1 . As William Shakespeare is to literature in English, so is the poet Du Fu to the Chinese literary tradition. “We have Dante, Shakespeare and Du Fu. These poets create the very values by which poetry is judged,” remarked Harvard Professor Stephen Owen in Du Fu: China’s Greatest Poet, a BBC documentary that aired on April 7.

Aimed at introducing the charm and beauty of traditional Chinese literature to viewers around the globe, the documentary invited the famous British actor Ian McKellen, who played the wizard Gandalf in the film series The Lord of the Rings, to read 15 of Du’s poems that have been translated into English.

The one-hour film traces the poet’s life experiences in detail. Born in 712, Du lived in the reign of the Emperor Xuanzong of Tang(712—756), a time marked by extraordinary prosperity, inclusiveness and glorious cultural accomplishments.

However, as An Lushan’s rebel army floored the empire, the 43-year-old Du, the former civil servant at the Tang court, had to take his family out of his hometown, and faced starvation and sufferings. Through ups and downs, the poet never stopped writing and about 1,500 poems have been kept over the ages.

Even though he never held a high position in the government, Du still cared about common people. For example, in the poem My Cottage Unroofed by Autumn Gales, he wrote that “Could I get mansions covering ten thousand miles, I’d house all poor scholars and make them beam with pleasure”.

“That is why he is honored as the Poet Sage by later generations. A difficult life and his spirit of concern about the world helped him create so many masterpieces,” Shi Wenxue, a cultural critic based in Beijing, told the Global Times.

Without doubt Du is a cultural symbol of ancient China, but his brilliant works and core spirits have also inspired people outside China. As the documentary notes, his work represents a precious cultural heritage for the entire world, not just China.

1. What can we know about the documentary?

A．It introduces Shakespeare.

B．Du Fu is acted by Ian McKellen in it.

C．Its target audience is Chinese.

D．It shows 15 of Du Fu’s poems to the audience.

2. What does the underlined word “That” in paragraph 6 refer to?

A．The concern about common people.

B．My Cottage Unroofed by Autumn Gales.

C．The low position in the government.

D．The sentence of the poem.

3. What inspired Du’s creation most according to Shi Wenxue?

A．His work experience.

B．Hard life and his caring spirit.

C．An Lushan’s rebel army.

D．The Tang Dynasty’s cultural background.

4. In which section of a website may this text appear?

A．Entertainment.	B．Health.
C．Literature.	D．Science.

3 . Brazil’s Famous Carnival Holiday

Carnival is the most famous holiday in Brazil. It is not about a big moment in history or about a famous person, but it is important for the people because it’s a time of friendship, freedom and almost a whole week without work.

People can choose between parties or rest, and most people choose parties, day after day, night after night.

    1     It’s based on the Christian calendar, but it isn’t approved by the Church very well.   

It lasts four days and four nights.     2     People put on their costumes and go out into the streets or to clubs.   

There are also the samba (桑巴舞) schools which make a parade showing their music and floats (彩车).     3     Every year the parade tells a different story. Each city has one or more schools like this.   

Carnival is celebrated in the south where by Wednesday everything comes back to normal. The problem is that it is not approved by the Church in the Northwest where carnival is more traditional.     4    

I like Carnival, but I don’t agree that the party should keep going on.     5     Unfortunately, some people aren’t serious and give it a bad name, leaving a bad impression of this holiday, but it is the only national holiday that moves all the country and its different kinds of people and cultures together.

A．They are followed by the people.

B．It starts forty days before Easter.

C．It starts on Saturday and finishes on Thursday.

D．The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is the largest carnival in the world.

E．And, like at every other popular parties, people drink, dance and have fun.

F．There people don’t respect its end and continue to party until the next Sunday.

G．People often dress up or masquerade (化装) during the celebrations, which marks an overturning of daily life.

5 . Some people describe American society as a salad bowl while others think of it as a melting pot. In a bowl of salad, all the ingredients are mixed together.    1     Together, however, the ingredients make up a unity. All the ingredients of a salad contribute to the finished product. They may be covered with the same dressing (调味酱), but the green vegetables, tomatoes and cooked corn can all be seen for what they are.

From this point of view, America is very much like a salad bowl where individual ethnic groups mix together, yet maintain their cultural uniqueness. People may work together during the day at similar jobs and in the same companies, but at night they may return to their ethnic groups where their own individual culture directs their way of life.    2     Each ethnic group has its own special customs, language, food and traditions to protect and defend. This idea of the salad bowl is referred to as cultural diversity; that is, American society is a collection of various cultures living together in harmony within one country.

    3     Here, society is like one large pot of soup. All cultural aspects are mixed together, sacrificing their original identity and keeping a bit of what they were to become a new reality. The longer the soup is cooked, the better the taste and the more likely it will be for the mixture to dissolve. In this sense, America can surely be seen as a melting pot where people from all over the world come to live and work together forming one nation. There are dozens of shared symbols.     4     In such a culture, symbols like the flag and the nation’s official song serve to break down the walls which separate ethnic groups.

Whether a salad bowl or a melting pot, America can be best described as a mixture of both.    5    

A．Both are correct depending on one’s point of view.

B．They never lose their shapes, colours or tastes.

C．This is why there is so much diversity within America.

D．In other words, America is a nation where there is unity in diversity.

E．Thus, one needs to abandon one’s culture to be considered “American”.

F．They serve to develop the various ethnic groups to create a new American culture.

G．The other theory, which is also used to describe American society, is the melting pot.

6 . The Sanxingdui Museum in southwest China’s Sichuan Province enjoyed huge popularity during the three-day Qingming Festival holidays by receiving nearly 20,000 visitors on the peak day after the new archaeological discoveries brought international attention.

According to media reports, the museum saw over 15,000 visitors on Saturday — the first day of the Qingming Festival, breaking its record for daily visitors. And on the next day, more visitors swarmed (蜂拥) into the museum, the number exceeding 19,800. To cope with the mighty flow of people, on Sunday afternoon, the official Weibo account of the Sanxingdui Museum released the message to remind visitors to avoid rush hours or reschedule their visiting time.

The Sanxingdui Museum showcases various kinds of precious cultural relics unearthed at the site, such as the 2.62-meter-tall standing statue, 1.38-meter-wide bronze mask, and 3.95-meter-high bronze tree. Earlier on March 20, Chinese archaeologists announced some new major discoveries made during the 37th excavation (挖掘) since the last excavation 35 years ago. The ruins were first discovered in the late 1920s and first excavated in 1934. More than 500 important cultural relics have been unearthed in the six newly-found pits. Since the new discoveries were known to the public, the number of people visiting the Sanxingdui Museum has increased sharply.

The museum says although they are open as usual, the newly-found pits have not opened to the public yet and the newly-excavated cultural relics are still under repair and cannot meet the public currently. But a hall for cultural relic conservation and restoration will be in pilot operation in April and officially open on May 18. Visitors to it can see how the relics are restored, according to Zhu Yarong, vice director of the Sanxingdui Museum.

Dating back about 3,000 years, the Sanxingdui Ruins have shed light on the ancient Shu civilization and cultural origins of the Chinese nation, and have been regarded as one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the 20th century.

1. What mainly brought about the surge in tourists visiting the Sanxingdui Museum?

A．Tourists’ enthusiasm.

B．Sichuan Province’s policy.

C．The Qingming Festival holidays.

D．New archaeological discoveries.

2. What is true according to the text?

A．The official Weibo account linked the museum with the public.

B．Newly-excavated cultural relics on display attracted tourists very much.

C．The Sanxingdui Museum reacted immediately to the large flow of tourists.

D．Tourist numbers reached the peak on the first day of the Qingming Festival.

3. What does the underlined word “pilot” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Experimental.	B．Private.
C．Official.	D．Personal.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．The Sanxingdui Museum gives tourists insights into Chinese history

B．Chinse people make full use of the Qingming Festival holidays to travel

C．The Sanxingdui Ruins are a perfect tourist attraction over the Qingming Festival

D．New discoveries make the Sanxingdui Museum more popular during the Qingming Festival

7 . No one can believe that the over 6, 300­kilometer Great Wall might disappear some day. Believe it or not, the Great Wall is being destroyed by people. Less than 20 percent of the Great Wall built in the Ming Dynasty, is still perfect, but about 80 percent is in danger. The Great Wall can be called “great” mostly because of its amazing length. But we should realize that the length was made up of one brick at a time. If we do nothing to save the Great Wall, it will become a series of separate wasteland rather than a historic site.

The Great Wall is actually a series of walls built and rebuilt by different dynasties over the past 2, 000 years. It began in the rule of China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221BC—206BC), and lasted into the Ming Dynasty. The parts built before the Ming Dynasty have nearly disappeared. People are familiar with sections such as Badaling in Beijing and Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu, because they have been open to tourists for many years. But those sections far away from the public eyes have been almost forgotten.

Few local people knew the 3-­meter­high walls made of earth and stones beside them are parts of the Great Wall. The lack of knowledge is considered as one of the main reasons behind human.

The bricks on the Great Wall are carried off by countryside people to build their houses, sheep corrals and pigsties. Some were taken away to build roads. Bricks carved with people’s names are put away as remembrances. The rubbish is spread over the battlements. The brick can be sold 15 yuan per tractor load. Those who destroyed and are destroying the Wall know its name, but are not clear about its cultural meaning. It will take a long time to let them know this. The local farmers not only carried off the body of the Wall but also dug out the entire base.

It is necessary to protect the Great Wall. First of all, the officials should be aware of the importance of the Great Wall. Young Chinese should know more about the nation’s great civilization and learn to love it.

1. Why does the writer say the Great Wall might disappear?

A．It is useless from now on.

B．It is too old to be used again.

C．It will be replaced by a new one.

D．Some parts of it are being destroyed.

2. The underlined part “those sections far away from the public eyes” (in Para. 2) refers to the parts of the Great Wall ________.

A．nobody can watch

B．that are too far to be seen

C．that are too difficult to find

D．that are not well­-known to the public

3. What’s the main reason of the Great Wall being destroyed?

A．The local people sell the bricks for a living.

B．The local people are short of culture knowledge.

C．The local people think that the Great Wall is not important.

D．The local people need bricks and stones to build houses.

4. Which of the following may be the best title for this passage?

A．How to Protect the Great Wall

B．How the Great Wall Came into Being

C．The Great Wall Being Rebuilt

D．The Great Wall Being in Danger

9 . Avoiding a handshake may have been considered impolite a couple of years ago, but it is now getting more and more common, especially because of the outbreak of COVID-19.

Health officials have expressed the importance of completely washing our hands and maintaining proper hand hygiene. As a result, people around the world are creating alternatives to handshakes such as fist bumps and elbow bumps.

Let’s take a look at some of the common greetings that are used around the world in place of the famous handshake and more of the alternatives people are using instead of shaking each other’s hands.

If you have ever traveled to Asian countries like China, India, or Cambodia, you may notice that it is common to see people bowing to greet each other. Bowing is a traditional sign of respect in many Asian cultures and has been a custom for centuries.

Meanwhile, in parts of Europe like France, Italy, and Spain and countries in Latin America like Mexico, Peru, and Brazil, the air kiss is more common. Various rules regarding the gender, relationship, and form also exist within these different countries. Officials in countries including France are recommending people avoid direct kisses.

Some other unique greetings include sniffing one another’s faces in native cultures in Greenland and Tuvalu, sticking out one’s tongue in Tibet (a region of China), and clapping one’s hands in the African countries of Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

With the spread of COVID-19, people are getting creative with the ways they greet each other. A trend that has gained advantage is the “Wuhan Shake”, a greeting where two people gently bump each other’s feet with each foot.

Moreover, people, including famous figures like Prince Harry, US Vice President Mike Pence, and celebrities and athletes, have been giving up the formal handshake for elbow bumps.

Although officials have not clearly issued warnings against shaking hands, many doctors and health specialists have praised the handshake alternative as a way to continue maintaining proper hygiene.

1. How do people commonly greet each other in India according to this passage?

A．By hugging each other.

B．By formally shaking hands.

C．By bowing.

D．By touching noses.

2. What is the unique greeting in Tibet?

A．Sniffing one another’s faces.

B．Sticking out one’s tongue.

C．Bowing with one’s hands.

D．Clapping one’s hands.

3. What is the “Wuhan Shake”?

A．It is a greeting of tapping each other’s feet.

B．It is a greeting in which people do elbow bumps.

C．It is a greeting where social isolation happens.

D．It is a greeting where air kisses are recommended.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．The Impact of COVID-19 on Living

B．Good News on COVID-19 Vaccines

C．Formal Greeting Ways around the World

D．No Handshake? No Problem!