1 . Would you rather be an impressive employee in an ordinary firm, or land a role at the most well-known company in your industry?
The answer to that question might seem highly personal, based on factors like whether or not you are a competitive person and how much you enjoy a challenge. In fact, there’s another strong factor at play: People from different cultures react very differently to that question. The psychologists from the University of Michigan asked people theoretical questions about the decisions they take. Specifically, the researchers compared people with East Asian backgrounds and European American backgrounds. They found that Americans are much more likely to favor being a big fish in a small pond. East Asians, and specifically Chinese people, are much more likely than Americans to lean towards being a smaller fish in a bigger pond.
Researchers first asked 270 students at a large American university whether they would rather be a “big fish in a small pond” or the opposite. Of the students with East Asian American backgrounds, three quarters said they’d rather be a small fish, compared with just under 60% of students with European American backgrounds who said the same.
The researchers then compared American and Chinese adults. They asked the participants whether they would rather attend a top university but perform below average, and whether they would rather work for a top global company but do less well in comparison to their peers. Over half the Chinese adults chose the famous university, compared with just a third of Americans. In the case of the firms, well over half of people from both groups chose to do better at a less well-known firm, but Chinese people were still more likely to choose being a “small fish” than were Americans.
The final experiment sought to discover how American and Chinese people made judgments about whether they were succeeding. They found that Chinese people were more likely to compare their performance to the performance of people in other groups. Americans, meanwhile, were more likely to compare themselves to people within the same group, to judge whether or not they were doing well.
In East Asian cultures, it’s “not enough that you know you’re doing well in your school,” said Kaidi Wu, a PhD student in psychology who led the research. “It is much more important that other people — an outsider, a family relative, a future employer who has five seconds to glance through your resume — also recognize your academic excellence.”
America is the opposite: “Think about how many times themes like ‘You are your own person’ or ‘Stop worrying about what other people think’ course through song lyrics and self-help books,” Wu said, concluding: “The choices we make are the products of our culture.”
1. The psychologists from the University of Michigan find that ______.A.Americans tend to achieve success in a big company |
B.Chinese are likely to perform better in a big company |
C.Americans prefer to shine in a relatively small company |
D.Chinese are comfortable with working in a small company |
A.compare different attitudes towards competition | B.find different views about personal success |
C.judge performances of different groups | D.confirm which culture is better |
A.his neighbors | B.his classmates | C.his teachers | D.his parents |
A.plays a key role in people’s choice making | B.shows who we grow up to be in the future |
C.is the most important factor behind success | D.determines students’ academic performance |
包括以下要点:
1. 端午节的时间及起源;
2. 端午节的习俗。
注意:
1. 写作词数应为80左右;
2. 可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
Dear Jack,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
China’s taijiquan, also known as Tai Chi,
Chen-style taijiquan has the longest history, and other styles directly or
In recent years, public enthusiasm for Tai Chi has grown greatly throughout the world. To popularize taijiquan, Chen has developed
In traditional Chinese culture, the dragon has long been a symbol of auspiciousness (吉祥), power and mystery.
The Forbidden City, a magnificent architectural complex (建筑群)
In each corner of the Forbidden City, lifelike dragons in various shapes can be seen,
According to photographer Gu Caihua, those dragons carved on the
5 . Lion dance is a valued tradition deeply rooted in South China’s Guangdong province and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asian countries. Historically, this art form was only practiced by men. However, a unique team consisting entirely of teenage girls stands out among all the male groups — they are the Nanxing Hexingtang Women’s Lion Dance Team from the town of Ren he in Guangzhou.
Nearly every village in Guangzhou has its own lion dance team. Yet as of 2018, Hexingtang had only male participants. As there was a decline in the number of young people practicing lion dance, it accepted a few young girls. The journey was far from smooth for the girls. They were once hired to perform for a family on the first day of Chinese New Year. When the family realized that it was the girls who would be performing, they erupted in anger and chased them away. Then Hexingtang decided to formally establish a women’s team to make the female lion dance leagal. They customized flags and banners printed with “women’s team”, crafted pink and purple lion heads, which are rarely seen in male lion dance, and even fashioned a lion head looking like the image of the female general Mu Guiying, a famous figure in Yue Opera.
It was hoped that after the girls won awards and proved themselves, they might be accepted by more people. Their breakthrough came in 2021 when the girls beat all-male teams and won the first prize in a competition in Guangzhou’s Baiyun district. The following year, at the 16th Guangdong Provincial Games, the girls once again got the top prize in the junior group, representing Guangzhou. Since then, they have continued to win awards. In the recent Maofeng Mountain competition just before Spring Festival in Guangzhou, the team performed a routine titled “Tramping Over Mountains and Hills Step by Step”, which mirrors the growth journey of these girls themselves as they navigate through numerous challenges. Behind this near-perfect performance is girls’ dedication and hard work.
Lion dance is not easy, especially for girls, as it demands significant strength and mastery of martial arts movements. However, girls possess unique advantages and can cultivate a distinctive style. Girls typically have a keen understanding of music, performing perfectly in both lion and instrument roles. Furthermore, their superior physical flexibility allows them to complete difficult moves. Most importantly, their sensitivity enables them to capture the expressions and behaviors of lions.
1. What do we know about lion dance?A.It is a tradition rooted in all Asian countries. |
B.Only men could practice lion dance in the past. |
C.Every village in Guangzhou has its own lion dance team. |
D.It’s easy for people to practice. |
A.made. | B.bought. | C.painted. | D.had. |
A.They performed for a family on the first day of Chinese New Year. |
B.They performed a routine titled “Tramping Over Mountains and Hills Step by Step”. |
C.They won the first prize in a competition in Guangzhou’s Baiyun district. |
D.They won the top prize in the junior group at the 16th Guangdang Provincial Games. |
A.They can complete difficult moves with superior physical flexibility. |
B.They have great strength and master martial arts movements. |
C.They have a keen understanding of music, performing perfectly in different roles. |
D.They can capture the expressions and behaviors of lions with sensitivity. |
6 . Dragons, a famous imaginary creature born from fantasy, are often present in stories in the west and east. In both cultures, dragons are recognized as massive creatures capable of flight. They have great power and magical abilities. However, due to their different cultural roots and images, there are significant differences in the different dragon elements in the west and east, particularly in China.
Chinese dragons most look like snakes, and have four claws (爪) and no wings. They often have features of other animals, including carp, tigers, and eagles. In the contrast, Western dragons look like huge lizards (蜥蜴) with big claws and large bat-like wings, and are often shown rough scales.
In traditional Chinese culture, a dragon is a symbol of luck, power and high position. They can cause weather changes and bring rainfall to the fields to ensure rich harvests. They are considered sacred creatures, which hold an important position as the head of the four spirits. Therefore, to symbolize their power, ancient Chinese emperors decorated their clothes with dragon patterns. These clothes are known as dragon robes. Many Chinese view the dragon as a national symbol, proudly referring to themselves as “descendants of the dragon”. In the west, however, a dragon symbolizes an evil creature that spreads violence and terror throughout the land. They are believed to be transformed by the devil (魔鬼), with the ability to breathe fire or spit poison. Many western tales show dragons being defeated and killed to protect people from danger.
Today, dragons continue to change, finding new significance in global culture. They are no longer connected with evil or good, but with their own unique personalities and motivations. For example, Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon begins as a dangerous dragon but changes into a misunderstood creature with love and kindness. This changes the idea of dragons as naturally evil, showing their both emotions and motivations.
1. What do western dragons and eastern dragons have in common?A.They have rough skin. | B.They have big claws and wings. |
C.They are in the shape of snakes. | D.They are huge and powerful. |
A.Dragons are believed to make trouble in western culture. |
B.Dragons in China can protect people from danger. |
C.Chinese dragons can control rainfall and breathe fire. |
D.Western dragons are a symbol of authority. |
A.They are regarded as adventurous creatures. |
B.They are closely linked with evil or good. |
C.They have more various emotions and personalities. |
D.They represent human spirits facing challenges. |
A.The Origin of Dragons in Chinese History | B.The Dragon Elements in World Culture |
C.The Magical Animals in Different Countries | D.The Images of Dragons in Western Traditions |
Kites were invented around the 5th century BCE during the Warring States period. They were made of wood and silk, and had military (军事的)
Over time, kites gained popularity as recreational toys. They were flown during festive occasions and celebrations, symbolizing good luck and driving away bad luck.
As kite-making developed, there were significant technical advancements. Experiments with different materials and designs
Kite makers also added tails and explored
1.端午节的时间;
2.端午节的活动;
3.端午节的意义。
注意:1.写作词数应为80词左右。
2.可以添加适当的细节,以使行文连贯。
Dear Jack,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
9 . What are pillows really stuffed with? Not physically, but symbolically? The question occurred to me with the photos of the international pillow fight in the news and social media from the 50 cities around the world. Armed with nothing more than bring-our-own pillows, strangers struck heavily each other from Amsterdam to Atlanta, Warsaw to Washington DC. But why? Is there anything more to this delightful celebration?
Actually, since at least the 16th century, the soft pillow has been given symbolic meanings. The Chinese playwright, Tang Xianzu, told a famous story in his work, Handan Notes. It was about a wise man who met a depressed young scholar at an inn and offered him a magic pillow. The scholar had a sweet afternoon nap on this pillow, dreaming that he had a more fulfilling life. When the young man awakened to discover that all was just a dream. The magic pillow’s power shifts from wonder to terror. What’s more, the 19th-century English novelist, Charlotte Bronte, poetically observed “a ruffled mind makes a restless pillow”. Perhaps Bronte learned this from the philosopher, Montaigne, who once insisted that “lack of thoughts in mind is the softest pillow on which a man can have a good rest”. On Montaigne’s thinking, intelligence and happiness compete against each other forever in a pillow fight that only one can win.
With the above information, we can perhaps more easily measure the attraction of the global pillow fight. Just like a ceremony of release, the annual international pillow fight amounts to a kind of cleansing, a brushing off of daily worries: an emptying of the world’s restless mind.
1. How did the writer lead into the topic of the passage?A.By giving reasons. | B.By telling stories. |
C.By using sayings. | D.By raising questions. |
A.To state how pillows help people take a good rest. |
B.To explain why pillows connect with people’s minds. |
C.To claim that pillows can symbolically convey the meaning. |
D.To describe that pillows always symbolize the good dreams. |
A.A mind without any thoughts. | B.A mind with messy thoughts. |
C.A mind that is peaceful. | D.A mind that is simple. |
A.It mainly celebrates daily worries. |
B.It contains a profound meaning of history. |
C.People will feel relieved during the fight. |
D.People will lose their inner peace during the fight. |
The Water-Splashing Festival, also
Jinghong, the capital of Dai Autonomous Prefecture, usually
For Dai people, water is