1 . “I love China,” declared Boris Johnson, then mayor of London, in 2013, encouraging British children, his own included, to study Chinese. Seven years on, the popularity of studying Chinese seems to be fading in England.
Well-to-do parents saw Chinese as a good investment in their children’s future. In 2015 Hatching Dragons, Britain’s first bilingual English-Chinese nursery, opened its doors to 32 little learners; it has since taught over 500 children, for around £1,881 a month per child.
But Cennydd John, the nursery’s chief executive, feels sorry that there is “almost no option” for children to continue their bilingual education once they leave at the age of five. Fewer than 3% of primary schools in England offer Chinese.
Many independent schools followed the fashion: 24% of them offer Chinese, compared with 4.4% in state schools. But finding a school that offers Chinese is no longer the priority it was for parents three years ago, says Ralph Lucas, editor in chief of The Good Schools Guide. Part of the reason is that “the perception of China as a place where you would want your child to make a career has taken a severe knock”. Learning Chinese to a useful level is difficult.
That shift shows up in exam figures. In 2015, 3,099 students took a Chinese A-level. In 2019 those figures had dropped to 2,272 for A-level, according to the Joint Council for Qualifications.
Advocates of learning Chinese say that a more complex situation is exactly why children should be practicing their tones. But those who have invested the hours (and the cash) don’t always reap the rewards. “The only real advantage of me speaking Chinese was having a much better understanding of how difficult it was for my Chinese colleagues to operate in English,” says Alex Wilson, who worked in public relations in Beijing and Shanghai.
1. Why does the author mention Boris Johnson in the first paragraph?| A．To show Boris Johnson’s love for Chinese. |
| B．To show the popularity of studying Chinese in England. |
| C．To introduce the topic and attract readers’ attention. |
| D．To introduce the bilingual English-Chinese nursery in England. |
| A．There are not enough primary schools in England offering Chinese lessons. |
| B．Learning Chinese to a useful level is not easy for the learners in England. |
| C．The number of the students taking Chinese A-level exams dropped sharply. |
| D．The idea of letting children start a career in China become less popular. |
| A．Learning English or Chinese? | B．Is learning Chinese out of fashion? |
| C．Why is learning Chinese difficult? | D．Is learning Chinese worthwhile? |
2 . As a child growing up in a suburban town in the Northeast of the United States, the arrival of spring had little meaning for me.
Sure, we had a weeklong spring vocation from school, but the key word there was vacation, not spring.
For the kids in my neighborhood, the arrival of spring was a non-event. There were two important seasons: winter, when we could go skating and sledding or build snow forts, and summer, when we could finally make proper use of the beach about 100 meter east of my family home. Spring and autumn were just technical details, weeks and weeks of waiting for the good times' return.
Admittedly, spring later developed its own attractions for me—"In the spring a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of love", ns the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson noted—however, it was not spring itself, but the other stuff bat got my attention.
In short, I never thought much at all about spring…. and then I arrived in China. I had been in Beijing for about three months when my first Spring Festival rolled around, and it could hardly be ignored. Aside from the random bursts of fireworks at any time day or night, what stood out most for me was that the capital seemed to be empty.
It was as though the crowds and streams of cars and trucks commonly seen in the capital had all gone into hiding. My puzzlement cleared up when I returned to work. My colleagues explained that Chinese traditionally travel, if necessary, to visit their families during Spring Festival, and that many Beijingers were not natives of the capital.
I also got my first knowledge of something about Spring Festival that never ceases to amaze me. Regardless of when the holiday is set to begin, there is m almost immediate and sudden change for the better in the weather. Spring really does arrive.
I can't begin to figure out how the ancient Chinese could create a system for the millennia hat would almost always accurately predict when the season would shift year after year after year. But they did.
1. What did the author think of spring as a child?| A．Eventful. | B．Hopeful | C．Dull. | D．Trilling. |
| A．The author never had a spring vacation before he came to China. |
| B．Spring to the author is a season when he could do nothing. |
| C．Empty streets and random bursts of fireworks upset the author. |
| D．Spring Festival tends to indicate the coming of Spring. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Admirable. | C．Objective. | D．Confused. |
| A．Springtime—a season of waiting | B．Springtime—a season of senses awakening |
| C．Spring Festival—a time of celebrating | D．Spring Festival—a time of loneliness |
3 . The world that we live in is beautiful because it’s made up of people from a diverse set of backgrounds and cultures.
During this time, our multicultural world is embraced and celebrated for all of the variety and joy it brings. Can you imagine a world where everyone looks the same, has the exact same hobbies and interests, and even eats the same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner?
To put it simply, our diversity and inclusiveness (包容性)are our biggest strengths. We’ll all profit from a more diverse, inclusive society, understanding, accommodating, even celebrating our differences, while pulling together for the common good. As such, Global Diversity Awareness Month is a great chance for us to learn more about the beliefs, values and customs of other cultures.
There is no doubt that diversity and inclusiveness make our world a better place.
| A．There are many ways we can celebrate diversity. |
| B．How can we make the world a better place to live in? |
| C．What can possibly be a better way to celebrate that diversity? |
| D．Respect for world diversity is the key to bridging the differences. |
| E．It’s our unique differences that make the world so wonderful and interesting. |
| F．What’s important is that we reach out to other people and appreciate those differences. |
| G．In this way, we can open our mind to new ideas and ways of thinking to better our society. |
According to experts, the word “Hutong” originated from Mongolian language,
Hutong first appeared in Beijing during the Yuan Dynasty. Most of today’s Hutong were formed during the Ming and Qing Dynasties that
Today you can find various Hutongs
As we walk through the Hutongs, you may find most of them look almost the same with gray-colored
5 . One of Britain’s few typical contributions to world culture may come to an end, according to a survey that suggests holiday postcards are being emailed and texted into extinction (消亡). More than half of the 1,000 holiday-makers interviewed said they had decided to send fewer cards, turning instead to their electronic competitors.
A quarter of the respondents (受访者) dismissed postcards as old-fashioned and slow to arrive. A further 14% admitted that thinking of something to fill the space was too challenging, compared with a call home. Although officially invented by a Hungarian, Emanuel Herrmann, in 1869, the idea of illustrated cards was taken up with most enthusiasm in Victorian Britain, joining Gothic architecture and landscape gardening as fields in which the country excelled.
“If the British postcard did become extinct, we would lose for ever something of great importance to the nation,” said Chris Mottershead of Thomson Holidays, which charged with the survey. He was backed by Marie Angelou of Sussex University, who has studied the importance of sending and receiving postcards. “Postcards are nothing like phone calls, instant texting and direct photo shots via the mobile,” she said. “All these are useful, practical devices, but postcards offer something else, something additional that is not mundane (世俗的) and simply functional, but imaginative and personal. They can produce the real atmosphere of your holiday in a way that nothing else can do. They’re also for more than a moment — with some people adding them to collections built up over years and years.”
Postcard-collecting, is third only to coins and stamps in Britain’s related tradition of collecting things. The country’s uniquely postcard-related achievements include the invention in 1902 of the“divided back”. With the address taking up half of the writing area, brief postcard scribbles (潦草的书写) became the forerunner to today’s text messages.
1. What does the survey suggest?| A．Postcards are being emailed to people. | B．Fewer people care about holidays. |
| C．Postcards are now less preferred. | D．Paper cards are people’s favorite. |
| A．Gained popularity. | B．Took place. | C．Came back. | D．Went into service. |
| A．Postcards are not as effective as phone calls. | B．Postcards send information much more quickly. |
| C．Postcards should give way to text messages. | D．Postcards carry more than what they show. |
| A．Last Post for Britain’s Card Habit? | B．Time for A Change? |
| C．Britain: Dreamland for Postcards? | D．Fall of A Great Power? |
1.冬至的时间：每年的12月21日至23日中的一天，北半球(northern hemisphere)一年中白天最短的日子；
2.冬至的意义和活动；
3.对William冬至的祝愿。
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7 . The word hobby has an interesting history, and so does the concept of the hobby itself. Cultural attitudes have changed greatly about which ones are worth pursuing, and indeed whether having a hobby is desirable at all.
It is probably safe to say that when hobby was first used in the 15th century, most people didn’t have one, as it referred to a particular kind of horse. A hobby was a small horse that could “amble”(漫步), a particularly smooth, quick gait(步态)that was prized for long rides over terrible roads. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word is a shortened form of Hobbin, the name for a cart-horse, like Rover for a dog.
The hobby also had a part in medieval folk celebrations. Mummers and Morris dancers often included a person or two dressed up in horse costume, or pretending to ride a wooden stick with a horse’s head. Such hobbyhorses made popular children’s toys, too. Since hobbyhorses were the toys of young children and mime actors, “riding one’s hobby-horse” or being “on one’s hobby” became an idiom for wildly pursuing an idea or activity that looks silly to others.
Hobbies were considered slightly embarrassing, though mostly harmless, through the 18th century. In the 19th century, they grew more socially acceptable as middle-class leisure time increased. It became de rigueur for both men and women to pursue activities that would have seemed strange or shallow a century before.
In the early 20th century, according to historian Steven Gelber, hobbies “got rid of the old stigma of eccentricity(古怪的旧污名)” and came to be seen as a way to fill life with meaning and dignity. With a hobby, people could choose their own goals and progress toward them.
1. What determines whether having a hobby is desirable?| A．History | B．Concept | C．Cultural attitudes | D．Pursuits |
| A．Hobby was referred to a horse in 19th century. |
| B．“Riding one’s hobby-horse” is a positive expression to describe a person’s enthusiasm about his pursuit. |
| C．Hobbies were totally socially acceptable in the 18th century. |
| D．Hobbies became desirable in the early 20th century. |
| A．Necessary | B．Unsuitable | C．Illegal | D．Changeable |
| A．A new concept of the word “hobby” |
| B．An evolution of the meaning of the word “hobby” |
| C．A trend of narrowing the meaning of the word “hobby” |
| D．A new way of the application of the word “hobby” |
8 . China in Context, the first annual festival founded in Britain celebrating writers and writings from and about China, returned to London’s China town here in March. The annual event brings together Chinese writers, translators, language experts and readers from across the world to explore the extensive range of China’s history and culture through writings. Co-organized by Cypress Books and China Exchange, the event features talks from famous Chinese authors including Su Tong and Lu Nei and Chinese American writer Yan Geling, as well as a book fair, various hands-on workshops, and cultural activities.
In its second year, the festival focused on the theme of “translating China”. Ru Jing, from Cypress Books, said the theme was chosen because quality translated books are an important way to help people understand China. “Translating China is not only about translating the books but also the Chinese culture and other aspects of China,” she said, adding that it is high time they should organize such an event as more and more Chinese writers and books are known across the world.“I am studying Chinese but the grammar is really complicated and I have a lot of problems with it,” said Martin Parrott, a retired teacher, who thanked this event for offering people access to so many Chinese books and other sources here. “The more often this kind of event is held, the more people will come. I think you can do really good publicity in Britain, in places where people are studying the Chinese language and doing business with China, as nowadays many people in Britain want to know more about China,” he said.
According to the organizer China Exchange, the festival lasted over two weeks, and some of its popular workshops and talks had been fully booked.
1. What do you know about the festival?| A．It is founded in Britain every two years. |
| B．All the works in the festival are not written by Chinese. |
| C．It gathers Chinese writers, translators, language experts and poets in the world. |
| D．It deals with an extensive range of China’s history and geography through writings. |
| A．Because it is a great way for people to know Chinese festivals. |
| B．Because it focuses mainly on translating the Chinese books. |
| C．Because more and more Chinese writers and books are recognized across the world. |
| D．Because many people in Britain know little about China. |
| A．he has difficulty studying the grammar |
| B．the more events are held, the more people will come |
| C．people in Britain are studying Chinese to do business with China |
| D．he thinks highly of the event |
| A．To show the advantages of the festival. |
| B．To make the festival better known to the world. |
| C．To introduce a Chinese literature festival. |
| D．To encourage more Chinese festivals to be held. |
9 . Imagine that you are a detective at the scene of a crime. What you find is confusion. Evidence has been moved, stepped on, broken. You even suspect that someone took crucial items as souvenirs! This would make your job much more difficult, right?
Archaeologists are like detectives. We study clues left by people long ago and learn a lot about them: their culture, their environment, where they came from, and where they went. Anything made or modified by people is an artifact(文物).
Archaeological sites are important to our cultural heritage. Laws protect them against damage by neglect, vandalism, or looters(掠夺者). Laws also help to preserve sites on public land.
What if you find an artifact- -maybe an arrowhead, a piece of pottery, or an old cowboy spur --in your backyard?
Then contact your state’s historic preservation officer or an archaeologist at a nearby college or university. These experts can help explain what you found.
| A．If possible, leave it in place. |
| B．Also investigate the history of where you live. |
| C．Is the ground disturbed by construction or digging? |
| D．As such, they are part of the archaeological record. |
| E．It might make it even impossible to solve the case. |
| F．It just might be a missing piece in history’s grand puzzle! |
| G．But private landowners have the rights to their own property. |
The Chinese Lantern Festival was originally
From the 14th to the 16th day of the first lunar month, more than 50 thousand lanterns in
In the Song Dynasty, along with the carnival (狂欢), officers also
During the Yuan Dynasty, most of the traditional festivals were canceled because the
