1 . Students’ Journey to Empower Rural Heritage
From Aug 18 to 22 a team of 15 Tsinghua University students, representing diverse backgrounds from China, South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia, set foot on an overseas research exploration focusing on rural revitalization (振兴) in Indonesian villages, particularly within Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB).
With the diverse cultural heritage, Indonesia is home to over 83,000 villages, each radiating its own charm and character.
The research mission took the students to Sukarara and Sade villages, two of NTB’s tourist destinations.
| A．In Sukarara, a local tradition requires girls master weaving skills before marriage |
| B．They decided to be a bridge between tradition and progress, united for their growth |
| C．Both were selected for revitalization efforts led by the Village Revitalization Team |
| D．While these villages possess undeniable fascination, many remain underdeveloped |
| E．It’s about preserving the cultural heritage and ensuring traditions being passed down |
| F．As the journey came to an end, all the students regarded it as a rewarding experience |
| G．This effort includes the knowledge exchange between the students and local villagers |
2 . How Sociologists Define Culture
Culture is one of the most important concepts within sociology because sociologists recognize that it plays a crucial role in our social lives. It is important for shaping social relationships, maintaining and challenging social order, determining how we make sense of the world and our place in it, and in shaping our everyday actions and experiences in society.
In brief, sociologists define the non–material aspects of culture as the values and beliefs, language, communication and practices that are shared in common by a group of people. Expanding on these categories, culture is made up of our knowledge, common sense, assumptions and expectations. It is also the rules, norms, laws and morals that govern society; the words we use as well as how we speak and write them; and the symbols we use to express meaning, ideas and concepts.
Sociologists see the two sides of culture—the material and non–material—as closely connected. Material culture emerges from and is shaped by the non-material aspects of culture.
| A．This is why cultural products tend to follow patterns. |
| B．It is composed of both non-material and material things. |
| C．Without culture, we would not have relationships or society. |
| D．Culture is also what we do and how we behave and perform. |
| E．Material culture is composed of the things that humans make and use. |
| F．Culture is distinct from social structure and economic aspects of society. |
| G．In other words, what we value, believe and know influences the things that we make. |
3 . “One day I went to a Swedish friend’s and while we were playing in his room, his mom yelled that dinner was ready. And check this. He told me to WAIT in his room while they ate!” an Internet user shared on a media platform. Consequently, there was a lot of criticism of the Swedes. Many said they wouldn’t dream of being so mean in their culture. Would a host in Sweden really not invite a guest to join their meal if it’s dinnertime?
It does happen, says Richard Tellstrom, a food historian at Stockholm University. He says this so-called “non-hospitality” was customary when he was a kid in the ‘60s and ‘70s. If he was over a friend’s house and it was time for dinner, he would go back to his own house to eat. Or he would stay and wait in another room while his friend finished his meal. Then they’d continue playing.
“Some Swedes think feeding a guest creates a sense of duty.” explains Tellstrom. “And in a society that values equality and independence, people don’t want to put a burden on someone or feel like they owe someone something.” However, it wasn’t a universal rule. Families in the countryside, for example, were more likely to feed guests. People lived farther apart, so it wasn’t as easy for people to go home and eat. The “no dinner for you” policy has slowly faded, says Tellstrom. “Since the 1990s, food has become a new symbol in society. We have open kitchens. People like to dine there and show off their cooking.”
But non-sharing hosts haven’t entirely disappeared, says Mohini Mehta, a food scholar. She admits she had a tough time adjusting to life in Sweden when she moved there in 2020. She was used to cooking dine every day for friends and hosting dinner parties almost weekly in India. She learned that in some cultures, like her own, sharing a meal with someone is a way to break the ice—but this isn’t always the case for Swedes.
1. For what purpose is Paragraph 1 is written?| A．To introduce the topic meal-sharing. |
| B．To release the netizen’s bad feelings. |
| C．To offer a platform to generate ideas. |
| D．To compare some foreign food cultures. |
| A．Particular. | B．Optional. | C．Normal. | D．Unreasonable. |
| A．Because food represents a symbol of social status. |
| B．Because they don’t want to show off their cooking. |
| C．Because it is wildly acknowledged across the country. |
| D．Because their culture values equality and independence. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By analyzing reasons. |
| C．By providing statistics. | D．By making comparisons. |
4 . Plenty of films are somewhat incomprehensible, but a movie is in a language that only about 20 people in the world can speak fluently.
A feature film titled SGaneaay K’uuna, translated as Edge of the Knife, is in the Haida language, the ancestral tongue of the Haida people of British Columbia, Canada It is unrelated to any other language, and actors had to learn it to understand their lines.
The film is playing an important role in preserving the language, its director Gwai Edenshaw said. “I know that, if our language is this far gone, statistically it’s supposed to be over. But that’s not something that we’re willing to accept.”
The Haida are an indigenous(土著的)community whose traditional territory is Haida Gwaii Edenshaw said most of the fluent Haida speakers were in his Haida Gwaii homeland. The community generally lives off the sea and makes dugout canoes and houses from local red cedars. Their numbers were ravaged by smallpox and other diseases in the 19h century. A former population of tens of thousands has declined to a few thousand today.
The few Haida speakers are extremely concerned about the language’s future and were very enthusiastic about the film. More than 70 local people worked on the production, with Haida speakers taking incidental roles, weavers creating the costumes and other craftspeople making props.
The film, set on Haida Gwali in the 19th century, is based on an old Haida myth about a man who survives an accident at sea, only to become so weakened that he is taken over by supernatural beings.
It is part of a wider push to preserve the Haida language, including a new dictionary and recordings of local voices.
Mark Turin, associate professor at the University of British Columbia, said that Haida is among languages that have been ”pushed almost to the edge“ and that, while numerous indigenous communities worldwide are trying to revive(复活)their language, the Haida people have taken an unusual approach. ”This film has done something that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before, using a feature movie as a process of language revitalization. It’s a hugely creative and powerful commitment for the community to have made,“ he said.
1. What do we know about the Haida language?| A．It is forever gone. | B．It is easy to learn. | C．It is well preserved. | D．It is highly endangered. |
| A．Greatly reduced. | B．Slightly increased. | C．Stabilized. | D．Determined. |
| A．It is based on a true story. | B．Locals contribute to its production. |
| C．Most Haida speakers lack interest in it. | D．It helps promote the Haida publications. |
| A．It is innovative. | B．It is outdated. | C．It is unacceptable. | D．It is debatable. |
5 . The 24 solar terms were created thousands of years ago in China to guide agricultural production. They also reflect China’s rich history through the seasonal festivals, special foods, cultural ceremonies, family gatherings and even healthy living tips that correspond with each solar term.
Rain Water signals the increase in rainfall and rise in temperature. With its arrival, lively spring-like scenery starts blossoming: the river water defreezes, wild geese move from south to north and trees and grass turn green again.
During Rain Water period, extra care is needed to deal with a returning cold spell and humidity, which is the amount of water in the air.
The wet and humid weather during Rain Water period is considered harmful for people’s spleen and stomach according to Chinese medical practice.
| A．With Rain Water coming, insects become more active. |
| B．A bowl of nutritious porridge is the best choice to nourish the body. |
| C．Therefore, Rain Water is considered as a key period to water the fields. |
| D．According to an old Chinese saying, the rainfall in spring is as precious as oil. |
| E．The temperature in most of the basin areas increases quickly during Rain Water. |
| F．One of the 24 solar terms, which is very important in spring, is called Rain Water. |
| G．The fast increase in air humidity due to rainfall can result in lower temperature and wet weather. |
6 . As more and more people speak the global language of English, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic, other languages are rapidly disappearing. In fact, half of the 6,000-7,000 languages spoken around the world today will be likely to die out by the next century, according the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In an effort to prevent language loss, scholars from a number of organizations — UNESCO and National Geographic among them — have for many years been documenting dying languages and the cultures they reflect.
Mark Turin, a scientist at the Macmillan Center, Yale University, who specializes in the languages and oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following in that tradition. His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi and Their Culture, grows out of his experience living, working, and raising a family in a village in Nepal.
Documenting the Thangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayan reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not content to simply record these voices before they disappear without record.
At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials —including photographs, films, tape recordings, and field notes — which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection. Now, through the two organizations that he has founded — the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project — Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, found in libraries and stores around the world, available not just to schools but to the younger generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected. Thanks to digital technology and the widely available Internet, Turin notes, the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.
1. Many scholars are making efforts to ________.| A．promote global languages | B．rescue disappearing languages |
| C．search for languages communities | D．set up language research organizations |
| A．having detailed records of the languages | B．writing books on language users |
| C．telling stories about language speakers | D．living with the native speakers |
| A．The cultural studies in India. | B．The documents available at Yale. |
| C．His language research in Bhutan. | D．His personal experience in Nepal. |
| A．Write, sell and donate. | B．Record, repair and reward. |
| C．Collect, protect and reconnect. | D．Design, experiment and report. |
7 . Now, cities large and small often have remains of earlier historic streets and sidewalk pavements(人行道）。Yet they often go unprotected even when they may be older than neighbouring historic buildings that have enjoyed protection for tens of years.
There are many reasons to protect historic pavements - culture value, economics, environmental benefits and public safety. Pavements represented an important step in the modernization of city environments in the 19th century.
Before the laying of pavement, streets of dirt caused many problems to citizens,especially in wet weather when they became muddy(泥泞的），which limited the movement of people and vehicles.
To solve the problem, cities experimented with a wide range of materials in an attempt to balance durability(耐用性），economics,sources of materials and noise considerations.
The earliest pavement in many cities were cobblestones-naturally rounded stones.They were cheap and durable, but rough and noisy. Loose stone pavements were cheap and smooth, but not very durable. Wood also appeared in the 1850s as a popular option-smooth,quiet and affordable,but not very durable.
In many cities and towns,brick(砖）streets are the only historic pavements that have survived.This fact covers up the truth of pavement experimentation between the 1850s and 1920s, when a city could use up to a dozen different paving materials at the same time! Indeed, each city developed a unique "pavement identity” in the materials chosen and the way they were laid.
It is easy to think of the past when seeing historic pavements, as recalling “old world” city qualities. However, they are more similar to the early high buildings and parks-important city features that showed the modernization of the city. At a time when cities are becoming increasingly similar, such pavements also help define an important sense of place.
1. What is the present situation of historic pavements?| A．Failing to represent modern environments. |
| B．Failing to receive protection they should get. |
| C．Being brought back to its former glory. |
| D．Being highly valued as cultural buildings. |
| A．To help develop the local economy. |
| B．To prevent earth from being washed away. |
| C．To limit the movement of people and vehicles. |
| D．To bring convenience to citizens' life. |
| A．Popularity of different paving materials. |
| B．Different experiments on city identity. |
| C．Advantages and disadvantages of stone pavements. |
| D．Development of pavements of different materials. |
| A．They are similar to tall buildings. |
| B．They make cities appear similar. |
| C．They are unique of a particular place. |
| D．They represent the modernization of today's city. |
8 . China is one of the first countries to breed a medical culture. In comparison with Western methods, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) adopts a vastly different approach. For thousands of years, Chinese people have accumulated rich experience in fighting all sorts of diseases, therefore forming a unique medical theory under the guidance of ancient Chinese philosophies (哲学).
The core behind TCM is that the human body's life is the consequence (结果) of the balance between Yin and Yang. Yang functions to safeguard us against outer harm, and Yin is the inner base to store and provide energy. When the balance between the two aspects is disturbed, people fall ill.
One of the traditional techniques of TCM, acupuncture (针刺疗法) means insertion of needles into superficial (表面的) structures of the body—usually at acupoints (穴位)—to restore the Yin Yang balance. It is often accompanied by moxibustion (艾灸疗法), which involves burning mugwort on or near the skin at an acupoint.
The first known text that clearly talks about something like acupuncture and moxibustion as it is practiced today is The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon. It is the earliest and most important written work of TCM and is considered the fundamental and most representative medical text in China.
Acupuncture and moxibustion have aroused the interest of international medical science circles. And TCM is gradually gaining worldwide recognition. The WHO issued a document in 2002 that appealed to more than 180 countries to adopt TCM as an alternative in their medical policies. In 2010, acupuncture and moxibustion of traditional Chinese medicine were added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO. Presently, TCM has been back in the news for its effectiveness in improving the cure rate of the COVID-19 since its outbreak in January 2020.
1. What is the key feature of TCM?| A．It adopts different medical approaches. | B．It's based on ancient Chinese philosophies. |
| C．It helps to restore body's self-balance. | D．It's gained experience through rich practice. |
| A．It distinguishes acupuncture from moxibustion. |
| B．It's a foundation of world medical research. |
| C．it stresses the importance of using acupoints. |
| D．It greatly contributes to the development of TCM. |
| A．To review the development of TCM. | B．To introduce TCM to the world. |
| C．To tell TCM and Western medicine apart. | D．To argue for TCM in fighting COVID-19. |
| A．How TCM helps in the current situation. | B．Why TCM is gaining popularity. |
| C．Why TCM gets recognition from WHO. | D．How other countries adopt TCM. |
9 . As students head to their Thanksgiving break, here comes a big homework assignment: StoryCorps wants tens of thousands of teenagers across America to interview their grandparents this Thanksgiving and upload their recordings to the Library of Congress.
The nonprofit oral history organization is asking high school history teachers to have their students record the interviews with StoryCorps free smartphone application. Recordings sent to the library will be shared with the public.
"The Great Thanksgiving Listen is an assignment that will last for generations," StoryCorps founder Dave Isay says. "When young people do these interviews and they hit 'send' at end of the interview to the library they know that their great-great-great-great-great-grand kids are going to listen to these conversations someday and get to understand where they come from and who their ancestors are."
He hopes it becomes an annual tradition that brings families closer together by using modern technology to preserve the wisdom of elders. The students could tap into memories of events dating back to the 1920s, but Isay says the stories are less important than the fact that two people are talking." The purpose of StoryCorps is to have the two people who have this conversation feel more connected with each other and give the person who is being interviewed the chance to be heard," he says.
Brandon Clarke, an administrator at the private Berkeley Carroll School, in Brooklyn, New York, is enthusiastic about tbc project. He says StoryCorps, which is headquartered near the school, has interviewed some of his teachers while developing an instructional guide for the Thanksgiving project. A couple weeks before the holiday, Berkeley Carroll students may get some classroom exercises aimed at sharpening their interview skills.
"How do you develop good questions? How do you go about conducting an interview? How do you build off of a really interesting response?"
But Isay says interviewing isn't hard. He says he has learned from listening to some of the 60,000 conversations StoryCorps has collected since 2003 that people are naturally good at it. "It's just a matter of concentrating, being present and making sure you're in a quiet place," he says. "I think people understand the importance of the moment and that they treat it very seriously."
About 13 million radio listeners hear edited versions of StoryCorps interviews every Friday on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition". StoryCorps also shares excerpts（节录）of recordings through animated videos, podcasts and its website.
Isay says the Thanksgiving project will help spread the idea that history comes from the bottom up. Clarice agrees. "This is a really great example of how oral history is really history, "he says. "For it to be legitimate（正统的）history, it doesn't have to appear in print in a carefully-edited book. Individual stories and individual perspectives are also part of history."
1. How does StoryCorps collect the stories for its project?| A．It asks grandparents to tell their children stories. |
| B．It asks teenagers to record their grandparents' stories. |
| C．It asks students to interview their grandparents in a library |
| D．It asks teachers to teach their students how to make recordings |
| A．create a new family tradition. |
| B．pay attention to taking care of the elders. |
| C．make family members have a close relationship. |
| D．help a family's history be remembered by its later generations. |
| A．sharing oral stories is a fresh idea for most Americans, |
| B．oral history plays a more important role in people's daily life. |
| C．there are many mediums and tools available for recording history. |
| D．oral history is currently not considered to be as credible printed history. |
| A．Interview between teenagers and their grandparents. |
| B．Descriptions of the story collection process. |
| C．Opinions of the elders who have shared their stories. |
| D．Information on how the recordings are shared and used. |
10 . Have you ever wondered that the food you eat everyday can tell you about where you come from? Have you ever wondered why people from different parts of the world eat different types of food?
On a large scale, traditional food is an important part of culture.
Many immigrants open their own restaurants and serve traditional dishes. However, the food does not remain exactly the same. Some materials needed to make traditional dishes may not be readily available, so the taste and flavor can be different from what they would prepare in their home countries. Additionally, immigrants do not only sell dishes to people from the same countries as them, but to people from different countries.
We should embrace our heritage(传统)through our culture's food but also become more informed about other cultures by trying their food. It is important to remember that each dish has a special place in the culture to which it belongs, and is special to those who prepare it.
| A．Food is a window into culture, and it should be treated as such. |
| B．On an individual level, we grow up eating the food of our culture. |
| C．The smell and taste of the food is very familiar to me. |
| D．It also operates as an expression of culture identity. |
| E．Therefore, they have to make small changes about the original dishes to cater to a wider range of customers. |
| F．Do you ever ask yourself why certain foods or cooking traditions are so important to your culture? |
| G．As the world becomes more globalized, it is easier to access foods from different cultures. |
