2 . In 2001, UNESCO declared 21 May as UN World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. The day’s not intended to find out the uniqueness of different cultures, separating them from each other.     1     Here are a few modest and simple ways to mark the occasion.

Visiting an exhibition or a museum dedicated to other cultures comes first since it may inspire you to create something yourself, and heighten your desire to learn about a new topic or culture.     2     For example, you can see the British Museum’s collection online, and the National Gallery has a digital tour of 18 rooms that lets you get up close to the paintings.

    3     It’s a great way to expand your knowledge of the world. Many traditional folk tales have universal themes, but at the same time, shine a light on particular aspects of another culture. So now might be a great time to dive into the storybooks and read folk tales.

There is perhaps no better way to experience another culture than listening to music. Even if you don’t understand the words, you can still hear the influence of other cultures. You could allow yourself to discover music from every corner of the globe on forums.     4     After all, series of musics are on the air, often with strong international influences.

It never goes without mentioning language while embracing culture diversity. It is relatively easy to have a go at trying a new language through the many smartphone apps or through an online language exchange.     5    

A．Or you could listen to radio programmes.

B．In short, it’s never too late to learn a language.

C．You could also appreciate music in foreign films.

D．Remember language serves as a reflection and carrier of culture.

E．Learning about traditional stories from other cultures won’t disappoint you.

F．Even if you can’t visit a museum at first hand, you can select virtual exhibitions.

G．Instead, it’s a chance to unfold the similarities and celebrate the cultural diversity.

3 . Minor Cold: A sugary feast to get through the freezing winter

Minor Cold, or “Xiaohan” in Chinese, is the 23rd of the 24 solar terms in the Chinese lunar calendar     1       We’ve outlined below how people deal with the Minor Cold and its significance in Chinese culture.

Why do people eat eight treasures rice pudding?

Eight treasures rice pudding or “babaofan” in Mandarin is a special sweet rice dish enjoyed during Minor Cold and Chinese New Year dinner. In Chinese, the number eight is pronounced as “ba”, which is similar to another Chinese word “fa”.     2    . Because of its pronunciation, this traditional Chinese dim sum is regarded as a symbol of wealth and health.

What else do people eat?

    3    . Different regions in China have different eating habits. People in Nanjing and Shanghai usually cook vegetable rice while in Guangzhou, it is a tradition to eat sticky rice on the morning of Minor Cold.

Nationwide: Preparing for the Spring Festival

For Chinese people, this time of year also sees preparation for the most important festival of the year: the Spring Festival.     4    . In the old days, Chinese families would usually start to purchase the necessities for the Spring Festival, write couplets and make paper cuts by themselves.

Forecasts from animals

The ancient Chinese noticed the slight changes in seasons by observing the movements of the birds. Wild geese would usually start to fly back to the north while the magpies (喜鹊) make their nests. These animals remind people of the beginning of the suitable farming and life for Minor Cold.     5    . Therefore, more attention should be paid to domestic animals’ warmth.

A．It means getting rich or booming in business.

B．However, “babaofan” is not the only traditional food for Minor Cold.

C．For most areas of China, Minor Cold is the beginning of the coldest period.

D．Even though temperatures drop suddenly at this time, spring is not far away.

E．The last lunar month, known as “Layue”, usually begins around Minor Cold.

F．Cabbage is easy to preserve in the winter and tastes better after being preserved.

G．With each solar term, there comes a set of customs that are related to the time of a year.

4 . When I first met Nao Junior, he was in his 40s and one of only nine members of his Indigenous(土著的) group, Great Andamanese, who still spoke the idiom of his ancestors. As a language specialist, I had researched more than 80 Indian languages. I was on the islands to document their Indigenous voices before they faded into whispers.

Words in this language consisted of two classes: free and bound. The free words were all nouns that referred to the environment and its inhabitants, such as ra for “pig”. They could occur alone. The bound words were nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs that always existed with markers indicating a relation to other objects, events or states. The markers came from seven zones of the body and were attached to a root word to describe concepts such as “inside”, “outside”, “upper” and “lower”. For example, the morpheme(词素) er-, which qualified most anything having to do with an outer body part, could be stuck to -cho to yield ercho, meaning “head”.

Just as a head, a bound word, could not conceptually exist on its own, the mode and effect of an action could not be divided from the verb describing the action. Great Andamanese had no words for agriculture but a great many for hunting and fishing, mainly with a bow and arrow. Thus, the root word shile, meaning “to aim”, had several versions: utshile, to aim from above; arashile, to aim from a distance; and eshile, aiming to make a hole with a sharp object.

The studies established that the language seems to be truly old in origin. In a multistage process of development, words describing diverse body parts had changed into morphemes referring to different zones and combined with content words to yield meaning. The structure alone provides an insight into an ancient worldview in which the macrocosm(宏观世界) reflects the microcosm, and everything that is or that happens inseparably connects to everything else.

1. What is the purpose of the author’s stay on the islands?

A．To meet with an old friend.	B．To teach Indigenous idioms.
C．To record an ancient language.	D．To trace her ancestors.

2. “Aim at a pig’s head from afar” in Great Andamanese may be ______.

A．Arashile raercho	B．Arashile ercho
C．Eshile ercho	D．Eshile raercho

3. What can we infer from the verbs in Great Andamanese?

A．A verb could describe more than one action.	B．Some of the verbs could be used on their own.
C．The locals probably live off seafood and meat.	D．The tools used in people’s daily life are diverse.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．Great Andamanese is the origin of multiple languages.

B．Great Andamanese is a doorway to the ancient wisdom.

C．Great Andamanese tells the development of the community.

D．Human body shapes Great Andamanese’s unique worldview.

5 . Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an ancient system of health and wellness that’s been used in China for thousands of years. It has saved millions of lives around China’s vast territory by providing vital information on diagnosis (诊断), treating common medical problems and diseases, and emphasizing prevention. If you do not have previous experience with Chinese culture or medicine, be prepared for a cultural experience.     1    

Several thousand years ago, The Medical Classic of the Yellow Emperor put forward the principle that one should develop yang energy in spring and summer,     2     And in China’s long history, the principle has proven of great value for good health and longevity of life.

According to TCM theory, yang energy is the power for inner organs.     3     “Summer treatment” takes advantage of abundant yang energy in nature during summer, when yang energy is outward and upward. It is the right time to supplement (补充) yang energy by internal or external traditional Chinese medicine methods. This helps to adjust to the balance of yin and yang in the body, resulting in a more effective outcome.

    4     Therefore, it is the best time for the human body to supplement essence and store vital substances throughout the whole year. TCM holds that Gao Fang, the cream formula, is the best choice for tonification (滋补) in winter. By adjusting qi, blood, yin and yang of the body, it can achieve the effects of treatment, regulation, and nourishment.

“Sprouting in spring, growing in summer, harvesting in autumn and storing in winter” is the law of development in the nature.     5     It needs to be in agreement with timing and the seasons. With such direction, ancient Chinese people handed down to later generations medical texts for an orderly-arranged daily life.

A．while protecting yin energy in autumn and winter.

B．It’s necessary to the function of various body parts.

C．The same is true for the way of health preservation.

D．when the body engages in active digestive processes.

E．It will relieve your medical condition and enrich your life.

F．Winter is the season for storage of everything, including energy.

G．Summer is a good season to build up your bodies through exercise.

6 . India’s touring (流动的) cinemas are dying, and being reborn. And India is perhaps the most film-mad country in the world while it also has the lowest ratios of screens to human beings.     1     The screens that do exist are unevenly distributed. PVR, India’s biggest cinema operator, has more screens in Chandigarh, a prosperous city of about a million people, than it does in Rajasthan, a poor stale of 80 million. If Muhammad could not go to the movies, the movies had to come to Muhammad. Twenty years ago, there were 1,400 odd touring cinemas in Pusegaon.     2     However, today there are only 52 travelling cinemas.

    3     One is smartphone and internet expansion, which leads to the other reason for the collapse of the touring cinemas:     4     Sushil Chaudhary, the founder of a new chain of touring cinemas called Picture Time, is making a different bet on the possibilities of cinema. Mr. Chaudhary started his company in 2015 and has since set up 37 moving screens seating between 100 and 250 people. The touring cinema was nothing like the one in Pusegaon.     5     The picture was crystal clear and the sound used Dolby. Picture Time’s tickets are cheap, at between 30 and 70 rupees, compared with an average ticket price of 191 rupees at PVR’s cinemas.

A．they failed to change over time.

B．Fewer people can afford to go to cinemas.

C．The floor was carpeted and there were plastic chairs.

D．The following are the reasons leading to this phenomenon.

E．It was in this world that the touring cinemas played a crucial role.

F．The collapse of the touring cinemas was for two interlinked reasons.

G．It is one more paradox (悖论) among the millions of contradictions there.