1 . I was born and raised in England in a culture where privacy and “keeping yourself to yourself” were valued traditions. Speaking to strangers was not encouraged. People were most hospitable and friendly.

However, I have been lucky enough to spend some time in both Italy and the US, where I found traditions of hospitality and politeness to be very different.

I experienced Italian hospitality firsthand. On a crowded railway carriage travelling, one afternoon, from Genoa to Florence, sinking gratefully into an empty seat, I was scolded in rapid Italian by a gentleman who was returning to this seat ---- it had not been “spare” after all. I apologized in English, and got up to allow him back into the seat. The gentleman obviously had no understanding of the English language, but he, too, realized my genuine (真诚的) mistake. He smiled and gestured for me to remain in the seat, and he himself remained standing in the corridor for the remainder of the journey. The other occupants of the carriage smiled and nodded at me and made me feel quite welcome amongst them. I feel that if this had been in England, a foreigner who made a mistake would not always be so kindly treated.

Transport also featured in the differences I noticed between English and American culture. I flew to New York on a plane with mainly English passengers. We sat together in near silence. Nobody spoke to me nor, as I expected, to anyone else they did not know. They felt it was not polite to interrupt someone else’s privacy. However, when I travelled across the United States, whether by plane or bus, I was never short of conversation. Conversation was going on all around me and whoever sat next to me was happy to introduce themselves and ask me about myself. They obviously felt it would have been rude not to speak to another person, whether they were strangers or not.

1. What do we know about the occupants when the author was travelling in Italy?

A．They were all on the side of the gentleman.

B．They all laughed at the author for his mistake.

C．They would not bear a mistake like the author’s in public

D．They all showed their understanding of the author’s mistake.

2. How does the author finally believe the Italian people are?

A．Cold.

B．Rude

C．Helpful.

D．Hospitable.

3. Why did English passengers sit in near silence according to the last paragraph?

A．They were too tired to speak to anyone.

B．They were all strangers to each other.

C．Privacy was a valued tradition in England.

D．Everybody was deeply lost in though.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Different Ways of Hospitality and Politeness

B．Co-understanding Each Other

C．My Unforgettable Travelling Experience Abroad

D．The Importance of Privacy

2 . 假如你是李华，你的美国朋友Jim 即将来中国旅游。他对中文名字非常感兴趣，并且很想拥有一个中文名字，他向你求助。现请你给他写一封信，包括以下内容:
1. 介绍中文名字的特点；
2. 给他取一个中文名字并给出理由。
注意:
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 文中不要出现真实姓名。

Dear Jim,

I’m very glad to hear that you will come to visit China.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

3 . 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。

Calligraphy, the art of writing, was the visual art form prized above all others in traditional China. Painting was contemporary with calligraphy, sharing     1     same tools—namely, brush and ink. Yet calligraphy was regarded     2     a fine art long before painting.

The status of calligraphy reflects the importance of the word in China.     3     makes the written words distinctive is its visual form. However, despite its abstract     4     (appear), calligraphy is not an abstract form. Chinese characters are dynamic, closely connected with the forces of nature and the kinesthetic (运动) energies of the human body.

How can a simple character convey all this? The use of brush and ink     5     (have) much to do with it. A calligrapher can control the     6     (thick) of the ink by varying both the amount of water and the solid ink. Once he starts writing, by loading the brush sometimes with     7     (much) ink or sometimes with less, he creates characters that resemble a shower of rocks here and a drop of dew (露珠) there.

The Chinese written language     8     (begin) to develop more than 3,000 years ago and     9     (eventual) evolved into five basic script types. Over the centuries, calligraphers were free to write in any of them,     10     ( depend) on the text’s function. The calligraphic tradition remains alive today.

4 . 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。

Paper-cutting was recognized as a national cultural heritage(遗产)in 2006.According to   experts，paper-cutting conveys the culture shared between China     1     the West to wish for family reunions and maintain links with loved ones，alive or dead.

In the movie Coco，for instance，the 12-year-old Miguel and his family dance and sing to   celebrate the Day of the Dead，a       2     (tradition)festival in Mexico，when colorful paper-cuts are hung on the street.Chinese people also cut images of small figures     3     (call) back the spirits of the dead.The difference is that most Chinese paper-cuts are red，while those in other countries       4     (be)often made in many other colors.

Fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen liked to cut     5     (character)，such as princesses and angels，out of paper while     6     (tell)stories to children.In China，female friends and family members used to chat and make paper-cuts together.

“     7    the patterns and colors may be different，paper-cuts share the same function of   maintaining emotional ties among people，”says Yang Huizi，     8     art teacher at Beijing Union.

Yang     9     (study)and performed the art for over a decade.Besides routine university   courses，she also organizes nonprofit paper-cutting activities     10    are open to the public in   Beijing to promote basic knowledge of paper-cutting.

5 . 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。

The Palace Museum，    1     (know)as the Forbidden City，welcomed     2     (it)17 millionth visitor on December 13，becoming the museum with the most visitors in the world.The number of visitors has continued growing since it     3     (reach)the milestone with 10 million in 2009.There is     4     increase of 6.25％from last year in the number of visitors.Although the Palace Museum has limited daily visitors     5     (protect)the ancient architecture，the number of off-season visitors has grown     6     (steady)this year.Over the last decade，the museum has produced more than 10，000 cultural items     7     (range) from notebooks to lipsticks.

The official Weibo account of the Palace Museum，with more than 6 million followers，    8     keeps showing the palace’s charm of four seasons by posting beautiful     9     (photo) regularly，plays all important role in interacting with the young people and promoting the museum.The fundamental reason why the Palace Museum has become so popular among young people is that it strikes the right balance between preserving history     10     providing many interesting interactive displays.

6 . The old Chinese saying "as happy as spending the New Year" might be outdated now in the busy modern world. The Spring Festival is regarded as the most important festival for Chinese people and an occasion for all family members to get together, like Christmas in the West. But many traditional customs accompanying the Spring Festival, however, have weakened in practice.

Setting off fireworks was once the most typical custom of the Spring Festival. People thought the sputtering(爆裂) sound could help drive away evil spirits. However, the activity has been completely or partially forbidden in big cities for years as the government has taken security, noise and pollution factors into consideration.

"In recent years, some cities have begun to allow people to light fireworks during limited hours at the Spring Festival, surrendering to(屈从于) public demand. Respecting folk traditions is a gesture of respect toward public opinion," said Zhou Xing, a folklore researcher.

"As people gain more income and it becomes easier to buy daily goods, the New Year holiday is just like any other. After long workdays, many people use the New Year holiday to take a rest, rather than visiting friends and neighbors. The process of making and enjoying the family dinner on Spring Festival Eve is the most important thing. However, many families would like to eat out to save time and energy," said Li Shunzhi, a resident of Harbin, Heilongjiang.

"I enjoy the holidays very much in the countryside. My family has been preparing for the Spring Festival more than two weeks before the holiday, cleaning the house, buying holiday goods and decorating the house with paper cuttings. On New Year’s Eve, the whole family stays up to see the New Year in, and in the days to follow, a series of activities such as lion dancing, dragon lantern dancing, lantern festivals and temple fairs will be held. Without the ancient traditions, the holiday is nothing to us," said Zhang Hui, from Hebei.

1. Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?

A．Setting off fireworks has been forbidden in some big cities for years.

B．Nowadays, people can light fireworks in some cities at the Spring Festival.

C．People believe that the sound of fireworks can drive away evil spirits.

D．In the past, setting off fireworks couldn’t be seen almost anywhere.

2. What Li Shunzhi said implies 　　　　.

A．what people do during the festival now is different from the past

B．people would like to have the family dinner on Spring Festival Eve

C．people prefer to visit friends and neighbors rather than take a rest

D．the New Year holiday is just like any other day

3. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Zhang Hui often spends two weeks preparing for the Spring Festival.

B．Zhang Hui is used to spending the Spring Festival with his family.

C．Zhang Hui always takes part in a series of activities after the Spring Festival.

D．Zhang Hui lives in the urban area.

4. What does the whole passage show?

A．The Spring Festival is as lively as before.

B．The Spring Festival is outdated now.

C．The Spring Festival is losing its qualities.

D．The Spring Festival in China is more important than Christmas in the West.

7 . 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。

The Day After Thanksgiving (Friday) is known as Black Friday. This used to be unofficially or officially the start of holiday shopping season. Almost all stores come out with special early bird offers     1     (attract) consumers to their shop. People stand in line hours before the stores are opened, to grab the bargains of the year. In the last few years, we     2     (witness) a trend towards bringing those Black Friday Sales online before Friday.

In the last few years (starting from 2013 to be precise), Black Friday Sales have started before Friday—with some stores     3     (start) their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving day or even on Wednesday and Monday. It would not be surprising to see Black Friday sale starting on Monday on the Black Friday week.

The closest reason for     4     it is known as Black Friday     5     (give) in Wikipedia. Many retailers report some of     6     (they) highest profits on Black Friday. The black portion of the name, “Black Friday” relates to businesses recording their     7     (lose) in red ink and gains in black. This tradition lives on in modern accounting software.

Deals websites like Dealsofamerica.com started to highlight “Black Friday sales” from 2003     8     then the retailers picked it up.     9     (essential), Black Friday is an Internet term. But before it, people used to regard the sales     10     “Day after Thanksgiving Sale”.

8 . The colors that you select create a distinct atmosphere in the room.     1    

Pick the color for your room and you can create whatever you feel like. The color will also help you to enlarge the space or making it more inviting, which will also make differently all about it.

However, the trick is to select the right version of that particular color. There are different hues (色调) for blues, for instance.     2     Here we have presented a guide that will let you gain a deep insight about the colors.

Blue

    3    . For kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms it is an ideal choice. Of course it is also associated with sadness that means it may not strike note for each and everyone. It is a popular choice among people. Blue comes from the cold side of the color wheel, so it can make the room feel cold, unless and until it is south filling space. If you are attracted to blue color, think of going for purple, or mix red and purple.

Dark blues are best for a living room. Probably it is best reserved for high ceiling space.     4    

Green

Like blue, green is also a calm shade.     5     It is the shade that reflects nature and renewal. Green produces a positive energy without the feeling of overstimulation.

A．Colors can light up the mood of the room.

B．You can use it for a living room or a bedroom.

C．It will make you feel the wall appear near to you.

D．Traditionally, blue is related to calmness and comfort.

E．It is better that you select colors that are warm like blue.

F．They won’t create similar effect and atmosphere generally.

G．But before driving into any decision here’s what you need to know.

9 . To an outsider，any culture can seem confusing.And the UK's got a thing or two that raises a few eyebrows.However，understand the why and things might be less puzzling.    1    .

In a world where 61％of nations drive on the right，Brits drive on the left.Why? Most people think it goes back to Medieval，maybe even Roman times.    2     when you remember that right-handed people wear a sword on their left hip.Travelling on the left allowed you to   keep your weapon arm toward your opponent，who would be on your right.This practice continued until the 18th century when a law was passed requiring all traffic crossing London Bridge to keep to the left.

Visitors to the UK that have just washed their hands in an old-fashioned sink might be wondering why one tap is only for hot water，the other cold.    3    .So，why this oddity? It relates to a time when hot and cold water were kept separate to prevent pollution.Drinkable cold water came from a mains supply，but hot water came from attic tanks and was not considered suitable for consumption.So they were kept apart.

Millions of people drink tea worldwide，but the odd Brits put milk in theirs.Why? This mysterious practice relates to the quality of china cup used in the 18th century when tea was first imposed.For the majority of Brits，the cups available couldn’t stand the heat of the boiling water and would break，so milk was added first.    4    .And this practical tweak soon became a national habit.

    5    .As you can see，these odd Brits have perfectly clear reasons for left-hand driving，two-tap sinks and tea with milk.Even if they still seem strange，at least now you’re in the know.

A．This makes it difficult to improve

B．There is a method to the madness

C．This unusual behavior makes sense

D．You can know the origins of the practices

E．Either can make washing very uncomfortable

F．This cooled the cup enough to resist the boiling water

G．Here are the reasons for three of Britain’s more puzzling practices

10 . It’s not easy feeling like you’re always under the spotlight being judged for each little mistake you make.Your mind is in an endless circle playing what you said and did over and over again.You wish you had a time capsule to go back and make things fight if you find mistakes.You fear what others will think about you and that they will reject and dislike you.You seek to be socially perfect.

Academically，you work long endless hours just to make those excellent marks.Although most would say“it's good to have high standards，”they have no idea about the internal hell you put yourself through to achieve perfection.If you come up less than your desired goal you feel as though you have failed，but you’re far from failing，you just don’t see it that way.So instead you are telling yourself that you’re stupid，and not smart.The pressure you place on yourself weighs you down and you wear the“not good enough”label each and every day.

You not only have high standards for yourself but you also have them for others.If people don’t perform up to your expectations，then you think them incompetent.This causes a lot of frustration because you can’t trust anyone to get things right.So instead of being a team player you fly solo(单飞)and try to do two or three jobs at once.Your unrealistic expectations cause you to criticize and judge others and that leads to problems in other areas of your life.

The attempt to be perfect is called perfectionism and it's the unachievable American dream that’s damaging our emotional and mental health.We strive for perfection with our body，in our performance，and in our relationships.In a society that overstates mistakes，is it any wonder that so many young people attempt the impossible task of being perfect?

We all have flaws，fears，and make mistakes，and that’s perfectly OK.It’s our imperfections that make life interesting and they help us grow into a stronger more adaptable person.We don’t have to strive to achieve the impossible.We are designed to be perfectly imperfect.

1. What might be the most suitable title of the text?

A．Far from failing	B．Perfectly Imperfect
C．Perfectionism Phenomenon	D．Unachievable American Dream

2. Which of the following is a perfectionist most likely to agree?

A．Nobody is perfect.	B．Be generous with praise.
C．There is no best，only better.	D．A contented mind is an everlasting feast.

3. What can we infer from the underlined sentence in paragraph 4?

A．More and more people are tolerating mistakes.

B．The society is partly to blame for perfectionism.

C．Many young people find it impossible to be perfect.

D．It’s unusual for a society to seek perfectionism nowadays.

4. What does the author think of imperfection?

A．It’s part of our life.	B．It’s unbearable.
C．It deserves to be overcome.	D．It does harm to our mental health.