A great many researchers and
2 . In America, we have a thing called stand-up comedy. This popular form of entertainment consists of a comedian standing up at the front of a club, holding a microphone, and telling jokes. Of course, comedy is popular in Chinese culture as well, but the performances are quite different from the style in the US. In China, it’s called cross-talk, which usually involves two guys engaging in an entertaining dialogue.
It’s believed that cross-talk came into being in the Qing Dynasty as a bit of a by-product of the imitation shows that were a popular form of entertainment in the Song Dynasty. After the PRC was established in 1949, this comedic art became more and more popular. Today, it’s still heavily featured in the CCTV New Year’s Gala programmes in China. The 1990s was the golden age of cross-talk; even foreigners studied the art of cross-talk. Mark Roswell, a Canadian named Da Shan in Chinese was relatively unknown in his native land but was a superstar in China. At the turn of the century, cross-talk began to decline, and many well-known actors left the stage.
There are four skills that are essential in cross-talk: speaking, imitating, teasing, and singing. Most of the time, it is performed with two actors—one serves as the lead actor while the other plays a support role. However, sometimes it is performed simply as a one-man show, and at other times there are several actors. In order to criticize something, the humor involved in cross-talk is satirical.
1. What’s the difference between American stand-up comedy and Chinese cross-talk?| A．Chinese cross-talk actors don’t use a microphone. |
| B．American stand-up comedy actors are all men. |
| C．Chinese cross-talk is more liked by Canadians. |
| D．American stand-up comedy is only a one-man show. |
| A．History. | B．Future. | C．Features. | D．Difference. |
| A．He was an American stand-up comedian. |
| B．He was very popular with Canadians. |
| C．He was a famous cross-talker in China. |
| D．He left the stage in the early 1990s. |
| A．Acid-tongued. | B．Good-tempered. |
| C．Warm-hearted. | D．Smooth-tongued. |
3 . In early February, an old stove with rich vivid images (zaotou painting) took center stage at a village Spring Festival gala in Haiyan county, Zhejiang province.
At first, simple tools had been used to produce such art, including a selection of brushes, rulers, and paint. With people’s aesthetic appreciation growing, watercolors were used, mostly red, yellow and blue, the three auspicious (吉祥的) ones to the Chinese people.
Now many people are devoted to the inheritance and popularization of zaotou painting and more and more support has been received from various sides including local authorities.
| A．Zaotou painting has a history of at least 300 years |
| B．Villagers were occupied in building zaotou for their houses |
| C．Folk craftsmen painted to express their passions for life later on |
| D．They all consist of a base and a body that embraces inserted pans |
| E．Zaotou painting has been definitely greeting its new spring and hope |
| F．Later new materials replaced watercolors to solve the color-fading problem |
| G．The images represent people’s respect to heroes and wishes for good fortune |
4 . Christmas cards are a big tradition in the English-speaking world. In 2017, people in Britain sent and received about 900 million cards. That’s an average of about twelve cards for every person, from tiny babies to the oldest grandparents. The number of cards that are sent around Britain causes an annual headache for the postal service. Each year, the postal service has to take on seasonal staff to help with the extra mail, and postal sorting offices are stretched to their maximum capacity and sometimes beyond it.
In 1994, before the age of email and social media, the service handled about 1.6 billion cards! In spite of advertisements telling people to “Post Early for Christmas”, few people got round to sending their cards off before December 10th; and from that point on, the postal service slowed down. Until the age of faxes, emails and social media, the pre-Christmas period often caused a lot of problems for firms, as “urgent” letters and documents took several days to reach their destinations by post, which were slowed down by the mass of Christmas mail!
During the month of December in Britain, a house with no Christmas cards is like a pub with no beer. For the most part, however, people of all faiths and of no faith join in the tradition of celebrating Christmas as a festival, whether they do so for religious reasons or not. Every British home at Christmas is merrily decorated not just with hollies, but also with a display of Christmas cards received from friends, family members, neighbors, employers and a variety of other people. In some places, the number of Christmas cards people receive is seen as a measure of their status among their friends and neighbors.
As for the subjects of Christmas cards, the range, today, is enormous. At one time, two principal themes predominated (占多数): the Christmas story, with pictures of the biblical scenes; and “traditional Christmas”, with imaginary scenes of Christmas which included burning wood fires and happy-looking parents and kids sitting together. Today, while “traditional Christmas” is favored by most people, there is no limit to the variety of pictures on cards.
While more and more people send e-cards to their friends and family members, you can’t hang an e-card on the wall, and you can’t decorate a room with rows of e-cards. Sending and receiving Christmas cards is still best done by “snail mail” which includes a real card and a real envelope. It’s much more fun.
1. How did the postal service handle the problem of Christmas cards?| A．By hiring temporary employees. | B．By sending the cards off earlier. |
| C．By turning to social media for help. | D．By delaying sending letters from firms. |
| A．The popularity of Christmas. | B．The decoration of British homes. |
| C．The religious belief in Christmas. | D．The significance of Christmas cards. |
| A．The religious story. | B．The holiday gift. |
| C．The family reunion. | D．The landscape painting. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. | C．Neutral. | D．Unclear. |
Festivals have a wide range of origins, including the seasons of the year, religions, famous figures, and important events. However, no matter
Of all the
Customs play a significant role in festivals, but sometimes they can change over time. Take the Chinese Spring Festival custom of lighting firecrackers as
Festivals reflect people’s wishes,
6 . Beijing Opera is a kind of Chinese opera.
The Peking Opera band mainly consists of an orchestra and percussion (打击乐) band.
It is believed that Beijing Opera gradually came into being after 1790.
In 1828, some famous Hubei troupes came to Beijing. They often jointly performed in the stage with Anhui troupes. The combination gradually formed Beijing opera’s main melodies.
| A．Many people like to watch Beijing Opera |
| B．Beijing Opera has a 200yearlong history |
| C．Beijing Opera enjoys a higher reputation |
| D．Most of them are middleaged or elderly men |
| E．The former frequently accompanies peaceful scenes |
| F．It is widely regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China |
| G．At that time the famous four Anhui opera troupes came to Beijing |
7 . Is it true that British people have a different sense of humor than people in other countries? Let’s have a look at what we laugh at in Britain.
We laugh at authority, but also sympathetically laugh with anyone who we think is treated badly.
The fact that we laugh when other people might feel hopeless is one of the oddest things to appreciate about British humor. We do have a strong sense of irony (反讽). “Not very pleasant,” we might say after some terrible experience.
Another thing that can make it difficult to understand British humor is that we don’t always laugh or even smile when we say something funny.
Do you think the British sense of humor is unique?
| A．In addition,we tend to play things down. |
| B．We often keep a straight face even when we’re making a joke. |
| C．Culture plays a big part in how funny you may find something. |
| D．We know they can’ t win,but if they do so sometimes,it’s even funnier. |
| E．Brits don’t express extreme feelings;we just“keep calm and carry on”. |
| F．Brits turn to laughter as a form of medicine when life knocks them down. |
| G．To the British,powerful and important people are often sources of laughter. |
8 . This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers (young people aged from 13-19) from all over the world will spend about ten months in US homes. They will attend US schools, meet US teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.
Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.
Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study the language began to come to him. School was completely different from what he had expected-much harder. Students rose respectfully when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that were usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.
Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual. Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car. “Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”
At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea. “I suppose I should criticize American schools,” he said. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much. In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”
1. The whole exchange program is mainly to ________| A．help teenagers in other countries know the real America |
| B．send students in America to travel in Germany |
| C．let students learn something about other countries |
| D．have teenagers learn new languages |
| A．There is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings. |
| B．There are a lot of outside activities. |
| C．Students usually take 14 subjects in all. |
| D．Students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car. |
| A．A better education should include something good from both America and Germany. |
| B．German schools trained students to be better citizens. |
| C．American schools were not as good as German schools. |
| D．The easy life in the American school was more helpful to students. |
| A．Praised. | B．Regretful. | C．Ignorant. | D．Blameful. |
9 . Why do more and more people show interest in cultural heritage (遗产) these days?
If you aren’t sure where your ancestors are from, a DNA test can be a good way. Companies like Family Tree DNA will sell you a testing box that teaches you what to do.
One of the most enjoyable ways to learn about your family tree is sitting down with an older relative to chat about it. Talk in person with a grandparent, great-grandparent, or any other family member who’s been around long enough to tell you about the past.
Learning a language is a unique way to connect with your ancestors and culture.
| A．Food is part of your cultural heritage. |
| B．This is a great way to learn about your ancestors. |
| C．You generally get your test results within a few weeks. |
| D．It can also let you meet new people and have more experiences. |
| E．Food can help you feel like you’re truly experiencing that culture. |
| F．People are eager to learn as much about our ancestors as possible. |
| G．Perhaps they want to have a sense of belonging in our globalized world. |
Today’s festivals have
The harvest festival is one of the most popular festivals and
Festivals are an important part of society. They reflect people’s wishes, beliefs, faiths and attitudes towards life. They are
