1 . A British friend told me he couldn't understand why Chinese people love eating sunflower seeds (葵花子) as a snack so much. “I’ve met a lot of older Chinese and many have a crack in their front teeth; I believe that's from cracking the seeds,” he said.
I had never noticed the habit, but once he mentioned it, I suddenly became more aware. I realized that whenever I’m watching TV or typing a report, I always start mindlessly cracking sunflower seeds. My friend doesn't like sunflower seeds, and, to him, it seems unnecessary to work so hard just to get one small seed.
When we were young, the whole family would usually get together for Chinese New Year. Then, we all lived close to one another, usually in a small city, and sometimes even neighbors would go doortodoor on Chinese New Year’s Eve to check out what every household was making.
I remember my parents would be in the kitchen cooking. In the living room, a large table would already be laid out, complete with a fancy tablecloth, readymade dumpling fillings, and dishes full of candy, fruits and sunflower seeds.
Some of the dishes were to be offered to our ancestors later, while others were for neighbors and children to eat before the evening feast. I must have learned how to crack sunflower seeds back then.
I don’t think it’s right to criticize one’s choice in food or eating habits, no matter how strange they may seem.
It’s not only in China. When I went abroad, I found people had all sorts of strange habits when it came to food. In Denmark, they put salted red fish on bread and eat it for dinner, no matter how much it ruins their breath. They think it’s a delicacy, and it’s connected with their culture. I think it’s a wonderful tradition.
1. What lesson can we learn from the passage?| A．One kind of food doesn’t necessarily suit everyone. |
| B．Eating habits come from a certain culture. |
| C．It is good to form healthy eating habits. |
| D．Changing your eating habits will change your life. |
| A．She had ever typed a report about seeds. |
| B．She ate various snacks while watching TV. |
| C．She has a habit of cracking sunflower seeds. |
| D．She damaged her teeth by eating sunflower seeds. |
| A．The traditions of celebrating it disappear. |
| B．Children can eat delicious food on that day. |
| C．The families would get together for it. |
| D．Eating sunflower seeds is related to it. |
| A．acceptable | B．critical |
| C．neutral | D．doubtful |
2 . 语法填空
The remains of a gold mask are among the 3,000-year-old artifacts (历史文物) found at Sanxingdui, a 4.6-square-mile area outside Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.
More than 50,000 ancient artifacts
The site has
Along with other Shu archaeological sites,
1. When was the British Library founded?
| A．In 1937. | B．In 1973. | C．In 1965. |
| A．About 14 million. |
| B．About 4 million. |
| C．About 40 million. |
| A．It holds many concerts every year. |
| B．It has a wide collection of stamps. |
| C．It is the oldest library in the world. |
| A．For returning the books. |
| B．For doing more research. |
| C．For security purposes. |
4 . The remains of a gold mask were found at an archaeological site in China's Sichuan province in March 2021. Weighing about 280 grams and estimated to be made from 84% gold, the mask was one of over 500 items unearthed from six newly discovered sacrificial pits（坑）, according to the country's National Cultural Heritage Administration.
The finds were made at Sanxingdui, a 4.6-square-mile area outside the provincial capital of Chengdu. Some experts say the items may shine further light on the ancient Shu state, a kingdom that ruled in the western Sichuan basin until it was conquered in 316 BC.
In addition to the gold mask, archaeologists uncovered golds and artifacts（手工艺品）made from ivory and bone. The six pits, of which the largest has a footprint of 19 square meters, also yielded an as-yet-unopened wooden box.
More than 50,000 ancient artifacts have been found at Sanxingdui since the 1920s, when a local farmer accidentally came upon a number of relics at the site. A major breakthrough occurred in 1986, with the discovery of two pits containing over 1,000 items.
A third pit was then found in late 2019, which led to the discovery of a further five last year. Experts believe the pits were used for sacrificial purposes, explaining why many of the items contained were burned as they were dropped in and buried.
Sanxingdui is believed to have sat at the heart of the Shu state, which historians know relatively little about due to a shortage of written records. The site has revolutionized experts' understanding of how civilization developed in ancient China. In particular, evidence of a unique Shu culture suggests that the kingdom developed independently of neighboring societies in the Yellow River Valley, which was traditionally considered to be the cradle（摇篮）of Chinese civilization.
1. Why are the remains of a gold mask mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To lead in the topic of the text. |
| B．To stress the importance of gold. |
| C．To show the symbolic meaning of gold. |
| D．To praise the skills of ancient Shu state. |
| A．3. | B．8. |
| C．9. | D．14. |
| A．promoted | B．strengthened |
| C．weakened | D．updated |
| A．A Complete Gold Mask Unearthed in Sichuan |
| B．The History of China's Ancient Shu State |
| C．Another Great Discovery in Sanxingdui |
| D．Mystery of Sanxingdui Solved in 2021 |
5 . Halloween is a great time in the lives of both children and adults. However, even the best Halloween can be ruined by trees filled with toilet paper and egg residues(残渣)that won't wash of. How can you keep your home safe on Halloween? There are some measures you can take.
Make it known that you're at home. Pranksters are less likely to play a trick if they know someone is at home. You may want to close the glass on your screen door and open your front door so that you can see everyone moving around outside. This also allows pranksters to see that you're at home.
Turn on the lights inside your home and outside. Having all the lights on lets pranksters know that you're not only at home, but you're awake. If a prankster knows you're awake, he'll be more likely to skip (快速溜走)your house and head for another one. Even if you need to get in bed early, keep all the lights on except in your bedroom. Pranksters aren't going to know which room is your bedroom.
Ask the police to patrol the area. It's a policeman's job to keep citizens safe, especially on Halloween. In some cities the crime rate can increase fast on October 31. A polite call to your local police station should get you the service you need. Above all, no pranksters are going to throw eggs at your house when the policemen are patrolling the area.
Set up a neighborhood watch. One of the best ways to keep your home safe on Halloween is to get the neighbors involved. No one wants his trees covered with toilet paper. Ask your neighbors to keep their eyes open and to follow the same steps you've taken to help keep your home safe. If the entire neighborhood is lit up, pranksters are less likely to stop by.
1. The underlined word “Pranksters” in Paragraph 2 probably means those who____________.| A．like Halloween very much | B．play practical jokes on people |
| C．often commit a crime at night | D．enter one's house by force |
| A．By moving around outside your house. |
| B．By closing your front door. |
| C．By turning on inside and outside lights. |
| D．By keeping your house quiet and dark. |
| A．a policeman's main task is to patrol the area |
| B．the crime rate increases fast in some cities |
| C．you have to pay for a policeman to patrol your area |
| D．the policemen can help a lot with your home safety on Halloween |
| A．neighborhood teamwork | B．keeping homes safe |
| C．being on one's guard | D．informing every one of the danger |
6 . Culture shock isn’t a clinical term or medical conditions. It’s simply a common way to describe the confusing and nervous feelings a person may have after leaving a familiar culture to live in a different culture.
Everyone feels the pressure to fit in at one time or another—whether they’ve lived in the area for days or years. But don’t feel like you need to change everything about yourself so you can stand out less.
Here are a few tips for making sure your new culture doesn’t overpower the old:
Educate people about your culture. Just because you’re the one entering the new culture doesn’t mean you should be the one doing all the learning.
Find a support group. Find kids in your class or neighborhood who recently moved, too. You can share experiences.
Remember, it’s important to be yourself.
| A．Keep in touch with home. |
| B．Understand the new culture. |
| C．But the good news is that culture shock is temporary. |
| D．When you move to a new place, you’re bound to face a lot of changes. |
| E．Try not to force yourself to change too fast or too many things all at once. |
| F．All of your experiences before you came to your new home are part of you. |
| G．Take the opportunity to teach classmates and new friends about your culture. |
7 . Some of the world’s most famous musicians recently gathered in Paris and New Orleans to celebrate the first annual International Jazz Day. UNESCO( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness of jazz music, its significance, and its potential as a unifying(联合) voice across cultures.
Despite the celebrations, though, in the U.S. the jazz audience continues to shrink and grow older, and the music has failed to connect with younger generations.
It’s Jason Moran’s job to help change that. As the Kennedy Center’s artistic adviser for jazz, Moran hopes to widen the audience for jazz, make the music more accessible, and preserve its history and culture.
“Jazz seems like it’s not really a part of the American appetite,” Moran tells National Public Radio’s reporter Neal Conan. “What I’m hoping to accomplish is that my generation and younger start to reconsider and understand that jazz is not black and write anymore. It’s actually color, and it’s actually digital.”
Moran says one of the problems with jazz today is that the entertainment aspect of the music has been lost. “The music can’t be presented today the way it was in 1908 or 1958. It has to continue to move, because the way the world works is not the same,” says Moran.
Last year, Moran worked on a project that arranged Fats Waller’s music for a dance party, “Just to kind of put it back in the mind that Waller is dance music as much as it is concert music,” says Moran. “For me, it’s the recontextualization. In music, where does the emotion(情感) lie? Are we, as humans, gaining any insight(感悟) on how to talk about ourselves and how something as abstract as a Charlie Parker record gets us into a dialogue about our emotions and our thoughts? Sometimes we lose sight that the music has a wider context,” says Moran, “so I want to continue those dialogues. Those are the things I want to foster.”
1. Why did UNESCO set April 30 as International Jazz Day?| A．To remember the birth of jazz. |
| B．To protect cultural diversity. |
| C．To encourage people to study music. |
| D．To recognize the value of jazz. |
| A．Jazz becoming more accessible. |
| B．The production of jazz growing faster. |
| C．Jazz being less popular with the young. |
| D．The jazz audience becoming larger. |
| A．It will disappear gradually. |
| B．It remains black and white. |
| C．It should keep up with the times. |
| D．It changes every 50 years. |
| A．Exploring the Future of Jazz. |
| B．The Rise and Fall of Jazz. |
| C．The Story of a Jazz Musician. |
| D．Celebrating the Jazz Day. |
