1 . Craziest Food Festivals sounds like a joke topic, but once you start looking into it, you’ll realize they’re everywhere — the crazier, the better.
1. Bibimbap Festival
In the South Korean town of Jeonjuloves, their “mixed rice” dish is a hearty serve of rice topped with raw beef, a rainbow of vegetables, a raw egg and gochujang sauce so much. They take four days out of October to celebrate it.
Like any festival there’s music, entertainment and magic, but making it that little bit different is the bibimbap that’s whipped (搅拌) up in a big bowl by dozens of chefs and served to over 400 people.
2. Waikiki Spam Jam
Who knew this canned meat had so much love? Well, it turns out that a can of Spam is the go-to item in Hawaii, along with a grass skirt and garland (花环). The people of Hawaii love Spam so much that they even spend a day in May giving out the best Spam, a type of cheap canned meat made mainly from pork.
3. Bessieres Easter Egg Festival
At Easter time, for those in the French town of Bessieres it’s all about an egg far less sweet.
Here they celebrate the holiday by getting dozens of chefs to make one large omelette (煎蛋卷) — 15,000 eggs strong — for the townsfolk (市民).
4. Potato Days Festival
This festival actually takes place in Barnesville, Minnesota, the US. Over the last Friday and Saturday in August the town celebrates its potato-growing skills by hosting potato picking and peeling contests, as well as a Miss Tater Tot pageant (盛典) for five- and six-year-old girls.
1. What makes Bibimbap festival special?| A．They take four days to celebrate it. |
| B．The mixed rice is rich in many vegetables. |
| C．There’s music, entertainment and magic during the festival. |
| D．The rice dish needs to be mixed in one big bowl by dozens of chefs together. |
| A．The spam is the most favorite for Hawii people. |
| B．People spend one day to prepare the Jam. |
| C．The Jam isn’t affordable for the plain townsfolk. |
| D．The Jam is mainly made from raw beef. |
| A．Bibimbap Festival | B．Waikiki Spam Jam |
| C．Bessieres Easter Egg Festival | D．Potato Days Festival |
2 . If it had not been for Fan Jinshi and her team, the world cultural heritage at Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in a remote Chinese desert might have long been destroyed by sand, weather or humans.
Born and raised in Shanghai, Fan has spent half a century fighting an uphill battle to preserve the ancient Buddhist wall paintings at Dunhuang, in Northwest China’s Gansu province. The 1, 600-year-old Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes are a huge collection of Buddhist art — more than 2, 000 Buddha figures and 45,000 square metres of paintings spread among 735 caves. It is China’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Archaeologist Fan was sent to Dunhuang after graduating from Peking University in 1963. While in Dunhuang, a remote village in the desert then, Fan lived in an abandoned temple. At first, she did not even dare to go out to the toilet at night. To protect the treasures from sand and dampness, Fan and other workers put doors on the caves, planted trees and started monitoring temperature and humidity (湿度) in the caves. They also control the number of visitors.
In the late 1990s, with tourism booming nationwide since national holidays were extended, the local government planned to go public with Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, but found Fan firmly in their way. “The heritage would have been destroyed if it had been listed,” she said.
Dunhuang Academy has now photographed and catalogued online all the sculptures and paintings. “Despite our efforts to minimize damage, we can’t completely stop them from being eroded (腐蚀). But the digital database will last.”
Fan was grateful when her husband joined her in Dunhuang in 1986 after 19 years of separation. Her two sons grew up in Shanghai with their aunt. “I have not been a good mother or wife. With regard to my family, I’m full of guilt,” she said. Fan retired as the director of Dunhuang Academy but continues her efforts as a national political advisor.
1. Which measures didn’t Fan Jinshi and her team take to protect Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes?| A．They opened Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes to the public extensively. |
| B．They planted trees and stopped the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes being eroded. |
| C．They pictured and classified all the sculptures and paintings online. |
| D．They put doors on the caves and monitored temperature and humidity. |
| A．In 1963. | B．In 1967. |
| C．In 1986. | D．In the late 1990s. |
| A．the history of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes |
| B．the attractions of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes |
| C．Fan’s devotion to preserving Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes |
| D．the appeal for the protection of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes |
| A．Considerate and easy-going. |
| B．Kind and intelligent. |
| C．Humorous and sweet-tempered. |
| D．Devoted and persistent. |
3 . China’s popular “Singles’Day”, better known as “Double Eleven”, started out as a day to celebrate singles symbolized by the four number ones on the date of November 11.
With time that meaning has changed. In 2009, China’s e-commerce leader Alibaba set the day as a lucky shopping day for online sales as the date was both easy to remember and perfectly timed as it hit between the consumer spending lull (间歇) between National Day and Chinese New Year. It soon became a hit, and Double Eleven became a buying frenzy (疯狂) spread across the world’s second largest economy.
In 2019, the Double Eleven Shopping Festival entered its eleventh year. During this decade, Alibaba, Chinese e-commerce giant, and other e-commerce platforms, together with consumers, have co-created a very big shopping event whose heat has swept the world. Foreign readers share their ideas on Singles’ Day in China:
GhostBuster (UK) I think Double Eleven is unbelievable. It is not a religious festival that people of the same religion but living in different countries share. As an e-commerce faithful fan, I really love the shopping festival.
Emanreus (Australia) I work in Shanghai. Many of my young female colleagues are still single. They simply haven’t time to date, as they tend to work long hours then travel two hours by subway to get to and from work. Single’s Day is a day when they give themselves a treat with online shopping.
BlondeAmber (Ireland) There is not hing to be proud of to be in a country that spends so much online on a particular day. It does nothing more than show the superficiality (肤浅) of the temporary pleasure of shopping, and produces nothing more than a mountain of environmental waste. I bet there is plenty of buyers’ deep regret after this day.
Ionstar (US) Singles Day became a big deal for Valentine’s Day not for the singles! Well, Alibaba’s 11. 11 has become more famous and important than that of Black Friday and Cyber Monday!
1. Alibaba set the festival on November 11 mainly because ________.| A．it is a traditionally lucky day |
| B．it is a time for people to stay single |
| C．many foreigners like shopping on this day |
| D．it comes right between two consumer spending festivals |
| A．It is a festival that people living in different countries share. |
| B．It is a day for the singles to date. |
| C．People will certainly regret buying anything on this day. |
| D．Alibaba has made it as famous as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. |
| A．Ghost Buster. | B．Emanreus. |
| C．BlondeAmber. | D．Ionstar |
4 . The Chinese word “Shanzhai” means a small mountain village, but now it becomes an accepted name for fakes, after “Shanzhai Cell-phones” produced by small workshops in southern China became popular in the mainland market over the past two years. Besides “Shanzhai” electronic products, there are “Shanzhai” movies, “Shanzhai” stars and even a “Shanzhai” Spring Festival Gala, a copy of the 25-year-old traditional show presented by CCTV on Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve.
“Shanzhai” has become a culture of its own, meaning anything that imitates something famous. In Chongging, “Shanzhai” version “Bird’s Nest” and “Water Cube” woven by farmers with bamboo attracts wide attention from tourists. Both are copies of the famous Olympic buildings in Beijing.
A literature critic said that taking the “Shanzhai” Gala as an example, when the traditional CCTV program becomes less and less attractive to the audience, the “Shanzhai” version appears timely to attract people. “Although it is often connected with poor techniques and operation, ‘Shanzhai’ culture meets the psychological needs of common people and could be a comfort to their minds,” he said.
To the mainstream culture, the rise of “Shanzhai” culture is a challenge and a motivation. People believe different kinds of cultures developing together is a perfect way and it is for the public to choose.
1. The Chinese word “Shanzhai” may have started with ________.| A．fake (假的) cell-phones | B．electronic products |
| C．Spring Festival Gala | D．Olympic buildings |
| A．the action that a person imitates famous people |
| B．products with poor techniques and quality |
| C．anything that are copies of something famous |
| D．those similar names to famous brands |
| A．is held back by “Shanzhai” culture |
| B．is the challenge of “Shanzhai” culture |
| C．will be replaced by “Shanzhai” culture |
| D．may develop faster because of the challenge of “Shanzhai” culture |
5 . It is awkward（令人尴尬的）when everyone around you bursts out laughing at a joke that you do not find funny, especially if it's a joke told in a foreign language.
While Chinese students find it easy to adapt to a foreign lifestyle, socializing with locals is much harder, according to a recent study. Researchers looked at how well Chinese students made themselves a part of communities across the world. Of all the activities they struggled with, understanding jokes was considered the toughest.
Most of the time, jokes are funny only for people who share a common cultural background or are aware of humor in the same way.
Being able to understand local jokes can help students feel a sense of belonging. But even without the ability to understand jokes, students should not feel any less confident about themselves.
"It's OK if you don't get the jokes. Don't doubt yourself because in most time, it is not a problem of language ability but a matter of the known and unknown, "said Christine Han, who was once an overseas student and is now an Australian permanent resident.
Australia is ready-made for jokes, thanks to its history as a colony for prisoners, its unusual accent, the inner bush country and its strange food. However, to most Chinese overseas students, understanding jokes about sports is the biggest headache. Sport is an important part of Australian national identity.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 16percent（3. 3 million）of the population aged 15 years and over watched Australian football in 2010. About 9 percent（1. 9 million）attended a rugby league game.
British actor and comedian Simon Pegg discussed the differences between British and American sense of humor in a column of The Guardian. He believes that while Brits use irony（反语）on a daily basis, the Americans do not see the point of using it so frequently . He wrote, "British jokes, on the other hand, tend to be more subtle with a dark or sarcastic（讽刺的）undertone while the American jokes are more obvious and forward, a bit like Americans themselves. "
1. As a whole, many Chinese students ________.| A．tend to understand a small part of the local jokes |
| B．are difficult to get along with the local people |
| C．tend to feel the local jokes dull |
| D．work hard to adapt to the life in foreign countries |
| A．The Australians have a lot to do with sports in life. |
| B．Humor comes from their sports. |
| C．Humor and sports are part of the Australians' life. |
| D．Sports include much humor. |
| A．the same and humorous |
| B．different but friendly |
| C．different but humorous |
| D．outgoing and friendly |
6 . How different can other cultures be？Very different！People probably speak different languages and have beliefs and customs very different from yours. They can eat different foods and live in different types of houses. However，they can also be similar in ways of connecting with each other. We sometimes call these means of communication universal（共同的）languages.
Some legends hold that，thousands of years ago，there was a single language spoken by everyone on Earth. Of course，historical evidence does not support this，but it is fun to think about a time when everyone may have been able to communicate in the same language.
Today，there are thousands of languages spoken around the world. Yet，there are some means of communication that go beyond words and allow people of different backgrounds to communicate and share emotions and feelings. For example，some people believe music is a universal language. There may be some scientific support for this idea. Experts have learned that，across cultures，people can recognize three common emotions in music:happiness，sadness and fear.
So what other types of universal languages might there be？Some people believe dance is a universal language. Along with music，dancing seems to be a common interest shared by people all over the world. Do you think you could see a dance from another culture and make some reasonable（合理的）guesses about the ideas and emotions behind it？We bet you could！
Another universal language that you might not have thought of is mathematics! If you think about it now, it just makes sense. The value of pi is roughly 3. 14159 no matter where you are on Earth. Similarly, figuring out the value of something involves the same mathematical calculations, regardless of whether you' re counting in dollars, pesos or coconuts.
1. The first paragraph is mainly to tell us that ___________.| A．cultures are extremely different |
| B．people like eating different foods |
| C．people can communicate in similar ways |
| D．people now live in all kinds of cultures |
| A．the view that people used one language |
| B．the fact that there used to be many languages |
| C．the evidence that proves old languages funny |
| D．the doubt that people didn't understand each other |
| A．it can be easier to understand than languages |
| B．many of the people like listening to music |
| C．it usually comes from different backgrounds |
| D．it helps people to share common feelings |
| A．Mathematics, English and art. |
| B．Music, dance and mathematics. |
| C．Politics, economy and culture. |
| D．Diet, clothes and health. |
7 . Bank holidays! We all love them!
A bank holiday is an English term for a public holiday. During the day banks and offices are closed and a lot of people have a day off work. In the UK, people only get eight bank holidays in one year.
People in Colombia are much luckier. There are twenty bank holidays for the whole country in one year! And there can be even more, depending on which region(地区) you live in.
Bank holidays are very important for western people.
| A．Bank holidays are different in Colombia. |
| B．During the holidays, they often travel with their families. |
| C．This is because different regions have their own holidays. |
| D．And at least five of those are around Christmas time and Easter. |
| E．Every country on the continent of America celebrates Columbus Day. |
| F．Another historical bank holiday in Colombia is Columbus Day on 12 October. |
| G．However, some bank holidays in Colombia came into being for historical reasons. |
8 . To an outsider，any culture can seem confusing.And the UK's got a thing or two that raises a few eyebrows.However，understand the why and things might be less puzzling.
In a world where 61％of nations drive on the right，Brits drive on the left.Why? Most people think it goes back to Medieval，maybe even Roman times.
Visitors to the UK that have just washed their hands in an old-fashioned sink might be wondering why one tap is only for hot water，the other cold.
Millions of people drink tea worldwide，but the odd Brits put milk in theirs.Why? This mysterious practice relates to the quality of china cup used in the 18th century when tea was first imposed.For the majority of Brits，the cups available couldn’t stand the heat of the boiling water and would break，so milk was added first.
| A．This makes it difficult to improve |
| B．There is a method to the madness |
| C．This unusual behavior makes sense |
| D．You can know the origins of the practices |
| E．Either can make washing very uncomfortable |
| F．This cooled the cup enough to resist the boiling water |
| G．Here are the reasons for three of Britain’s more puzzling practices |
9 . Apart from decoration purposes, the paint symbols were mainly used during wars to express secret messages to the other members of the tribe. Native Indians believed that the designs that they painted had certain magical power that would protect them. The symbols were a reflection of the happenings and events during a war.Given below are the different symbols with their meanings.
Eye of a Medicine Man Symbol  It was a very powerful symbol thatrepresented the medicine man or shaman.The outer（外部的）lines indicated the four directions. The inner lines showed the spirit world and the dot in the center meant the eye of the medicine man and his spiritual vision. |
Lightning Symbol  It was a common symbol that wasseen painted on the face or across the forehead of almost all the soldiers. It was believed that itbrought power and speed to the wearer. A lightning symbol also symbolized the thunderbird , which brought lightni ng. |
Four Ages of Man Symbol  It indicated four stages of a man's life. They were childhood, youth and adolescence , maturity in middle age, and wisdom in old age. |
Indian Camp Symbol  It indicated an Indian village that consisted of tent-like houses made of wood and animal skins. It was easy to build and dismantle（拆卸）quickly. |
Homecoming Symbol  It indicated the return of soldiers and ceremonies were held to welcome the brave soldiers. |
So, these were a few war paint symbols along with their meanings. These were some of the widespread symbols. Each and every tribe had different symbols and colors , which indicated different things. They were not only used during wars, but also for hunting and decorations.
1. The native Indians may disagree that the paint symbols can be used to __________ .| A．share secret messages among tribe members |
| B．protect tribe members with magical power |
| C．reflect the events happening during wars |
| D．prevent tribe members from being attacked by insects |
| A．gain strength and speed |
| B．show his courage and bravery |
| C．celebrate his narrow escape |
| D．show off his victory over enemies |
| A．Homecoming Symbol. |
| B．Lightning Symbol. |
| C．Four Ages of Man Symbol. |
| D．Indian Camp Symbol. |
| A．Native Indian war paint symbols and their meanings. |
| B．Meanings and symbolism of different war paint colors. |
| C．Widespread symbols are of great use during wars. |
| D．Different colors and symbols indicate different |
10 . What is America's number one sport? Can I still say baseball? You could make that statement 30 years ago，but things have changed.Baseball of course has the richest history of all sports.But with the popularity of basketball and American football，there can now be an argument on which sport is American's number one sport.
Basketball really took a turn in the 1980s as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird took the NBA to another level.Of course，basketball was already popular and had seen such stars as Jerry West and Dr.J，but the real breakthrough (突破) came in the 1980s and from there it really took off with Michael Jordan into the 90's.Basketball has even become very global now as many NBA stars competed in the Olympics and faced no competition.Today，they had better be ready because there are so many talents in other countries and the competition will be stiff.
Like basketball，American football has always been a favorite of many sports fans and its popularity has grown widely.The ratings (收视率) that Super Bowl Sunday brings are amazing.They have even talked about making Super Bowl Sunday a national holiday.
In the year 2050，basketball and American football will have history like baseball's rich history and maybe American national sport.They have been trying for years，but it is not going to happen.
So what is American's number one sport? To me baseball will always be Americans' hobby—rich in history and many memories for people of all ages.If you have any comments on this subject，do give your opinions.
1. The most powerful basketball player in the 1980s is ________．| A．Larry Bird | B．Michael Jordan |
| C．Jerry West | D．Magic Johnson |
| A．baseball and its history |
| B．the most popular sport in the world |
| C．which sport is the number one in America |
| D．whether basketball is a global sport pastime |
| A．will have rich history |
| B．is world's most popular sport |
| C．has its breakthrough in the 1980s |
| D．will have the richest history by 2050 |
| A．persuade people to support baseball as America's number one sport |
| B．introduce the history of different sports in America |
| C．compare different kinds of sports that are popular among American people |
| D．express his idea that baseball is America's number one sport |
