1 . Imagine you are in your final days of study in Budapest. So, on your last weekend, you plan a train trip from Budapest to Prague. You only have a couple of days to make the trip.
You buy a ticket leaving on a Friday night. But after your last class, your professor offers a dinner to congratulate you with a celebration. You have to agree, but your eye is always on the clock.
Dinner takes longer than you thought it would and finally you thank him and say you have a train to catch. But he insists you stay for a quick dessert and offers to drive you to the station. You figure that if he drives you, you will have just enough time to catch your train. But after the dessert, he remembers, “Oh, I didn’t drive. How silly of me!” leaving you to hurry to the station.
Unfortunately, the train—your train—is pulling away. And there won’t be another one until the next night. You have missed your train. And that brings us to our expression for today: That train has left the station.
If you like expressions about boats, you can also say “That ship has sailed” or that someone has “missed the boat”. They are all used the same way.
Besides missing an opportunity, all of these expressions could be used in another situation: When events have been put into place and there is no stopping them.
For example, let’s say your mother wants to fix you up with the nice child of her boss. She arranges the date without talking to you first. You don’t want to go, but she has already told her boss you would. She can say “Sorry, but the train has already left the station. You must go on that date.”
1. Why does the professor invite you to have a dinner?| A．To give you a lift to the station. | B．To have an academic discussion with him. |
| C．To express his thanks for your help. | D．To celebrate you have finished study. |
| A．You passed your College Entrance Examination through your hardwork. |
| B．You couldn’t make a decision to do volunteering work. |
| C．You had to make a speech but you had no notice ahead and no preparation. |
| D．You gave up an opportunity to have dinner with your professor. |
| A．The child of your mother’s boss is very intelligent. |
| B．Your mother wants to find a job for you in her company. |
| C．Your mother plans a trip for you with her boss’s child. |
| D．Your mother wants to build a close relationship with her boss. |
| A．No matter what is said or done. | B．All good things come to an end. |
| C．Kill two birds with one stone. | D．Strike the iron while it is hot. |
2 . Cultural heritage is a symbol of the history, traditions and culture of a country, but through various causes like wars and natural disasters, there are many properties of precious tangible and intangible cultural heritage which are currently placed at risk. International cooperation to protect cultural heritage not only shows respect for the cultures of others, but also creates a stable foundation for the international community. Accordingly, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been concentrating on that as one of the pillars its diplomatic (外交的) policy.
For tangible cultural heritage, Japan is taking part in the international system of protection established through the World Heritage Convention. It has also been donating money for the protection of the historic ruins and buildings in various countries through the Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the Preservation of the World Cultural Heritage set up through UNESCO, and by employing the excellent repair skills developed in Japan.
For intangible cultural heritage, Japan began well-developed domestic efforts for their protection with the establishment of the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties in 1950, far ahead of other countries. Since then, it has been using the knowledge that it gained through that experience to take a leading role in the creation and enforcement of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the. Intangible Cultural Heritage. In addition, Japan has also been financially supporting the conservation of traditional dances, music, and craftsmanship in various countries through the Japanese Funds-in-Trust.
Cultural diplomacy may take a long time to yield results. Nevertheless, Japan believes the support for the cultural heritage is the pride of people in a nation which touches the hearts of people directly. This kind of aid does not stop with just material but also conveys Japan’s knowledge, skills and heart, which can bring about a great long-term benefit.
1. What does-the underlined word “that” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Building an international community |
| B．Creating a stable foundation for the world. |
| C．Showing respect for the cultures of other countries. |
| D．Cooperating with other countries for cultural heritage. |
| A．Donating money. | B．Using repair skills. |
| C．Making relevant laws. | D．Setting a good example. |
| A．It helps to sell of Japan’s skills. |
| B．It brings about immediate benefits. |
| C．It advances international relationship. |
| D．It strengthens the national pride of Japanese. |
| A．Japan’s Cultural Heritage at Risk |
| B．Japan’s Cultural Diplomatic Policy |
| C．The Benefits of Cherishing Culture |
| D．The Classification of Cultural Heritage |
3 . Chinese people love food made of flour, whether it be dumplings, or flatbread. In the hands of sill artisans (手艺人), flour is made into lovely models of people or animals to be enjoyed and played with, which brings a unique kind of pleasure. This art form is called dough figurine (面塑). Among the various at styles of dough figurines, Beijing’s Dough Figurine Lang is a unique folk art, which is filled with the rich history and customs of the capital city. Their delicate and lovely handicrafts are storytellers of old and new Beijing. In 2008, it was included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage.
It was created by Lang Shao’an. Most of the dough figurines are animals and characters from legends, historical stories, and local operas. The finished product is either put at the end of a thin stick, or on a table for display. Some are mostly for children to eat or play with, with simple forms and vivid decorations, while some are delicate pieces of artwork for display only. For this reason, during the making process they are often mixed with additives (添加剂) to prevent them from breaking up, being eaten by insects or growing moldy. Over the course of his long career, Lang Shao’an developed a set of sill fingers with an elegant artistic sense.
Lang Jiaziyu, born in 1995, is the third-generation inheritor of Dough Figurine Lang. When he was 15, he created Beijing Olympic Mascot shaped dough figurines which were highly praised. He looks a bit more fashionable than other folk artisans. In his skilled hands, pop culture icons such as figures based on Marvel comics characters and Chinese mythological figure Nezha with smoky makeup, are resonating with young people.
Like most of the other intangible cultural heritage handicrafts in China, Dough Figurine Lang does not get as much attention from the public. Few young people are willing to take the time to master a skill that does not make money, which has led to a decline in the number of those who are devoted to the handicraft. Good handicrafts need the devotion of artisans from one generation to another.
1. What is special about Dough Figurine Lang?| A．It reflects Beijing’s culture. |
| B．It is created by many famous artists. |
| C．It shows people’s lifestyles and beliefs. |
| D．It is popular with both tourists and the locals. |
| A．To make dough figurines taste good. |
| B．To keep colors brighter and last longer. |
| C．To help shape dough into various forms. |
| D．To better preserve the finished products. |
| A．Suggestions for other folk artisans. |
| B．Different art styles of dough figurines. |
| C．Lang Jiaziyu’s achievements as an artisan. |
| D．The popularity of modern dough figurines. |
| A．To call on people to master a skill. |
| B．To appeal to people to value this folk art. |
| C．To teach people ways to appreciate the handicraft. |
| D．To persuade people to protect national cultural heritage. |
4 . An 85-year-old primary school constructed in 1935 in Shanghai has been lifted off the ground completely and relocated using new technology called the “walking machine”. The project marks the first time this “walking machine” method has been used in Shanghai to relocate a historic building.
Urbanization (都市化) has continued to significantly threaten architectural heritage. In the capital Beijing, for instance, more than 1,000 acres of its historic hutongs and traditional courtyard homes were destroyed between 1990 and 2010.
In the early 2000s, due to the critics’ protest against the loss of old neighborhoods, cities including Nanjing and Beijing drew up long-term plans to preserve what was left of their historic sites, with protections introduced to safeguard buildings and set limits to developers. These protection efforts have taken different forms. In Beijing, a near-ruined building was transformed into a restaurant and gallery, while in Nanjing, a cinema from the 1930s was restored to its original form, with some parts of it changed for modern use. In 2019, Shanghai welcomed Tank Shanghai, an arts center built in renovated (重修) oil tanks.
“Relocation is not the first choice, but better than destroying them,” said Lan, the Shanghai primary school’s project supervisor. He also added, “Building relocation is a workable option. The central government is putting more emphasis on the protection of historic buildings. I’m happy to see that progress in recent years.”
Shanghai has been generally acknowledged as China’s most active city when it comes to heritage preservation. The survival of a number of 1930s buildings and 19th-century stone gatehouses has offered distinct examples of how to give old buildings new life.
“We have to preserve the historic building no matter what,” Lan said. “The relocation has challenges, but in general, it is cheaper than destroying and then rebuilding something in a new location.”
1. How did cities respond to the loss of historic sites?| A．They criticized the developers. | B．They rebuilt the historic hutongs. |
| C．They proposed the protection project. | D．They transformed them into restaurants. |
| A．Introduce different opinions on building relocation. |
| B．Summarize the main idea of the previous paragraphs. |
| C．Add some background information about heritage preservation. |
| D．Provide strong evidence for the success in protecting old buildings. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Favorable. | C．Opposed. | D．Skeptical. |
| A．Walking Machine: New Technology | B．Shanghai: A Pioneer of Urbanization |
| C．Old Building Destroyed for Modern Use | D．Historic Site “Walks” to New Life |
5 . 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 |
6 . Most of us consider winter a great time to stay inside with a good book. Yet the winter months offer great outdoor events.
The Ice Festival at Lake Khovsgol, March 2, 3
Lake Khovsgol, called the Blue Pearl of Mongolia, freezes up to 1.5 meters deep. Each year local residents have a two-day celebration, sharing their traditional songs and dances. Activities including sled races, skating and much more take place on the frozen lake. Visitors from different countries are always surprised to see how much weight the lake can hold.
Anchorage Fur Rendezvous, February 27~March 8
North America’s largest winter festival takes place in Anchorage, Alaska. In the past, the fur trade was one of the state’s most important industries. The festival’s 86th anniversary this year will celebrate Alaska’s pioneer way of life. People can enjoy nearly 70 different activities. Winter games and sports are a special feature as visitors celebrate the season. Tourists come from around the world to attend the festival.
Troms International Film Festival, January 12~18
If film is your passion, then Norway’s Troms film festival is for you! You will get to meet and interact with people from the international film industry. And you’ll be able to view some of the world’s best international films on Troms’s enormous outdoor screen. More than 50,000 people attend the festival each year.
Grindelwald World Snow Festival, January 19~24
Every January, ice art takes center stage in the beautiful Swiss village of Grindelwald. Artists from around the world arrive in mid-January to accept the ice challenge. They start with meter-high blocks of ice and spend six days creating spectacular sculptures (雕塑). Festival-goers are delighted to see the process as well as the finished pieces.
Don’t let the cold weather keep you inside this season. There are lots of fun and exciting events to attend!
1. What is the purpose of this text?| A．To explain why winter is not a good time to stay inside. |
| B．To show benefits of some exciting winter festivals. |
| C．To tell about the history of the winter festivals. |
| D．To introduce some fun-filled winter festivals . |
| A．It has activities related to ice. |
| B．It is held on the frozen lake. |
| C．Its visitors are from all over the world. |
| D．It is specially fit for film-lovers. |
| A．The Ice Festival at Lake Khovsgol |
| B．Anchorage Fur Rendezvous |
| C．Troms International Film Festival |
| D．Grindelwald World Snow Festival |
A．Health. | B．Science. |
| C．Life. | D．News. |
7 . Have you ever heard someone say, “you totally look like you’re a Jessica” or something similar? People seem to think that they know what kind of person a “Jessica” or a “Michael” looks like. Why is this?
According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, humans tend to associate (联系) people’s names with their appearance, and can even guess someone’s name based on how they look.
Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, collected thousands of photos of people’s faces. They labeled each photo with four names and then asked volunteers to guess which of the four names was correct.
The volunteers were able to guess the right name 38 percent of the time. It seems that certain features of faces give them clues about someone’s name, Reader’s Digest reported.
However, this only worked when the volunteers looked at names from their own culture. In addition, the volunteers were not as good at guessing the real names of people who used nicknames (绰号) more often than their real names. This may show that a person’s appearance is affected by their name only if they use it often.
This kind of face-name matching happens “because of a process of self-realization, as we become what other people expect us to become,” Ruth Mayo from the university told science news website Eurek Alert.
Earlier studies have shown that gender and race stereotypes can affect a person’s appearance. The researchers believe there are also similar stereotypes about names. For example, people tend to think that men named Bob should have rounder faces because the word itself looks round. People may think that women named Rose are beautiful. They expect them to be “lovely” and “feminine (女性的)”, just like the flower they are named for.
1. What’s the purpose of the study?| A．To learn how names influence personality. |
| B．To figure out whether names relate to their looks. |
| C．To find out today’s most popular English names. |
| D．To show how men’s names are different from women’s. |
| A．Names have different associations in different cultures. |
| B．A less used name has a greater effect on the appearance. |
| C．Volunteers found it easier to guess nicknames correctly. |
| D．Volunteers rarely got wrong answers at face-name matching. |
| A．They want to please everyone around them. |
| B．They don’t want to be different from others. |
| C．They grow into what others expect them to be. |
| D．They are influenced by people with the same name. |
| A．Positive opinions. | B．Wrong beliefs. |
| C．Unreal images. | D．Fixed ideas. |
8 . Festival Season is Back
Lollapalooza
Where: Chicago, IL September 29—October 1
Lollapalooza has been around for more than two decades. The three-day music festival, which is held at Chicago's central Grand Park, will run from late September to early October. A full vaccination or a negative COVID test will be required for entry. As for performers, Lollapalooza 2021 will be headlined by Foo fighters and Tyler, the Creator.
Bottlerock
Where: Los Angeles, CA September 3—5
Bottlerock, which is Napa Valleys first large-scale music festival, will return in early September. As much as the festival is about the music, it's also about the food, cooking shows from famous chefs and more than 40 local wine factories featured each year. Headliners include the Foo Fighters and Guns N' Roses.
Life Is Beautiful
Where: Las Vegas, NV December 17-19
Hosted in downtown Las Vegas, Life Is Beautiful is as glamorous as music festivals. Along with big names in hip-hop and electronic music, the festival also includes comedy acts and artists who create large art pieces live for attendees to see. Headliners include ASAP Rocky, Billie Eilish and Young Thug.
LA3C
Where: Los Angeles, CA December 2-4
LA3C—which stands for Los Angeles, the Capital of Creativity & Culture — will host its festival in early December. Along with live music, the event will also include comedy shows, cooking experiences, fashion shows and class experiences.
The event is hosted by Penske Media Corporation, which is led by Chairman and CEO Jay. This will be the first festival of its kind to contribute to a city that combines talent, diversity and culture like no other while it is also engaged in an attempt to solve some of the city's pressing challenges,” said LA3C Chief Executive Juan Mora. “Jay's vision and the commitment to positively impact the city of Los Angeles is inspiring.”
1. How long does Lollapalooza last?| A．More than two decades. | B．About two months. |
| C．Four days. | D．Three days. |
| A．Get a COVID test. | B．Watch chefs work. | C．Act in a comedy. | D．Enjoy fashion shows. |
| A．Lollapalooza. | B．Bottlerock. | C．Life Is Beautiful. | D．LA3C. |
9 . Six "sacrificial pits (祭祀坑)", dating back 3,200 to 4,000 years, were newly discovered in Sanxingdui Ruins site in Guanghan, Southwest China's Sichuan province. Over 500 artifacts, including gold masks, bronze wares, ivories, jades, and textiles, were unearthed from the site.
Sanxingdui site, first found in 1929, is generally considered as one of the most important archaeological sites along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. However, large-scale excavation on the site only began in 1986, when two pits — widely believed for sacrificial ceremonies — were accidentally discovered.
Investigation in the area around No 1 and 2 pits was relaunched in October 2019, and No 3 pit was found in December 2019, according to Lei Yu, a researcher of Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute who heads the ongoing excavation. Thirty-four research universities and research institutes have cooperated in this project. He said the new discoveries will help to better understand many unexplained findings in 1986.
More excavation followed in March 2020, and five more pits were found last year. And detailed research began in October. Excavation capsules with hi-tech equipment were set up in the pits to better conserve the site.
Sanxingdui site covers an area of 12 square kilometers, and its core zone of an ancient city covers nearly 4 square kilometers. According to the National Cultural Heritage Administration, studies of Sanxingdui site will become a crucial project in an ongoing program Archaeology China, which tries to explain the origins of Chinese civilization and how diverse cultures communicate and come together.
1. What does the underlined word “excavation” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Discovery | B．Dig |
| C．Exploration | D．Expansion |
| A．By dividing the task of excavation into several parts. |
| B．By cooperating with research universities and institutes. |
| C．By using excavation capsule armed with hi-tech equipment. |
| D．By conducting more investigations around the site. |
| A．All sacrificial sites were discovered in the meantime. |
| B．The excavation of Sanxingdui site only began in 1986. |
| C．There were altogether six sacrificial pits discovered in Sanxingdui site |
| D．The size of the core zone is approximately 1/3 times that of Sanxingdui site. |
| A．Sacrificial pits were unearthed in Sanxingdui Site. |
| B．Sanxingdui Site needed to be conserved. |
| C．Sanxingdui discoveries cast light on ancient China. |
| D．Hi- tech helped to excavate Sanxingdui Site. |
10 . Bank Holidays in the UK
Public holidays in the UK are commonly referred to as bank holidays. As the UK is a country made up of four more or less independent regions, official holidays vary depending on whether you live in England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.
There are eight bank holidays in England and Wales.
Holidays | Time of The Year |
| New Year’s Day (substitute day) | 1 January (3 January 2022) |
| Good Friday | 15 April 2022 |
| Easter Monday | 18 April 2022 |
| Early May | 2 May 2022 |
| Spring Bank Holiday | 2 June 2022 |
| Summer Bank Holiday | 29 August 2022 |
| Christmas Day (substitute day) | 25 December (26 December 2022) |
| Boxing Day (substitute day) | 26 December (27 December 2022) |
When bank holidays fall on a weekend, the following Monday is usually a “substitute” holiday. For instance, 25 December 2022 is Sunday, so there will be a national substitute holiday for Christmas Day on Monday, 26 December 2022.
In Scotland, the summer bank holiday is earlier in August. Moreover, Scots celebrate St. Andrew’s Day on 30 November and 2 January is also a bank holiday, but Easter Monday is not. All in all, there are nine bank holidays in Scotland.
In Northern Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day on 17 March is a bank holiday, and so is Orangemen’s Day on 12 July which commemorates the Battle of Boyne. There are a total of ten bank holidays in Northern Ireland, making it the region with the most holidays in the UK.
The UK does not have a national day, making it only one of two countries in the world without one (the other is Denmark). There’s an old joke about this, that the United Kingdom, once called “the empire on which the sun never sets”, doesn’t need its own national day because it’s indirectly responsible for so many other countries’ national independence days.
1. How many holidays are there in England in the second quarter of 2022?| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
| A．Good Friday and Easter Monday. | B．Easter Monday and St. Andrew’s Day. |
| C．St. Andrew’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day. | D．St. Patrick’s Day and Orangemen’s Day. |
| A．The UK used to rule a lot of countries. |
| B．The UK’s culture influenced many countries. |
| C．The UK’s independence greatly encouraged many countries. |
| D．The UK helped many countries set their independence days. |
