1 . More than 10 million Chinese cultural relics have been lost overseas, most of which were stolen and illegally shipped out (运出) of China during the times of war before 1949. About 1.67 million pieces are housed in more than 200 museums in 47 countries, which accounts for 10 percent of all lost Chinese cultural relics, and the rest are in the hands of private collectors.

Most of these treasures are owned by museums or private collectors in the United States, Europe, Japan and Southeast Asian countries. There are more than 23, 000 pieces in the British Museum, most of which were stolen or bought for pennies more than 100 years ago.

The major method to recover these national treasures was to buy them back. In some cases, private collectors donated the relics to the government. Also the government can turn to official channels (渠道) to demand the return of relics.

In 2003, a priceless (无价的) Bronze Pig’s Head (青铜猪头) dating from the Qing Dynasty (清朝) was returned to its home in Beijing after it was removed by the Anglo-French Allied Army over 140 years ago. Macao entrepreneur (企业家) Stanley Ho (何鸿燊) donated 6 million yuan to buy it back from a US art collector and then donated it to the Poly Art Museum in Beijing.

Although buying-back is the most possible way to recover the lost treasures, limited funding is always a big headache.

In recent years, the Chinese government has improved efforts to recover the precious cultural relics lost overseas. It has started a national project on the recovery of the treasures and has set up a database (数据库) collecting relevant information. It has signed several international agreements with many countries on this matter, and is also looking for international cooperation to recover the relics by working closely with several international organizations.

1. What can be inferred from paragraph 1?

A．We need to forcefully demand the return of lost cultural relics.

B．Private collectors made a fortune by selling cultural relics.

C．The war caused a serious loss of Chinese cultural relics.

D．Countries of the world prefer Chinese cultural relics.

2. How the Bronze Pig’s Head returned to the motherland?

A．Purchase through our government.	B．Donate through Stanley Ho.
C．Return through foreign governments.	D．Recover through scientists.

3. What efforts have the Chinese government made to recover lost cultural relics?
①Set up a national project to recover. ②Found a database to collect information.
③Sign several international agreements. ④Establish several international organizations.

A．①②③	B．①②④
C．②③④	D．①②③④

4. Which will be talked about in the following paragraph?

A．The cultural relics to be brought back to China.

B．Some funds raised by the Chinese government.

C．The problems challenging the Chinese government.

D．Some examples of international cooperation.

5 . 阅读短文，在空白处填入适当的内容或括号内单词的正确形式。

The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, usually in February or early March in the solar calendar.    1     (date) back to the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-8 AD), it    2    (become) a grand festival with great significance. Till today, the festival is still held each year around the country.

In the daytime of the festival,     3    (performance) such as dragon dances, lion dances, land boat dances and beating drums while dancing are staged . At night, lanterns of different colors and shapes are lit up in the streets,     4     (attract)   crowds of people. Children will hold self-made or bought lanterns to walk on the streets,     5    (extreme) excited. People also like solving lantern riddles that day. Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns. If visitors have solutions    6     the riddles, they can pull the paper out and go to the owners to check their answers. If they’re right, they will get    7     small gift as a reward. Besides, the festival is a day    8     (appreciate) the full moon and eat yuanxiao.

Some aspects of the festival are fading nowadays,     9     people still see the Lantern Festival as a chance to spend with family and wish for    10    (happy).

6 . 阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

On Thursday morning, Jason Sean joined a long line of people     1     (eager) waiting to buy a commemorative Year of the Dragon stamp     2     (issue) by the US Postal Service. He was among the     3     (participant) who waited at the International District/Chinatown Community Center in Seattle, Washington, for the first day of the issue ceremony for the stamp. Sean said     4     (purchase) stamps to celebrate the Lunar New Year is a tradition in his family.

For many Asian Americans, the Lunar New Year offers the chance     5     (leave) behind the troubles of the past year and invite prosperity and good luck moving forward. This Year of the Dragon stamp ceremony     6     (recognize) the importance of the diversity and cultural significance Asian Americans bring to the United States and provides Seattle with     7     opportunity to promote the significance of the Lunar New Year.

    8     more than three decades, the Postal Service has issued stamps highlighting the Lunar New Year, and it has been some of the most successful stamp releases in the long history of the Postal Service,     9     has various workplaces in the United States, and its customer base is as     10     (diversity) as the country itself. This stamp is a great example that reflects the nation’s rich, multicultural heritage and traditions.

7 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

In the 1950s, the Egyptian government wanted     1     (build) a new dam across the Nile,     2     led to protests. Faced with the big challenge, the government had to turn     3     the United Nations for help.

A committee     4     (establish) to prevent the loss of cultural relics. They asked for contributions from different    5     (department) and raised funds within the international community. After investigating the issue and     6     (conduct) several tests, they made a proposal that temples and other cultural sites     7     (take) down piece by piece, and then moved and put back together in a place where they were safe from the water.

Over the next 20 years, thousands of engineers and workers rescued 22 temples and countless     8     (culture) relics and fifty countries donated nearly $80 million to the project. The project was     9     great success, and proved that big challenges can sometimes lead to great solutions. The countries learnt that     10     was possible for them to work together to build a better tomorrow.

8 . I hesitated when my friend suggested that we join the school’s new Tai Chi club. I used to think that tai chi was for the elderly. However, the first class changed my previous understanding of tai chi. A year later, I can say that tai chi has had a huge impact on me.

The first few tai chi classes were fun and easy, and the moves with descriptive names really caught my imagination, like “white crane spreading its wings” and “golden rooster standing on one leg.” When I asked my coach where these interesting names came from, he told me about the history of tai chi. Zhang Sanfeng, a 13th-century Taoist, was said to have invented tai chi after drawing inspiration from a fight between a snake and a bird. However, nowadays people tend to believe that Chen Wangting, a 17th-century master of Chinese martial arts, developed tai chi based on martial arts skills.

After the first few basic tai chi lessons, I found myself bored and aching from doing the same slow moves over and over again. Fortunately, my coach taught me how to relax my muscles and focus on peace of mind during ever, day practice. With these requirements of tai chi in mind, I found to my satisfaction that my balance and flexibility slowly improved, that I was able to do more difficult moves, and that my love for tai chi returned stronger than ever.

Meanwhile, I started to explore the ancient Chinese culture behind tai chi. I discovered that tai chi is deeply rooted in the Chinese philosophy of yin and yang, which are believed to form the the unity of opposite. Neither can exist independent of the other. The practice of tai chi aims to keep the balance of yin and yang in the body through opposite movements: forwards and backwards, up and down, left and right, breathing in and breathing out. Ultimately, tai chi brings about a state of physical balance and mental peace.

The experience of a year of tai chi has affected my everyday life positively. I sleep more soundly at night, and feel more energetic during the day. I feel happier and more confident. Tai chi has taught me to relax my mind, enabling me to stay calm in stressful situations. I am sure I will continue to practise tai chi and enjoy the benefits it has brought me.

1. Why did the author join the Tai Chi Club?

A．Because of his friend’s advice.	B．Because of his interest in it.
C．Because of the school’s request.	D．Because of his parents’ suggestion.

2. Which of the following words can describe the moves of tai chi?

A．Quick and beautiful.	B．Quick and free.
C．Slow and beautiful.	D．Slow and boring.

3. What is the Chinese culture behind tai chi?

A．Tai chi is influenced by Laozi’s philosophy of water.

B．Tai chi can have a positive effect in people’s lives.

C．You can find the origin of tai chi in the Chinese philosophy of yin and yang.

D．Tai chi can make people feel energetic and confident.

4. What does the underlined word mean?

A．Finally

B．Sometimes

C．Firstly

D．Constantly

9 . FROM PROBLEMS TO SOLUTIONS

Economic development is necessary if we want to improve society. There comes a time when the old must give way to the new, and it is not possible to preserve everything from our past as we move towards the future. Finding and keeping the right balance between progress and the protection of cultural sites can be a big challenge.

Big challenges, however, can sometimes lead to great solutions. In the 1950s, the Egyptian government wanted to build a new dam across the Nile in order to control floods, produce electricity, and supply water to more farmers in the area. But the proposal led to protests. Water from the dam would likely damage a number of temples and destroy cultural relics that were an important part of Egypt’s cultural heritage. After listening to the scientists who had studied the problem, and citizens who lived near the dam, the government turned to the United Nations for help in 1959.

A committee was established to limit damage to the Egyptian buildings and prevent the loss of cultural relics. The group asked for contributions from different departments and raised funds within the international community. Experts investigated the issue, conducted several tests, and then made a proposal for how the buildings could be saved. Finally, a document was signed, and the work began in 1960.

The project brought together governments and environmentalists from around the world. Temples and other cultural sites were taken down piece by piece, and then moved and put back together again in a place where they were safe from the water.In 1961, German engineers moved the first temple. Over the next 20 years, thousands of engineers and workers rescued 22 temples and countless cultural relics. Fifty countries donated nearly $80 million to the project.

When the project ended in 1980, it was considered a great success. Not only had the countries found a path to the future that did not run over the relics of the past, but they had also learnt that it was possible for countries to work together to build a better tomorrow.

The spirit of the Aswan Dam project is still alive today. Perhaps the best example is shown by UNESCO, which runs a programme that prevents world cultural heritage sites around the world from disappearing. If a problem seems too difficult for a single nation, the global community can sometimes provide a solution.

1. In which year is the first temple moved?

A．1959.

B．1961.

C．1960.

D．1980

2. Why did the Egyptian government want to attempt the building of the dam?

A．Because they wanted to control floods and help economic development.

B．Because they thought it not necessary to preserve everything from the past.

C．Because the project could bring together governments and environmentalists from around the world.

D．Because they could get help from the global community.

3. How were the temples and other cultural sites saved?

A．They were rebuilt in other higher places.

B．They were moved to places with no water.

C．They were preserved in museums.

D．They were taken down piece by piece and moved to other places where they would be safe from the water.

4. How long did it take to complete the project?

A．2 years.

B．19 years.

C．20 years.

D．21 years.

10 . 语法填空

The famous Peking opera artist Yuan Huiqin hosted two culture talks     1    were called “Charm (魅力) of Peking Opera” in Stockholm and St. Petersburg last year.

The two sessions, as programs of Chinese Culture Talk,    2    (organize) by the Bureau for External Cultural Relations of the Ministry of Culture of China, Chinese embassies and local cultural organizations.    3    (member) of Chinese embassies, famous sinologists (汉学家) and those     4    (show) an interest in Peking opera, attended the two culture talks.

The host, Yuan Huiqin, is a national class ­A artist of China National Peking Opera Company and a winner of the Plum Blossom Prize. During the talks, she     5    (patient) shared the charm of Peking opera in more than one way.

With the help of the local sinologists,    6    (she) talks were translated into Swedish and Russian. These words explored the concepts and artistic characteristics of     7    (tradition) Chinese operas, which got audience     8    (experience) the distinct charm of Peking opera.

    9    addition, young artists from the China National Peking Opera Company performed classic opera selections. During the interaction of the talks, some opera lovers performed with young artists and on    10    spot the audience tried costumes (戏装) of Peking opera with great curiosity.