3 . The Double Ninth Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. According to tradition, we should celebrate the festival by going mountain climbing. How many people today still keep this tradition?    1    However, they are an important part of Chinese culture, and we must protect and maintain them.

    2    The Dragon Boat Festival, for example, is celebrated in honour of Qu Yuan. By celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival with rice dumplings and dragon boat races, the story of Qu Yuan is passed down from generation to generation. Promoting traditional festivals helps spread knowledge about the past of our country. Moreover, traditional festivals enable us to learn more about fine Chinese values. Many festivals, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival, have a family-centred message at their heart.    3    With the celebrations of these festivals, younger generations learn to honour fine Chinese values.

Finally, traditional festivals area source of national pride and help shape (塑造) our national identity. For example, we celebrate the Hanshi Festival and the Lab a Festival with unique customs, and these shared experiences bring us together as a people.    4    

Traditional festivals have been passed down to us from previous generations. It is the duty of every one of us to protect them for generations to come.    5    We may even lose the festivals which belong to us.

A．Many young people celebrate western festivals.

B．Traditional festivals can help develop our economy.

C．Traditional festivals teach us a lot about our nation’s history.

D．People will come back home even if they live very far away.

E．Traditional festivals tell us who we are and fill us with pride in being Chinese.

F．In modern society, many traditional Chinese festivals are becoming less and less popular.

G．If we don’t pay much attention to these traditional festivals, some customs may fade away.

4 . Little New Year usually falls a week before the lunar New Year. It is also known as the Festival of the Kitchen God, the deity(神) who oversees the moral character of each household. Here are five things you should know about the Little New Year, another sign of the start of spring.

1.Offer sacrifices to Kitchen God

One of the most distinctive traditions of the Little New Year is the burning of a paper image of the Kitchen God, who will report on the family’s conduct over the past year. The offerings to the Kitchen God include pig’s head, fish, sweet bean paste, melons, fruit, boiled dumplings, barley sugar, and Guandong candy. Most of the offerings are sweets of various varieties. It is thought that this will seal the Kitchen God’s mouth and encourage him to only say good things about the family when he ascends to heaven to make his report.

2.House cleaning

According to Chinese folk beliefs, during the last month of the year ghosts and deities must choose either to return to Heaven or to stay on Earth. It is believed that in order to ensure the ghosts and deities’ timely departure people must thoroughly clean both their persons and their houses, down to every last drawer and cupboard.

3.Paste paper-cuts to windows

In the Little New Year, old couplets and paper-cuts from the previous Spring Festival are taken down, and new window decorations, New Year’s posters, and auspicious(吉利的) decorations are pasted up.

4.Bath and hair-cut

As the old Chinese saying goes, whether they’re rich or poor, people often have a haircut before the Spring Festival. The activity of taking bath and haircut is often taken on the Little New Year.

5.Preparations for the Spring Festival

People start to stock up necessary provisions for the Spring Festival since the Little New Year. Everything needed to make offerings to the ancestors, entertain guests, and feed the family over the long holiday must be purchased in advance.

1. What is the Kitchen God’s duty in the man’s world?

A．Collecting the information of the man’s world.

B．Protecting the character of each home.

C．Gathering sacrifices for other Gods in heaven.

D．Watching out for the moral people in the world.

2. Why are most of the offerings sweets?

A．Because the Kitchen God loves sweet foods.

B．As it is the traditional customs.

C．As people hope the God says good for them.

D．Because sweets are the best sacrifices.

3. What do we know from the passage?

A．Little New Year always falls in February.

B．House cleaning is to welcome the New Year.

C．In the Little New Year only paper-cuts are pasted up.

D．People will make full preparations for the coming New Year.

4. What is the most unusual tradition in the Little New Year?

A．Offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God.

B．Burning paper image of the Kitchen God.

C．Preparing the necessity for the New Year.

D．Cleaning house and people themselves.

5 . Many of China’s ancient architectural treasures crumbled into dust before Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng began documenting them in the 1930s. The husband and wife team were among the first preservationists to operate in China, and by far the best known. Their efforts have since inspired generations of people to speak out for architecture threatened by the rapid development.

Becoming China’s best architectural historians was no easy accomplishment. The buildings they wanted to save were centuries old, often located in distant parts of the country. In many cases, they had to journey through dangerous conditions in the Chinese countryside to reach them. Exploring China’s remote areas during the 1930s meant traveling muddy, poorly maintained (养护) roads by mule (骡子), or on foot. Inns (客栈) were often dirty, food could be polluted, and there was always risk of violence from rebels, soldiers and robbers.

Their greatest discovery was the Temple of Buddha’s Light, in Wutai County, Shanxi Province. The breathtaking wooden temple was rebuilt in 857 A.D., making it the oldest building known in China at the time.

Liang and Lin crawled into the temple’s most forbidding, forgotten areas to determine its age, including one hideaway inhabited by thousands of bats and millions of bedbugs, covered in dust and littered with dead bats. “In complete darkness and among awful smell, hardly breathing, with thick masks covering our noses and mouths, we measured, drew, and photographed with flashlights for several hours. When at last we came out to take a breath of fresh air, we found hundreds of bedbugs in our bag. We ourselves had been badly bitten. Yet the importance and unexpectedness of our find made those the happiest hours of my years hunting for ancient architecture.” Liang wrote of the experience in an account included in the book “Liang and Lin: Partners in Exploring China’s Architectural Past”.

1. What does the underlined word “crumbled” mean in Paragraph 1?

A．Were stolen.	B．Fell down.
C．Looked old.	D．Closed up.

2. On their way to the ancient buildings in the 1930s, what risks did Liang and Lin mainly face?

A．Transport and accommodations.

B．Personal safety and weather.

C．Communication with locals and food.

D．Road conditions and funds.

3. What can we infer from Liang’s words in the text?

A．They considered their work was the most important.

B．They were well-equipped before entering the temple.

C．They found some surprising things in the temple.

D．The conditions inside the temple were common to them.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．Tough Conditions in China’s Remote Areas

B．Partners in Documenting China’s Architectural Treasures

C．The Reason for Liang and Lin’s Exploration

D．The Difficulties China’s Architectural Historians Are Facing

6 . Using Google’s unique digital technology, the stories of some English Heritage Sites around the country — from Tintagel Castle in Cornwall to Chesters Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall — are brought to life and shared by way of the Google Arts & Culture platform.

Stonehenge Skyscape	The English Heritage’s Stonehenge Skyscape enables people around the world to experience the skies above the stone circle, and learn about movements of the sun, moon and planets. Experience live and special sunrise over Stonehenge, see the journey of the stars and the moon from within the stone circle and learn more about the design of Stonehenge and how its builders may have understood their place in the universe.
Osborne House, the Isle of Wight	Take a 360⁃degree video tour of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s palatial (富丽堂皇的) holiday home on the Isle of Wight in the company of English Heritage director Michael Hunter, including the Italian terraces (露台) with views over the Solent, which reminded Prince Albert of the Bay of Naples, and the Indian-inspired Durbar Room, designed to show Queen Victoria’s position as Empress of India.
Audley End House and Gardens, Essex	Explore the story of one of the greatest houses of early 17th-century England deep in the heart of the Essex countryside, and fly over the great formal gardens designed by Capability Brown.
Tintagel Castle, Cornwall	Explore this medieval (中世纪的) castle set high on Cornwall’s north coast. Linked with the legend of King Arthur, for centuries this impressive castle has inspired the imaginations of writers and artists. Discover the early medieval history of a distant outpost (偏远村镇) trading objects from Spain, North Africa and Turkey.

1. Which heritage can you choose if you are interested in unique sunrise?

A．Stonehenge Skyscape.

B．Osborne House, the Isle of Wight.

C．Audley End House and Gardens, Essex.

D．Tintagel Castle, Cornwall.

2. What do Osborne House and Tintagel Castle have in common?

A．Both were built for their kings.

B．Both were built in the same age.

C．Both are related to previous rulers.

D．Both were palatial holiday homes for the rulers.

3. In which part of a website can you read the text?

A．Language.

B．Education.

C．Geography.

D．Culture.

7 . In the long history of about 5,000 years, numerous Chinese traditional festivals were celebrated in honour of gods or some significant days, some of which are passed down from generation to generation and people always practice special traditional activities in each festival.

The Qingming Festival

The Qingming Festival is on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox (春分), around April 4 or April 5 every year.     1    . They remove the weeds growing on their ancestors’ tombs to make them clean, so this festival is also called Tomb-Sweeping Day. In some areas, people are forbidden to use the fire to cook food, so they only eat the cool food. Thus, it is also named the Hanshi Festival.

The Double Ninth Festival

    2    . The Chinese character of September is the same as 9, so we get this special name. Chinese people, especially in the northern region, climb up the mountains to enjoy the wonderful view, and admire the beauty of chrysanthemums (菊花).

The Winter Solstice (冬至)

The winter solstice is on around December 22 or 23 of the solar calendar each year. From that day on, the daytime will be longer and longer.     3    . Chinese people in the northern region eat dumplings and wontons (馄饨), while in the southern region rice balls.

    4    

In China, this festival is in late January or early February, the last day of the lunar year. People celebrate it by having a family reunion dinner, setting off fireworks and staying up late. Breaking the dishes and bowls is a thing all the people are afraid of, but if you did it, you should say “Sui sui ping an!”     5    .

A．The Spring Festival

B．New Year’s Eve

C．People will go to commemorate (纪念) their ancestors

D．People always visit their friends and relatives

E．It is celebrated on Sep. 9th of the lunar calendar, around in October of the solar calendar

F．It’s a holiday which is regarded as important as the Spring Festival

G．It is a double-meaning word, meaning you will be safe during the new year

8 . October 15th is Global Handwashing Day. Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap.

Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so-called critical moments. These include after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food.

Global Handwashing Day is the idea of the Public-Private Partnership for hand washing with soap. The goal, they say, is to create a culture of hand washing with soap. The organizers say all soap is equally effective at removing disease-causing germs (细菌). They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub it into all areas, including under the fingernails. Then, wash well under running water. Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth.

The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing. Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the chances that people will wash again.

It also says that washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any medicine. It could help reduce cases of diarrhea (痢疾), which is the second leading cause of child deaths, killing more than one and a half million children a year, by almost half.

1. What does the author intend to tell us in the passage?

A．To keep healthy by washing hands.

B．To wash hands with soap.

C．To take action to wash hands.

D．To wash hands often.

2. Which of the following is the right way to wash hands?
a. Washing hands well.
b. Covering hands with soap.
c. Drying hands.
d. Rubbing hands with soap.
e. Wetting hands.

A．a-c-b-e-d	B．e-d-a-b-c
C．a-c-b-d-e	D．e-b-d-a-c

3. Which fact can’t explain why soap is important?

A．It gives people a longer hand washing time.

B．It helps to remove a lot of germs from hands.

C．It attracts people to do more hand washing.

D．It gets all people into the habit of washing hands.

4. According to the last paragraph, diarrhea is a disease that 　　　.

A．kills half of the kids in the developing countries a year

B．causes the greatest number of child deaths

C．can be prevented to some degree by washing hands with soap

D．can’t be cured without washing hands

9 . “I like pop songs better before I actually got a chance to sing hua’er at the age of 19,” said Sa Lina,36, who has since become a famous singer, devoting herself to this traditional art form for almost two decades

Hua’er, which means flower in Chinese, is a Chinese folk song style. It is popular and shared by people of nine ethnic groups in Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia and Xinjiangfor hundreds of years. Also known as a type of “mountain songs”, it was inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity(人类非物质文化遗产)in 2009.

After graduating in 2005, Sa returned to her hometown in Ningxia, and soon got a chance to sing with Ma Handong, a famous singer of hua’er. “I had never sung hua’er before, so I practiced a lot, To my surprise, I soon fell in love with its beautiful melodies,” said Sa.

Since then, Sa has devoted herself to mastering the folk art, and further bringing this traditional local folk art to the national stage. In 2010, she sang a hua’er song at a gala on Chinese New Year’s Eve, winning nationwide attention. At the age of 27, she was named an inheritor(传承者)of hua’er, becoming the youngest inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage at the time.

“Art should not only be inherited(传承), but also improved. I don’t only want to be a hua’er singer, but also a promoter of this folk music,” she said. In 2014 Sa set up an art school, which offers hua’er training courses free of charge. She also regularly gives singing lectures in public schools and communities, benefiting tens of thousands of people.

1. What can we learn about Hua’er from the text?

A．It is a kind of flower.

B．It is a local folk art

C．It is a classic song.

D．It is a new art form.

2. Which of the following best explains“inscribed” underlined in paragraph 2?

A．Updated.

B．Studied.

C．Awarded.

D．Included

3. What’s the fourth paragraph mainly about?

A．Sa’s skills in singing Hua’er

B．Sa’s performance at a gala.

C．Sa’s contributions about Hua’er

D．Sa’s understanding about Hua’er.

4. Why did Sa set up an art school?

A．To offer different art courses

B．To help people live more happily.

C．To inherit and promote the folk art

D．To open more social media accounts

10 . Officials from Brazil’s Indigenous (原住民) protection agency approached the hut in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. They were witnessing the first recorded dying out of an uncontacted tribe in the country’s history.

The man lying there, the last member of his tribe, had died and with him an entire culture and answers to a thousand questions.

Even his name was a mystery. He was known only as “the Man of the Hole” because of the dozens of holes he had dug over the years in his territory. His age, too, could only be guessed at. He appeared to be about 60, officials said.

It was a sad milestone for a country that in recent years has seen protections for Indigenous groups undermined by an administration that has prioritized (优先) development of the Amazon over conservation.

In Rondonia, the only resident of the 8,000-hectare area lived in complete isolation for at least 26 years after the rest of his group was killed by ranchers (农场主) advancing the agricultural frontier.

Brazil’s Indigenous protection agency, Funai, made direct contact with the last surviving man only in 1996. Marcelo dos Santos, an Indigenous expert, said he was found hiding in his hut. “We tried to establish a conversation and offered corn and arrows, but he was terrified and very aggressive (具有攻击性). From this moment on, we had to respect his isolation.”

Even with protections in place, the territory suffered widespread deforestation up until about 13 years ago. Attacks on the last surviving man continued, as well, including one by armed gunmen in 2009, according to local news reports.

“For me, he was somehow incredible: to be able to survive on his own, not speak to anybody and avoid all contact maybe out of grief or determination,” said Fionad Watson, a research director at Survival International, a London-based rights organization.

1. What did the death of “the Man of the Hole” suggest?

A．An uncontacted tribe went extinct.	B．An entire culture would be recorded.
C．The secrets around him would be unearthed.	D．The protection agency was unwilling to rescue him.

2. The underlined word “undermined” in para. 4 is closest in meaning to “________”.

A．strengthened

B．monitored

C．sought

D．weakened

3. What happened to “the Man of the Hole” in 1996?

A．He made the protection agency’s approach a failure.

B．He witnessed the most severe deforestation in history.

C．He escaped being shot by a group of aggressive gunmen.

D．He learned more survival skills with arrows offered by Funai.

4. What did Fiona Watson regard “the Man of the Hole” as?

A．A mystery

B．An evolution

C．A wonder

D．A fortune