1 . Wherever we go, we are surrounded by history. Across the globe, cultural heritage is passed down through the generations. It is in the buildings and structures around us. It is in the arts and artifacts (手工艺品) we treasure. It lives in the languages we speak and the stories we tell. But today, it is under attack as never before. Not only are the damages of time threatening our cultural heritage, but conflicts, climate change, globalization and tourism are all exacting a heavy price. Technology is now the most important weapon in the battle. Here’s how technology is preserving our cultural heritage.
As you can imagine, creating the replicas (复制品) via crowd sourced 2D images is extremely time-consuming. Increasingly, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms (算法) are being used to do all the required sourcing, allowing millions of images to be stored in a matter of hours. AI will also make restoration-and-preservation of existing cultural heritage far easier and much better than former methods.
Virtual reality (VR) technology will play a leading role in preserving our cultural heritage in the coming years. Many of the most important sites and architecture are easily damaged. Human interaction with these locations is doing a great deal of harm. Wastes left could be seen everywhere, causing enormous problems. As more cultural heritage sites and objects are digitally mapped and recorded, VR technology will increasingly become the way that people experience them. We’ll all eventually be able to walk through places, look at and touch artifacts and works of art without ever seeing them with our own eyes.
Finally, our cultural heritage will be preserved via technology. Efforts in research, innovation (创新), data sharing and project work will help promote and preserve the cultural heritage of countries all across the world.
1. What does the underlined word “exacting” in paragraph 1 mean?A.Paying. | B.Cutting. |
C.Receiving. | D.Demanding. |
A.It creates 2D images. | B.It makes restoration easier. |
C.It makes preservation safer | D.It creates replicas in seconds. |
A.By recycling huge amounts of waste. |
B.By reducing human effect on the site. |
C.By forbidding visitors from touching artifacts. |
D.By educating people about the sites’ importance. |
A.Concerned. | B.Doubtful. |
C.Positive. | D.Negative. |
2 . For people who are planning a trip, a visit to a museum might not be the first thing they think of. After all, there are plenty of ways to appreciate the world’s civilization, gain exciting experiences and spend quality time with family and friends.
Museums are where people learn something new, at every age! Are you interested in something specific?
Museums support tourism. They are tourism promoters in small towns and large cities. Museums aren’t a burden on tax revenue (税收) or a separate concern from other city projects.
Museums shape communities. They have activities and exhibitions through which visitors can learn about local history. Museums are places where a shared heritage is celebrated and a collective identity is formed. They provide an interesting public space where people meet and talk to each other.
A.Museums bring out the best qualities in children. |
B.Museums often deliver kids-centered exhibitions. |
C.Instead, they generate funding and fuel employment. |
D.Then, visit a local museum to learn about that subject. |
E.Even shopping at the gift shop there is an opportunity for connection. |
F.On the contrary, they consume a small percentage of city funds annually. |
G.The fact, however, is that museums offer magical benefits in many ways. |
3 . For centuries, Garifuna(加里富纳的) people, also known as Garinagu in their native language, have kept the culture’s oral history alive through their ancestors’ native language. But decades of modernization, casual native-language training in Garifuna schools, intermarriage between cultures, and the lack of consideration of language transmission by young people, collectively led to Garifuna being listed on the UNESCO Atlas of Endangered Languages in 2001.
The threat of language extinction isn’t new. Some linguists estimate a language dies every two weeks. But there are ways to save at-risk languages as well. The key is that the language needs to be thought of less as preserved, but indeed part of their present and future. “Modern Garifuna people need the actual language to grasp their ancestors’ past. Without language, culture will never be whole. If you’re losing your language, you’re losing your roots, which will dismantle all the ancestors have worked on,” Alvin Laredo, a Garifuna tour guide, says.
Elements of the Garifuna culture include music, dance and language. In 2001, Garifuna musicians and cultural activists created a plan: Create irresistible songs sung entirely in Garifuna to call on young Garinagu to accept the culture and learn the language. Palacio, a leader in the cultural renaissance, gathered Garifuna musicians across Central America to form the Garifuna Collective band in 2007. Multiple world performances and international music awards later, the band put Garifuna on the international map and lit a cultural flame for Garifuna worldwide. Another set of musicians was inspired by Palacio’s message. They helped elementary and high schools in Belize teach the Garifuna culture and language through music.
The Garifuna language revival does have a new and welcome boost(推动力): Belize’s Garifuna Tourism Trail, which formally launched in March 2022. Of course, tourism alone won’t save a language, but tourism can provide one effective language-retention (语言保持) motivation: income. More economic opportunities and pride in their cultural identity could help motivate young Garinagu to continue learning the language.
Will these ways save the Garifuna language? Time will tell. This kind of revival is a long, multi-generational road.
1. What is the purpose of paragraph 1?A.To stress the importance of conserving languages. |
B.To prove the impact of modernization on languages. |
C.To introduce the topic of Garifuna’s being endangered. |
D.To encourage people to speak their native languages. |
A.Make up. | B.get rid of. | C.take control of. | D.Pass down. |
A.They adapted historical stories for popular songs. |
B.They taught local students Garifuna through music. |
C.They set up a musical club to promote Garifuna music. |
D.They spread Garifuna culture to the world by their performances. |
A.Reasons for reviving the Garifuna language. |
B.Challenges in promoting cultural identity. |
C.Garifuna on the list of endangered language. |
D.Efforts to save Garifuna--an endangered language. |
4 . For Western designers, China and its rich culture have long been an inspiration for Western creative.
“It’s no secret that China has always been a source(来源)of inspiration for designers,” says Amanda Hill, chief creative officer at A+E Networks, a global media company and home to some of the biggest fashion(时尚)shows.
Earlier this year, the China Through A Looking Glassexhibition in New York exhibited 140 pieces of China-inspired fashionable clothing alongside Chinese works of art, with the aim of exploring the influence of Chinese aesthetics(美学)on Western fashion and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries. The exhibition had record attendance, showing that there is huge interest in Chinese influences.
“China is impossible to overlook,” says Hill. “Chinese models are the faces of beauty and fashion campaigns that sell dreams to women all over the world, which means Chinese women are not just consumers of fashion — they are central to its movement. ”Of course, only are today’s top Western designers being influenced by China-some of the best designers of contemporary fashion are themselves Chinese.“ Vera Wang, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu are taking on Galiano, Albaz, Marc Jacobs-and beating them hands down in design and sales,” adds Hil.
For Hill, it is impossible not to talk about China as the leading player when discussing fashion. “The most famous designers are Chinese, so are the models, and so are the consumers,” she says. “China is no longer just another market; in many senses it has become the market. If you talk about fashion today, you are talking about China-its influences, its direction, its breathtaking clothes, and how young designers and models are finally acknowledging that in many ways.”
1. What can we learn about the exhibition in New York?A.It promoted the sales of artworks. | B.It showed ancient Chinese clothes. |
C.It attracted a large number of visitors. | D.It aimed to introduce Chinese models. |
A.They do business all over the world. | B.They start many fashion campaigns. |
C.They admire super models. | D.They are setting the fashion. |
A.Young Models Selling Dreams to the World |
B.A Chinese Art Exhibition Held in New York |
C.Differences Between Eastern and Western Aesthetics |
D.Chinese Culture Fueling International Fashion Trends |
5 . Psychologists tell us that there are four basic stages that human beings pass through when they enter and live in a new culture .This process, which helps us to deal with culture shock, is the way our brain and our personality react to the strange new things we encounter when we move from one culture to another .
Culture begins with the “honeymoon stage”.
The third stage is called the “adjustment stage”.
The fourth stage can be called “at ease at last”. Now you feel quite comfortable in your new surroundings.
A.You can cope with most problems that occur. |
B.This is when you begin to realize that things are not so bad in the host culture. |
C.It is extremely difficult to get through the first stage of culture. |
D.You may feel sad, anxious , frustrated , and want to go home. |
E.Unfortunately, the second stage can be more difficult. |
F.This stage can last for quite a long time because we feel we are involved in some kind of great adventure. |
G.This is the period of time when we first arrive in which everything about the new culture is strange and exciting. |
6 . “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. |
7 . Whoever you are, learning how to communicate internationally is the best way to reach out to more people with different cultures.
Learn how people deal with things in their countries. The best way to handle cultural differences is to research how different countries handle business meetings or any other type of communication.
Be aware of language barriers (障碍). You may sound smart with humorous English jargon (行话) among those who have been speaking the language for most of their lives.
Go over any form of written communication before you send it out. It is easy to cause misunderstandings when you deal with people from different parts of the world.
Always stay updated with the social developments.
A.This may happen without your knowing. |
B.Pay more attention to cultural differences. |
C.Employers need to understand that culture shock is real. |
D.However, people from other countries may not understand it. |
E.Different cultures like to receive information in different ways. |
F.It’s known that technology has improved rapidly over the years. |
G.For example, the Japanese prefer you get straight to the point instead of making small talk. |
8 . Chinese people love food made of flour, whether it be dumplings, or flatbread. In the hands of skilled artisans (手艺人), flour is made into lovely models of people or animals to be enjoyed and played with, which brings a unique kind of pleasure. This art form is called dough figurine (面塑). Among the various art styles of dough figurines, Beijing’s Dough Figurine Lang is a unique folk art, which is filled with the rich history and customs of the capital city. Their delicate and lovely handicrafts are storytellers of old and new Beijing. In 2008, it was included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage.
It was created by Lang Shao’an. Most of the dough figurines are animals and characters from legends, historical stories, and local operas. The finished product is either put at the end of a thin stick, or on a table for display. Some are mostly for children to eat or play with, with simple forms and vivid decorations, while some are delicate pieces of artwork for display only. For this reason, during the making process, they are often mixed with additives (添加剂) to prevent them from breaking up, being eaten by insects or growing moldy. Over the course of his long career, Lang Shao’an developed a set of skilled fingers with an elegant artistic sense.
Like most of the other intangible cultural heritage handicrafts in China, Dough Figurine Lang does not get as much attention from the public. Many young people are unwilling to take the time to master a skill that does not make money, which has led to a decline in the number of those who are devoted to the handicraft. Good handicrafts need the devotion of artisans from one generation to another.
1. What is special about Dough Figurine Lang?A.It reflects Beijing’s culture. |
B.It is created by many famous artists. |
C.It shows people’s lifestyles and beliefs. |
D.It is popular with both tourists and the locals. |
A.To make dough figurines taste good. |
B.To keep colors brighter and last longer. |
C.To help shape dough into various forms. |
D.To better preserve the finished products. |
A.To call on people to master a skill. |
B.To appeal to people to value this folk art. |
C.To teach people ways to appreciate the handicraft. |
D.To persuade people to buy dough figurine products. |
9 . December is a “big deal” in Sweden and Finland not only because of Christmas, but because Saint Lucia’s Day is on Dec.13. Starting in kindergarten and continuing all throughout high school, on this day one lucky girl is selected to be “Saint Lucia”. For many girls, this is a big deal, though I personally really fear being picked and much prefer being one of Lucia’s handmaids (侍女).
It is not certain how the Saint Lucia tradition found its way to Sweden, and then also to Finland. The legend of Saint Lucia is known in most European countries, and has its roots in Italy. It is thought that during a time when the rulers of the land did not approve of Christianity (基督教), a woman named Lucia decided to try and spread the word of God and help the poor. Lucia was put on trial, and when she refused to give up her belief, she was sentenced to being burned. But when the guards tried to light the fire, it would not light. Unfortunately, this did not save Lucia, who at last was killed by a knife.
No one knows exactly how this legend has changed into the unique Swedish tradition today, but there are certainly some elements that can be recognized. Saint Lucia, a girl dressed in a long white dress with a crown of candles in her hair, brings light and good spirit to everybody, lightening up the cold December weather.
Both in Sweden and Finland, Saint Lucia is a nationally celebrated tradition. The people of the city or town can then vote for their favorite girl out of several candidates, and the winner is crowned on December 13th together with her entourage (随从). This year, 18-year-old high school student Elin Anderson was crowned Lucia, and following her coronation (加冕礼) she will appear at around 80 different events over the next month in her role as “a bringer of light”.
1. Which of the following is TRUE about the Saint Lucia’s Day?A.It originated from an Asian country. |
B.It is celebrated in Sweden and Finland. |
C.All the girls hoped to be selected to be a “Saint Lucia”. |
D.All the girls take part in the celebration of the tradition. |
A.managed to persuade the rulers | B.was severely punished by the rulers |
C.decided to give up her family at last | D.was in charge of Sweden and Finland |
A.Take part in various events. | B.Stay in the church for a year. |
C.Take charge of the coronation. | D.Choose the entourage by yourself. |
A.Different ways to celebrate Saint Lucia’s Day. |
B.Different versions of the legend of Saint Lucia. |
C.Saint Lucia’s Day — A traditional Swedish festival. |
D.How the Saint Lucia tradition found its way to Sweden. |
10 . The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms, which reflect the Chinese people’s understanding of time. Here several special solar terms are listed.
Rain Water
Rain Water signals the increase in rainfall and rise in temperature. With its arrival, the river water defreezes, wild geese move from south to north, and trees and grass turn green again. Extra care is needed to cope with a returning cold spell in this period. The wet and damp weather during Rain Water period is considered harmful for people’s spleen (脾) and stomach according to Chinese medical practice. Therefore, a bowl of nutritious porridge is the best choice to nourish the body.
Awakening of Insects
As the third solar term in the lunar year, its name implies that animals sleeping in winter are awakened by spring thunder and that the earth begins to come back to life. It is the key time for spring agricultural activities. Modern meteorological science shows that around this period, the earth becomes wet, the hot humid air from the north is strong and creates frequent winds. For this reason, thunder often occurs.
Spring Equinox
Spring Equinox signals the equal length of the day and night time. On the day of the Spring Equinox, the sun is directly above the equator. After the equinox, the sun moves northwards, resulting in gradually longer day time in the Northern Hemisphere. Standing an egg upright is a popular game during this period. It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand, he will have good luck in the future.
Grain Rain
Grain Rain originates from the old saying, “Rain brings up the growth of hundreds of grains", which shows that this period of rainfall is extremely important for the growth of crops and people are busy working on the land. Grain Rain falls between the end of' spring and the beginning of summer, with infrequent cold air moving to the south and lingering cold air in the north. With dry soil, an unsteady atmosphere and heavy winds and sandstorms become more frequent.
1. What can we know about Rain Water?A.River water starts to freeze. |
B.Taking off the thick coats is advisable. |
C.Lively spring-like scenery can be seen. |
D.It falls between the end of spring and the start of summer. |
A.Farming season. | B.Animal activities. |
C.Air temperature. | D.Frequent thundering. |
A.Rain Water. | B.Grain Rain. |
C.Spring Equinox. | D.Awakening of Insects. |