Christmas Day was coming. I was just a kid then, and my big sister told me there was no Santa Claus. I fled to my Grandma because she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told me the truth. Grandma was home, and I told her everything. “No Santa Claus?” She shouted. “Ridiculous! Don’t believe it. “Now, put on your coat, and let’s go.”
“Go where, Grandma?” I asked. “Where” turned out to be Kerby’s General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. “Take this money, and buy something for someone who needs it. I’ll wait for you in the car.” Then she turned and walked out of Kerby’s.
I was only eight years old. I’d often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people competing to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, holding that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy and who to buy it for. I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker, who was a kid with bad breath and messy hair. He sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock’s grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn’t have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for break during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn’t have a cough, and he didn’t have a coat. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I chose a red one, which looked really warm, and he would like that.
“Is this a Christmas present for someone?” the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid ten dollars down. “Yes.”
The nice lady smiled at me, put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas.
注意:1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.续写部分分为两段,每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
That evening, Grandma helped me wrap (包裹) the coat in Christmas paper.
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Paragraph2:
Grandma and I waited breathlessly for Bobby Decker’s front door to open.
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Where: Becket, Massachusetts
When: June 15-Aug. 24
Each summer, this influential dance center presents a number of classes and performances by more than 50 companies from around the world. Highlights (最精彩的部分) this season include the Dance Theater of Harlem’s production of Alvin Ailey’s “The Lark Ascending”, which opens the festival.
Many events are free. Ticketed performances start at $22. jacobspillow.org.
Moab Music FestivalWhere: Moab, Utah
When: Aug. 29-Sept. 9
This area is better known for mountain biking than for music. But since 1992, it has hosted a private festival that brings classical, jazz, Latin and other types of music to the land. This year there will be 16 concerts, including three “Grotto Concerts”, where guests take a 45-minute boat ride down the Colorado River to performances.
Events start at $25. moabmusicfest.org.
Cheyenne Frontier DaysWhere: Cheyenne, Wyoming
When: July 19-28
There’s something for everyone at this 117-year-old festival, from an “Indian village” and Old West museum to country concerts. But the competition is still the main attraction, with cowboys and cowgirls competing for major money in the world’s largest outdoor stage.
Competition tickets start at $18, and concert tickets at $23. cfdrodeo.com.
The Glimmerglass FestivalWhere: Cooperstown, New York
When: July 6-Aug. 24
Each summer, opera lovers from around the country (and the world) travel to upstate New York to watch productions that include stars like Nathan Gunn and Ginger Costa-Jackson. This year’s performances include Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman” and Verdi’s “King for a Day”, in honor of the 200th birthdays of both composers (作曲家).
Tickets start at $26. glimmerglass.org.
1. If you want to enjoy a “Grotto Concert”, which date suits you best?A.June 15. | B.July 19. |
C.August 24. | D.September 4. |
A.Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. |
B.the Glimmerglass Festival. |
C.Cheyenne Frontier Days. |
D.Moab Music Festival. |
A.Education. | B.Art. |
C.Business. | D.Literature. |
3 . The “24 solar terms” (节气) originated and was first used in China. It was created thousands of years ago on the basis of practical needs of agricultural. Ancient Chinese people used it to guide agricultural production, explain special climate signs and even come up with healthy living tips. Last year, the 24 solar terms was added to UNESCO's world cultural heritage list(联合国教科文组织世界文化遗产名录). Now, it has been brought to life thanks to a creative designer from Southwest China's Guizhou Province.
On the eve of this year's Qingming Festival, Shi Changhong released (发布) his version of reproduced and packaged characters for each solar term in the form of “moving art” of gifs. Since their first release on Zcool on March 29, the gifs have won great praise among the general public and quickly flooded the social media with millions of hits during the festival period.
To maximize publicity, Shi released his work in three forms: the video, the animation and pictures. The background sounds add to the brilliance.
“When I watch the short video, I can strongly feel the Chinese-style elements hidden in it. And it is really cool to liven up traditional Chinese culture in such a unique way.” WeChat user Xiao Feifei said.
“It is really a comfort to me to see so many people like my latest work. To be honest, it would really surprise me if the work had not aroused great interest among Chinese people. The 24 solar terms is a deeply rooted concept that covers the essence of Chinese wisdom. However, only a small portion of people know all the names or the correct order of those terms. My intention is to increase Chinese people’s self-awareness to learn more about our traditional fine culture. Actually, the 24 solar terms work is only a part of my whole design program ‘Charm China’, which I started a year ago.” Shi told China Daily.
1. Which part of the newspaper does the text probably belong to?A.Travel. | B.Culture. | C.Agriculture. | D.Education. |
A.Newspaper. | B.Magazine. |
C.Radio broadcast. | D.Website. |
A.The background sounds of the work make the video more attractive. |
B.It really surprised Shi Changhong to see so many people like his latest work. |
C.Most people know all the names or the correct order of the 24 solar terms. |
D.The 24 solar terms work designed by Shi Changhong was added to UNESCO’s heritage list. |
A.To introduce a creative designer. |
B.To introduce the 24 solar terms work. |
C.To introduce the origin of the 24 solar terms. |
D.To introduce a design program “Charm China”. |
4 . The Tiger Ying was a bronze water vessel (E-a) used in ancient China. Dating back some 3,000 years ago, it's a precious cultural relic. It is particularly special not only because its cap and spout(容器的嘴) were cleverly made into the shape of a tiger, but because such ancient practical bronze vessels are rare to find today.
Bronze vessels first appeared in China in the Xia Dynasty, which lasted from 2070 BC to 1600 BC. They reached their high use in the Shang and Zhou dynasties that covered a long period from 1600 BC to 221 BC. At that time,bronze vessels were used mostly in religious ceremonies. They had many functions, including food vessels, wine vessels, water vessels as well as musical instruments. Food vessels include Ding, a cooking vessel with two circle handles and three or four legs and Gui, a round mouthed vessel with two or four circle handles.
The bronze vessels needed to go through special processes (过程) to produce extremely beautiful features that are hard to achieve even today. They show the social productivity of that time. Since their production was limited, the number, size, function and combination style of bronze vessels all show social positions of their owners in ancient China.
Cultural relics can tell stories of history. For China, a country with a time-honored history, cultural relics are especially precious, since they stand for its several thousand years of civilization. However, statistics (数据) show that more than 10 million Chinese cultural relics have been lost overseas by various illegal means
We can 't change-history, but we can shape the future with friendship. For example, in 2013, the French Pinault family donated bronze rat and rabbit heads from the Old Summer Palace to China. A Japanese auction(拍卖)house in 2016 stopped the sale of Chinese cultural relics illegally obtained by Otani Kozui in the early 1900s.
We hope more Chinese cultural relics can be returned to China as soon as possible according to international agreement
Click here for more information
1. What makes The Tiger Ying special?A.Its rare material. |
B.Its long history. |
C.Its design for part of the vessel |
D.Its cultural effect |
A.1379 | B.1849. | C.470. | D.1821 |
A.To appreciate and protect. |
B.To value and improve |
C.To spread and exchange. |
D.To admire and reproduce. |
A.In a text book |
B.In a tour brochure. |
C.In a travel journal. |
D.On a website page |
5 . The Arising of Celebrating Foreign Festivals
Nowadays, people in China are increasingly interested in celebrating foreign festivals, especially those western festivals.
A survey conducted recently by sina.com showed that among the 18,222 people surveyed 63.90% said celebrating Christmas is just another way of recreation (娱乐), nothing serious, while 17.85% surveyed considered the festival as a fashion act, showing they were not "out". These two parts clearly indicate the general opinion of the young. 10.45% people involved said the celebration of a religious western festival with so much enthusiasm is absolutely ridiculous (荒谬的) pursuit (追求)of foreign goodness. Only 7.80%of the people define Christmas as a kind of festival colonization(殖民).
The arising of celebrating foreign festivals clearly has something to do with the advancement of China's economy. In my point of view, Christmas and other festivals celebrated in China have difference from the origin. They have lost their religious background and tumed into a big occasion to have fun and enjoy life. Shop owners' pockets are filled, the public's hunger for happiness is filled, and that is enough. Foreign festivals in China are more like carnivals giving people pleasure and enjoyment.
The crisis (危机)of traditional Chinese festivals that are losing their attraction may be linked to the culture tradition and background of the festivals. Most Chinese festival culture is related more or less to real life. "The country is based on its people while the people are relied on their food".
But the western culture shows much of romance. Some festivals have their religious background while others have much to do with culture and people. At this point, food seems to be too plain. Flowers and chocolates are more welcomed.
Foreign festivals in China today are celebrated for fun. They give people opportunities to relax and celebrate, to show appreciation and gratefulness. The acceptance of foreign festivals generally depends on the openness of the public, the familiarity with the western culture, and most importantly, on people's economic status(地位).
1. What do we know about the people surveyed?A.Most think celebrating foreign festivals is ridiculous. |
B.Many fear that traditional Chinese festivals will disappear soon |
C.Some think that celebrating foreign festivals is a sign of foreign goodness chasing. |
D.Half think celebrating foreign festivals makes people not go out of fashion. |
A.They have lost their religious background. |
B.They are the same as those celebrated in the West. |
C.They can give more fun than traditional Chinese festivals. |
D.They may reduce the hunger of public people. |
A.Foreign festivals can make Chinese shop owners' pockets full quickly |
B.The food at foreign festivals is too simple. |
C.Chinese festivals always have something to do with culture. |
D.Foreign festivals are romantic while traditional Chinese ones are connected with reality. |
A.People can relax themselves. |
B.People can make more money. |
C.Foreign festivals have more traditional culture. |
D.People want to know more about the western culture. |
The art of paper-cutting in China may date back to the second century, since paper
With
Chinese papercuts are rich in content. The auspicious(吉祥的)designs symbolize good luck and the avoidance of evil. The child, lotus and bat designs suggest a family with
7 . More than 10 million Chinese cultural relics have been lost overseas, lots of which were stolen and illegally shipped out of China during the times of war before 1949. About 1.67 million pieces are housed in no 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 to demand the return of relics.
In 2003, a priceless bronze pig’s head dating from the Qing Dynasty was returned to its home in Beijing after it was removed by the Anglo-French Allied Army over 140 years ago. Macao entrepreneur Stanley Ho 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 feasible 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 is the passage mainly about?A.The best way to recover cultural relics. |
B.The efforts to recover Chinese cultural relics. |
C.Stanley Ho donated a bronze pig’s head to Beijing. |
D.Chinese cultural relics were stolen by the Anglo-French Allied Army. |
A.It was made in the Ming Dynasty. |
B.It is now in the Poly Art museum in Beijing. |
C.It was donated by the French government to China. |
D.It was removed by the Anglo-French Allied Army over 150 years ago. |
A.Possible. | B.Difficult. | C.Wonderful. | D.Careful. |
A.China has enough money to buy all the cultural relics back. |
B.Many countries have returned the lost cultural relics to China for free. |
C.The Chinese government has done a lot to recover the lost cultural relics. |
D.China is preparing to set up a database to collect information about the lost cultural relics. |
David was one of
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The city started