1 . Acupuncture (针灸) is a traditional Chinese medical practice of treating various physical and mental conditions. It won respect and interest in the United States after New York Times reporter James Reston visited China with President Nixon and needed an operation.
Chinese doctors used acupuncture on James after surgery (外科手术) to reduce his pain, and his recovery was quick. Curious about this, James was allowed to watch surgery on patients who received acupuncture for anesthesia (麻醉). Patients talked with their doctors during the operation and then walked back to their rooms on their own.
Acupuncture left James such a deep impression that he wrote a front-page article in New York Times about his operation upon returning to the United States. “A leading medical expert sent by Premier Zhou Enlai removed my appendix (阑尾). I was awake in the whole process.”
The National Institutes of Health began to organize some of their top doctors to visit China to investigate acupuncture and its possible functions in western medicine. With years going by, acupuncture has become popular across the world with magical effect.
1. What did James Reston do?| A．A reporter. | B．A doctor. | C．A translator. | D．A scientist. |
| A．Receive. | B．Study. | C．Create. | D．Develop. |
| A．It is a traditional Chinese medical practice. |
| B．It treats physical and mental conditions. |
| C．It is a kind of surgery to reduce pain. |
| D．It is popular for its magical effect. |
2 . Around the World
Here is big news from Around the World.
Science Fiction Museum opens
Chengdu, China
The Chengdu Science Fiction Museum has opened its doors to the public. China’s newest museum—a star-shaped building on a lake was built in 12 months. Technology sped up the design and construction of the 635,070-square-foot museum, which has galleries, educational spaces, and cafés.
Day of the Dead is celebrated
Mexico
Thousands of people lined the streets of Mexico City to watch its annual Day of the Dead parade. The holiday was observed from October 31 to November 2 to remember and celebrate loved ones who have died. During this time, the dead are believed to return to the world. Families welcome them back with offerings, such as their favorite food.
Modern art at ancient pyramids
Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
A modern art exhibit at the Pyramids of Giza, titled Forever Is Now, has returned for a third year. This year’s show is the biggest yet and features works by 14 artists. The free event aims to celebrate ancient Egyptian culture with modern skills. Artists were careful not to harm the 4,500-year-old World Heritage Site.
Schools close due to heavy air pollution
Delhi, India
Elementary schools in Delhi are closed for at least one week because of the city’s poor air quality. The amount of harmful materials in the air has reached nearly 100 times the acceptable limit. Delhi is often very polluted in November because that is when many farmers burn their remaining crops. To reduce the smog, officials in the city have banned polluting vehicles, construction work, and the use of fireworks.
1. Where can you visit a museum on the lake?| A．In Chengdu, China. | B．In Mexico City. |
| C．At the Pyramids of Giza. | D．In Delhi, India. |
| A．To build the newest museum. | B．To hold a modern art exhibit. |
| C．To celebrate the Day of the Dead. | D．To avoid the harm caused by air pollution. |
3 . For centuries, the power of Chinese emperors rose and fell with their control of the Grand Canal. Today, this waterway is shorter than it once was, but it is still the longest man-made river in the world. Importantly, the Grand Canal continues to provide a significant cultural and economic link for modern China.
The original canal system began around the year 605. China’s Emperor Yang realized that he needed a better way to move food quickly to his army from China’s southern rice-growing region to the country’s north. So about one million people-mostly farmers-worked on the construction of the first section of the Grand Canal, which took six years.
Over the next 500 years, the canal’s importance grew. However, by 1127 , parts had begun to deteriorate. In 1279, Kublai Khan began to repair and build new parts of the canal, which created a more direct north-south route to and from Beijing. Future rulers continued to expand and improve the waterway, and it eventually became an important national lifeline.
In addition to moving rice around China, the Grand Canal was an important cultural connection. Soldiers, businessmen,and artists transported ideas, regional foods, and cultural practices from one part of China to another. According to ancient stories, this is how Beijing acquired two of its best-known trademarks. Peking duck,a dish from Shandong Province, and the Peking opera, from Anhui and Hubei regions,were both brought north by the canal.
For more than a thousand years, goods have been transported along the Grand Canal.Even today, the country’s watery highway plays an important economic role in China. Boats continue to carry tons of goods. In addition, local governments-eager to in-crease tourism and real estate (房地产) development-are beautifying areas along the canal.
In 2005, a group of citizens proposed that the historic Grand Canal be made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was officially granted (批准) in 2014. The hope now is that the Grand Canal-one of the world’s great engineering achievements -will continue to link north and south China for centuries to come.
1. Why was the Grand Canal originally built?| A．To enable more people to visit distant parts of China. |
| B．To allow the army to move quickly from the north to the south. |
| C．To promote the cultural and traditional connection of south China. |
| D．To transport food from the southern regions of China to the north. |
| A．It took six years to complete its first section. |
| B．Even today, it is the longest man-made river in the world. |
| C．Around a million people worked on the first part of the canal. |
| D．It allowed Peking duck and the Peking opera to spread to southern China. |
| A．Get worse. | B．Get destroyed. | C．Get shorter. | D．Get repaired. |
| A．Renewed Importance. | B．Cultural Connections. |
| C．The Army’s Highway. | D．The Origins of the Peking Opera. |
| A．Construction of the Canal began. |
| B．New parts of the Canal were built. |
| C．The Grand Canal became a World Heritage Site. |
| D．The Grand Canal was proposed as a UNESCO Heritage Site. |
4 . If you are a party animal in Guangxi, join us to explore some of the popular festivals in Liuzhou.
Temple Fair Day
It is believed to be the oldest and the largest temple fair day celebrated in Fengshan, Liuzhou. It is an event known to easily attract more than 30,000 people to take part in the parades. It is a day for enjoying temple wishes, dancing to non-stop ethnic songs, and tasting lots of local dishes.
Time: February Price: Free
March 3rd Festival
This is an annual event that takes place every March in Sanjiang county. The festival features a lot of ethnic minority homemade food. You can also expect to enjoy live ethnic music and dances performed by famous local dancers.
Time: March 3rd Price: 3 RMB
Liuzhou Marathon Festival
This event started more than 10 years ago. Currently, it is an attractive weekend that sees attendance go way past 12,000 people. During the festival, participants take part in exciting activities, with the major ones like funny marathon, and food sales.
Time: April Price: 12 RMB
Dragon Boat Show
Longtan park is usually the place of Dragon Boat Show—a festival for boating lovers that occurs in May. It is the largest dragon boat show in Liuzhou. A great deal of people will be there at that time. Welcome to join the show.
Time: May Price: 5 RMB
1. What is special about Temple Fair Day?| A．It features famous dance. | B．It lasts two months. |
| C．It started 10 years ago. | D．It’s free of charge. |
| A．Buy some books. | B．Watch boat show. |
| C．Taste nice food. | D．Join a parade. |
| A．Liuzhou Marathon Festival. | B．March 3rd Festival. |
| C．Dragon Boat Show. | D．Temple Fair Day. |
| A．over 2,000. | B．over 12,000. |
| C．2,000. | D．12,000. |
| A．Longtan park. | B．Sanjiang park. |
| C．Liuzhou park. | D．Fengshan park. |
5 . British Tea Culture
Tea was first introduced to Great Britain from China in the 1600s and in the centuries since the British tea culture has been going strong.
British-style Tea
For everyday tea, the British simply boil water and pour the water over a tea bag in a cup. After the tea brews for a few minutes, the tea bag is removed. Fresh milk and sugar are usually added. Biscuits or cake may be eaten with tea.
The British prefer various types of black tea. Brands like Twinings, Tetley, and Lipton are popular in the world tea market.
Formal Tea
For a formal tea, tea sets made of fine bone china or silver are used. The set includes a teapot, cups and saucers, a creamer for holding milk, and a sugar bowl. All are cried on a tray. All the pieces of a proper English tea set have a matching pattern.
Elevenses
“Elevenses” refers to a snack consisting of tea or coffee and a finger food like biscuits or cake. It is taken mid-morning so the name refers to the time of day (11:00 am).
Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea is a light meal served with tea in the late afternoon. It began among wealthy women in the 1840s, but it soon spread to hotels, tea rooms, and tea gardens across Great Britain. The food served typically includes small sandwiches and sweets. A formal afternoon tea has fancy desserts presented on tiered stands.
1. If you want to enjoy tea with biscuits or cake, you should choose| A．Formal Tea and Elevenses. |
| B．Elevenses and Afternoon Tea. |
| C．British-style Tea and Elevenses. |
| D．British-style Tea and Formal Tea. |
| A．In the 1600s. | B．In the 1700s. |
| C．In the 1840s. | D．In the 1940s. |
| A．Sports. | B．Culture. | C．Science. | D．Travel. |
6 . More than one billion pounds of pumpkins are grown in the U.S. every year, and after they’ve been used for Halloween, millions of them will end up in a waste yard.
“Driving around after Halloween, you see so many pumpkins on top of their garbage cans. All of them will go to a waste yard and become methane gas(沼气),” says Kay McKeen, director of an environmental education organization based in Illinois.
Methane is a greenhouse gas. Compared to CO2, it warms the atmosphere in a shorter amount of time, which means it’s a most important cause of climate change. And waste yards—where we send as much as 40 percent of the food we produce—take up 14 percent of methane produced in the US every year.
That’s why, in 2014, McKeen began a collection event where local people can bring their waste pumpkins to 69 different locations to send them off to the bins, and—of course—smash them to pieces.
“It puts nutrients(营养) back in our soil, it saves water, it doesn’t make methane gas—it’s just a win-win,” says McKeen.
But not everyone has access to pumpkin smashing events, so we asked our newsletter readers how they reduce their pumpkin waste. The answers are various, ranging from baking sweet treats to bringing a pumpkin treat to farm animals.
1. What happens after Halloween?| A．A lot of pumpkins are thrown away. |
| B．People are busy cleaning up garbage. |
| C．It is the best time for pumpkin harvest. |
| D．People use pumpkins to make methane gas. |
| A．Pumpkins cause the climate change. |
| B．Illinois people waste half of their food. |
| C．Both methane and CO2 are greenhouse gases. |
| D．Methane is the only reason for climate change. |
| A．Burn. | B．Shake. | C．Break. | D．Press. |
| A．A letter. | B．A speech. | C．A news report. | D．A health report. |
7 . In this first year, the Nature Festival will be celebrating South Australian nature with over 100 events for various ages. It is full of creative ways to get you out and about enjoying all that nature has to offer.
Its 10-day program, starting from 25th September 2023, provides a wide range of both free and ticketed experiences. From “adventure” and “learning” experiences to “slowing down” and “helping out” experiences, there will be something for everyone. Here are just some of the events.
Build-a-Birdbox Workshop
Saturday 26th September @ 9 am
Explore the role of tree hollows and learn how to build a backyard bird box.
Byards Road Wetland Nature by Night
Tuesday 29th September @ 6 pm
Take your torch and discover, on a guided walk, the creatures that come out at night.
For the Love of Trees
Tuesday 29th September @ 12:30 pm
Hear Dr Palph Body share his understanding of artist Hans Heysen.
Grey-headed Flying-fox Bat Ramble
Tuesday 1st October @ 5:45pm
Walking with local bat experts and hear how the grey-headed flying-fox bat came to be in our city.
Coastal Dune Walk
Sunday 4th October @ 9:30am
Walk along the coastline and learn about the working being done at the dunes.
Port River Alive
Sunday 4th October @ 11 am
See a short film about who and what lives in the Port River.
The full Nature Festival program is available on the website https://www.naturefestival.org.au. If you’re interested in any of the experiences above, please register as soon as possible.
1. What do we know about the Nature Festival?| A．It lasts about half a month. |
| B．It welcomes visitors of all ages. |
| C．It requires visitors to pay for their tickets. |
| D．It is held to call on people to protect nature. |
| A．Port River Alive. |
| B．Coastal Dune Walk. |
| C．Build-a-Birdbox Workshop. |
| D．Byards Road Wetland Nature by Night. |
| A．On 1st October. | B．On 4th October. |
| C．On 29th September. | D．On 26th September. |
| A．By seeing a short film. | B．By exploring the role of tree. |
| C．By walking with local bat expert. | D．By taking a torch and discovering. |
| A．Buying a brochure. | B．Reading advertisements. |
| C．Searching online. | D．Booking a magazine. |
8 . The Cervantino Festival (塞万提斯艺术节) is held every year in the city of Guanajuato Mexico. The festival, which began in 1972, is in honor of Miguel de Cervantes, author of the famous Spanish novel Don Quixote de la Mancha (《堂吉诃德》Cervantino’s international atmosphere).
At its heart, Cervantino is a cultural festival. It takes place during October, lasting a full month. Over the course of the month, hundreds of cultural events are held in the city. The international nature of the festival makes it a popular tourism destination. Each year, one Mexican state and one international community are invited to be guests of honor at the festival. You don’t have to speak Spanish.
The festival is not widely known in the USA and other places where Spanish is not spoken. This is highly unfortunate, because the festival creates an international atmosphere where people from around the world can share their culture. Although many events are in Spanish, there are many others that require no special language, such as visual art exhibits and musical performances. In addition, a few of the performances, including plays, are subtitled in English and other languages, making the Cervantino Festival acceptable to everyone.
1. What is the purpose of starting the Cervantino Festival?| A．To attract more people to Guanajuato |
| B．To show respect for Miguel de Cervantes |
| C．To popularize Don Quixote de la Mancha. |
| D．To introduce a number of Mexican artists. |
| A．It gains international fame. |
| B．It is the longest festival in Mexico. |
| C．It concentrates on protecting nature. |
| D．It is held in different states every year. |
| A．Americans don t learn Spanish, |
| B．It only spreads Mexican culture |
| C．Most of its events are in Spanish. |
| D．No American communities have been invited |
9 . Christmas is a very important festival in the west. However, different countries celebrate Christmas in different ways.
In England
Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. Christmas dinner is usually a roast turkey with Christmas pudding for dessert. Christmas decorations must be taken down on the twelfth day after Christmas otherwise it brings bad luck for the rest of the year.
In Australia
In Australia, it never snows at Christmas because Christmas is in the summer holiday. A traditional Christmas dinner is often held in the backyard for BBQ’s, picnics in the garden or even on the beach. People call the Christmas season the “silly season”. Christmas is a deeply religious festival. The Christmas season officially begins on December 8th. Christmas Eve is known as the “Good Night”.
In Germany
In Germany, people hold special markets every December that specialize in selling decorations and other Christmas related goods. People make and drink a special wine, which is called “mulled wine”. Christmas goose is also needed by many people. Families gather together on Christmas Eve to open their presents.
In Russia
Russian Christmas is very interesting because they celebrate Christmas twice and Christmas on December 25th is not for many Russians with religious beliefs. They celebrate Christmas on January 7th to commemorate (纪念) the birthday of Jesus. However, even more influential is still on December 25th when the streets and main venues of Christmas decorations are colorful. Christmas goose is traditionally eaten by people on Christmas Eve.
1. Why do British take down Christmas decorations on the twelfth day after Christmas?| A．To present them to relatives. | B．To sell them in special markets. |
| C．To make small gifts. | D．To avoid bad luck. |
| A．England. | B．Australia. | C．Germany. | D．Russia. |
| A．People celebrate Christmas twice a year. |
| B．People eat Christmas goose on Christmas Eve. |
| C．People celebrate Christmas in the summer holiday. |
| D．People make and drink a special wine on Christmas Eve. |
| A．Tips on how to have a pleasant Christmas. |
| B．Different ways to celebrate Christmas in four countries. |
| C．Comparison between different attitudes towards Christmas. |
| D．Suggestions given to tourists when travelling during Christmas. |
10 . Do you love seeing beautiful lanterns outside? The best time to do this is during the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first lunar (阴历) month. This year it is on Feb22, marking the end of Spring Festival celebrations.
Lanterns are a big part of the festival. One story says that the bright lanterns show respect for gods. Another says that people light lanterns to celebrate the declining (消退的) darkness of winter.
Watching lanterns is a great event. You see lanterns in any sizes and shapes you can imagine, from animals to plants and flowers. To make this activity more fun, people paste (粘贴) riddles (谜语) on the lanterns. “Ten plus ten, still is ten, ten minus ten, again is ten.” Guess what? It is a pair of gloves.
In some places, people like releasing sky lanterns, which are called Kongming lanterns. A sky lantern is a small hot air balloon made of paper, with an opening at the bottom, where there is a small fire source. When the bright lights fly high in the sky, people bless family members and make wishes. Releasing river lights is also a way to bless for each other. Usually, the lights are in the shape of a lotus (荷花).
In old times, the Lantern Festival was also romantic. At that time, young girls were not allowed to go out very often except during certain festivals. Therefore, looking at lanterns gave young people a chance to meet each other. A line from Xin Qiji, a poet during the Song Dynasty, shows this: “Anxiously, I searched for her in thousands, hundreds of ways. Suddenly I turned, and there she was in the declining light.”
1. When do people celebrate the Lantern Festival?| A．On the 22nd day of the first lunar month. |
| B．On the 15th day of the first solar month. |
| C．On the 22nd day of February every year. |
| D．On the 15th day of the first lunar month. |
| A．People paste riddles to show off their knowledge. |
| B．Young girls were not allowed to go out on the day. |
| C．People light lanterns to drive animals away. |
| D．People make wishes when releasing lights. |
| A．Sad. | B．Scared. | C．Romantic. | D．Anxious. |
| A．The Origin of the Lantern Festival |
| B．River Lights on the Lantern Festival |
| C．Celebrations of the Lantern Festival |
| D．A day to Guess Lantern Riddles |
