1 . Let’s celebrate some festivals in summer.

The Cariwest Festival

It is one of Edmonton’s most colourful summer festivals! It’s three days of fun as Caribbean Canadians share their music, cuisine and carnival culture! Local performers bring you amazing dance, music and fun. Bring Cariwest atmosphere into your home this year with these amazing online events.

Indigenous Festival

The annual Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival (SSIF) in Edmonton has done a wonderful job to make their annual off-line festival a number of online events this year because of COVID-19. The events take place from June 1 to 21. SSIF has partnered with BMO to provide Education Days for students to learn together about indigenous history. These classes for which only a small fee will be charged include art workshops, book readings and museum tours.

Bluegrass Festival

Just 45 minutes from the heart of downtown Edmonton is the town of Stony Plain that works hard to keep ties to its agricultural background, and here you’ll see old-styled lamp posts and historical wall paintings with a long history everywhere. It’s also the site of Western Canada’s largest bluegrass festival, which has been a main attraction for more than 25 years and in July every year draws in all the big names, including Grammy winners.

Cowboy Festival

You like poetry, music, art and cowboys? Then you can’t miss it. Heading into its 24th year, Cowboy Festival in Stony Plain in August is a showcase of the cowboy life. The events include good old-fashioned BBQ meals and some other entertainment.

1. What is true about SSIF?

A．It takes place in two cities.	B．It focuses on students.
C．It is annually held online.	D．It is free of charge.

2. What do we know about Stony Plain?

A．It’s a city with modern appearance.	B．It has produced many musicians.
C．It has deep roots in agriculture.	D．It often hosts national festivals.

3. Which festival will you be most interested in if you’re a poem lover?

A．Cowboy Festival.	B．Indigenous Festival.
C．Bluegrass Festival.	D．The Cariwest Festival.

5 . The second Sunday in May is Mother’s Day. American children of all ages give their mothers something special. Children, young and old, try to show their love to mothers on the day. However, do you know that Mother’s Day celebration is no recent thing?

England was the first country to set a day for mothers. In the United States, Mother’s Day became an official holiday in 1910. An American girl, Anna, asked their governor to set a festival for mothers that they loved. Therefore, they set the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day and a year later all the other states celebrated it.

In the morning of Mother’s Day, some American children serve their mothers breakfast in bed. Other children will give their mothers presents which they made themselves or bought in stores. Adults give their mothers red carnations (康乃馨)，the official Mother’s Day flower. If their mothers left the world, they may bring white carnations their grave sites (墓地)，This is the busiest day of the year for American restaurants. On this special day, family members do not want their mother to cook dinner!

1. In America, who asked the government to set a festival for their loved mothers?

A．Mike.

B．Alice.

C．Tom.

D．Anna.

2. When is Mother’s Day in America?

A．On the second Sunday in May.	B．On the first Sunday in April.
C．On the second Sunday in July.	D．On the fourth Sunday in September.

3. What is the official Mother’s Day flower according to the passage?

A．Blue carnations.	B．White carnations.
C．Red carnations.	D．Green carnations.

6 . There is more of a connection between food and culture than you may think. On an individual level, we grow up eating the food of our culture. It becomes a part of who we are. Many associate food from our childhood with warm feelings and good memories and it ties us to our families, holding a special and personal value for us. Food from our families often becomes the comfort food we seek as adults in times of frustration and stress.

On a large scale, traditional food is an important part of culture. It also operates as an expression of cultural identity. Immigrants bring it wherever they go, and it is a symbol of pride in their culture and means of coping with homesickness.

Many immigrants open their own restaurants and serve traditional dishes. However, the food does not remain exactly the same. Some materials needed to make traditional dishes may not be readily available, so the taste and flavour can be different from what they would prepare in their home countries. Additionally, immigrants do not only sell dishes to people from the same countries as them, but to people from different countries. Therefore, they have to make small changes in the original dishes to cater to a wider range of customers. Those changes can create new flavours that still keep the cultural significance of the dishes.

We should not only embrace our heritage (传统) through our culture’s food, but also become more informed about other cultures by trying their food. It is important to remember that each dish has a special place in the culture to which it belongs, and is special to those who prepare it. Food is a window on culture, and it should be treated as such.

1. What’s the function of food mentioned in the text?

A．To help motivate homesickness.

B．To show cultural identity.

C．To reflect a country’s history.

D．To show a community’s superiority.

2. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．The specific traditional food.

B．The national culture.

C．A traditional expression of food.

D．The old-fashioned taste.

3. Why do some immigrants have to change the original dishes in their restaurants?

A．To attach cultural importance to their dishes.

B．To announce the beginning of their life on foreign soil.

C．To make the dishes popular among customers.

D．To present their own food culture in a new way.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards different food cultures?

A．Negative.

B．Balanced.

C．Unfair.

D．Unchangeable.

7 . Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend one of Spain’s most famous carnivals in the city of Cádiz. You can only understand what it is like after seeing it for yourself. Everybody was fancily-dressed from top to toe.     1    

Almost instantly after stepping off the train, we were filled with joy.     2     Many people parading through the streets playing traditional music filled people with happiness. As we wandered around and took in the animate atmosphere, the creativity of some costumes was incredible! You could really tell that people put a lot of time and energy into making some amazing costumes.

Then there were the groups dotted around the city.     3     This gave the carnival a pure essence of originality, as they were singing from their heart. Furthermore, the fact that I was not able to understand the inside jokes did not matter, as I was transfixed by the actions and expressions they provided.     4    

As the night progressed, the streets got more packed with people. When we passed a convenience store, we danced along to the music coming through the owner’s speakers.     5     It was a marquee with a DJ set inside, literally like a mini festival. After this wacky weekend of festivity, it is true to say that the Spanish know how to party!

A．Everyone was dancing.

B．People got more and more excited.

C．We saw everyone was in high spirits.

D．It made me feel like I was in a fairy-tale world.

E．Afterwards, we went to the main party at El Puerto.

F．They were mostly old men singing some traditional songs.

G．These mini street shows were a true taste of Spanish culture.

8 . Gabriela worked for a multinational company as a successful project manager in Brazil. Later she was transferred to manage a team in Sweden. She was excited about her new role but soon realized that managing her new team would be a challenge.

Despite their friendliness, Gabriela didn’t feel respected as a leader. Her new staff would question her proposals openly in meetings. When she gave them instructions on how to carry out task, they would often go about it in their own way without checking with her. When she announced her decisions on the project, they would continue giving their opinions as if it were still up for discussion.

What Gabriela was experiencing was a cultural shock in expectations. Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede uses the concept of “power distance” to describe how power is distributed in different cultures. In her previous work environment, Gabriela was used to a high power distance culture where power is respected. In such a culture, leaders make the big decisions and are not often challenged. Her Swedish team, however, were used to working in a low power distance culture where employees often work together with their bosses to find solutions and make decisions. Here, leaders act as coaches who encourage independent thought and expect to be challenged.

When Gabriela became aware of the cultural differences between her and her team, she took the initiative(主动权)to have an open conversation with them about their feelings about her leadership.

Pleased to be asked for their thoughts, Gabriela’s team openly expressed that they were not used to being told what to do. They enjoyed having more room for initiative and creative freedom. When she told her team exactly what she needed them to do, they felt that she didn’t trust them to do their job well.

With a better understanding of the reasons behind each other’s behaviour, Gabriela was able to make adjustments to her management style. Finally she effectively motivated her team to achieve their goals.

1. What problem did Gabriela face with her Swedish team at the beginning?

A．Her Swedish staff didn’t understand her instructions.

B．Her authority was challenged by her Swedish staff.

C．They were always refusing to follow her directions.

D．They looked down upon her because she was a female.

2. What is encouraged in the working culture in Sweden?

A．Professional spirit and risk-taking behaviour.

B．Independent thinking and friendly atmosphere.

C．Active participation and creative thinking.

D．Competitive spirit and mild character.

3. Which of the following can best describe Gabriela?

A．Kind but changeable.	B．Strict but trustworthy.
C．Flexible and communicative.	D．Stubborn and forceful.

4. What a lesson can we learn from Gabriela’s story?

A．Birds of a feather flock together.	B．Don’t judge a book by its cover.
C．Two heads are better than one.	D．When in Rome, do as Romans do.

9 . Miang

My name is Miang. I come from Thailand. I would like to tell you about my favorite holiday, which is Chinese Spring Festival taking place in January or February every year. My family is Chinese, and we celebrate this day all together. My aunt prepares some traditional Chinese dishes, such as duck, chicken, fish, pork and so on. We will have a get-together to enjoy all these delicious food, especially a kind of food—“dumplings”.

Janine

My favorite holiday is Christmas. On Christmas, we dance, play music and sing. We have great fun on that day. We eat Christmas sweets and many special foods. We decorate our house with colorful lights. I love Christmas mainly because of holiday!

Zhenia

My favorite holiday is the New Year. We celebrate the New Year on the 31st of December. Father Frost comes with his granddaughter Snegoorochka on this night. He comes at night and 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 tasty food for parties.

Pat

My name is Pat, and I am from Thailand. My favorite holiday is Songkran. It is a Thai New Year celebration. It takes place from the 13th to 15th of April. People pour water on each other on this holiday. It is a lot of fun. People also buy new clothes and they have big parties.

Malena

I am Malena, and I’m from Argentina. My favorite holiday is the New Year. We celebrate with fireworks at midnight. I go to Punta del Este with my family. We usually eat Arabian food (kibbe, Lajmayin and so on).

1. On Chinese New Year’s Day, Miang’s aunt may cook all of the following EXCEPT______.

A．duck

B．dumplings

C．Lajmayin

D．pork

2. We can infer that Father Frost and Snegoorochka most probably are ______.

A．present-sellers	B．Zhenia’s relatives
C．characters in tales	D．father and daughter

3. Besides Pat, who else most probably celebrates Songkran?

A．Janine.

B．Malena.

C．Zhenia.

D．Miang.

4. According to the passage, what is the main reason why Janine loves Christmas?

A．Because there is a lot of fun.	B．Because she doesn’t go to school.
C．Because she can get a lot of presents.	D．Because she can stay with her family.

10 . Traveling to all corners of the world gets easier and easier. We live in a global (全球的) village.     1    

Greetings

How should you behave when you meet someone for the first time? An American or Canadian shakes your hand while looking you straight in the eyes.     2     In Japan, you should bow (鞠躬). In Thailand, the greeting is made by pressing both hands together at the chest and bowing your head a bit.

Clothes

    3     In some Asian countries, you shouldn’t reveal (显露) the body, especially women. In Japan, you should take off your shoes when entering a house or a restaurant. Remember to place them together facing the door you came in. This is also true in South Korea, Thailand, and Iran.

Food and drink

In Italy, Spain and Latin America, lunch is often the biggest meal of the day, and can last two or three hours.     4     In Britain, you might have a business lunch and do business as you eat. In Mexico and Japan, lunch is a time to relax and socialize. And the Japanese rarely drink alcohol (酒) at lunchtime.

Doing business

    5     You should include your company name and your position. In Japan, you must present your card with both hands, with the writing facing the person you are giving it to.

A．In many parts of Asia, there is no physical touch at all.

B．Sometimes, social events end with singing and dancing.

C．But this doesn’t mean that we all behave in the same way.

D．For this reason many people eat a light breakfast and a late dinner.

E．Many countries have rules about what you should and shouldn’t wear.

F．In many countries, business hours are from 9 or 10 to 5 or 6.

G．In most countries, showing business cards is important for all introductions.