1 . Cultural differences do exist, and we can really use them to tighten our relationship as human beings. Because there is strength in diversity. So, we are going to expose some interesting cultural differences around the world in this article. Read some interesting cultures around the world to help you travel out of your homeland!
In Greece spitting (吐痰) at weddings is believed to drive away devil (恶魔). Funny as it sounds, this cultural tradition is an important practice. To make it even more shocking, this spitting is focused on the bride. It is seen as good luck to bless the couple. However, Things have been changed in some parts of Greece these days. Wedding guests just face the bride and make sounds and impressions that show they are spitting on her—without actually spitting.
Everybody knows the Thai people are so friendly, but their culture demands that you never point your feet at anyone of any statue, especially that of the Buddha. In addition, they also consider the head to be more important than other parts of the body. This is why it is disrespectful to touch another person’s head in Thailand. Statues are not left out. If you see the Buddha statue, avoid touching its head as well.
Russians are very hospitable (好客的) people. In their culture food is serious business. Lunch is the most important and heaviest meal. If you get invited by your Russian friend for a meal, don’t ever refuse it-they find it impolite. You might want to skip your own meals to leave space in your stomach for the food you will eat in Russian gatherings. This is very interesting cultural difference between Russian people and other nations.
Since there is limited knowledge about cultures outside your own, you won’t be able to really flow with a foreigner. Now, you know some about the cultural differences around the world, so we hope it will make your life easier.
1. Why do Greek spit at wedding?| A．To add fun to the wedding. | B．To send wishes to the couple. |
| C．To celebrate the new wedding. | D．To drive away bad luck and bless the couple. |
| A．Eating too much food for a meal. | B．Touching your head in your home. |
| C．Pointing your feet before the Buddha. | D．Spiting in your best friend's wedding. |
| A．We should accept their meals in Russia. |
| B．We need to eat as little as we can in Russia. |
| C．We can refuse the food Russian people give. |
| D．We should not arrive late for a meal in Russia. |
| A．Beautiful tourist attractions in the world |
| B．The most delicious food in different countries |
| C．Interesting wedding traditions in Asian nations |
| D．Surprising cultural differences around the world |
2 . Exercising regularly not only helps you keep slim, but also improves your overall health and well-being. Different exercises produce different results, as they focus on alternate parts of the body. There are four broad exercise categories: endurance, strength, flexibility, and balance. Many people often only focus on one exercise type, but including all four in your workout will produce better results and reduce your risk of injury.
Endurance
Endurance exercises increase your breathing and heart rate. By doing endurance exercises, you are working to keep your heart, lungs, and blood-flow system healthy while improving your total fitness. Over time these activities will make everyday activities seem easier.
Strength
If you want to build up your muscles, then strength exercises, which are also known as “resistance training”, are right for you. Even the slightest increase in strength can make a huge difference in your ability to carry out daily tasks. Developing strong muscles also reduce your risk of weak bones.
Flexibility
Flexibility exercises help stretch your body’s muscles. This allows for more freedom of movement for other exercises and can also improve your range of motion, posture, ability to breathe deeply, and blood flow. Also, it reduces the muscle tension caused by stress.
Balance
Balance exercises help prevent falls and are especially important to older adults, helping them stay independent. Most good balance exercises are ones that keep you constantly moving with your feet on the ground. Heel-to-toe walking and standing on one foot are simple ways to improve balance.
1. How can a person benefit most from their exercise routine?| A．By combining different exercise types together. |
| B．By having enough rest between their workouts. |
| C．By concentrating on one training aspect at a time. |
| D．By increasing the frequency of their training gradually. |
| A．Strength and Balance. | B．Flexibility and Balance. |
| C．Endurance and Strength. | D．Endurance and Flexibility. |
| A．Arms. | B．Legs. | C．Waist. | D．Neck. |
3 . Cimabue, the greatest painter of the Middle Ages in Italy, was surprised one day after his lunch break to discover that a fly had seated itself under the nose of a character that he had been working on. He swatted the fly, but it didn’t move. He reached out to touch the insect, only to find it was only wet paint. Turning around, he saw that his apprentice (学徒), Giotto, was laughing. Giotto had painted the fly when Cimabue was away, and it looked so real that Cimabue had been completely fooled.
Giotto di Bondone was born into a poor family in a village. Legend has it that one day, when Cimabue was wandering around the countryside, he spotted a young shepherd boy drawing pictures of his sheep, which were so vivid that Cimabue immediately asked him to come to Florence and learn how to paint. That was how Giotto’s story began in Florence, where the young student grew under Cimabue’s instruction and soon surpassed his master in skill.
At that time, people in paintings didn’t look real, and the symbolism of art was difficult for viewers to connect with. Innovation was not stressed, so art had remained the same for hundreds of years.
However, Giotto thought art should be something more, connected with people in a more realistic way. His masterpieces included the forty major frescoes for the Arena Chapel. Adopting many techniques that were uncommon then, he painted people the way he saw them, instead of the overly tall and beautiful people that other artists painted. He created three-dimensional space by using perspective, something that had not been done since Roman times.
In addition to painting, Giotto wrote poetry and drew architectural plans. When Giotto was in his sixties, he painted the Ognissanti Madonna, another famous work of art. He continued working until the age of seventy. The ideas Giotto brought to painting throughout his life revolutionized the art world and made him one of the greatest painters ever.
1. Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph One?| A．There was a fly landing on the painting. | B．The fly was covered with wet paint. |
| C．It was Cimabue who painted the fly. | D．Cimabue was tricked into believing the fly was real. |
| A．He was born into a poor family in the city of Florence. |
| B．All the people he painted were tall and beautiful. |
| C．Besides painting, he was also involved in other fields. |
| D．He continued working until the age of sixty. |
| A．Vivid colors. | B．Classic skills. |
| C．Decorative styles. | D．Lifelike characters. |
| A．A brief introduction to the great painter Giotto. |
| B．The development of art since the Middle Ages. |
| C．The influence Cimabue had on Giotto. |
| D．The innovation Giotto brought to the art world. |
4 . Do you know there are apps that make it easy to help others, our planet, and ourselves, so we lead more giving and meaningful lives? Check out four of the best ones and spring into action!
Be My Eyes
This app connects visually impaired people in need of some help with sighted people with a few minutes of spare time to offer through video calls. The help needed may be something like finding a missing object in the home. This app is available in over 150 countries and in more than 150 languages. Volunteers register and detail which languages they speak. When someone needs help,a message reminder appears on their device.
Zooniverse
Want to help with cutting edge global research? Zooniverse is an app with millions of registered volunteers that lets you become a citizen researcher! Help professional scientific researchers through your mobile device or the companion website. Global volunteers taking part in this exciting crowd sourcing project typically don5t have a scientific background but their contribution is highly valued.
My Selfless Act
This is a social networking site and app promoting the idea of giving back to the community through volunteering. It offers information on local volunteering opportunities globally and encourages the sharing of ideas and activities.
Aloe Bud
Created by someone who struggles with his mental illness, routine and remembering daily self-care, Aloe Bud is a welcoming and simple “self-care pocket companion” app. It gently reminds users about self-care activities in physical, mental and emotional needs. These reminders relate to anything from drinking enough water to taking screen breaks to maintaining connections.
1. What is Zooniverse intended to do?| A．Help with disabled people. | B．Provide access to research. |
| C．Share community resources. | D．Organize self-care activities. |
| A．Personal well-being. | B．Community service. |
| C．Professional development. | D．Volunteering information. |
| A．Aloe Bud. | B．Zooniverse. | C．Be My Eyes. | D．My Selfless Act. |
5 . I’ve long believed that positive living isn’t about being optimistic every minute of every day. That kind of permanently happy state can’t be the goal, because it’s impossible to achieve.
It turns out that psychological research finds true happiness comes from authentic positivity, and authentic positivity comes from emotional flexibility.
Being flexible emotionally means being open to the full range of emotional experiences, including the challenging ones like anger, disappointment and sadness. Emotional flexibility means being able to shift behaviors and mindsets to meet different situational needs, and adapting when circumstances change.
However, emotionally flexible people are not chameleons whose outlook changes based on which way the wind is blowing. Instead, emotional flexibility is a skill that helps people judge the complexities of daily life, and stick to their deeply held values.
I’ve learned a new word that I’d like to share with you: Eudaimonia. Eudaimonia is the opposite of hedonism, the idea that happiness comes from the constant pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain. Eudaimonia, by contrast, encourages us to pursue meaning and authenticity, growth and honest joy. Both are philosophical approaches to happiness, and recent psychological thought is leaning toward eudaimonia as a more sustainable, satisfying model.
Eudaimonia was first mentioned by Aristotle, who got the term from the Greek word “daimon,” which means “true nature.” To me, walking a positive path means accepting that we each have positive true nature and permanent goodness. What we learn from the concept of eudaimonia is that we are best equipped to realize this nature when we are emotionally honest and flexible.
1. What is the author’s belief?| A．People can’t always be happy. | B．People should live alone. |
| C．People should pursue true achievements. | D．People can’t always achieve their goals. |
| A．Their different needs. | B．Their strongly believed values. |
| C．The pursuit of hedonism. | D．Permanent happiness. |
| A．By keeping realistically optimistic. | B．By pursuing pleasure constantly. |
| C．By being honest to others. | D．By changing true nature. |
| A．What’s the difference between eudaimonia and hedonism? |
| B．Why can’t people be happy all the time? |
| C．What is the importance of eudaimonia? |
| D．What should we do to stay positive? |
6 . Local officials in Beijing promised to further protect the city’s cultural heritage (遗产), in particular the narrow streets known as hutongs.
Hutongs are commonly found in the cities of North China, but they are at risk. Beijing is currently believed to have fewer than 1,000 hutongs, most of which are near the Imperial Palaces. Only 60 years ago, the number was 3,250. In the old districts of Dongcheng and Xicheng, which cover 62 square kilometers, some people will be asked to move from hutong houses to avoid further damage to the ancient architecture.
“On average more than 100,000 people visit the Imperial Palaces during the National Day holidays. The visitors put pressure on the protection of cultural relics,” said Huang Yan, director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning, adding that hutongs should be protected from human damage.
The government focused on how the protection plans were carried out and how the management of cultural heritages worked. Wang Shaofeng, head of the Xicheng district government, said the area has 182 cultural relics, many of which were built as far back as the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The district of Xicheng has 1.28 million residents in its 57 square kilometers of land. “The most efficient way is to decrease the local population to reduce the possibility of causing harm to the heritage,” Wang said
“Each community has been required to report the status of its cultural heritage, especially hutongs, and any actions to damage the heritage will be punished,” Wang said.
No one knows for sure how many hutongs will be left in the coming 100 years.
1. How many hutongs have disappeared in the past sixty years in Beijing?| A．Less than 1.000. | B．About 2.000. |
| C．More than 3.000. | D．Over 4.000. |
| A．Visitors’ activity. | B．Residents’ attitude. |
| C．Communities’ behaviour. | D．The government’s policy. |
| A．To attract more visitors. |
| B．To punish anyone damaging them. |
| C．To increase the local population. |
| D．To forbid everyone getting close to them. |
| A．Only time will tell. |
| B．No one will remember them. |
| C．The number will be growing. |
| D．Hutongs will disappear completely. |
7 . Food has always been one of the greatest wants of humankind. The search for food is the
Though processed foods seem like a great way to save
Besides，since people spend little time preparing food，the culture of cooking is slowly
In a word，I believe though processed food has made the preparation of food much easier，it has not been a good step for humankind.
1.| A．special | B．basic | C．right | D．valuable |
| A．though | B．before | C．if | D．unless |
| A．So | B．And | C．But | D．Or |
| A．easiness | B．safety | C．method | D．difficulty |
| A．energy | B．food | C．money | D．time |
| A．choose | B．dislike | C．refuse | D．stop |
| A．change | B．happen | C．get | D．offer |
| A．harmful | B．useless | C．meaningful | D．necessary |
| A．cold | B．sweet | C．unhealthy | D．hot |
| A．varying | B．dying | C．appearing | D．developing |
| A．important | B．famous | C．simple | D．new |
| A．regular | B．ordinary | C．different | D．similar |
| A．knowledge | B．lessons | C．interests | D．skills |
| A．delicious | B．clean | C．expensive | D．cheap |
| A．success | B．work | C．progress | D．fun |
8 . We have the most friends at the age of 26 after having spent the first quarter of our lives building up our friendship circle, a new research has claimed.
The research into friendship shows that our social circle peaks at 26 years and 7 months, at which we typically have five close friends. Women are the most popular at 25 years and 10 months, with men hitting the highest friendship point a little later at 27 years and 3 months.
The research, by Forever Friends, shows that about a third of adults meet their closest friends while at school, with about a fifth saying they meet them at work.
Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter now also play a major role in building new friendship. The research points out that 25 to 34-year-olds make 22 friends via Facebook, compared to 18 to 24-year-olds who make 12, and 35 to 44-year-olds who make just four.
Forever Friends’ relationship coach Sam Owen says, “It is no coincidence that over a third of us meet our best friends at school. It is a key time in our lives when friendship is growing through sharing notes, giving gifts, seeing each other regularly and laughing a lot. As adults we can often forget how powerful these small things are and how the little things can make a difference. ”
Later in life we find ourselves losing friends. Over half of us lose friendship through moving, while 36% say that over time they grow apart from close pals. Having children also causes 19% to drift away from childhood friends.
With growing pressures being put on friendship these days, it’s important to make time for our friendship.
1. How many friends can a 20-year-old college student make via Facebook?| A．4. | B．18. |
| C．12. | D．22. |
| A．how important making friends is |
| B．that friendship is not easy to keep |
| C．how much has been done to keep friendship |
| D．that friendship at school is important |
| A．make sense of | B．lose contact with |
| C．feel sorry for | D．make up with |
| A．a brochure | B．an advertisement |
| C．a textbook | D．a newspaper |
9 . I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt's house，and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was
I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact，I think I cried very little when I was
The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism，but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really
My responsibilities in the family
From my experiences I have learned one important
| A．crying | B．shouting | C．singing | D．flying |
| A．keep | B．consider | C．bear | D．take |
| A．saying hello | B．kissing goodbye | C．seeing off | D．saying goodbye |
| A．terrible | B．magical | C．difficult | D．surprising |
| A．city | B．town | C．country | D．village |
| A．lost | B．occupied | C．engaged | D．thought |
| A．replaced | B．recovered | C．reorganized | D．remarried |
| A．before | B．after | C．since | D．until |
| A．happy | B．calm | C．sad | D．nervous |
| A．decreased | B．increased | C．added | D．rose |
| A．dialogue | B．conversation | C．talk | D．interviews |
| A．company | B．office | C．government | D．school |
| A．principle | B．custom | C．rule | D．law |
| A．firstly | B．unexpectedly | C．slowly | D．eventually |
| A．wear out | B．turn out | C．tire out | D．find out |
10 . The 2020 Advertisement Design Competition
The Advertisement Design Competition is international design contest organized by the A’ Design Award and Competition, which is the word's largest design competition awarding best designs, design concepts and products & services. This Competition primarily targets to highlight the best advertisement design ideas in Graphics Design. Award Winners usually get recognition opportunities, appear on various publications and get press attendance.
How to join
Joining the Advertisement Deign Competition is easy: Crete an account at the A’ Design Award and Competition, login to your account and send your work. When you submit your work,it will be checked by the preliminary judges for necessary qualities. Then, your design will be either Approved or Rejected to take part in the competition. If your design is approved you can continue recommending your design by paying the necessary processing fees.
Benefits for Award Winners
A unique public relations campaign will be made for the Advertisement Design Award winners. Your work and your details will be communicated to thousands of press contacts, and also we will prepare a media kit for you. You can use this professionally prepared media kit to contact local press contacts. The winning design and the designer or the design studio will also be featured in the design annual and yearbook which distributed by Design PR Wire to key figures in the design industry such as famous editors, press members and multi-national companies. All Winner Designs will be included in the winners’ book free of charge. The winners will be listed as co-editors of the work.
Submit your design by 25 November 2020. You will be informed of the outcome by 25 December 2020.
1. What's the main purpose of the Advertisement Design Competition?| A．To collect ad designs for a book. |
| B．To draw special attention to ad design concepts |
| C．To make ad design international. |
| D．To promote ad design in popular media |
| A．Submit your wort | B．Pay necessary fee. |
| C．Register an account. | D．Recommend your design. |
| A．Chances to get noted. | B．Access to Design PR Wire. |
| C．Positions as editors. | D．Contact with other competitions. |
