1 . Do you like Chinese traditional painting and dance? They are two important parts of the traditional Chinese art. But what about when they meet each other?
This year, a dance drama titled Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting (《只此青绿》) was staged on CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala and became popular.
According to CCTV, this poetic dance program was inspired by the 900-year-old Chinese painting A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains (《千里江山图》), created by Song Dynasty painter Wang Ximeng at about 18. The painting is amazing in its sweeping size, rich coloration and the expressive details, reported by CCTV. It shows a Chinese blue-green landscape: mountains and groupings of infinite (无限的) rise and fall between cloudless sky and rippling (涟漪的) water.
When the dancers moved elegantly, audiences seemed to be looking at the moving mountains and rivers. “It brings me a pure experience of beauty. It is not only a drama but also an exhibition. Vast mountains and rivers are coming to life!” Internet user Mo Weisha wrote in a review. “More than a thousand years later, green mountains and rivers still impress people as they did long ago.” Some people even decided to watch the dance again when it was staged in the theaters later. In fact, in recent years, more and more modern shows have featured Chinese traditional culture and received warm welcome. As for the reason, it is due to people’s great love for traditional culture.
“The younger generations have grown up with a more open mind. They accept Chinese culture and are proud of it,” Yao Wei, director of Henan TV Station’s Innovation Center, told China Daily.
1. What’s the writing purpose of paragraph 1?A.To raise a question. | B.To introduce the topic. |
C.To describe the art world. | D.To show a doubtful thought. |
A.CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala. | B.A Chinese blue-green landscape. |
C.Song Dynasty painter Wang Ximeng. | D.An old Chinese traditional painting. |
A.Traditional culture is accepted and loved by people. |
B.Green mountains and rivers greatly impress people. |
C.The poetic dance can be staged in the theaters later. |
D.Increasing modern shows feature Chinese traditional culture. |
A.It explains why Chinese art enjoys popularity. |
B.It shows us art can come to life through dance. |
C.It highlights the beauty of Chinese traditional art. |
D.It tells us the love for Chinese traditional painting. |
2 . In traditional stick puppet shows in Shanxi, puppeteers hold up and manipulate (操控) the puppets using three rods (杆). The puppets are dressed in traditional costumes and frolic (嬉戏) on stage. They are able to change their facial expressions and perform complicated movements.
Such art can’t be created without the painstaking effort of puppet makers like Wang Maowei, 40, who is from Xiaoyi, Shanxi.
“When I chose puppet-making as a teenager, I gradually fell in love with it and decided to dedicate myself to the craft,” Wang said. In 2008, Xiaoyi’s stick puppet plays were added to the national intangible cultural heritage list.
It takes 40 to 50 days to make a stick puppet. The average height of a puppet is 75 centimeters to 1 meter, and they have different costumes to fit various plays and plots. “To make puppets, you need to have sensitivity and a basic foundation in the fine arts,” Wang said.
Traditional Xiaoyi puppet plays use the style of local operas, which are appealing to the elderly. Years ago, Wang realized that plays must cater to the market. He decided to start with the appearance of the puppets.
Stick puppets are traditionally carved from wood and are both time-consuming to make and heavy to hold. Wang found that a special kind of kraft paper is a perfect substitute (替代品). It means craftspeople can put things inside the puppets’ heads to allow them to be operated — the nose, eyes and mouth of a puppet can all move via the use of rods.
Journey to the West, a classic Chinese novel, has been frequently adapted in puppet shows. In the tale, the Monkey King can use his eyes to distinguish monsters from ordinary human beings. To recreate this power in his show, Wang makes the Monkey King puppet shoot laser beams (激光) from his eyes and spit (喷) fire from his mouth.
“It requires time and energy to create a delicate piece of work... These puppets are like my own children and I always take good care of them,” Wang said.
1. According to Wang Maowei, what specific skills are required for making stick puppets?A.Creativity and imagination. |
B.Patience and physical strength. |
C.Sensitivity and a basic knowledge of fine arts. |
D.Engineering and technological skills. |
A.To reduce production time and effort. |
B.To make puppets look more beautiful. |
C.To reduce the costs of making puppets. |
D.To make them lighter and easier to operate. |
A.By making it sing and dance. |
B.By making it spit fire from its mouth. |
C.By making it fly across the stage. |
D.By making it shoot laser beams from its ears. |
A.tell | B.appreciate | C.enjoy | D.prevent |
3 . The Rise of “China-chic”
Over past years, guochao, or “China-chic” has been gaining popularity among Chinese consumers. Guochao conveys the cultural heritage and values of China.
The idea of guochao was first borrowed from some international brands, and began to win over Chinese consumers in 2015.
In its third stage, guochao became more common in everyday life. Over the past decade, guochao has expanded from consumer goods to experiential products. As consumers are showing greater interest in cultural identity and creativity, productions like the TV program National Treasure, and the dance show Night Banquet in Tang Dynasty Palace integrate cultural and historical elements with the latest audio-visual technologies.
Nowadays, guochao is moving to the next stage. No matter how the trend evolves, Chinese people’s positive attitude toward the country’s development and their recognition of and growing confidence in national culture won’t change.
A.The trend grew in the following years |
B.They give the viewers a totally new experience |
C.The next stage saw the rise of China’s native fashion trends |
D.It also expresses national pride and confidence in a new era |
E.The second period of guochao mainly features hi-tech sectors |
F.Its success will rely first and foremost on gaining cultural confidence |
G.The concept of “Made in China” was recognized as the representation of Chinese culture |
4 . Have you ever had this kind of childhood memory: a family sits together casually, drinking and tasting tea after lunch or dinner?
After being spread to different parts of the world,
Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China consist of the knowledge, skills and practices concerning the management of tea plantations (茶园) as well as the picking of tea leaves, manual processing, drinking, and sharing of tea, noted UNESCO.
Weilu zhucha is a replacement in the cold seasons for the camping craze. Sitting around a stove, boiling some tea, people chat, admire the scenery and immerse themselves in traditional Chinese culture by boiling tea together in person. “
A.Take tea making for example. |
B.This can be fully shown by weilu zhucha. |
C.tea is common in Chinese people’s daily lives. |
D.It’s good to feel the warm atmosphere when boiling tea. |
E.China now has 43 items on the intangible cultural heritage list. |
F.tea has delighted and fascinated the world for a thousand years. |
G.This has been a daily activity for Chinese people throughout their history. |
5 . The UK has many strange traditions.
One of the most famous pancake races is the Rehab Parliamentary Pancake Race. This takes place on the morning of Shrove Tuesday in London, outside the Houses of Parliament.
Another important aspect of the race is the official starter.
A.One of those is pancake racing. |
B.The race is a competition between two teams. |
C.That is the person chosen to announce the start of the race. |
D.Rome schools or businesses hold special Pancake Day events. |
E.And as well as a bit of fun, the race is also held for a good cause.(事业) |
F.Pancakes in the UK are large and thin and can be topped with juice. |
G.In a typical pancake race, contestants have to run holding a frying pan with a pancake in it. |
6 . People perform graceful moves, all while standing on a bamboo strip in the river. You may think it’s a scene from an art movie, but actually it is a form of intangible cultural heritage: bamboo drifting(独竹漂).
Bamboo drifting dated back to over 2,000 years ago in the Chishui River area of Guizhou. During the Qin Dynasty,the Bozhou district of Zunyi city was known for its high-quality nanmu. It was in great demand by the royal court more than 2,000 kilometers to the north. With no transportation along the Chishui River, people had to stand on one log(原木)to drift down the river. Later, local people began to compete along the way and the game of wood drifting was born. In the Qing Dynasty, wood drifting became bamboo drifting because of bamboo’s lower price.
Now, communities in Guizhou hold bamboo drifting competitions every year during Dragon Boat Festival. Due to the great strength and balance it takes for one to get the hang of this act, bamboo drifting was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list.
Yang Liu,24,is an inheritor(继承人) of bamboo drifting.Yang said the most challenging part of bamboo drifting was keeping one’s balance. “I fell in the water several times when I was practising,” she said.
But the love for the ancient skill keeps Yang going. In the past 17 years, she has drifted all year round, in winter cold and summer heat.
Yang also produces new ideas when spreading the culture of bamboo drifting. For example, she connects dance with bamboo drifting to make it more graceful and wears hanfu when performing, creating a beautiful feel. In 2020, Yang registered on social media platforms and posted her videos. “I want to spread it to other countries so that more people around the world will like Chinese culture,” she told China Daily.
1. Why did bamboo drifting replace wood drifting?A.The bamboo was cheaper. | B.The bamboo was more beautiful. |
C.The bamboo was more convenient. | D.The bamboo was much easier to control. |
A.Prepare. | B.Change. | C.Master. | D.Improve. |
A.Designing moves. | B.Transporting goods. |
C.Choosing bamboos. | D.Keeping balance. |
A.She inherits bamboo drifting creatively. |
B.She learned bamboo drifting very easily. |
C.She has become the leader of bamboo drifting. |
D.She began learning bamboo drifting at 17. |
7 . Britain is divided into different areas. Britain is one of the most diverse nations in Europe with over 250 different languages being spoken in London alone. With such a various culture, adapting to it can be a challenge for anyone.
Forget the stereotypes (陈旧观念). Many of the long-formed stereotypes simply have nothing to do with Britain today. Don’t think that everyone enjoys drinking tea or beer. Abandoning some old ideas of people and culture will allow you to be more open-minded and easily get into the culture.
Get used to small spaces. Like all European nations, Britain does not have the luxury of space. Houses, apartments and cars are all smaller.
Accept the jokes.
A.Be polite |
B.Make friends with them |
C.Don’t play jokes on others |
D.Understand the differences |
E.Following these steps should be of great help to you |
F.Therefore, trying to become familiar with smaller areas is very necessary |
G.One of the most confusing aspects of British culture is humour |
8 . By drawing patterns on the surface of a cup of tea, chabaixi, an ancient Chinese tea trick displayed in a recent TV drama, has gone viral for its apparent similarity with modern latte art (咖啡拉花艺术). However, ten years ago, this distinctive technique was close to disappearing completely. Zhang Zhifeng, a practitioner of chabaixi, found scenes of chabaixi in the drama aroused great interest among ordinary people.
Chabaixi can create endless patterns such as bamboos and mountains or even calligraphy. There are over a dozen steps, from grinding (碾碎) tea for fine powder, to pouring boiled water, stirring the mixture for thick froth, and finally drawing the patterns. It is different from making latte because people use clear water as the object to put into the cup instead of milk. But when the water touches the surface of whipped (搅打起泡沫的) tea, it turns into a white color and disappears in 20 minutes. The process before the drawing is known as the tea-making technique, diancha. The quality of diancha is crucial to whether patterns can be successfully produced later.
“Chabaixi is one of the countless forms of tea-making techniques in China. The importance of chabaixi is not only that this technique is unique in the world, but also it gives us a window into people’s lifestyle in the Song Dynasty, a period of time when leisure activities in some ways resemble what we have now,” Zhang said.
Before chabaixi was discovered by TV audiences, the technique was listed as part of China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017, after it was recovered by Zhang Zhifeng. He started researching the origins of chabaixi in the 1980s and brought the technique back in 2009 after decades of trials and practice. Zhang spent nearly 30 years studying and researching the origins and making of tea, but for him it was all worthwhile.
“This technique is key to the tea culture of the Song Dynasty, and it would be a shame to let it fade. This technique must be passed on to the next generations so they can understand its history,” Zhang said.
1. What do the underlined words “gone viral” probably mean?A.Received good protection. | B.Maintained highly competitive. |
C.Started declining gradually. | D.Become popular quickly. |
A.It is painted with whipped milk. |
B.It involves complicated tea-making skills. |
C.It mainly describes beautiful scenery. |
D.It develops based on latte art. |
A.The significance of chabaixi. | B.The uniqueness of chabaixi. |
C.The origin of chabaixi. | D.The development of chabaixi. |
A.He teaches people the tea culture of the Song Dynasty. |
B.He is leading young generations to innovate chabaixi. |
C.He is committed to developing chabaixi through media. |
D.He encourages people to pass on the technique of chabaixi. |
9 . A British friend told me he couldn’t understand why Chinese people love eating sunflower seeds (嗑瓜子) as a snack so much. “I’ve met a lot of older Chinese and many have a crack in their front teeth, I believe that’s from cracking the seeds,” he said.
I had never noticed the habit, but once he mentioned it, I suddenly became more aware. I realized that whenever I’m watching TV or typing a report, I always start mindlessly cracking sunflower seeds. My friend doesn’t like sunflower seeds, and, to him, it seems unnecessary to work so much just to get one small seed.
When we were young, the whole family would usually get together for Chinese New Year. Then, we all lived close to one another, usually in a small city, and sometimes even neighbors would go door-to-door on Chinese New Year’s Eve to check out what every family was making.
I remember my parents would be in the kitchen cooking. Out in the living room, a large table would already be laid out, complete with fancy tablecloth, ready-made dumpling fillings, and dishes full of candy, fruits and sunflower seeds. Some of the dishes were to be offered to our ancestors later, while others were for neighbors and children to eat before the evening feast. I must have learned how to crack sunflower seeds back then.
I don’t think it’s right to criticize (批评) one’s choice in food or eating habits, no matter how strange they may seem.
It’s not only in China. When I went abroad, I found people had all sorts of strange habits when it came to food. In Denmark, they put salted red fish on bread and eat it for dinner, no matter how much it ruins your breath. They think it’s delicious, and it’s connected to their certain culture. I think it’s a wonderful tradition.
1. Why can the British friend not understand when he found Chinese love eating sunflower seeds?A.Because the seeds are too hard to crack. |
B.Because he thinks they are harmful to teeth. |
C.Because he doesn’t think the seeds are worth eating. |
D.Because he doesn’t think the seeds are good. |
A.The families get together for it. | B.Children can eat delicious food on that day. |
C.The traditions of celebrating it disappear. | D.Eating sunflower seeds is related to it. |
A.Uncaring. | B.Negative. | C.Understandable. | D.Doubtful. |
A.Eating habits come from a certain culture. |
B.It is good to form healthy eating habits. |
C.Changing your eating habits will change your life. |
D.One kind of food doesn’t necessarily suit everyone. |
10 . Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivals in Chinese calendar. The festival typically involves family getting together to share mooncakes while watching the moon. Typical Chinese mooncakes are round in shape, and measure around 10 cm in diameter and 4-5 cm in thickness. Most mooncakes consist of a thin tender skin enveloping a sweet, dense filling.
Above all, full preparations should be made, including materials such as dough (生面团), flour, water, sugar and vegetable oil, and fillings—lotus seed paste (莲子蓉) and eggs.
Mix together all the materials to get a dough.
Next, separate the egg yolks from the whites and salt the steamed yolks. While the oven is preheating to 180 degrees Celsius, roll the lotus paste and the dough into small balls.
Then, shape up with each consisting of a dough wrapper, one ball of lotus paste, and one half of a salted egg yolk. Make a hole in a ball of lotus and put the yolk inside. Similarly, cover the lotus ball (with the yolk inside) with a wrapper.
Remember to wait to eat the mooncakes for two days when they will be soft and also look shiny.
A.A mooncake ball is made. |
B.Prepare the salted egg yolks. |
C.Finally, put all mooncakes into the oven. |
D.Flatten each piece of dough into a thin wrapper. |
E.There're many stories about mooncakes and Chang'e. |
F.Mooncakes are the must-eat food for the Mid-Autumn Festival. |
G.Covered with plastic wrap, it should be set aside for at least 3 hours. |