1 . “The grass looks greener on the other side of the fence（篱笆）.”That’s an old saying in English. It means that other places often look better, more interesting than the place where you live.“Let’s go to KFC for dinner and then watch some Japanese cartoons!”We all know it: more and more Chinese kids love American and Japanese food and movies. Some people worry that young Chinese are beginning to feel that way. They see young Chinese ignoring Chinese culture and, instead, buying Japanese cartoon books, watching Korean soap operas and even celebrating western holidays.
Foreign books and soap operas are good, but Chinese writers and actors are just as good. As for holidays, Christmas is nice, but it can never have the meaning for Chinese that the Spring Festival has, and the West has nothing to compare with the Mid-Autumn Festival. China has lots of cool things in its culture: calligraphy, Beijing Opera, quick meals on the streets, and even Jay Chou! And let's not forget the part of Chinese culture I like best: its friendliness. Not all countries are as warm as China.
It’s good to enjoy other cultures and to learn from them, but they can never replace your own culture. It’s good to look on the other side of the fence, but make sure you take a good long look. You will find that the grass isn’t always greener.
Although some people become worried about that, I don’t think they should. Will we get more powerful without learning from other countries? Will Chinese people live more happily without American fast food? Besides, it's fun to learn about different cultures. Chinese kids can learn about other cultures and have fun, but they also need to learn more about their own culture. Be proud of Chinese culture and of being Chinese!
1. The author thinks young Chinese ________.| A．are ignoring our own culture | B．are foolish in learning our own culture |
| C．are interested in our own culture | D．are hating our own culture |
| A．Japanese cartoon books. | B．Korean soap operas. |
| C．The Mid-Autumn Festival. | D．Christmas. |
| A．Hard-working. | B．Friendly. | C．Brave. | D．Honest. |
| A．Chinese culture and western culture | B．Simple young Chinese |
| C．Interesting western culture | D．That grass is not always greener |
2 . The Inuit (因纽特人) live in the far north of Alaska. It is a cold and snowy place. Yet people have survived there for thousands of years. The Inuit have many ancient cultural traditions. However, their way of life has changed. For example, people now have video games and televisions. Young people prefer these to their cultural traditions. Now, the customs and traditions of the Inuit are disappearing. But people are trying to find ways to continue indigenous (土著的) traditions in Alaska. One of these groups is the Cook Inlet Tribal Council.
The Cook Inlet Tribal Council wanted to teach young Inuit people about their traditional stories and cultural history. So they decided to make an educational video game. They began working with Sean Vesce of K-Line Media. He had created many successful video games. Vesce and the Cook Inlet Tribal Council created the world’s first indigenous video game. They called this game Never Alone. Vesce describes the game to the news organization NPR：
“The main story is based on a traditional story called Kunuuksaayuka. It is the story of a snow-storm that never ends. This blizzard is causing a family some problems. In the traditional tale, the son wants to find what is causing this unusual weather. The story goes that this boy goes out. After some time, he finds the cause of the blizzard. He finds a way to stop the blizzard by using his intelligence.”
Soon after the game came on the market, people could play Never Alone. It won many awards. And many gamers gave Never Alone good comments. They said it beautifully designed and interesting play. But the game is also reaching its goal of connecting people to traditional culture.
1. Never Alone was created to________.| A．please young Inuit people | B．retell a traditional Inuit story |
| C．keep indigenous tradition alive | D．show the changes of Inuit people |
| A．He was familiar with indigenous traditions. |
| B．He is experienced in creating games. |
| C．He was very good at playing video games. |
| D．He had created indigenous video games before. |
| A．rain | B．wind |
| C．snowstorm | D．story |
| A．Never Alone is on the market |
| B．Never Alone is quite successful |
| C．more comments are needled on Never Alone |
| D．people have just started to play Never Alone |
3 . Kids Nature and Survival Camp
Set free your kids’ imagination and spirit of adventure at this camp, as they learn about the natural environment and the important skills of survival.
Activity overview
*4–Day Camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains
*Basic Survival Skills: Shelter, Water, Fire, Food
*Set your own custom（定制的）camp date
Details
*The camp will run for 5 hours each day: 9 am-2 pm.
*This class is 100% hands-on and very active. Everything your kids learn, they will do – no indoor classrooms or long lectures.
Dates offered
– We offer 1 public camp date each summer for ages 8–12. For 2019, that date is August 5 – 8 (9 am – 2 pm each day).
– We also arrange custom/private camp dates for both kids and teens all year round.
Extra information
**4–Day Camp: $395
**Add shuttle ride to/from downtown Santa Cruz for $160 ($40 per day)
**At this time we do not have shuttle service from the Silicon Valley side of the hill, but we do work to help organize carpools（拼车）from the Los Gatos/Saratoga/ Campbell area each year for interested parents.
1. What will kids learn if they join the camp?| A．How to do long lectures. | B．How to survive in the wild. |
| C．How to organize a camp. | D．How to improve their imagination. |
| A．It is free for all children. |
| B．Children could learn it online. |
| C．It is based on practicing in person to learn. |
| D．Kids could book a public camp date each spring. |
| A．Los Gatos. | B．Santa Cruz. | C．Saratoga. | D．Campbell. |
4 . America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!
1. The writer of this passage must be ______.| A．an American | B．a Chinese |
| C．a professor | D．a student |
| A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
| B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
| C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport | B．offered a ride to his home |
| C．treated hospitably at his home | D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
| A．Friendships between Chinese | B．Friendships between Americans |
| C．Americans’ hospitality | D．Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships |
5 . Venice International Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival takes place every year in late August or early September at the historic Palazzo del Cinema, in Venice, Italy; its main award is the Golden Lion.
Cannes International Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival is a famous film festival. It has been held annually in Cannes, in the south of France, since 1946 with a few exceptions. Given massive media exposure, the festival is attended by many film stars and is a popular venue for film producers to launch their new films and attempt to sell their works to the distributors who come from all over the globe.
The most famous award given out at Cannes is the Golden Palm for the best film; this is sometimes shared by multiple films in one year.
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards are the most prominent film award in the United States. The awards are granted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Academy Awards are nicknamed “Oscars”, which is also the nickname of the statuette (小雕像). The name is said to have been born when Margaret Herrick saw the statuette on a table and said,“It looks just like my uncle Oscar!”
Berlin International Film Festival
It is one of the “A” festivals in Europe. The Berlin International Film Festival, also called the "Berlinale", is held annually in February and started in 195I after an initiative of the American, who was stationed in part of the city after World War Ⅱ. The jury (评审团) always place special emphasis on representing films from all over the world. The awards are called Golden and Silver Bears (as the Bear is the symbol of Berlin).
1. Which award can be shared by multiple films in one year？| A．The Golden Lion. | B． The Academy Awards. |
| C．The Golden Palm. | D． The Golden and Silver Bears. |
| A．It’s the nickname of the Academy Awards. |
| B．It’s also the nickname of the statuette. |
| C．It got its name because Margaret said the statuette looked like her uncle. |
| D．It’s an award in France. |
| A．The Golden Lion. | B．The Academy Awards. |
| C．The Golden Palm. | D．The Golden and Silver Bears. |
| A．It looks like a bear. | B．The bear is the symbol of Berlin. |
| C．It is made up of bear fur. | D．The bear is rare in Berlin. |
April 24th marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the creation of
Many people continue to stay at home during the recent months. As a result, people are making less pollution, and the air has become
Smog stopped
Researchers have been observing sharp drops in traditional air pollutants (污染物), such as nitrogen dioxide, smog and tiny particles. These kinds of pollutants kill up to 7 million people a year worldwide.
“Human activity usually makes it difficult for sea turtles
“There’s still a hope left for wildlife,” Godfrey said.
7 . Many Americans buy an evergreen tree for Christmas. They put the tree in their home and hang small lights and colorful objects on it. The evergreen is usually a pine or a fir tree. It remains green during the cold, dark months of winter in the northern part of the world. So it is a sign of everlasting life.
Early long ago Romans probably planted evergreen trees during a celebration in honor of their god of agriculture. The Christmas tree may have developed from a popular play performed hundreds of years ago in what is now Germany. Traditionally, the play was on December twenty -fourth, the day before Christmas. The play was about the first people that God created—Adam and Eve. People put apples on an evergreen tree to represent the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden.
By the year 1600, some Germans began bringing evergreen trees into their homes. They put fruit, nuts and sweets on the trees. They shared the food among family members and friends after the holiday season. Some people say the German religious reformer Martin Luther was the first person to add lighted candles to a tree. They say he did this to show how wonderful the stars had appeared as he traveled one night.
In the early 1800's, German settlers in the state of Pennsylvania were the first to celebrate the holiday with Christmas trees in the United States. The Christmas tree tradition spread to many parts of the world. Today, some form of the Christmas tree is part of most Christmas celebrations.
1. Why do people choose the evergreen tree for the Christmas tree?| A．It can be put in the home easily. |
| B．It can be found everywhere in winter. |
| C．It's convenient for people to put things on it. |
| D．It's evergreen and considered to represent long life. |
| A．The Christmas tree dates back to ancient times. |
| B．It was in a film that the Christmas tree was first used. |
| C．Early Romans honored the god of agriculture with trees. |
| D．The Christmas tree was regarded as the tree of knowledge. |
| A．German settlers celebrate the holiday with fir trees |
| B．Germans would share the food on the trees at Christmas |
| C．many people in the world follow the Christmas tree tradition |
| D．Martin Luther was the first person to decorate the Christmas tree |
| A．The long history of Christmas |
| B．The traditions behind the Christmas tree |
| C．The use of evergreen trees during Christmas |
| D．Evergreen trees，the sign of everlasting life |
8 . Chinese Paper Cutting or Jianzhi is the first type of paper-cutting design, since paper was invented in the Eastern Han Dynasty in China.
It’s a very distinguishing visual art of Chinese handicrafts. The art form later spread to other parts of the world with different areas adopting their own cultural styles. After hundreds of year’s development, now they’ve become a very popular means of decoration among country folk, especially women. The paper-cuts are also used to decorate doors and windows, and therefore they’re sometimes referred to “chuang hua”, meaning Window Flower. Paper-cuts are chiefly used as decorations. However, today, Chinese paper-cuts are also used for religious and ceremonial purpose, and they’re buried with the dead and burned at funerals.
Chinese people believe the red paper-cuts on the door can bring good fortune and happiness to the whole family. The paper-cuts are more often seen during traditional Chinese festivals, particularly in Chinese New Year, the Spring Festival. They’re also given as gifts to friends or other family members.
Paper-cuttings aren’t produced by machine, but by hand. There’re two methods of manufacture: one uses scissors, the other uses knives. Knife cuttings are fashioned by putting several layers of paper or a relatively soft foundation. Following a pattern, the artist cuts the motif into the paper with a sharp knife he usually holds vertically. The advantage of knife-cuttings is that considerably more paper cuttings can be made in one operation than with scissor cuttings.
It’s easy to learn about cutting a piece of paper but difficult to master it with perfection. One must grasp the knife in an upright fashion and press evenly (均匀地) on the paper with some strength. Flexibility is required but any hesitation will damage the whole image.
People find hope and comfort in expressing wishes with paper-cutting. For instance: for a wedding ceremony, red paper-cuttings are a traditional decoration on the tea set, the dressing table glass, and on other furniture. A big red paper character “Xi” (happiness) is a traditional must on the newlywed’s door.
1. It can be learned from the second paragraph that ___________.| A．paper-cuts are mainly used as presents |
| B．females are better at paper-cutting than males |
| C．paper-cutting varies from area to area |
| D．paper-cuts are used in various ceremonies but funerals |
| A．Forms of paper-cutting. |
| B．Means of paper-cutting. |
| C．Advantages of knife cuttings. |
| D．Characteristics of paper-cutting. |
| A．using examples |
| B．making comparisons |
| C．analyzing causes |
| D．describing processes |
A teahouse is a special house which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments(茶点). Its function varies widely
Chinese teahouses enjoy a long-standing history. They developed from tea
In the Song Dynasty, teahouses spread all over the cities and villages, at a rate comparable with that of restaurants. The owners preferred to decorate their teahouses
Since reform and opening-up, with the rapid development of the economy and evident improvement of people’s living standards, teahouses
10 . Whether you seek culture, community, or comfort food in America, these amazing festivals prove that small towns from coast to coast know how to throw big celebration.
Tulip Time
Go: May in Holland, Michigan
There’s no better place to celebrate Michigan’s Dutch Heritage than a town called Holland, where six million tulips are planted in private fields, city parks, and other gardens around town. First introduced in 1929, Tulip Time draws a half million visitors and features eight days of events, including three parades, an arts-and-crafts show, carnival rides, fireworks, and plenty of Dutch food tastings.
Texas SandFest
Go: April in Port Aransas, Texas
Since 1997, this artistic sand festival attracts talented amateurs and master sculptors alike to beautiful beaches of Port Aransas. A three-day event typically held over a weekend in late April, SandFest features parades, live music, entertainment, food, and sand sculpting lessons.
Burlington Steamboat Days
Go: June in Burlington, Iowa
Going strong for over 55 years, the four-day Burlington Steamboat Days draws an impressive lineup of musical headliners and new artists to this small town. Over the years, attendees have been treated to performances by Louie Armstrong, Lady Antebellum, Blake Shelton, and more. In addition to music, there are carnival games and parades, as well as a golf tournament.
National Balloon Classic
Go: July-August in Indianola, Iowa
Every summer since 1976, the small town has put on one of the largest festivals in the Midwest. The weeklong National Balloon Classic features twice-daily flights of more than 100 colorful hot-air balloons, skydiving demonstrations, and balloon rides. There’s also live music, food vendors, and a kid’s play area.
1. Which of the following has the longest history?| A．Tulip Time. | B．Texas SandFest. |
| C．Burlington Steamboat Day. | D．National Balloon Classic. |
| A．Take a balloon ride. | B．Attend sculpting lessons. |
| C．Learn steamboat’s history. | D．Enjoy great performances. |
| A．They kick off with parades. | B．They all last for a week long. |
| C．They take place in small towns. | D．They are held in the same state. |
