1 . What are pillows really stuffed with? Not physically, but symbolically? The question occurred to me with the photos in the news and social media from the 50 cities around the world that staged public celebrations for International Pillow Fight Day. Armed with nothing more than bring-our-own sacrificial cushions, strangers struck heavily each other in playful feather from Amsterdam to Atlanta, Warsaw to Washington DC. But why? Is there anything more to this delightful celebration?
As a cultural sign, the pillow is deceptively soft. Since at least the 16th Century, the humble pillow has been given unexpected meanings. The Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu tells a famous story about a wise man who meets a depressed young scholar at an inn and offers him a magic pillow filled with the most vivid dreams of a seemingly more fulfilling life. When the young man awakens to discover that his happy 50-year dream has in fact come and gone in the short space of an afternoon’s nap, our impression of the pillow’s power shifts from wonder to terror.
Subsequent writers have likewise seized upon the pillow. When the 19th-Century English novelist Charlotte Bronte poetically observed “a ruffled (不平的) mind makes a restless pillow”, she didn’t just change the expected order of the adjectives and nouns, but instead she made unclear the boundaries between mind and matter — the thing resting and the thing rested upon.
It’s a trick perhaps Bronte learned from the Renaissance philosopher Montaigne, who once insisted that “ignorance is the softest pillow on which a man can rest his head”. On Montaigne’s thinking, intelligence and happiness confront each other forever in a pillow fight that only one can win.
With the words of Tang. Bronte, and Montaigne, we can perhaps more easily measure the attraction of the global pillow fight. Like a ritual 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 collective mind. Rather than a launch-pad for weightless rest, the pillow is a symbol of heavy thought: an anchor that drags the world’s soul down — one that must be lightened.
1. The example of Tang Xianzu is used to illustrate that ________.| A．pillows give people satisfactory dreams |
| B．dreams are always wonderful while the real world is cruel |
| C．people’s impression of pillows changes from wonder to terror |
| D．pillows symbolically convey the meaning in contrast to their soft appearance |
| A．wrote poems about pillows |
| B．regarded pillows as reflections of our minds |
| C．shared the same viewpoint as Tang Xianzu on pillows |
| D．was likely to have been influenced by the thoughts of the Renaissance |
| A．pillows give us comfort |
| B．pillows make people more intelligent |
| C．people with too many thoughts have less inner peace |
| D．people can easily fall asleep when they know nothing |
| A．Because it is a ritual release. |
| B．Because it makes life delightful. |
| C．Because it comforts restless minds. |
| D．Because it contains a profound meaning of life. |
要点如下：1.历史悠久；2.中国人独有的传统节日；3 .家庭团圆；4 .共进晚餐；5.吃月饼；6 .赏月。
注意事项：
1.词数80 左右；
2.可适当添加细节；
3.开头已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Mike，
I am glad to know that you are coming to China with your parents and spend the Mid-Autumn Day here．
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Yours，
Li Hua．
Christmas had traditionally been a time for my parents to spoil us. In the past, the presents would
On Christmas morning, we
Kite flying dated from China and became popular around the country. With a long history, it is considered as the
In the past, people fastened bamboo-made whistles onto a kite. While
In the 7th century, kite
Around the Qingming Festival, usually on early April, many people fly kites in public squares. The sky is dotted with kites of different designs, such as dancing butterflies, bounding dragons, and swimming fish. When people look at those kites, they feel as if they were flying away with the kites
The traditional Chinese kite expresses
1. “世界睡眠日”的时间和目的；
2. 睡眠不良的危害；
3. 如何提高睡眠质量。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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6 . A student's life is never easy.
●Knowing the country.
You shouldn't bother researching the country's hottest tourist spots or historical places. You won't go there as a tourist, but as a student. It'll be helpful to read the most important points in their history and to read up on their culture.
●Studying their language.
Don't expect that you can graduate abroad without knowing even the basics of the language. Before leaving your home country, take online lessons to at least master some of their words and sentences.
●
Check the conversion（兑换）of your money to their local currency, set up your bank account so you can use it there, get an insurance, and find an apartment. The Internet or your intended school will be very helpful in finding an apartment and helping you understand local currency.
Remember, you're not only carrying your own reputation but your country's reputation as well. If you act foolishly, people there might think that all of your country men are foolish as well.
| A．Packing your clothes. |
| B．Preparing for other needs. |
| C．Most importantly, read about their laws. |
| D．This will be useful in living and studying there. |
| E．That would surely be a very bad start for your study abroad program. |
| F．Going with their trends will keep it from being too obvious that you're a foreigner. |
| G．And it is even more difficult if you will have to complete your study in a foreign land. |
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注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Tom,
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Yours,
Li Hua
In western countries, after a long day with the sun
Restaurants in the US are places where people
In spite of the benefits of hot water and the
10 . In a recent study of 19-month-olds, University of Chicago doctoral student Lauren Howard found that children who heard various languages in their neighborhoods were more receptive to people who spoke languages other than their parents ‘language.
“We measured imitation. At this age, that’s how they show us their willingness to learn, ”explained Howard. The lead author of the report titled Neighborhood Linguistic Diversity Predicts Infants' Social Learning. The experiments tested how well the babies could learn new tasks from a non- English speaker.
The study, which included 82 children from the Chicago and Washington areas, was in the November issue of Cognition.
“Babies are not only affected by parents and caregivers--- previous studies proved that --but also by people they hear at the store or on the bus, "Howard said. “Incidental exposure matters.”
The study indicates that kids in diverse communities may grow up to have open minds. Good news for families living in such neighborhoods--- but can other families do something to increase children's cultural exposure？
Cultural diversity can be within reach, even in unlikely areas. Although she grew up in not very diverse"， Julie, 23， said she picked up much knowledge about other languages and cultures from the many students her family hosted through the AFS-USA international student exchange program.
“It’s the little differences that make you more understanding and less judgmental, ”Julie said “Yuilya from Kazakhstan, for example, was very disciplined because she couldn't go to college unless her grades were good. Matias from Paraguay wasn't used to being on time because his culture is more laid-back. ”
For families unable to host a student for a whole year, AFS-USA offers other volunteer opportunities, such as being “welcome families ”to ease students ’ transitions（过渡）.
But there are countless ways to expose kids to other countries, said Lucas, author of “Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be at Home in the World.”
Just a few of her tips: Take the kids to foreign films. Try exotic restaurants. Put a world map on the wall. Help your children’s teachers make global classrooms. Encourage the kids to invite friends of other cultures for dinner. “They’ll thank you later, "Lucas said.
1. What does Howard stress by saying "Incidental exposure matters"？| A．Babies are also influenced by people outside their home |
| B．Parents fail to realize the importance of incidental learning |
| C．Parents and caregivers have more influence on babies |
| D．Babies learn little knowledge at the store or on the bus. |
| A．She frequently volunteered in some welcome families |
| B．She lived in neighborhoods with various language learn |
| C．She was a member of the AFS-USA program |
| D．She learned from the foreign students living in her home |
| A．Curious | B．Happy |
| C．Tolerant | D．anger |
| A．How to improve children’s behavior |
| B．How to teach children foreign languages |
| C．How to better communicate with children. |
| D．How to help children seek diversity |
