1 . Dunhuang Academy together with Huawei launched a brand-new technology-driven tour experience at the Mogao Grottoes on the evening of April 8. Using Huawei’s newly-released Hetu artificial intelligence platform, coupled with the output of the Digital Dunhuang project, visitors to the Mogao Grottoes can enjoy a fantasy experience prior to entering the attraction.
Zhao Shengliang, director of the Dunhuang Acadcmy, said that it has been cooperating with Huawei since March 2019. Using Huawei’s latest Hetu technology, visitors are able to see the detailed contents of the Dunhuang Art Murals (壁画) outside the caves, through their Huawei mobile phones. This will reduce the time tourists spend inside the cave, aiding the protection of the cultural relics, while at the same time helping to increase the amount of information visitors can obtain. It is also considered to be a new way of promoting Dunhuang Art.
The Dunhuang Academy has used digital technology to preserve the research and exploration of Dunhuang Grottoes since the early 1990s. It has collected a wealth of data and has realized the goal of sharing of digital Dunhuang globally. It has played an important role in the protection and research of cultural site, as well as promoting the development and progress of related work.
The Huawei Hetu platform unites Dunhuang’s study findings, high-resolution images of the site’s murals and virtual, three-dimensional models with the real Mogao Grottoes. It has not only re-created the real tour of the scenic spot, but also developed a new way of digitally experiencing the grottoes. When people visit the site, they not only have the experience of seeing the real grottoes, but they can appreciate the admirable artworks more clearly and in greater detail.
In the future, Dunhuang Academy will continue to cooperate with Huawei to create more colorful virtual content to enrich the experience of Mogao Art on the platform, helping people around the world get to know Dunhuang Art better.
1. Which is NOT the advantage of the Hetu technology?A.Help to protect the cultural relics. | B.Reduce the time visitors spend inside the cave. |
C.Decrease the cost of the visitors. | D.Provide more information for tourists. |
A.About a year. | B.10 years. | C.More than 30 years. | D.90 years. |
A.The Dunhuang Academy. | B.The digital technology. |
C.Dunhuang Grottoes. | D.The development and progress of related work. |
A.Hopeful. | B.Opposed. |
C.Indifferent. | D.Doubtful. |
A.Huawei Newly Released Hetu Al. |
B.Dunhuang Grottoes Attract Tourists. |
C.Dunhuang Academy Preserves Grottoes Well. |
D.Al Tech Helps Tourists Enjoy Dunhuang’s Art. |
2 . People from East Asia tend to have more difficulties than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why.
Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly (均匀的) across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes.
“We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions,” Jack said. “Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and overlook the mouth.”
According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed. As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations.
The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral. They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies.
It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than Westerners did. “The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions,” Jack said. “Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion. Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less.”
In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion. From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion. Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation.
1. What does the discovery show about Westerners?A.They pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth. |
B.They consider facial expressions universally reliable. |
C.They observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways. |
D.They have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions. |
A.To get their faces impressive. | B.To make a face at each other. |
C.To classify some face pictures. | D.To observe the researchers’ faces. |
A.They do translation more successfully. | B.They study the mouth more frequently. |
C.They examine the eyes more attentively. | D.They read facial expressions more correctly. |
A.The Eye as the Window to the Soul | B.Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions |
C.Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills | D.How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding |
3 . Located at the foot of the Wudang Mountains in China’s Hubei Province is the home of 64-year-old Marc Verlant, which possesses a fascinating collection of Chinese artifacts. The artfully arranged decorations such as miniatures (微缩模型) of ancient Chinese towers, traditional wooden carvings and Chinese paintings clearly convey that the house owner is trying to creatively explore and develop a better understanding of Chinese culture.
As a keen enthusiast of martial arts, Chinese architecture and history, this Frenchman is currently savoring his 19th year of living in a rural Chinese-style environment and finds it pleasant to live here. “Wudang is like my second home, and some locals say that I am almost a native of Wudang,” said Verlant.
The Wudang Mountains, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site, are considered “the cradle of Tai Chi” and are home to numerous palaces and temples that show the wisdom and beauty of ancient China’s architecture. In 2004, to treat his body after an accident, Verlant moved here to learn Chinese martial arts, and gradually fell in love with martial arts as well as Wudang’s culture. For him, it all started when his French-language student, who was a local tour guide, aroused his interest in local culture. For years, he volunteered as a foreign-language interpreter and tour guide in the Wudang Mountains, sharing Wudang’s culture with tourists from across the world. During the past two decades, he has witnessed and experienced the rapid development of this mountainous region. “When I first arrived in Wudang, there was neither the high-speed railway nor the shuttle bus, and many foreigners didn’t know how to come here, ” he recalled.
The Frenchman’s enthusiasm inspired those around him. “I learned a lot about Wudang from Marc, and his positive attitude toward life also influenced me to be more outgoing and energetic,”said his wife, who is a native of Shiyan City, where the Wudang Mountains are located.
1. Why does the author mention the decorations of a house?A.To sing the praises of traditional Chinese artifacts. |
B.To highlight its owner’s insights into Chinese art. |
C.To show its owner’s passion for Chinese culture. |
D.To suggest the perfectly-matched decorating style. |
A.Adjusting. | B.Exploring. | C.Rebuilding. | D.Enjoying. |
A.He worked as a tour guide while teaching. |
B.He contributed to the promotion of Wudang’s culture. |
C.He became energetic under the influence of martial arts. |
D.He offered great help to the development of the local economy. |
A.A tourist attraction—Wudang. |
B.An encounter with martial arts. |
C.A journey of intercultural communication. |
D.A French enthusiast of Wudang’s culture. |
4 . On a warm spring morning in 1984, Dong Yao-hui and his two young friends pulled on backpacks and set out on a hike of the Great Wall.
The walk of 17 months and 8, 850 kilometers tests persistence. But it’s well worth the effort.
On completing their journey, they published their experiences in a book. As they shared their adventures, it became clear that it was not just the physical demands but also the emotional impact that left lasting impressions.
The Cultural Relics Administrative Department has been given control over the overall protection of the Great Wall.
Dong places his hands on the weathered wall, as he did 35 years ago. But today, he thinks more deeply on a mission grander than his own journey. “Someone dug up some earth, making it into a brick,” he says. “Someone else brought it all the way up the mountain and built a wall. Then many people guarded the wall for hundreds of years. The Great Wall is definitely alive.
A.It isn’t just a cold, stone wall. |
B.Their walk began in Shanhai Pass. |
C.Preservation requires the efforts of all society. |
D.It wound its way and reached into the Bohai Sea. |
E.It made them the first ever to walk the whole length. |
F.Meanwhile, local villagers has recently been hired to act as guardians. |
G.Preservation work began when the Great Wall was listed as a World Heritage Site. |
5 . No matter where you live, giving gifts is a common way for us to express thanks, concern or love. Although the reasons for giving gifts are about the same around the world, the traditions of giving gifts can be quite different from one another.
In Europe, don’t accidentally cut yourself out of someone’s life.
In the US, a set of kitchen knives seems like the perfect gift idea for a wedding or holiday. However, in certain European countries like Germany, superstition (迷信) defines that a knife presented as a gift will end your friendship. There is a way to beat this superstition: tie a penny to the knife or gift box. The receiver then returns the penny to you as a “payment” to drive away the bad luck.
In Native America, your host gives gifts rather than receives them.
The Native American gift giving custom is exactly the opposite to that of any other culture. Traditionally, during weddings and some big celebrations (birthdays aren’t included), guests are the receivers of gifts rather than the host.
In Japan, presentation is paramount.
The Japanese place great emphasis on the act of gift giving, and presentation plays a big role in determining how your gift is received. For example, it’s considered unpleasant to receive uncovered cash. So whether you’re sending money as a gift or just leaving a tip, place your money in an envelope to ensure it’s received in a respectful manner.
In China, red envelopes and even denominations (面额) bring good luck.
Chinese New Year has a rich set of traditions. One of the most popular customs of this holiday is giving out money in red envelopes. Known as yasuiqian, these gifts are meant to bring good luck. In addition to how you give money, there’s also superstition relating to the amount you give. Giving an odd numbered amount of money is considered bad luck. It’s important to make sure that even the first digit is even as numbers like 30 and 5 0 are considered odd.
1. Which way of gift giving is acceptable based on the text?A.Sending uncovered cash to a friend as a gift in Japan. |
B.Giving a knife with a penny tied as a gift in Germany. |
C.Receiving gifts from a Native American host at his birthday party. |
D.Giving three hundred yuan to a Chinese child during the New Year. |
A.In Europe. | B.In China. | C.In Japan. | D.In Native America. |
A.Vital. | B.Impractical. | C.Respectful. | D.Unpleasant. |
6 . Four European Festivals You Don’t Want to Miss in 2023
Berck-sur-Mer Kite Festival
For over two decades,more than half a million visitors have come to watch the splendid display of kites flying over the seaside town of Berck-sur-Mer. Taking place every March or April,the festival sees giant dragons, whales, and various cartoon characters in the skies over the sandy beach. The festival also plays host to the International Kite Championships of the World every two years. During this time, experts from all over the world compete against the wind and each other.
Cannes Film Festival
Film lovers will no doubt want to head to the world’s most famous movie festival, the Cannes Film Festival. The red-carpet event was created by a French Minister of Education and Fine Arts. He wanted to establish an international cultural event in France to rival(与……抗衡)the Venice Film Festival. And it’s safe to say, he succeeded. More than 30, 000 professionals, such as directors, actors and actresses from all over the world attend the annual festival.
Menton Lemon Festival
Held over two weeks in February, the Lemon Festival celebrates all things concerning lemons in the city of Menton. More than 200. 000 visitors come to watch the colorful floats(花车)and sculptures created from lemons and oranges. During the daytime, parades of fruit-covered floats make their way through the streets as wind musicians and drummers entertain the crowd.
Nice Carnival
Taking place every February, the famous Nice Carnival is one of the largest carnivals in the world. It is also the most important event on the French Riviera. Over a million people take to the streets of Nice during the day and night. More than 1, 000 dancers and musicians from around the world perform at the magnificent carnival.1. What is Berck-sur-Mer famous for?
A.Kites. | B.Beaches. | C.Whales. | D.Cartoons. |
A.A director. | B.An actor. | C.A French artist. | D.A French official. |
A.Both feature folk songs. | B.Both are held in February. |
C.Both attract people at night. | D.Both have high sculptures. |
7 . In the long river of inheriting and preserving intangible cultural heritages, people have encountered numerous challenges, especially in this rapidly developing era. Fortunately, there are still many individuals who persistently make efforts to safeguard it.
Chang Yangyang is such a person. As an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, he once worked at a factory. Although he had learned the craft paper-cutting from his grandmother since childhood, in the eyes of Chang’s parents, a hobby was far less precious than a stable job. They didn’t change their minds until he won third prize in a national paper-cutting competition in 2010. This opened a new door for him in paper-cutting, which strengthened his determination to continue his career in the craft.
In addition to practicing skills diligently, Chang thought more about how to promote the Mengjin paper-cutting culture and let more people know about this intangible cultural heritage.
In his early years, Chang conducted local training and salons. Later, He tried Douyin live-streaming. At first, Chang was shy. But gradually, he became more familiar with it and learned to interact with viewers. In this way, he expanded his audience and followers from dozens of people to hundreds of thousands.
The young paper-cutting artist and instructor hopes there are more young people learning the art. It is for this reason that he currently teaches the art of paper-cutting at several local primary schools, Chang says his life dream is to establish a paper-cutting museum one day so people can learn more about the art form and grow to love it as much as he does.
With more young craftsmen like Chang injecting fresh energy, the intangible cultural heritage will be able to continue sharing the same clear wind with mountains and forests, and the same bright moon with rivers in the future years, moving towards eternity.
1. How did Chang’s parents find his paper-cutting career before 2010?A.Supportive. | B.Opposed. |
C.Indifferent. | D.Contradictory. |
A.He spread paper-cutting online. | B.He opened a paper-cutting school. |
C.He took part in many competitions. | D.He practiced the skills occasionally. |
A.Make profit from paper-cutting. | B.Learn more about other art forms. |
C.Establish a paper-cutting museum. | D.Expand his audience and followers. |
A.Young man with happy stories. | B.Traditions in Chang’s family. |
C.Intangible cultural heritages in history. | D.New craftsman with old craft. |
8 . A year is divided into 24 solar terms on the traditional Chinese solar calendar. Start of Spring, to be first solar term of the year, lifts the curtain of spring. After that, everything turns green and full of energy. Here are some things you should know about Start of Spring.
1. Start of Spring and Spring Festival
Start of Spring had entered people’s lives in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC). During the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-AD 24), Start of Spring was set as the Spring Festival. Actually, it was not until 1913 that the Spring Festival was celebrated on the first day of the first month of the lunar year as now.
2. Wearing fabric swallows
Wearing fabric swallows, a custom originating during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), is observed in some regions in Shaanxi. Every Start of Spring, people like to wear a swallow made of colorful silk on their chests. The swallow is a sign of spring and a symbol of prosperity (繁荣) and happiness.
3. Welcoming spring
People in China began holding a special ceremony on the first day of Start of Spring about 3.000 years ago. They made sacrifices (祭品) to Gou Mang, the god of Spring, who is in charge of agriculture. By the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), greeting spring had become an important folk activity.
4. Flying a kite
Spring is the best season for kite-flying, a traditional folk activity with a history of more than 2, 000 years. It can help build one’s health and prevent diseases. Besides, a breath of fresh air outside can discharge the bad smell accumulated in winter.
5. Biting the spring
In many parts of China, people observe the custom of “biting the spring” on the first day of Start of Spring. They cat spring pancakes, spring rolls, or a few mouthfuls of carrots.
1. In which year might people celebrate the Spring Festival on Start of Spring?A.In760 BC. | B.In 210 BC. | C.In 1910. | D.In 2023. |
A.Flying a kite. | B.Biting the spring. |
C.Wearing fabric swallows. | D.Welcoming spring. |
A.World. | B.Business. | C.Lifestyle. | D.Culture. |
9 . People from East Asia tend to have more difficulty than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions —and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why.
Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly (均匀的)across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes.
“We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions,” Jack said. “Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and neglect the mouth.”
According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed. As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations.
The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral. They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies.
It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than Westerners did. “The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions,” Jack said. “Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion, Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less.”
In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion. From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion. Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation.
1. What does the discovery show about westerners?A.They observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways. |
B.They have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions. |
C.They pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth. |
D.They consider facial expressions universally reliable. |
A.To observe the researchers’ faces. | B.To get their faces impressive. |
C.To make a face at each other. | D.To classify some face pictures. |
A.The participants in the study. |
B.The researchers of the study. |
C.The data collected from the study. |
D.The errors made during the study. |
A.They study the mouth more frequently. |
B.They examine the eyes more attentively. |
C.They read facial expressions more correctly. |
D.They do translation more successfully. |
A.Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions |
B.Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills |
C.How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding |
D.The Eye as the Window to the Soul |
10 . 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)by 2D images is extremely time-consuming. Increasingly, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms (算法) allow 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 better than previous 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 pile up everywhere, causing serious 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 finally 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 by technology. Efforts in research, 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 generates 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 impact on the site. |
C.By forbidding visitors from touching artifacts. | D.By educating people about the sites’ importance. |
A.Ignoring. | B.Objective. | C.Supportive. | D.Disagreeing. |