2 . Tangyuan is a kind of traditional Chinese food, with the taste of home. Mary is learning to make tangyuan for her family. Please help her choose three from the four pictures and match them with the steps below.

    1     Mix water and sticky rice flour to make a dough. Cut the dough into small pieces.

    2     Put fillings into each piece of dough and make them into balls.

    3     Drop these balls into the boiling water, and cook on medium heat for I minute. Add some coldwater slowly and continue cooking for 4～5 minutes.

Don’t forget to turn off the fire!

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B．

C．

D．

4 . There are about 300 Asian (亚洲的) elephants in China now. They’re in great danger, so we should learn more about Asian elephants to protect (保护) them well.

6 . Welcome to Cuttlefish (乌贼) Restaurant. Our opening time is from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. You can enjoy delicious dishes and drink at our restaurant. If you don’t want to eat at the restaurant, you can call us to order food. Our phone number is 023-67564351. Then we will bring the food to you in 30 minutes.

9 .

①Walking in the hutongs of Beijing, you’ll see a yard with the houses and walls on the four sides. It is called “Siheyuan”, a traditional building in China. “Si” means east, west, south and north and “he” shows the traditional values of Chinese families.

②The big gate was painted red, because red is the symbol of luck and happiness. Behind the gate, a large screen wall would stand. In the center of the Siheyuan, the courtyard was planted with trees and flowers, with two stony paths leading to the houses on each side.

③The whole building usually faces south, with a main room on the northern side, an opposite room in the south, and eastern and western wings (厢房) on each side. The old usually live in the main room which has good lighting and temperature all year round, while the young would live in other wings.

④Today, influenced by social changes, most houses have been taken down while the others that remain till these days are mostly improved to make them fit for today’s modern living. This makes Siheyuan a valuable memory of the old Beijing city.

⑤Luckily, architects (建筑师) have been trying to achieve a perfect mix of the modern and the traditional culture. For example, the place where athletes stayed during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing were designed in the shape of Siheyuan.

⑥Siheyuan’s symmetry (对称的) design and shared spaces show the values deep in Chinese people’s hearts, such as belief in balance and the importance of family and respect for older people. No matter how society has changed, Siheyuan is always seen as a symbol of China’s rich culture. When you come to Beijing, do visit a Siheyuan to feel the heart of the Beijing’s culture!

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C．	D．

10 .

While tidying my room, I found an old Hanfu, a gift from a friend. It led me to buy matching shoes and earrings. This reminded me of the “birdcage effect”, a psychological phenomenon (心理现象) when getting one thing makes you want to get more things to go with it.

The story behind the birdcage effect is quite fascinating. One day, the psychologist James made a bet (打赌) with his friend Carlson, saying that Carlson would keep a bird soon. Hearing this, Carlson said “Are you kidding? I have never had this idea.” Later, James gave Carlson a birdcage on his birthday. When friends who visited Carlson’s house saw the cage, they all thought that Carlson had raised birds. Carlson was tired of explaining and finally he bought a bird.

As online shopping is popular today, the birdcage effect is more common especially among students. For example, a friend of mine wanted to buy a good pen to match a nice notebook that her sister had given her. She believed it would make her enjoy reading and note-taking. A

However, she saw it differently. The beautiful notebook led her to get a good pen, buy a book she liked and start note-taking. She regraded it as a wonderful example of using the birdcage effect positively (积极地) to develop positive habits.

After that, I decided to use the birdcage effect positively as well. I bought a nice tablecloth for my desk and a beautiful notebook for my ideas. With everything ready, I found myself writing again.

In life, we will meet many forms of the “birdcage effect”. If it leads to unnecessary spending, it’s negative (消极的). We should stop it in time and keep a balance. But if it’s a positive birdcage effect that encourages us to grow and develop, we should see it a chance to help us achieve our goals. You will find that the “birdcage effect” is not scary at all!