1 . Argentina lies in the South America. There are many festivals in Argentina during the year. Therefore, you can enjoy the different interesting festivals when traveling there.
First of all, we should talk about the Tango (探戈) Festival inArgentina, which is held in the capital of this country — Buenos Aires, from February to March. You ought to know that Argentina is the home of tango, so Argentinians admire this dance very much. Even if you cannot dance perfectly, you should join the people and try to perform this dance.
The next festival in Argentina is Open Polo (马球) Tournament. You should go to Palermo to see this festival in Argentina. This festival is held every year and is the most important polo tournament in Argentina.This kind of sport is considered the most important in Argentina.
Attending this festival in Argentina, you will be able to communicate with different people and admire the fascinating competition between the teams of different countries, such as Argentina, England, Australia, as well as the US. This festival in Argentina is usually held between November and December every year. So don’t miss the opportunity if you travel to Argentina at this time.
The other festival in Argentina is the Semana Musical Liao Liao. This is a festival of classical music. The festival was created in 1993 and is held at the Liao Liao Hotel, near Bariloche. The festival is held yearly in October. So if you admire this kind of music, you should travel toArgentina in October.
There are also many carnivals in Argentina in summer. Of course, it’s impossible to put everything about festivals in Argentina into just one article. We hope that you have found this article interesting and eye-catching.
1. What would be the best title for the passage?| A．Entertainments in Argentina | B．Festivals in Argentina |
| C．Travel to Argentina | D．A brief introduction to Argentina |
| A．is organized by the government |
| B．welcomes everyone to take part in it |
| C．is held in summer |
| D．holds parties for different dances |
| A．Open Polo Tournament. | B．Every carnival in Argentina. |
| C．The Tango Festival. | D．The Semana Musical Liao Liao. |
| A．Buenos Aires in spring | B．Palermo in April |
| C．Palermo in winter | D．Bariloche in October |
2 . I hesitated when my friend suggested that we join the school’s new Tai Chi club. I used to think that tai chi was for the elderly. However, the first class changed my previous understanding of tai chi. A year later, I can say that tai chi has had a huge impact on me.
The first few tai chi classes were fun and easy, and the moves with descriptive names really caught my imagination, like “white crane spreading its wings” and “golden rooster standing on one leg.” When I asked my coach where these interesting names came from, he told me about the history of tai chi. Zhang Sanfeng, a 13th-century Taoist, was said to have invented tai chi after drawing inspiration from a fight between a snake and a bird. However, nowadays people tend to believe that Chen Wangting, a 17th-century master of Chinese martial arts, developed tai chi based on martial arts skills.
After the first few basic tai chi lessons, I found myself bored and aching from doing the same slow moves over and over again. Fortunately, my coach taught me how to relax my muscles and focus on peace of mind during ever, day practice. With these requirements of tai chi in mind, I found to my satisfaction that my balance and flexibility slowly improved, that I was able to do more difficult moves, and that my love for tai chi returned stronger than ever.
Meanwhile, I started to explore the ancient Chinese culture behind tai chi. I discovered that tai chi is deeply rooted in the Chinese philosophy of yin and yang, which are believed to form the the unity of opposite. Neither can exist independent of the other. The practice of tai chi aims to keep the balance of yin and yang in the body through opposite movements: forwards and backwards, up and down, left and right, breathing in and breathing out. Ultimately, tai chi brings about a state of physical balance and mental peace.
The experience of a year of tai chi has affected my everyday life positively. I sleep more soundly at night, and feel more energetic during the day. I feel happier and more confident. Tai chi has taught me to relax my mind, enabling me to stay calm in stressful situations. I am sure I will continue to practise tai chi and enjoy the benefits it has brought me.
1. Why did the author join the Tai Chi Club?| A．Because of his friend’s advice. | B．Because of his interest in it. |
| C．Because of the school’s request. | D．Because of his parents’ suggestion. |
| A．Quick and beautiful. | B．Quick and free. |
| C．Slow and beautiful. | D．Slow and boring. |
| A．Tai chi is influenced by Laozi’s philosophy of water. |
| B．Tai chi can have a positive effect in people’s lives. |
| C．You can find the origin of tai chi in the Chinese philosophy of yin and yang. |
| D．Tai chi can make people feel energetic and confident. |
| A．Finally | B．Sometimes | C．Firstly | D．Constantly |
3 . FROM PROBLEMS TO SOLUTIONS
Economic development is necessary if we want to improve society. There comes a time when the old must give way to the new, and it is not possible to preserve everything from our past as we move towards the future. Finding and keeping the right balance between progress and the protection of cultural sites can be a big challenge.
Big challenges, however, can sometimes lead to great solutions. In the 1950s, the Egyptian government wanted to build a new dam across the Nile in order to control floods, produce electricity, and supply water to more farmers in the area. But the proposal led to protests. Water from the dam would likely damage a number of temples and destroy cultural relics that were an important part of Egypt’s cultural heritage. After listening to the scientists who had studied the problem, and citizens who lived near the dam, the government turned to the United Nations for help in 1959.
A committee was established to limit damage to the Egyptian buildings and prevent the loss of cultural relics. The group asked for contributions from different departments and raised funds within the international community. Experts investigated the issue, conducted several tests, and then made a proposal for how the buildings could be saved. Finally, a document was signed, and the work began in 1960.
The project brought together governments and environmentalists from around the world. Temples and other cultural sites were taken down piece by piece, and then moved and put back together again in a place where they were safe from the water.In 1961, German engineers moved the first temple. Over the next 20 years, thousands of engineers and workers rescued 22 temples and countless cultural relics. Fifty countries donated nearly $80 million to the project.
When the project ended in 1980, it was considered a great success. Not only had the countries found a path to the future that did not run over the relics of the past, but they had also learnt that it was possible for countries to work together to build a better tomorrow.
The spirit of the Aswan Dam project is still alive today. Perhaps the best example is shown by UNESCO, which runs a programme that prevents world cultural heritage sites around the world from disappearing. If a problem seems too difficult for a single nation, the global community can sometimes provide a solution.
1. In which year is the first temple moved?| A．1959. | B．1961. | C．1960. | D．1980 |
| A．Because they wanted to control floods and help economic development. |
| B．Because they thought it not necessary to preserve everything from the past. |
| C．Because the project could bring together governments and environmentalists from around the world. |
| D．Because they could get help from the global community. |
| A．They were rebuilt in other higher places. |
| B．They were moved to places with no water. |
| C．They were preserved in museums. |
| D．They were taken down piece by piece and moved to other places where they would be safe from the water. |
| A．2 years. | B．19 years. | C．20 years. | D．21 years. |
4 . Pu’er is the home of the world-known tea of the same name. Since other tea-growing centers in Pu’er may have a larger output, more famous brands (品牌) and heritage surrounding the history of the Tea-horse Ancient Road, Jingmai , also in Pu’er, may not be people’s first choice to look for the best Pu’er Tea.
However, being cut off from the outside by rivers, this mountainous area has become a perfect place for an ancient planting technique, growing tea trees under forest, known as the “under-story” method, which filters (过滤) sunshine while ensuring water.
Nan Kang, former head of Mangjing village, said, “Compared to modern plantations, we’ll surely produce less tea in the ancient forest. But we have to respect our tradition and belief. Birds eat insects to protect the tea and the fallen leaves from trees provide fertilizer. Everything improves the other, but also limits each other. It is the way of nature.”
Nan is an old-time Blang leader’s grandson. Following an old leader named Pa Aileng, his ancestors (祖先) came to settle near the Jingmai Mountain centuries ago. It is believed that Pa Aileng found that tea leaves made his people recover from diseases they suffered from during their moving to other places, so the hero is also considered as a “tea ancestor”. Blang people chose a mountain to remember him. They call it Peak Aileng.
“We Blang people believe tea has its own spirit,” Nan says. “The first planted tea tree in every field is called the Tea Spirit Tree. That means the field has an owner. And the symbol also makes everyone follow moral codes and protect the plants.”
Now, this mountain of tea, also a storehouse of the time-tested traditions of local ethnic groups, attracts global attention. The Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er was named as a World Heritage Site, becoming China’s 57th entry on the list.
1. What is Jingmai famous for in planting Pu’er Tea?| A．A larger production. | B．More famous brands. |
| C．Its unique planting method. | D．Its transport system. |
| A．It is widely used in Pu’er. | B．It was invented by Nan Kang. |
| C．It follows the laws of nature. | D．It makes sure to produce more tea. |
| A．Main food. | B．Gifts for friends. |
| C．Medical treatment. | D．A kind of nice drink. |
| A．The Long History of Pu’er Tea | B．A Tea Planting Tradition to Treasure |
| C．The Main Planting Areas of Pu’er Tea | D．A Mountainous Climate Fit for Pu’er Tea |
5 . The annual Redhead Days Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands, drew thousands of red-haired people from around the world in August, 2023. The three-day event is a celebration of red hair, a feature only shared by only 1%-2% of the global population. And although redheads can be found all over the world, the numbers are higher for people from the north of Europe, where the rate (比率) is between 2% and 6%.
For many attendees, like 30-year-old Scottish Liam Hunter, the festival is an opportunity to feel a sense of belonging and self-acceptance. Hunter, who has experienced bullying (霸凌) due to his hair color, expressed a sense of satisfaction and unity at the event. “I don’t feel alone anymore. I feel together, a part of something,” he said.
The event, which attracted about 5, 000 redheads from various countries, offered a range of activities including painting workshops, make-up and skincare knowledge, photo shoots, musical performances, and speed-meet events.
Interestingly, the festival’s start was somewhat accidental. Bart Rouwenhorst, an artist and the event’s organizer, placed an advertisement in the local newspaper in 2005 seeking 15 red- haired models for a painting project. Surprisingly, he received responses from 150 individuals. Although Rouwenhorst is not a redhead himself, he decided to organize a group photo with all the respondents. The gathering got much attention and was considered a success, leading the organizers to establish it as an annual event.
Now the festival serves as a special stage for redheads to celebrate their differences, develop a sense of community, and raise awareness about the challenges they face, such as bullying and increased sensitivity (过敏) to the sun. It also provides an opportunity for non-redheads to learn about and appreciate the uniqueness of red hair.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．Redheads celebrate their festival with various activities. |
| B．Red hair is a common disease among the global population. |
| C．The Redhead Days Festival is celebrated around the world. |
| D．Population in northern Europe has a higher rate of redheads. |
| A．The redheads enjoy a high social position. | B．The redheads take pride in their difference. |
| C．The redheads face discrimination sometimes. | D．The redheads have trouble keeping up with others. |
| A．The origin of the festival. | B．The popularity of the festival. |
| C．Customs during the festival. | D．Activities during the festival. |
| A．Challenging. | B．Informal. | C．Remarkable. | D．Meaningless. |
6 . Tea culture is varied in different countries by the way tea is made and drunk, and by the places for tea drinking. How to make tea may be different. According to the ways of making tea, tea is classified (分类) into white tea, green tea, black tea, etc. And how to prepare tea may be different, too. In Tibet, tea is commonly boiled with salt and butter. People may drink tea at home or in public, for example, at tea houses.
As part of culture, tea has a relationship with history, health, education, communication and so on. It is commonly used at social activities. For example, afternoon tea is a British custom. Families or friends can communicate with each other while having afternoon tea.
Tea has remained a way of daily life in China and drinking tea has a lot of advantages. It makes people less tired, clears heat in the human body and helps people lose weight.
Chinese people are good at using tea to make other things delicious. Tea, originally (最初) served as a medicine in ancient times, is now not just a kind of drink, but also excellent seasoning (调味品). Here are two delicious dishes made with tea:
Tea Eggs: You can find them cooked and sold in street markets in almost every city in China. Dragon Well Tea Shrimp (龙井虾仁). It’s one of the most well-known dishes in Hangzhou. Before you drink tea, please check the following tips:
♦ Drink tea hot.
♦ The best time to drink is in between meals. It is bad for your stomach if you drink tea just before meals, during meals or soon after meals.
♦ Do not drink too much strong tea.
1. Afternoon tea in Britain is a _________ according to the passage.| A．way of communication | B．hobby |
| C．game | D．weekend activity |
| A．a medicine | B．a drink | C．seasoning | D．a dish |
| A．just before meals | B．during meals |
| C．soon after meals | D．in between meals |
| A．ways of making tea | B．places to drink tea |
| C．tools for drinking tea | D．advantages of drinking tea |
7 . People from East Asia tend to have more difficulties than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why.
Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly (均匀的) across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes.
“We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions,” Jack said. “Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and overlook the mouth.”
According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed. As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations.
The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral. They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies.
It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than Westerners did. “The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions,” Jack said. “Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion. Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less.”
In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion. From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion. Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation.
1. What does the discovery show about Westerners?| A．They pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth. |
| B．They consider facial expressions universally reliable. |
| C．They observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways. |
| D．They have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions. |
| A．To get their faces impressive. | B．To make a face at each other. |
| C．To classify some face pictures. | D．To observe the researchers’ faces. |
| A．They do translation more successfully. | B．They study the mouth more frequently. |
| C．They examine the eyes more attentively. | D．They read facial expressions more correctly. |
| A．The Eye as the Window to the Soul | B．Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions |
| C．Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills | D．How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding |
8 . The Spring Festival is the most important celebration in China. There are some interesting Spring Festival traditions about Don’ts & Dos. Let’s take a look!
Don’t take out the rubbish
Taking out the rubbish, on that day, is said to stand for sweeping luck and wealth from the house.
Don’t give a watch or clock as a gift
A clock is an unpopular gift at any time of the year in China, as the phrase “giving a clock” sounds exactly like the Chinese words for “song zhong”.
During the festive period, you’ll see amazing decorations all over China, and your house should be no exception.
Popular decorations include red lanterns driving away bad luck, door couplets showing wishes for the coming year, and the character(fu) meaning good fortune.
Give hongbao or fruit
Hongbao, or a red envelope containing money, is a popular gift for adults to give children.
Fruit, especially tangerines or kumquats, are safe for friends.| A．Wear red for luck |
| B．As red is a lucky color |
| C．Make your house attractive |
| D．Spring Festival is a time for delicious food |
| E．A clock also stands for running out of time |
| F．You will often see them on the table during the Lunar New Year |
| G．In fact, cleaning any kind of thing on the first day of the lunar calendar is considered unlucky |
9 . Several years ago, Jeremy Clarkson, presenter of the famous BBC television programme Top Gear’, discovered that one of his guests was half German and half Irish. Immediately, he said: “That’s quite a strange combination. It’s like, this must be done absolutely perfectly... tomorrow”.
This is a joke about the stereotype (刻板印象) that Germans are efficient and Irish are lazy. Many people could understandably be offended by these kinds of assertions (断言). We do not know every Irish person, so how can we then conclude that every Irish person is lazy?
I recently read on a website that Irish business people were described as being ‘generally rather casual’ and ‘more outwardly friendly than many European countries’. German business people, on the other hand, are considered to be very direct and according to the website, they do not need a personal relationship in order to do business. Once you hear advice like this, it becomes easier to understand where jokes like the one in the first paragraph come from.
So why do some people disagree with the kind of stereotypes as seen in Clarkson’s joke, but agree when it comes to generalizations (概括)? What is the difference between the two?
By definition, a stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. A cultural characteristic, on the other hand, is a pattern of behaviour that is typical of a certain group.
So what does this really mean? Stereotypes are simply overstated assumptions about groups of people. Imagine if a tourist visited a small town in Switzerland and saw a number of locals playing the alphorn instrument, and then claimed that Swiss people can play the alphorn. This would be a stereotype! This is an overstated image of the Swiss which is based on one tourist’s experience.
If, however, this tourist were to say that the Swiss are very punctual, this could be seen as a cultural characteristic. This is because it is a pattern of behaviour which is very typical in Switzerland: from their transport system to their business meetings.
In this way, some people argue that generalizing another culture is not just useful, but important. Politicians always have to be mindful of the cultural characteristics of different countries. By becoming aware of different cultural characteristics, they can avoid causing offence in those cultures.
However, others argue that generalizing cultures will always lead to offensive stereotypes. They argue that the best thing we can do is to stop generalizing cultures and start treating people as individuals.
All this raises important questions: Can making generalizations about groups of people be a positive thing? Or should we always avoid making broad assumptions about different groups?
1. When he said “It’s like, this must be done absolutely perfectly... tomorrow”, Jeremy Clarkson really meant ________.| A．the stereotypes of the Germans and the Irish are not so good |
| B．the combination of half German and half Irish is interesting |
| C．the characteristics of the Germans and the Irish are opposite |
| D．the Germans will do it perfectly tomorrow while the Irish won’t. |
| A．It’s typical of the Swiss to be punctual. |
| B．The Irish people are considered as lazy, direct and casual. |
| C．The Germans are thought to be efficient, friendly and direct. |
| D．The Swiss people can play the alphorn. |
| A．they don’t want to offend other people |
| B．generalizing will lead to offensive stereotypes |
| C．cultural characteristics are better than stereotypes |
| D．they should treat people as individuals |
| A．show the importance of making generalizations |
| B．show it is wrong to play jokes on stereotypes of different people |
| C．tell us the differences between stereotypes and cultural characteristics |
| D．discuss whether it is good to make generalizations about groups of people |
10 . Guqin-making is a process that takes patience and carefulness. Patience is one of the key parts in making a guqin.” It takes about two years to finish making one,” says Sui Yiyangg, 37, who, has been applying himself to guqin-making for over ten years.
The body of a guqin is made of two parts, a fat bottom and an arched (拱形) top. The body of the instrument is carefully and repeatedly covered with a thin layer of oil paint, which can take months to finish.
The strings (琴弦) of a guqin are traditionally made of silk; today they are often specially developed into steel-and-nylon strings.
Sui learned guitar as a teenager. He was introduced to the guqin when he travelled with his father. During the seven-hour drive from Beijing to the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, he listened to the guqin recording in his father’s car and was attracted.
“The beautiful and lasting sounds of the guqin are different from the Western musical instruments I learned,” he remembers.
After returning to Beijing, he started learning the instrument. Later, he learned how to make the guqin from HAN Tingyao, now 85, a Beijing-based master artist.
Sui travels nationwide and even abroad to buy high-quality materials and tools. For example the kind and quality of the wood is very important, so he often travels to Fujian and Jiangxi provinces in search of the right materials. He gets the paint, which is used to protect the guqin from corrosion (腐蚀)，from a single place — Rentoushan, a village in Maoba township, Lichuan city, Hubei province.
Years of guqin-making experience has gifted Sui with the ability to make high-quality instruments. “Each guqin has its unique sense of reality, which you can only get to know after you feel it with your own hands,” he says.
1. Which of the following can best describe Sui Yiyang?| A．Out-going and loving. | B．Easy-going and careless. |
| C．Patient and careful. | D．Confident and responsible. |
| A．Five years ago. | B．After the trip with his father. |
| C．During a party with his friends. | D．While visiting a famous artist in Beijing. |
| A．Because he wanted to learn guitar. |
| B．Because he wished to visit the places of interest. |
| C．Because he hoped to become an artist like Han Tingyao. |
| D．Because he wanted to find the good wood of making the guqin. |
| A．People. | B．Sports. | C．Travel. | D．Nature. |
