1 . 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 Glass exhibition 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, not 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 Galliano, Albaz, Marc Jacobs—and beating them hands down in design and sales,” adds Hill.
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 attracted a large number of visitors. |
| C．It showed ancient Chinese clothes. | D．It aimed to introduce Chinese models. |
| A．They are setting the fashion. | B．They start many fashion campaigns. |
| C．They admire super models. | D．They do business all over the world. |
| A．learning from | B．looking down on | C．working with | D．competing against |
| 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 |
2 . Music festivals in Europe
Visiting a festival abroad can be a great reason to travel and a way to experience different cultures. These days there is such a number of choices that it’s possible to spend the whole summer watching live music in exciting places. Of course, it’s also a chance to meet people from across the world.
Melt! Festival, Germany
This festival takes place on the site of an open air museum for industrial machinery. There’s also a lake which can be used for swimming when it’s hot. This year’s line-up has over 120 different bands (乐队). Around 90% of the people attending the festival are German providing a perfect chance to practise speaking the language.
Exit Festival, Serbia
Set on the banks of the Danube in an old fortress (城堡), the festival began as a way to show people’s dissatisfaction with the government. These days it’s less political (政治的) but still worries about people who are poor, ill, old, etc and tries to help them. This year’s festival will host many famous bands. From electronic music and dance music to hard rock, there is something for everyone to enjoy.
Open’er Festival, Poland
Held in an airfield near the northern city of Gdansk, each year Open’er has a seriously good selection of bands. This year is no exception, with many famous bands set to play. Not only are there amazing artists, but both Poland and the festival itself also provide very excellent value for money.
Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Scotland
Set on a Scottish estate (庄园) near Inverness, this year Belladrum will welcome artists from around the world. The most enjoyable part of the weekend is the ceilidh (traditional Scottish dance and party) which is always a lively event. It doesn’t even matter if you’re a beginner because the band teaches you each dance.
1. What is special about Melt! Festival?| A．It provides German lessons. | B．It is held by a local museum. |
| C．The bands are from 120 countries. | D．Most of the festival goers are German. |
| A．For political reasons. | B．For personal reasons. |
| C．To help stop a fight. | D．To offer help to the poor. |
| A．It falls in summer. |
| B．It is a live music festival. |
| C．It teaches people Scottish dances. |
| D．It invites the most famous bands. |
3 . “Attention, everyone!” Miss Dalrymple looked at her class of ten-year-olds. “Today we are going to create a special card for Father’s Day, which falls on this weekend.” Then she busied herself handing out the paper and art materials to her noisy pupils.
They were a mixed punch. Some came from the rich side of the town, but the majorities were from parents who struggled to get jobs. So she had not been eager to carry out this activity.
“Think about all the things that your dad does that make him special,” she said loudly as she approached the last table. “You can write a poem or short story thinking of the positive characteristics that make your dad special. The written part of this activity should be completed before you start to decorate your card.”
Andrew looked at the blank page. He had never met, spoken to, or been hugged by his dad, so how could he write about him? Once when he was looking in his grandma’s photo box, he had seen an old black and white photo but it was badly creased(弄皱) and difficult to recognize any clear features. She had quickly taken it from him and buried it deeply among the rest, never to be found again. After thinking for a while, he wrote:
Dear Dad,
You are a person I do not know and would probably not recognize as I only saw an old photo of you a long time ago. I think and wonder about you often, especially when I have no one to talk to about the Saturday fixtures(体育活动). One day when I grow up I will do an Internet search to find you, but I am not sure whether I will be successful as several attempts by the Child Support Agency have not been successful. Happy Father’s Day, Dad.
Love,
Andrew
1. What did Miss Dalrymple ask her students to do?| A．Hand out the paper and art materials. |
| B．Make a special card for their fathers. |
| C．Make a celebration plan for Father’s Day. |
| D．Carry out a school activity on the weekend. |
| A．The students were not willing to finish the task. |
| B．The students were eager to carry out the activity. |
| C．The students didn’t get along well with each other. |
| D．The students’ family conditions were quite different. |
| A．Because he had never seen his father. |
| B．Because his father was not a successful man. |
| C．Because he forgot all the things his father did. |
| D．Because he and his grandma didn’t like his father. |
| A．Andrew’s father has been dead. |
| B．Andrew’s father can’t recognize him. |
| C．Andrew is eager to meet his father. |
| D．Andrew is sure of finding his father. |
4 . Winter solstice(冬至), an important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar, as the name implies, means the coming of winter. It generally occurs between December 21st and 23rd. According to the traditional Chinese calendar, one year is divided into twenty-four solar terms. On this day, in the Northern Hemisphere the period of daytime is the shortest of the year and the period of night is the longest.
In Northern China there is a custom of eating dumplings during winter solstice. The tradition of eating dumplings during winter solstice has its origin in early times. It is said that dumplings were invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a well-known doctor from the Eastern-Han Dynasty.
One winter, he noticed that many people’s ears were frozen, which made him sad. In order to prevent and cure the freezing injury caused by the cold, he asked his followers to boil mutton, chilies and other ingredients with medicinal properties in a pot for fending off cold. After these were boiled, they ladled(舀取) the mutton and other ingredients out of the pot, cut them into pieces, and then wrapped them with dough skins in the shape of ears. Afterward, they put these into pots to boil again.
On the day of the winter solstice, the people whose ears were frozen were sent to eat the dumplings. People who ate it felt warm from head to toe and had their cold injury healed. Thereafter, every winter solstice people ate dumplings. Then there became a saying that if you eat dumplings during the winter solstice, then you won’t freeze your ears off.
Afterwards, Zhang Zhongjing died on the day of winter solstice. In order to honor him, every year on the day of the winter solstice every household makes dumplings.
1. Which of the following should be the best title of the passage?| A．The Custom Of Eating Dumplings | B．The Inventor Of Dumplings |
| C．The Importance Of Eating Dumplings | D．The Origin Of Winter Solstice |
| A．they want to honor Zhang Zhongjing, who invented dumplings to cure peoples freezing injury |
| B．they want to celebrate the important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar |
| C．dumplings boiled with mutton, chilies and other ingredients with medicinal properties taste delicious |
| D．they can feel warm from head to toe and have their freezing injury healed |
| A．Put off. | B．Put out. |
| C．Keep up. | D．Keep out. |
| A．Winter solstice is the most important among twenty-four solar terms. |
| B．Australia in the Southern Hemisphere has the longest period of daytime on Winter Solstice. |
| C．If people don’t eat dumplings, they will have their ears frozen off. |
| D．China has the longest period of daytime on Winter Solstice. |
5 . While you are traveling abroad, cultural mistakes are more serious than linguistic mistakes, which can lead to serious misunderstanding and even ill-feeling between individuals.
●Touching Someone
●Talking Over Dinner
In some countries, like China,Japan and some African nations, the food’s the thing, so don’t start chatting about your day's adventures while everyone else is digging into dinner.
● Removing Your Shoes or Not
Take off your shoes when arriving at the door of a London dinner party and the hostess will find you uncivilized, but fail to remove your shoes before entering a home in Asia, Hawaii, or the Pacific Islands and you'll be considered disrespectful. So, if you see a row of shoes at the door, start undoing your laces.
Once you are on the ground of a different country, remain highly sensitive to native behavior.
| A．Personal space varies as you travel the globe. |
| B．Asians consider removing shoes impolite at home. |
| C．Never be completely surprised by anything. |
| D．The linguistic mistake means that someone is not fully expressing his idea. |
| E．Look out for the following cultural mistakes and try to avoid them. |
| F．If not, keep the shoes on. |
| G．You'll be likely to meet with silence. |
6 . Christmas can easily become an expensive time of a year. From gifts to decorating, the money spent on the celebration adds up quickly. But there's no reason to completely break the bank.
Make a budget (预算). Set the amount you're willing to spend for the holiday, including gift giving, decorating and travel.
Start shopping for Christmas decorations early. Stores have sales for decorations between Halloween and Thanksgiving.
Shop for gifts all year round. Whenever you're out shopping, keep an eye out for great Christmas presents.
Scale down (缩减) your gift giving. Sometimes you just can't afford to get something for everyone. Remove the people from your list whom you rarely speak with.
| A．Send them simple cards instead. |
| B．This budget is perfect for many people. |
| C．Once you have a budget set, keep to it. |
| D．And it's after Thanksgiving that the prices begin to go up. |
| E．Christmas is known as the season of giving, sharing and receiving. |
| F．There are ways to celebrate well and spend wisely at the same time. |
| G．It doesn't matter when you get the gift, whether it's January or June. |
7 . “Privacy”is translated as“yin si”in Chinese.Traditionally，in the Chinese mind，“yin si”is associated with that which is closed or unfair.If someone is said to have“yin si”，meddlers(好事者)will be attracted to pry(打探)into his or her affairs.So people always state that they don't have“yin si”．
On the contrary，Americans often declare intention to protect their privacy.Their understanding of privacy is that others have no right to pry into things which belong to themselves alone and have nothing to do with others.One who is too curious and who spreads rumors is said to violate the right to privacy.
In the evening，Sonia and I went to a bar for dinner.In China，when people mention bars，something bad usually comes to mind.But here，the bar was a quiet and tastefully laidout place.People spoke quite softly，afraid of interrupting their neighbors，and sat face to face as they drank，sometimes three or five persons sitting together.
This sort of atmosphere was totally different from my preconception(传统观念)，so I wanted to take a picture.Sonia stopped me，“Don't you see these people are pouring out their hearts？Maybe they are colleagues，friends，secret lovers.They came here looking for a peaceful place free from interruption by others.They wouldn't want to leave any trace of their having come here.So taking their pictures would be a serious violation of their right to privacy.”
Is there privacy between husband and wife？One of Sonia's friends married a talented Chinese man，but recently she became so angry that she wanted a divorce(离婚)．The reason was that her husband had opened one of her letters and looked through her purse.The husband didn't realize that this is not tolerated in the U．S.. He thought that being a couple was like being one person；why couldn't he see the letter or the contents of the purse？Truly，everyone，even those living as a couple，needs room—not only in threedimensional(三维)space，but in the heart.
1. What is the main idea of the text?| A．The understanding of“privacy”is different in China and America. |
| B．There is privacy between husband and wife in America. |
| C．Everyone has the right to privacy. |
| D．Everyone in every country needs room for himself. |
| A．she thought her husband was not clever enough |
| B．her husband didn't respect her right to privacy |
| C．her husband always looked through her purse |
| D．her husband always opened her letters |
| A．Privacy is connected with something that is unfair and bad. |
| B．Other people have no right to pry into his or her affairs. |
| C．There is privacy even between couples. |
| D．The right to privacy shouldn't be violated by others. |
8 . In England recently three foreign gentlemen came to a bus stop and waited. About five minutes later, the bus they wanted came along. They were just going to get on when suddenly there was a loud noise behind them. People rushed onto the bus and tried to push them out of the way. Someone shouted at them. The bus conductor came rushing down the stairs to see what all the trouble was about. The three foreigners seem all at sea and looked embarrassed. No one had told them about the British custom of lining up for a bus that the first person who arrives at the bus stop is the first person to get on the bus.
Learning the language of a country isn't enough. If you want to have a pleasant visit, find out as much as possible about the manners and customs of your host country. You will probably be surprised just how different they can be from your own. A visitor to India would do well to remember that people there consider it impolite to use the left hand for passing food at table. The left hand is supposed to be used for washing yourself. Also in India, you might see a man shaking his head at another to show that he doesn't agree. But in many parts of India a shake of the head means agreement. Nodding your head when you are given a drink in Bulgaria will most probably leave you thirsty .
In that country, you shake your head to mean 'yes'— a nod means 'no'. At a meal in countries on the Arabic Peninsula, you will find that your glass is repeated refilled as soon as you drink up. If you think that you have had enough, you should take the cup or glasses in your hand and give it a little shake from side to side or place your hand over the top.
In Europe it is quite usual to cross your legs when you are sitting talking to someone even at an important meeting. Doing this in Thailand, however, could bring about trouble. Also, you should try to avoid touching the head of an adult — it's just not done in Thailand.
1. The British people tried to push the three gentlemen out of the way, because the gentlemen _______.| A．were foreigners | B．didn't have tickets |
| C．made a loud noise | D．didn't line up for the bus |
| A．learn the language of the country |
| B．understand the manners and customs of the country |
| C．have enough time and money |
| D．make friends with the people there |
| A．to use the right hand for passing food at table |
| B．to pass food with the left hand |
| C．to eat food with your hands |
| D．to help yourself at table |
| A．a common habit | B．an important manner |
| C．a serious trouble | D．a bad manner |
9 . Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture (文化) the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman’s smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion (困惑) across cultures. For example, many people in Russia consider smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities).Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don’t smile enough. In Southeast Asian cultures, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.
Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not attempt to "read" people from another culture as we would "read" someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions.
Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressions permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.
It is difficult to generalize about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of "reading" the other person incorrectly.
1. What does the smile usually mean in America?| A．Love. | B．Politeness. |
| C．Joy. | D．Thankfulness. |
| A．show friendliness to strangers |
| B．be used to hide true feelings |
| C．be used in the wrong places |
| D．show personal habits |
| A．Learn about their relations with others. |
| B．Understand their cultural backgrounds. |
| C．Find out about their past experience. |
| D．Figure out what they will do next. |
| A．Cultural Differences |
| B．Smiles and Relationship |
| C．Facial Expressiveness |
| D．Habits and Emotions |
“My grandmothers didn’t do anything but keep house and serve everybody. They were programmed to do that,” said Emils Comette, head of a chapter of the 7-year-old Red Hat Society.
While men have long spent their time fishing and playing golf, women have sometimes seemed to become unnoticed as they age. But the generation now turning 50 is the baby boomers (生育高峰期出生的人), and the same people who refused their parents’ way of being young are now trying a new way of growing old.
If you take into consideration feminism (女权主义), a bit of spare money, and better health for most elderly, the Red Hat Society looks almost inevitable(必然的). In this society, women over 50 wear red hats and purple (紫色的) clothes, while the women under 50 wear pink hats and light purple clothing.
“The organization took the idea from a poem by Jenny Joseph that begins: “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple. With a red hat which doesn’t go,” said Ellen Cooper, who founded the Red Hat Society in 1998. When the ladies started to wear the red hats, they attracted lots of attention.
“The point of this is that we need a rest from always doing something for someone else,” Cooper said. “Women feel so ashamed and sorry when they do something for themselves.” This is why chapters are discouraged from raising money or doing anything useful. “We’re a ladies’ play group. It couldn’t be more simple,” added Cooper’s assistant Joe Heywood.
1. The underlined word “chapter” in paragraph 2 means __________.
| A．one branch of an organization | B．a written agreement of a club |
| C．one part of a collection of poems | D．a period in a society’s history |
| A．have gradually become more noticeable |
| B．are worried about getting old too quickly |
| C．are enjoying a good life with plenty of money to spend |
| D．tried living a different life from their parents when they were young |
| A．interested in raising money for social work |
| B．programmers who can plan well for their future |
| C．believers in equality between men and women |
| D．good at cooking big meals and taking care of others |
| A．Emily Cornette . | B．Ellen Cooper . |
| C．Jenny Joseph . | D．Joe Heywood . |
| A．they want to stay young |
| B．they would like to appear more attractive |
| C．they would like to have fun and live for themselves |
| D．they want to be more like their parents[来 |
