1 . What is your favorite holiday? Here are some students’ opinions.

Sandy from Taiwan says:

My favorite holiday is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I always visit my grandfather and grandmother, and we always go to the same restaurant on the mountain to hold jubilation. At night, we always have a barbecue, and watch the moon together. I enjoy it a lot.

Zhenia from Ukraine says:

My favorite day is New Year’s Day. We celebrate the new year on the 31st of December. Father Frost comes with his granddaughter on that night. He puts his presents under the New Year Tree. We have a party and stay up until midnight to see the New Year in and the Old Year off. We cook delicious food for the party. People also celebrate Old New Year in our country. It is on the 14th of January.

Yagna from India says:

My favorite day is Deepavali (屠妖节), which is also called Festival of Lights. People do some cleaning at home and light their oil lamps to thank for the defeat of the bad king. To celebrate it, we also eat sweets and delicious food, wear new clothes, and give presents to our friends and relatives.

Pat from Thailand says:

My name is Pat. My favorite holiday is Songkran. It takes place from the 13th to 15th of April. On the holiday people pour water on each other. It is a lot of fun. People also buy new clothes and they have big parties.

1. What is Sandy’s favorite holiday?

A．The Mid-Autumn Festival.	B．New Year’s Day.
C．Deepavali.	D．Songkran.

2. The underlined word “jubilation” is closest in meaning to “        ”.

A．hope

B．celebration

C．present

D．exercise

3. Why do people celebrate Deepavali?

A．To eat sweets and delicious food.	B．To wear new clothes.
C．To give presents to others.	D．To thank for the defeat of the bad king.

2 . Traveling without a map in different countries. I find out about different ways of giving directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”

Foreign tourists are often puzzled in Japan because most streets there don’t have name signs. In Japan, people use landmarks (标志性建筑) to give directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the comer. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”

People in Los Angeles, the US, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance by time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “It’s about five minutes from here.” You don’t understand completely. “Yes, but how many miles away is it, please?” To this question you won’t get an answer, because most probably they don’t know it themselves.

People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because tourists seldom understand the Greek language. Instead, a Greek will often say, “Follow me.” Then he’ll lead you through the streets of the city to the post office.

Sometimes a person doesn’t know the answer to your question. What happens in the situation? A New Yorker might say. “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People there believe that “I don’t” is impolite. They usually give an answer, but often a wrong one. So a tourist can get lost very easily in Yucatan! However, one thing will help you reach your destination everywhere in the world. It’s body language.

1. Which of the following is probably an example of Japanese directions?

A．“The post office is at Street Kamira.”

B．“Turn right at the hospital and go past a school.”

C．“The post office is about five minutes from here.”

D．“Go south two miles. Turn west and then go another mile.”

2. Why don’t people in Los Angeles give directions in miles?

A．They prefer to lead you the way.

B．They prefer to use body language.

C．They use landmarks to give directions instead of distance.

D．They often have no idea of distance measured by miles.

3. How do Greeks give directions?

A．Using street names.	B．Leading the way.
C．Using landmarks.	D．Giving people a wrong direction.

4. According to the last paragraph, we can learn that ______.

A．people in Mexico know street names well

B．body language makes you get lost in Yucatan

C．people in Mexico prefer to use body language

D．people in Yucatan sometimes give wrong directions

3 . Chinese ancient poetry was the heart and soul of Chinese ancient literature. Poems and songs have been the means of entertainment of men from the earliest times. Chinese ancient poetry was primarily written to be chanted or sung.

The poetic persona (表面形象) is a feature of classical Chinese poetry. The persona appears when the poem is written from the viewpoint of some other person. Some poems are comments on the contemporary society and life. Chinese ancient poems, although apparently simple in the first reading, have deeper and greater meanings when read intensively.

The earliest Chinese ancient poetry begins with The Book of Songs which is a collection of 305 poems. It was the first comprehensive compilation(辑)of Chinese ancient poems. Each poem in The Book of Songs was set to music and could be sung. Folk songs made up the most part of the book! Confucius, the great ancient philosopher, was fond of this book. It was also the accepted textbook of the Confucian school.

Chinese poetic history is extremely long and colorful. The Tang dynasty, the golden age of Chinese ancient poetry, produced many famous poems. Three Hundred Poems of the Tang Dynasty, was compiled by Heng Tang Tui Shi(蘅塘退士) of the Qing dynasty. This was used for very many years to teach primary students.

Almost everything is the subject of Chinese ancient poetry including marriage, agriculture, courtship(求爱), sorrow and joys, romance, heroic deeds and so on. Generally, each poem is usually composed of lines of four, five or seven syllables. Translations of Chinese ancient poems are available in books and also online. Now these beautiful poems have attracted readers all over the world.

1. What’s the earliest Chinese poetry intended to do?

A．To record history.	B．To spread knowledge.
C．To entertain people.	D．To state people’s thoughts.

2. Which can describe the obvious characteristics of Chinese ancient poetry according to the text?

A．Modern and symbolic.	B．Simple but meaningful.
C．Difficult and figurative.	D．Imaginative but unreal.

3. What can we learn about The Book of Songs from the text?

A．It is compiled by Heng Tang Tui Shi.

B．It includes more folk songs than other kinds of poems.

C．It was the textbook for kids during Confucius’s childhood.

D．It was produced during the golden age of Chinese ancient poetry.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Chinese ancient poetry has limited subjects.

B．Chinese ancient poems win popularity overseas.

C．Every Chinese ancient poem is made up of four lines.

D．Something in Chinese ancient poems is lost in translation.

6 . You might think of it as a scene from martial arts movies when you see people performing graceful moves down the river, all standing on a bamboo strip, but actually it is a form of intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产): bamboo drifting.

Over 2,000 years ago, the high-quality wood, nanmu, in Guizhou was in great demand by the royal court more than 2,000 kilometers to the north. With no better transportation, people had to stand on one log to drift down the river. Later, local people began to compete along the way and the game of wood drifting was born. In the Qing Dynasty, wood drifting became bamboo drifting because of bamboo’s lower price. Due to the great strength and balance it takes for one to master this act, bamboo drifting was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2021.

Yang Liu, a 25-year-old inheritor of bamboo drifting, learned it at seven. “Usually, the bamboo under your feet is about 9 meters long, and the bamboo in your hands is about 5 meters. If the length or diameter of the bamboo is not long enough, it will not be buoyant (有浮力的) enough to float. Keeping our feet firmly positioned on the narrow bamboo pole is the key, so we should fight against the current by constantly changing the angle. I lost my balance and fell in the water many times while practicing. Once I fell, I gave it another try until I knew how to handle the most difficult part,” she said.

The love for the ancient skill keeps Yang going. In the past 18 years, she has drifted all year round, in cold winter and hot summer. As hanfu culture has been on the rise, Yang started wearing hanfu while performing, creating a more beautiful scene. In 2020, Yang began to post her videos on social media. “I’m extremely proud to get responses from viewers that bamboo drifting makes the line between what is possible and impossible unclear. It’s my mission to keep it alive and known to more people,” Yang Liu says.

1. What can be learned from the first two paragraphs?

A．Bamboo drifting involves lots of skills.

B．Nanmu was delivered to the north by land.

C．Bamboo was costly in Guizhou 2,000 years ago.

D．The martial arts movie is a form of cultural heritage.

2. What is the biggest challenge in bamboo drifting?

A．Keeping balance.	B．Maintaining a fixed angle.
C．Finding the proper bamboo.	D．Holding the bamboo firmly in hands.

3. What do the viewers think of bamboo drifting?

A．Impossible.

B．Confusing.

C．Unbelievable.

D．Complicated.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．Balancing with Grace	B．Yang Liu: a Creative Performer
C．Transporting Bamboo down the River	D．Intangible Cultural Heritage in Guizhou

8 . This year over twenty-three hundred teenagers (young people aged from 13-19) from all over the world will spend about ten months in US homes. They will attend US schools, meet US teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.

Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.

Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study the language began to come to him. School was completely different from what he had expected—much harder. Students rose respectfully when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that were usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.

Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual. Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car. “Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”

At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea.“I suppose I should criticise American schools,” he said. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much.In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”

1. What’s Mike’s attitude towards American education?

A．Praise.	B．Regret.
C．Ignore.	D．Accuse.

2. What’s the purpose of the whole exchange program?

A．To help teenagers in other countries know the real America.

B．To send students in America to travel in Germany.

C．To let students learn something about other countries.

D．To have teenagers learn new languages.

3. What is particular in American schools?

A．There is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings.

B．There are a lot of outside activities.

C．Students usually take 14 subjects in all.

D．Students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car.

4. What did Mike think after experiencing the American school life?

A．A better education should include something good from both America and Germany.

B．German schools trained students to be better citizens.

C．American schools were not as good as German schools.

D．The easy life in American schools was more helpful to students.

9 . The British are known for their sense of humour. However, it is often difficult for foreigners to understand their jokes. The main point to remember is that the British often use understatement.

Understatement means saying less than you think or feel. For example, if someone gets very wet in a shower of rain, he might say, “It’s a little damp outside.” Or, if someone is very impolite and shouts at another person, someone else might say, “She isn’t exactly friendly.” Understatement is often used in an unpleasant situation or to make another person look silly. Understatement plays an important part in British humour.

Another key to understanding British humour is that the British like to make fun of themselves as well as others. They often laugh about the silly and unpleasant things that happen in our everyday life when someone accidentally falls over in the street. They also like to make jokes on people from different classes of society. They like to make jokes about their accents, the way they dress and the way they behave. What’s more, the British love to watch comedies about people who do not know how to behave in society. The comedy series Mr Bean is a good example of this kind of humour.

Mr Bean is the character created by British actor Rowan Atkinson in 1990. Mr Bean doesn’t talk often, and instead he uses his body movements and facial expressions to make people laugh. Perhaps what makes Mr Bean so funny is that he does things that adults in the real world cannot do. Mr Bean is popular in many countries around the world because you do not have to speak English to understand the humour. Because of this, many people have become familiar with the British sense of humour.

1. How does the author mainly explain the understatement?

A．By describing a process.

B．By making comparisons.

C．By following the time order.

D．By using examples.

2. How does Mr Bean make people laugh?

A．By using his body movements and facial expressions.

B．By making jokes about others’ accents.

C．By copying others’ behaviour.

D．By telling funny stories.

3. Why is it difficult for foreigners to understand British jokes?

A．The British often stick to the facts.

B．British jokes are involved with many different cultures.

C．British jokes are not as funny as jokes in other countries.

D．The British try to make out that something is less important than it is.

10 . Meeting people from another culture can be difficult. From the beginning, people may send the wrong signal. Or they may pay no attention to signals from another person who is trying to develop a relationship.

Different cultures emphasise the importance of relationship building to a greater or lesser degree. For example, business in some countries is not possible until there is a relationship of trust. Even with people at work, it is necessary to spend a lot of time in “small talk”, usually over a glass of tea, before they do any job. In many European countries — like the UK or France — people find it easier to build up a lasting working relationship at restaurants or cafes rather than at the office.

Talk and silence may also be different in some cultures. I once made a speech in Thailand. I had expected my speech to be a success and start a lively discussion; instead there was an uncomfortable silence. The people present just stared at me and smiled. After getting to know their ways better, I realised that they thought I was talking too much. In my own culture, we express meaning mainly through words, but people there sometimes feel too many words are unnecessary.

Even within Northern Europe, cultural differences can cause serious problems. Certainly, English and German cultures share similar values; however, Germans prefer to get down to business more quickly. We think that they are rude. In fact, this is just because one culture starts discussions and makes decisions more quickly.

People from different parts of the world have different values,and sometimes these values are quite against each other. However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural environment will offer a wonderful chance to us to learn from each other.

1. Why does the author mention his experience in Thailand?

A．To show the English prefer to make long speeches.

B．To show too many words are of no use.

C．To show people from Thailand are quiet and shy by nature.

D．To show even talk and silence can be culturally different.

2. According to the text, how can people from different cultures understand each other better?

A．By sharing different ways of life.

B．By accepting different habits.

C．By recognising different values.

D．By speaking each other’s languages.

3. What would be the best title for the text?

A．Multicultural Environment

B．Cross-cultural Differences

C．How to Understand Each Other

D．How to Build up a Relationship

4. What’s the benefit of eating together at restaurants in some countries according to this passage?

A．People can develop closer relations.

B．People can share the same culture.

C．People can get to know each other.

D．People can keep each other company.