2 . Christmas Activities for Adults

    1     So what should we do when we have all the time for ourselves without having to worry about work? You have to have fun! For starters, here are some fun Christmas activities that you are absolutely going to love.

·Organise a Charity Show

Christmas is about spreading joy and love, and it’s also about giving. We give our family presents on this day to show them happiness and love, don’t we? But have you ever wondered how the poor celebrate their Christmas? Does Santa leave gifts for them too?     2     Use all the activities to buy gifts and／or necessities for those less privileged(幸运的).

·Visit Orphanages(孤儿院)and Old Age Homes

Christmas is an occasion for the entire family to come together and celebrate. More than the celebration, we look forward to being near our close ones.     3     Form a group and spend an entire day with children at orphanages or seniors at old age homes. Play games, interact and give away goodies, especially to the children.

·Start a Donation Drive

If you have the time, organise a donation drive in your locality. A lot of people will want to donate clothes , accessories (衣服的配饰)and other necessary items.     4    

    5     Plan these activities in time and have fun with your family and friends. Merry Christmas and may God bless you!

A．Shopping is an entirely different experience during Christmas.

B．With Christmas just around the corner, it is time for us to plan our holidays.

C．Along with gifts, if you donate these to people as well, it will really make a difference.

D．Now that you know these activities, you can select a few of them to keep yourself busy.

E．As for charity, you can arrange for a show in your circle of friends or in your neighbourhood.

F．Gifting something to your family members, friends and colleagues is important during Christmas.

G．The same joy can be shared with people who don’t have the company of their family on this happy occasion.

4 . The Qingming Festival is usually celebrated with a three-day national holiday, whose name originates (起源) from the saying “Plants start to revive (复活) and prosper at Qingming in a clean and bright way.” Thus, the festival is called Qingming, which means “clean and bright”.     1    Tomb sweeping is aimed at commemorating family ancestors, while going on a spring outing allows everyone the chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery and enjoy the season.

Traditional customs

Tomb sweeping.     2     On this day, the whole family gathers in front of their ancestral tombs. They offer fruit and wine to their ancestors and clear the weeds from around the tomb. Finally, they kowtow and pray, hoping for their ancestors’ blessing for the rest of the year.

Spring outings. The time around the Qingming Festival is one of the most suitable seasons for a spring outing, as plants are thriving and flowers are blooming. People can have a great time outdoors with their friends and family.     3    

Traditional food

Qingtuan is a green rice ball tiny enough to fit into your hand.     4     It is a mixture of sticky rice powder and green vegetable juice. Stuffed (装满) with sweetened bean paste, Qingtuan tastes sweet with the fresh fragrance of Aicao, a green spring vegetable. In celebration of Qingming, people from Shaanxi make steamed buns known as Huamo, which are made into different shapes.     5     Some are for peaceful family life, while others represent (象征) the wish for health.

A．Each different look brings a good blessing.

B．The tradition of tomb sweeping originates from the Qin Dynasty.

C．The two main activities over the festival include tomb sweeping and going on a spring outing.

D．Family members gather together to celebrate and taste the food.

E．Playing football and flying kites are popular activities.

F．Many traditional customs are practiced to show respect for our ancestors.

G．It is popular in Jiangnan.

5 . 【课本原文】

A Love of Gardening

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” These words come from the author of the book The Secret Garden, first published in 1911. At that time, only the very rich in Britain had gardens. Very soon after this, homes with gardens began to be built. This is what started the British love of gardening！Today, millions of Brits like to say that they have “green fingers”, with around half the population spending their free time gardening.

For many people in the UK, their garden is their own private world. Each spring, children plant sunflowers and wait to see which one is the tallest. Expert gardeners know just the right corner for roses, and others spend hours trying to grow perfect vegetables to enter into competitions. And while many Brits like nothing better than spending their Sunday cutting the grass, some are happy just to sit under the branches of the trees and enjoy the beauty of the world around them.

But in cities, limited space has led to people looking for new solutions. Those without outside space can rent small pieces of land on which to grow things. Today, there are over 4,000 people in London waiting for such pieces of land. One recent idea has been to turn rooftops and walls into private gardens. These gardens have helped make the cities greener and improve air quality.

As well as being good for the environment, gardening is also good for the soul. What other free-time activity allows you to be at one with nature and create more beautiful living things? And if you’re in any doubt about this, take a moment to reflect on this line from The Secret Garden: “Where you tend a rose... A thistle cannot grow.”

1. What inspires a lot of Brits to create their own private gardens?

A．Their hobby for gardens.

B．Publishing of The Secret Garden.

C．The call of the government.

D．Release of working pressure.

2. Why do so many people like gardening in the UK?

A．They would like to enjoy their own private life.

B．They would like to enjoy their own flowers and perfect vegetables.

C．They all want to protect the environment.

D．They would like to share their happy time with others.

3. What does it show when Brits rent small pieces of land outside?

A．They are very competitive.

B．They want to have their own private space.

C．Gardening can provide a quiet environment for people.

D．Greening in Britain is already on the rise.

4. What is this text mainly about?

A．Great changes in London.

B．A love of gardening.

C．The importance of gardening.

D．The use of spare time.

6 . Many of China’s ancient architectural treasures crumbled into dust before Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng began documenting them in the 1930s. The husband and wife team were among the first preservationists to operate in China, and by far the best known. Their efforts have since inspired generations of people to speak out for architecture threatened by the rapid development.

Becoming China’s best architectural historians was no easy accomplishment. The buildings they wanted to save were centuries old, often located in distant parts of the country. In many cases, they had to journey through dangerous conditions in the Chinese countryside to reach them. Exploring China’s remote areas during the 1930s meant traveling muddy, poorly maintained (养护) roads by mule (骡子), or on foot. Inns (客栈) were often dirty, food could be polluted, and there was always risk of violence from rebels, soldiers and robbers.

Their greatest discovery was the Temple of Buddha’s Light, in Wutai County, Shanxi Province. The breathtaking wooden temple was rebuilt in 857 A.D., making it the oldest building known in China at the time.

Liang and Lin crawled into the temple’s most forbidding, forgotten areas to determine its age, including one hideaway inhabited by thousands of bats and millions of bedbugs, covered in dust and littered with dead bats. “In complete darkness and among awful smell, hardly breathing, with thick masks covering our noses and mouths, we measured, drew, and photographed with flashlights for several hours. When at last we came out to take a breath of fresh air, we found hundreds of bedbugs in our bag. We ourselves had been badly bitten. Yet the importance and unexpectedness of our find made those the happiest hours of my years hunting for ancient architecture.” Liang wrote of the experience in an account included in the book “Liang and Lin: Partners in Exploring China’s Architectural Past”.

1. What does the underlined word “crumbled” mean in Paragraph 1?

A．Were stolen.	B．Fell down.
C．Looked old.	D．Closed up.

2. On their way to the ancient buildings in the 1930s, what risks did Liang and Lin mainly face?

A．Transport and accommodations.

B．Personal safety and weather.

C．Communication with locals and food.

D．Road conditions and funds.

3. What can we infer from Liang’s words in the text?

A．They considered their work was the most important.

B．They were well-equipped before entering the temple.

C．They found some surprising things in the temple.

D．The conditions inside the temple were common to them.

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

A．Tough Conditions in China’s Remote Areas

B．Partners in Documenting China’s Architectural Treasures

C．The Reason for Liang and Lin’s Exploration

D．The Difficulties China’s Architectural Historians Are Facing

7 . Using Google’s unique digital technology, the stories of some English Heritage Sites around the country — from Tintagel Castle in Cornwall to Chesters Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall — are brought to life and shared by way of the Google Arts & Culture platform.

Stonehenge Skyscape	The English Heritage’s Stonehenge Skyscape enables people around the world to experience the skies above the stone circle, and learn about movements of the sun, moon and planets. Experience live and special sunrise over Stonehenge, see the journey of the stars and the moon from within the stone circle and learn more about the design of Stonehenge and how its builders may have understood their place in the universe.
Osborne House, the Isle of Wight	Take a 360⁃degree video tour of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s palatial (富丽堂皇的) holiday home on the Isle of Wight in the company of English Heritage director Michael Hunter, including the Italian terraces (露台) with views over the Solent, which reminded Prince Albert of the Bay of Naples, and the Indian-inspired Durbar Room, designed to show Queen Victoria’s position as Empress of India.
Audley End House and Gardens, Essex	Explore the story of one of the greatest houses of early 17th-century England deep in the heart of the Essex countryside, and fly over the great formal gardens designed by Capability Brown.
Tintagel Castle, Cornwall	Explore this medieval (中世纪的) castle set high on Cornwall’s north coast. Linked with the legend of King Arthur, for centuries this impressive castle has inspired the imaginations of writers and artists. Discover the early medieval history of a distant outpost (偏远村镇) trading objects from Spain, North Africa and Turkey.

1. Which heritage can you choose if you are interested in unique sunrise?

A．Stonehenge Skyscape.

B．Osborne House, the Isle of Wight.

C．Audley End House and Gardens, Essex.

D．Tintagel Castle, Cornwall.

2. What do Osborne House and Tintagel Castle have in common?

A．Both were built for their kings.

B．Both were built in the same age.

C．Both are related to previous rulers.

D．Both were palatial holiday homes for the rulers.

3. In which part of a website can you read the text?

A．Language.

B．Education.

C．Geography.

D．Culture.

8 . In the long history of about 5,000 years, numerous Chinese traditional festivals were celebrated in honour of gods or some significant days, some of which are passed down from generation to generation and people always practice special traditional activities in each festival.

The Qingming Festival

The Qingming Festival is on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox (春分), around April 4 or April 5 every year.     1    . They remove the weeds growing on their ancestors’ tombs to make them clean, so this festival is also called Tomb-Sweeping Day. In some areas, people are forbidden to use the fire to cook food, so they only eat the cool food. Thus, it is also named the Hanshi Festival.

The Double Ninth Festival

    2    . The Chinese character of September is the same as 9, so we get this special name. Chinese people, especially in the northern region, climb up the mountains to enjoy the wonderful view, and admire the beauty of chrysanthemums (菊花).

The Winter Solstice (冬至)

The winter solstice is on around December 22 or 23 of the solar calendar each year. From that day on, the daytime will be longer and longer.     3    . Chinese people in the northern region eat dumplings and wontons (馄饨), while in the southern region rice balls.

    4    

In China, this festival is in late January or early February, the last day of the lunar year. People celebrate it by having a family reunion dinner, setting off fireworks and staying up late. Breaking the dishes and bowls is a thing all the people are afraid of, but if you did it, you should say “Sui sui ping an!”     5    .

A．The Spring Festival

B．New Year’s Eve

C．People will go to commemorate (纪念) their ancestors

D．People always visit their friends and relatives

E．It is celebrated on Sep. 9th of the lunar calendar, around in October of the solar calendar

F．It’s a holiday which is regarded as important as the Spring Festival

G．It is a double-meaning word, meaning you will be safe during the new year

9 . 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.

Bibimbap Festival

In a Korean town in Jeonju, their “mixed rice” dish is a hearty serve of rice topped with raw beef, a rainbow of vegetables, a raw egg and gochujang sauce (韩国的辣椒酱) 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.

Waikiki Spam Jam (怀基基午餐肉节)

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 serving out the best Spam, a type of cheap canned meat made mainly from pork.

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).

Potato Days Festival

This festival actually takes place in Barnesville, Minnesota (明尼苏达州), 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. Bibimbap is 　　　.

A．a kind of egg cake far less sweet

B．a can of meat made mainly from pork

C．a fried potato ball covered with sauce

D．a rice dish mixed up with vegetables, etc

2. Waikiki Spam Jam takes place 　　　.

A．from 22 to 25 October

B．in May in Hawaii

C．in Barnesville, Minnesota

D．in a French town

3. If Jim wants to learn Asian food culture, he’d better go to 　　　.

A．Bibimbap Festival

B．Waikiki Spam Jam

C．Bessieres Easter Egg Festival

D．Potato Days Festival

10 . October 15th is Global Handwashing Day. Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap.

Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so-called critical moments. These include after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food.

Global Handwashing Day is the idea of the Public-Private Partnership for hand washing with soap. The goal, they say, is to create a culture of hand washing with soap. The organizers say all soap is equally effective at removing disease-causing germs (细菌). They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub it into all areas, including under the fingernails. Then, wash well under running water. Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth.

The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing. Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the chances that people will wash again.

It also says that washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any medicine. It could help reduce cases of diarrhea (痢疾), which is the second leading cause of child deaths, killing more than one and a half million children a year, by almost half.

1. What does the author intend to tell us in the passage?

A．To keep healthy by washing hands.

B．To wash hands with soap.

C．To take action to wash hands.

D．To wash hands often.

2. Which of the following is the right way to wash hands?
a. Washing hands well.
b. Covering hands with soap.
c. Drying hands.
d. Rubbing hands with soap.
e. Wetting hands.

A．a-c-b-e-d	B．e-d-a-b-c
C．a-c-b-d-e	D．e-b-d-a-c

3. Which fact can’t explain why soap is important?

A．It gives people a longer hand washing time.

B．It helps to remove a lot of germs from hands.

C．It attracts people to do more hand washing.

D．It gets all people into the habit of washing hands.

4. According to the last paragraph, diarrhea is a disease that 　　　.

A．kills half of the kids in the developing countries a year

B．causes the greatest number of child deaths

C．can be prevented to some degree by washing hands with soap

D．can’t be cured without washing hands