BEAUTIFUL IRELAND AND ITS TRADITIONS
Ireland’s beautiful countryside has always had a great influence on its people and traditions. The country has a long history of producing great writers and poets. Its beautiful countryside excites and inspires all, offering something for each of the senses. The peaceful landscape of the “Emerald Isle” and its many green counties is a true feast for the eyes, with its rolling green hills dotted with sheep and cattle. And down by the sea, the roar of the ocean waves and cries of the seabirds make up the music of the coast. On a quiet morning in the mountains, feel the sun on your skin, and breathe in the sweet scent of fresh flowers while birds greet the new day with their morning song. With all this beauty, it is not surprising that Ireland has developed strong traditions that include music, dancing, and dining. To have a chance of experiencing this, stop by a village pub and relax with a glass of wine or a local beer. Better yet, enjoy a delicious traditional Irish Beef Stew. If you’re lucky, you might be able to enjoy some traditional music and dancing, too. And if you introduce yourself to a friendly face, you are more than likely to experience local culture and customs first-hand.
2. What are the best ways to experience some Irish traditions and culture?
3. What is the meaning of “breathe in the sweet scent of fresh flowers while birds greet the new day with their morning song”?
4. What are the best ways to experience Chinese traditions and customs?
My friends were surprised when I told them my plan to further my learning in China. But up to now, choosing China
My first
3 . As the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Therefore, when you intend to run your business in France, you may as well get to know French culture, make marketing plans, and do business by local laws.
Use first names only after being invited to.
Dress well. The French draw information about people based on their appearance. Your business clothing is a reflection of your success and social status.
The French are passionate about food, so lunches are common in doing business in France, which usually consist of an appetizer, a main meal with wine, cheese, dessert and coffee, and normally take up to two hours.
Do not begin eating until the host says “bon appetite”. Pass dishes to the left, keep wrists above the table and try to eat everything on the plate.
| A．Always try to be tasteful and stylish. |
| B．Remember to be as polite as possible. |
| C．This is a time for relationship building. |
| D．Use Monsieur or Madame before the surname. |
| E．Be careful with adding salt, pepper or sauces to your food. |
| F．Make an appointment with your business partner in advance. |
| G．Language should be the focus of anyone planning to do business in France |
4 . Maaseik, a city in Belgium, has opened an exhibition of about 200 relics and treasures of the Tang Dynasty(618 AD - 907 AD), showing China’s golden age of ancient civilisation (文明) .
The exhibition, which opened on May 11 and will continue until Oct. 20, is part of the city’s effort to create a centre of Chinese culture. Belgian Princess Mathilde formally announced the beginning of the exhibition, titled: China’s Golden Age: Treasures from the Tang Dynasty”.
The items, including gold plates and silver wares for royal families, Tang Dynasty tri-colour glazed figurines (小雕像) of women and paintings, have recently been on exhibit in the Dutch city of Assen.
All of the exhibited items are from Shaanxi Province, China. Its provincial capital Xi’an was the most populous (人口众多的) city in the world and once the capital of the Tang Dynasty.
The Tang period is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilisation-requal to, or better than that of the earlier Han Dynasty(202 BC-220 AD), a golden age of Chinese culture.
Several years ago, said Dirk Verlaak, vice-mayor of Maaseik, his city and Assen teamed up to host history and culture exhibitions of China’s first two imperial dynasties, the Qin (221 BC-207 BC) and the Han. The Chinese relics and treasures attracted 350, 000 visitors in Assen and 190, 000 in Maaseik.
“Westerners don’t know much about China’s ancient civilisation and history, and we hope the new exhibition in Maaseik can attract more visitors,” said Verlaak.
1. Maaseik held the exhibition in order to ________.| A．make money | B．educate people |
| C．attract foreign visitors | D．spread Chinese culture |
| A．Dirk Verlaak is interested in Chinese history |
| B．All the items in the exhibition are from China |
| C．Assen attracted more visitors than Maaseik several years ago |
| D．This is the first time that Maaseik has held such an exhibition |
| A．Doubtful | B．Content | C．Worried | D．Disappointed |
| A．Tang Dynasty Treasures Exhibited in Belgium |
| B．Tang Dynasty Treasures Discovered in Belgium |
| C．Chinese Culture Goes around the World |
| D．Chinese Civilisation Attracts Foreigners |
5 . My husband and I just spent a week in Paris.
The place wasn’t entirely authentic, though. Unlike a normal Parisian apartment, the plumbing (水管) worked.
Parisians are different from you and me. They never look lazy or untidy. As someone noted in this paper a couple of weeks ago, they eat great food and never gain weight.
In France, quality of life is much more important than efficiency.
You can tell this by cafés life. French cafés are always crowded.
| A．Not all the customers are tourists. |
| B．The quality of life in France is equally excellent. |
| C．There was a nice kitchen and a comfortable bed. |
| D．The amazing food is mainly consumed by local farmers. |
| E．That’s not the only reason the French eat less than we do. |
| F．Our aim was to see if we could live, in some way, like real Parisians. |
| G．The food is so delicious that you don’t need much of it to make you happy. |
6 . Thirteen-year-old American Jessica Goldstone wants to be a fashion designer when she finishes school. She thinks her designs would be more exciting than clothes bought from stores. But until this month, Jessica has never touched a sewing machine(缝纫机).
After her first class, Jessica and six other girls aged 9 to 13 said that sewing was fun, cool and challenging.
These students at Fabrics’ Sew Fun class show that the sewing machine is becoming popular again.
“There have been a lot of teens getting excited about sewing,” said a sewing company worker Donna Smith. “Some of them come from the Project Runway TV show,” she said. This TV show is an exciting weekly contest to make a great fashion designer. Every week one contestant (参赛者) fails the test and has to leave the contest.
The number of people who joined sewing class summer camps grew by 10 percent this year. That’s good news for companies that make sewing machines and publish sewing magazines. The Singer Sewing Company sold nearly 3 million sewing machines in the United States last year. This is about twice as many as in 1999.
Sewing machines have been around for more than 150 years, but they have changed a lot since your grandmother was a girl.
Spencer Carmel started sewing lessons after getting a sewing machine for her 11th birthday. She has sewn a lot by hand, but she wants to make more difficult things. Spencer’s class recently made hats.
Another member of the class, Kelsey Oen, 9 years old, needed time to get used to her machine, but soon she could use it well. By the end of the class, Kelsey was happy and wearing her new hat.
1. The passage is written to .| A．teach how to sew clothes |
| B．advertise a kind of sewing machine |
| C．describe a popular American children’s hobby |
| D．encourage more people to start sewing |
| A．They don’t really care much for it. |
| B．They are very interested in it. |
| C．They think it’s too easy to learn. |
| D．They think it’s only for younger kids. |
| A．sewing class |
| B．sewing machine |
| C．fashion design class |
| D．fashion design contest |
