| B．Some students who attended the concert came from Canada. |
| C．Wu Jianguo is a headmaster of the primary school in Beijing. |
5 . In a busy international business (商务) meeting, a group of businessmen from different countries came together to discuss possible working partnership. Among them were Sarah, an American manager, and Li, a Chinese businessman. They had difficulty
As the meeting continued, Li kept quiet all the time, so Sarah thought Li wasn’t interested. Sarah decided to break the ice by offering a strong hand shake to express her
Later, during a conversation, Sarah nodded from time to time to show
As the day went by, misunderstanding continued to
Then another person
In the end, through patience and understanding, Sarah and Li worked out their early problems. They learned to
| A．meeting | B．rejecting | C．holding | D．understanding |
| A．happiness | B．warmth | C．pain | D．permission |
| A．bored | B．uncomfortable | C．joyful | D．peaceful |
| A．agreement | B．attraction | C．warning | D．worry |
| A．pleasantly | B．carelessly | C．seriously | D．specially |
| A．appear | B．begin | C．score | D．match |
| A．practical | B．unseen | C．simple | D．detailed |
| A．paid | B．required | C．advised | D．reminded |
| A．locally | B．mainly | C．correctly | D．roughly |
| A．accept | B．hear | C．describe | D．cross |
6 . Magpies (喜鹊) are everywhere all over the world. They often share the common meaning of luck, no matter which culture they are found in. In the UK, there is a poem about what seeing a different number of magpies means:
One for sadness
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret never to be told
Three and four are usually understood to show the sex (性别) of a soon-to-be-born child. Five and six mean that the person is likely to soon find wealth. Seven means that a secret will successfully be kept away from others forever. They are all positive (积极乐观的), except for seeing just one bird, which means bad luck. However, there is a way out. By saying hello to the bird, you can get good luck back again.
There is a saying in China that “the singing of a magpie foretells (预言) good luck and happiness, while that of a crow bad luck and sadness.” It means that magpies are signs of good luck, while crows are those of bad luck. In the UK, crows are also seen as a bad sign by many people. In TV shows and films, if you see a group of crows crying, that is to introduce an air of bad luck or death.
1. What does two magpies mean?| A．Health. | B．Wealth. | C．Happiness. | D．Sadness. |
| A．All numbers of magpies have positive meanings. |
| B．Some are about the sex of a soon-to-be-born baby. |
| C．Different numbers of magpies have different meanings. |
| D．Saying hello to the bird can help you get back good luck. |
| A．百灵 | B．乌鸦 | C．白鹭 | D．鸽子 |
| A．Zoo | B．History | C．Travel | D．Culture |
7 . Chinese years are named according to the twelve zodiac (生肖) animals. But what do we call this year, the Year of the Dragon or the Year of Long? The Chinese dragon, or Long, is a mythical animal. It’s made up of the parts of nine animals. It’s said that the Chinese dragon can fly and has the magical power to control wind and rain.
Of all the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, Long is one of people’s favorites. That’s because it has many good meanings, such as power and good luck. When people name newborn babies, “龙,” the character for Long, is popular. It is hoped that they will grow up to be as strong and energetic as a dragon.
________ As we see in movies, the Western dragon has the body of a big snake, the huge wings of bats, and strong and sharp claws. It is usually a bad character in stories to be beaten by heroes.
According to written records, Long was first translated as “dragon” in The Travels of Marco Polo in 1299. Since Long is similar to the Western dragon in some ways—both are huge, for example— “dragon” may have been the best word to describe Long at that time. But it’s very different from all the meanings that Long has in Chinese culture. In a way, it can confuse (迷惑) Westerners.
The discussion on whether it’s right to translate Long as “dragon” has been going on for many years. Some think it is unacceptable. Others consider it reasonable to understand the idea of Long by calling it a dragon. China is the home to Long and there aren’t any expressions for Long in Western languages. Therefore, they argue, it’s just a good idea to borrow the word “dragon” to describe it.
In recent years, some people have come up with better ways to translate Long. For example, Loong Air (长龙航空) writes Long as Loong. The word is similar to the pinyin for the character “龙” and is easy for Westerners to pronounce.
No matter which way Long is translated, we must know that the Chinese dragon is a warm and joyful image (形象). It’s very different from the Western dragon. We should always try to explain Long clearly so that Westerners won’t get lost in the translation.
1. Why do many people use the character “龙” in newborn babies’ names?| A．To hope they’ll become lucky. |
| B．To hope they’ll grow up healthily. |
| C．To hope they’ll be people with magical power. |
| D．To hope they’ll be strong and energetic people. |
| A．The dragon often appears in the Western stories. |
| B．In Western world, the dragon is usually considered as a hero. |
| C．The dragon also has many good meanings in the Western world. |
| D．However, the dragon in the Western world is quite different from the Chinese dragon. |
| A．The discussion. | B．To translate Long as “dragon”. |
| C．The idea of Long. | D．To express Long in Western languages. |
| A．What the Chinese dragon should look like. | B．What the Western dragon usually looks like. |
| C．Why Chinese people like the Chinese dragon. | D．How to translate the Chinese dragon into English. |
8 . Why do children like cartoons so much? Maybe that’s because in cartoons, there are many
I have been the Monkey King’s fan
Batman and Spiderman are not only very famous but also very
| A．policemen | B．heroes | C．children |
| A．beat | B．win | C．hurt |
| A．when | B．for | C．since |
| A．None | B．All | C．Both |
| A．far | B．of | C．from |
| A．China | B．Japan | C．America |
| A．old | B．young | C．long |
| A．at | B．on | C．in |
| A．23 | B．43 | C．33 |
| A．newspapers | B．books | C．magazines |
Comparing Different Cultures of Gift-giving
With Children’s Day on its way, it’s time to start thinking about everyone’s favorite topic: gifts! More specifically, the giving of gifts and the culture behind them. Coming from the US, I have found gift-giving to be quite different in China compared with my home country.
Finally, the monetary (金钱的) value of the gift can play a big role in China in ways that are different from the US.
So, the next time you give a gift to somebody, remember that culture and meaning are part of every action we take.
| A．Gift-giving is different in China and the US. |
| B．One example is the timing of when to open a gift. |
| C．An expensive gift in the US is usually greeted with great excitement. |
| D．Another aspect (方面) I found different was the openness and directness of giving money. |
| E．In China, however, it’s more polite to thank the person for the gift but privately open it later. |
I had my first job at the age of thirteen. I was very
Like many
Three years later, my younger brother decided to take a
These kinds of experiences are probably impossible for children in many countries, but in the US they are quite
| A．worried | B．afraid | C．proud | D．lucky |
| A．never | B．ever | C．always | D．sometimes |
| A．noticed | B．believed | C．doubted | D．feared |
| A．American | B．Japanese | C．Chinese | D．British |
| A．flying | B．working | C．studying | D．traveling |
| A．with | B．for | C．under | D．against |
| A．suggestion | B．experience | C．job | D．habit |
| A．so | B．but | C．because | D．while |
| A．promise | B．afford | C．provide | D．serve |
| A．term | B．month | C．year | D．week |
| A．home | B．school | C．city | D．country |
| A．unusual | B．hard | C．strange | D．normal |
| A．difficult | B．special | C．necessary | D．common |
| A．I | B．you | C．they | D．we |
| A．depended on | B．decided on | C．waited for | D．gave up |
