1 . Easy Halloween Party Ideas 2021
Halloween is forthcoming and we’re sure your kids already have their spirit on! With some preparations and these Halloween party ideas, you can throw your kids and their friends a super fearful party. We have listed some easy-peasy ideas for you.
Theme it out
Picking the perfect Halloween theme can be complicated. There are so many factors to consider like location, space size, kid-friendliness, etc. Whichever theme you choose, make sure that you stick with it for other elements as well like food, music, and decorations.
Ghoulishing the decorations
Fake blood, spider webs, cut-out pumpkins, & huge bubbling pots. Halloween decorations are sure fun and involve kids and parents together in the holiday activities. Decorating the house together is sure to ensure some serious bonding time!
DIY Halloween party games
DIY Halloween games are a super way to get kids excited! They are budget-friendly and are a great way for parents to bond with their children. Make sure to include games that suit your theme and create amusement.
Make some delicious food & drinks
Try to keep Halloween snacks and drinks tasty and simple! Make a tangy punch (潘趣酒) that kids will enjoy with some cheese sandwiches to go along with. You can make snacks that are relevant to your theme.
Halloween is great fun but don’t forget that the core purpose behind each holiday is to get in some family time. Do some activities that involve you and your kids together. Help your kids enjoy themselves to the fullest by enjoying with them!
1. What should you do when deciding a theme?| A．Pick whichever theme as you like. |
| B．Add other elements to make it diverse. |
| C．Choose a theme as complicated as possible. |
| D．Make sure everything is with the same theme. |
| A．To have fun with friends. | B．To practice kids’ DIY ability. |
| C．To promote family relationship. | D．To create a fearful atmosphere. |
| A．Parents. | B．Teachers. |
| C．Kids. | D．Businessmen. |
2 . Our culture is the system we use to build our identity. All living things are part of a culture. Even animals have a culture! So what is culture? It's the way we behave in a group. It begins with each individual family. Within our families we do things to build relationships with each other. This can include routines like daily housework and weekly shopping. It also includes traditions. Traditions are activities that are repeated on a regular basis.
Culture is not limited to individual family groups. The real strength of culture is in larger community groups. These larger groups are called societies. Every society makes rules for itself. It decides how people should act in different situations. Some of these rules are written down. Some are just things that are naturally expected of all members of that society.
Often, cultures can be recognized by what the people believe. Cultures are also known by what they choose to include in their art. Sometimes cultures may be formed by people who speak the same language. Cultures may also be known for their customs, including the foods they make and the things they do.
Our cultures help us understand who we are and what we believe. There are very strong feelings connecting us to our own society. Two different cultures may disagree on something, especially if they both feel strongly about it. When that happens, war is a common result.
People are learning better ways to communicate with each other. The more we communicate, the more we appreciate the differences in cultures.
1. Where does the real strength of culture?| A．In arts. | B．In families. | C．In societies. | D．In languages. |
| A．Culture is the way we behave. | B．Culture doesn't exist in animals. |
| C．Cultures may not agree with each other. | D．Cultures help us understand ourselves. |
| A．By communicating. | B．By preparing to fight. |
| C．By building a wall. | D．By making friends. |
| A．What Is Culture? | B．What Is Society? | C．What Is Tradition? | D．What Is System |
3 . Around the world, many people come together on 3lst December to celebrate the coming of the New Year, which is called Hogmanay in Scotland. The tradition of Hogmanay comes from Viking times and the celebration is more popular than Christmas in Scotland.
On Hogmanay's Eve, family members throughout Scotland will get together to “bring in the bells”. The phrase in Scotland refers to the ten-second countdown to midnight when bells ring all over Scotland to signal the beginning of the New Year. The atmosphere can only be described as electric! It is such an exciting event and all of the people are in a good mood as they wait to bring in the New Year bells!
Then most towns in Scotland have celebrations with fireworks in the evening, but in the bigger Scottish cities, other events take place.
The best-known event for Hogmanay is the annual Edinburgh Street Party. Every year, Edinburgh hosts a joyful firework show and other celebrating activities outside of the castle and it is broadcast on TV for those watching the celebration from their homes.
Another very popular event takes place in Stonehaven, where there is a “Fireball Ceremony” which takes place along the street. Around forty men and women come together and wave fireballs around their heads, which is wonderful to witness! People line the streets hours beforehand to see the festival which begins immediately after midnight on December 3lst.
On New Year's Day in Scotland, it is traditional to have a meal with the family. They always eat a steak pie with vegetables. Another tradition that has to be mentioned is the “First Footing” tradition. Also from the time of the Vikings, this is the tradition where the first person to enter the home after Hogmanay has to bring something Scottish with them, otherwise it brings bad luck for the coming year. People are usually very generous with their first footing gifts such as ginger wine, Scottish whisky and homemade shortbread.
1. What will the family members do right before the midnight of 3lst December?| A．Have a big dinner party. | B．Ring the bells at home. |
| C．Count down the last ten seconds. | D．Set off fireworks outside. |
| A．It is a firework show. | B．It is a fireball ceremony. |
| C．It is a well-known gathering. | D．It is a popular TV show. |
| A．Steak pies with vegetables. | B．Homemade shortbread. |
| C．Ginger wine. | D．Scottish whisky. |
| A．Hogmanay: the Scottish New Year | B．The Origin of the Scottish New Year |
| C．First Footing: an Old Scottish Tradition | D．Different Ways of New Year Celebrations |
4 . Some festivals around the world
Dia de los Muertos (Mexico)
Beginning at the midnight of October 31 and lasting through November 2, it is a festival when families gather together to remember those loved ones who have died. To honor the deceased, Mexican families prepare private altars (祭坛) in their homes. On top of them they’ll put photos of the dead and their favorite food. They also visit the graves of their beloved ones and place offerings there to pay their respects to the dead.
Holi (India)
Holi, popularly known as “the festival of colors”, is an ancient Hindu festival which signifies the end of winter and the victory of good over evil.
During the festival, people wet each other with water balloons and water guns, then they throw color powder on one another. There are also marching bands, dancing, food and drink, and much laughter. A great number of people are infected by its playful and childlike atmosphere.
La Tomatina (Spain)
As a big food fight, it is possibly the most chaotic (混乱的) festival.
According to records, the festival dates back to a parade in which some naughty teenagers knocked one performer off his stilts (高跷) and caused a fight of throwing vegetables accidentally. It was once banned until 1957 when the locals held a protest (抗议) with a mock funeral. They carried a coffin containing a huge tomato as bands played a funeral march. Finally, in the decades since, La Tomatina has become a popular event which attracts lots of tourists to have fun.
If you happen to join the event, be aware that you squash (压软) the tomato before throwing it. Have a great time but avoid causing any injury.
1. Which festival in China is similar to Dia de los Muertos in purpose?| A．Lantern Festival. | B．Mid-Autumn Festival. | C．Dragon Boat Festival. | D．Qingming Festival. |
| A．Enjoyable but risky. | B．Chaotic but playful. | C．Religious and legendary. |
| D．Worldwide and meaningful | ||
| A．It’s a crazy tomato fight. | B．It usually causes injury. |
| C．It originated from a funeral. | D．It was canceled by the locals in 1957. |
5 . Food festivals around the world
Stilton Cheese Rolling
May Day is a traditional day for celebrations, but the 2,000 English villagers of Stilton must be the only people in the world who include cheese rolling in their annual plans. Teams of four, dressed in a variety of strange and funny clothes, roll a complete cheese along a 50-metre course. On the way, they must not kick or throw their cheese, or go into their competitors’ lane. Competition is fierce and the chief prize is a complete Stilton cheese weighing about four kilos (disappointingly, but understandably the cheeses used in the race are wooden ones). All the competitors are served with beer or port wine, the traditional accompaniment for Stilton cheese.
Fiery Foods Festival—The Hottest Festival on Earth
Every year more than 10,000 people head for the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They come from as far away as Australia, the Caribbean and China, but they all share a common addiction—food that is not just spicy , but hot enough to make your mouth burn, your head spin and your eyes water. Their destination is the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival which is held over a period of three days every March. You might like to try a chocolate-covered habanero pepper—officially the hottest pepper in the world—or any one of the thousands of products that are on show. But one thing’s for sure—if you don’t like the feeling of a burning tongue, this festival isn’t for you!
La Tomatina—The World’s Biggest Food Fight
On the last Wednesday of every August, the Spanish town of Bunol hosts La Tomatina—the world’s largest food fight. A week-long celebration leads up to an exciting tomato battle as the highlight of the week's events. The early morning sees the arrival of large trucks with tomatoes—official fight-starters get things going by casting tomatoes at the crowd.
The battle lasts little more than half an hour, in which time around 50,000 kilograms of tomatoes have been thrown at anyone or anything that moves, runs, or fights back. Then everyone heads down to the river to make friends again—and for a much-needed wash!
1. In the Stilton cheese rolling competition, competitors on each team must ________.| A．wear various formal clothes |
| B．kick or throw their cheese |
| C．roll a wooden cheese in their own lane |
| D．use a real cheese weighing about four kilos |
| A．In New Mexico. | B．In the Caribbean. | C．In Australia. | D．In China. |
| A．three days | B．seven days | C．less than three days | D．more than seven days |
6 . Sunday Bakeshop in Oakland, California, makes foods that mix American and Asian cultures. The restaurant makes foods that are cooked or baked in an oven. Many of them are sweet. For example, the shop sells something called a dim sum cookie. It looks like a sugar cookie but has sesame (芝麻) seeds on top and sweetened red beans inside. Dim sum is a word for Cantonese foods from southern China.
The dim sum cookie is Elaine Lau’s way of honoring her grandmother who would make a kind of food that had a similar taste. Lau’s restaurant also makes Chinese White Rabbit candy cookies. Those sweets would not be found in any bakery in Asia but are a mixture of Asian and Western foods. Lau said she speaks to Asian Americans and others at her store. She said: “We get a lot of comments, for example, ‘The cookies are just like little lovely kitties and puppies.’ ‘Oh this took me back to several years ago when I was growing up.’” She added that it was nice to create good memories and feelings with her pastries (糕点).
Bakeries that combine the feeling of growing-up Asians and Americans have been opening up more often in recent years. Traditional Asian ingredients are being mixed with European or American pastries into something new. The creations are a way for young Asian Americans to celebrate their identity.
“Older traditional Asian bakeries make foods that immigrants miss from their home country. The new bakeries celebrate Asian culture and are part of a natural progression,” said Robert Ku, who is an Asian American studies professor at Binghamton University in New York state. He also wrote the book Dubious Gastronomy: The Cultural Politics of Eating Asian in the USA.
“The bakers are showing that their foods, which mix cultures, are just as American as apple pie. It’s sort of the artistic side of Asian American identity that’s often ignored,” Ku said. “They’re instead really trying to fuse things together.”
1. What does Lau think of her work?| A．Tiring. | B．Demanding. | C．Confusing. | D．Rewarding. |
| A．Create a new way of showing their identities. |
| B．Celebrate the Asian culture in foreign countries. |
| C．Remind the immigrants of their hometown flavor. |
| D．Introduce young Asian Americans to new culture. |
| A．Combine. | B．Improve. | C．Invent. | D．Consume. |
| A．Asian American Cookies Become American's Favorite Food |
| B．Varieties of New Asian Foods Are Created by American Cooks |
| C．Asian American Bakeries Mix Together Cultures to Create New Foods |
| D．Traditional Asian Food Becomes Popular with American Young People |
7 . A British friend told me he couldn’t understand why Chinese people love eating sunflower seeds(嗑瓜子) as a snack so much.“I’ve met a lot of older Chinese and many have a crack in their front teeth, I believe that’s from cracking the seeds,”he said.
I had never noticed the habit, but once he mentioned it, I suddenly became more aware, I realized that whenever I’m watching TV or typing a report, I always start mindlessly cracking sunflower seeds. My friend doesn’t like sunflower seeds, and, to him, it seems unnecessary to work so much just to get one small seed.
When we were young, the whole family would usually get together for Chinese New Year. Then, we all lived close to one another, usually in a small city, and sometimes even neighbors would go door-to-door on Chinese New Year’s Eve to check out what every household was making.
I remember my parents would be in the kitchen cooking. Out in the living room, a large table would already be laid out, complete with fancy tablecloth, ready-made dumpling fillings, and dishes full of candy, fruits and sunflower seeds. Some of the dishes were to be offered to our ancestors later, while others were for neighbors and children to eat before the evening feast. I must have learned how to crack sunflower seeds back then.
I don’t think it’s right to criticize one’s choice in food or eating habits, no matter how strange they may seem.
It’s not only in China. When I went abroad, I found people had all sorts of strange habits when it came to food. In Denmark, they put salted red fish on bread and eat it for dinner, no matter how much it ruins your breath. They think it’s a delicacy(美味佳肴), and it’s connected to their certain culture. I think it’s a wonderful tradition.
1. What did the writer become aware of?| A．She had ever typed a report about seeds. |
| B．She had various snacks while watching TV. |
| C．She had a habit of cracking sunflower seeds. |
| D．She damaged her teeth by eating sunflower seeds. |
| A．The families get together for it. | B．Eating sunflower seeds is related to it. |
| C．The traditions of celebrating it disappear. | D．Children can eat delicious food on that day. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Critical. | C．Understandable. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．It is good to form healthy eating habits. |
| B．Eating habits come from a certain culture. |
| C．Changing your eating habits will change your life. |
| D．One kind of food doesn’t necessarily suit everyone. |
8 . Before you go to another country it is a great help if you know the language and some of the customs(风俗) of the country. When people meet each other for the first time in Britain, they say “How do you do?” and shake hands. Usually they do not shake hands when they just meet or say goodbye. But they shake hands after they haven’t met for a longtime or when they will be away from each other for a long time. Last year a group of German students went to England for a holiday. Their teacher told them that the English people hardly shake hands. So when they met their English people at the station, they kept their hands behind their backs. The English students had learned that the Germans shake hands as often as possible, so they put their hands in front and got ready to shake hands with them. It made both of them laugh.
1. It is________if you know the language and some of the customs of country.| A．not useful | B．not helpful | C．very helpful | D．very bad |
| A．meet every time | B．meet for the first time |
| C．say goodbye to each other | D．say hello to each other |
| A．when they will be away for a long time |
| B．when they say “How do you do?” |
| C．when they just meet or say goodbye |
| D．after they haven’t met for a long time |
| A．German people shake hands as often as possible. |
| B．English people like shaking hands very much. |
| C．German people hardly shake hands. |
| D．Neither English people nor Germans like shaking hands. |
| A．shaking hands | B．languages |
| C．different customs | D．language and customs |
9 . Culture shock occurs when people have been suddenly thrown into a new culture. Newcomers may be anxious because they don’t speak the language. Neither do they know the customs nor understand the people's behavior in daily life.
Quite often the visitor finds that “yes” may not always mean “yes”, that friendliness does not necessarily mean friendship, or that statements that appear to be serious are really jokes. The foreigners may be unsure as to when lo shake hands, when to shack conversations, or how to approach a stranger. The idea of culture shock helps explain the feelings of puzzlement.
Language problems do not account for all the difficulty that people feel. When one has lost everything that was once familiar, such as understanding a transportation system, knowing how to register for university classes, or knowing how to make friends, difficulties in dealing with the new society may arise.
When an individual (个人) enters a strange culture, he or she feels like a fish out of water. Newcomers feel at times that they do not belong to the culture and feel deserted by the native members of the culture. When this happens, visitors may want to reject everything about the new environment and may sing their own praises of the positive aspects of their own culture. On the other side, more visitors may sneeze al their native country by rejecting its value and instead choosing to approve of the value of the new country. This may occur as an attempt to accept the new culture in order to be taken in by the people in it.
1. What do people feel when they are suddenly in a new culture?| A．Excited. | B．Upset. |
| C．Delighted. | D．Hopeless. |
| A．It's impossible to get used to a new culture. |
| B．Foreigners often don’t mean what native people say. |
| C．People feel confused due to culture shock. |
| D．Most foreigners are usually quite humorous. |
| A．The puzzlement. | B．The environment. |
| C．The transportation. | D．The language. |
| A．Because they miss their native culture seriously. |
| B．Because they can’t enter the new society. |
| C．Because they know nothing about the culture. |
| D．Because they really regret having immigrated. |
10 . When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation. I suggested that they should stay at “bed and breakfast” houses, because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.
“We didn’t stay at “bed and breakfast” houses,” they said, “because we found that most families were away on holiday.”
I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought “VACANCIES” meant “holidays”, because the Spanish word for “holidays” is “vacaciones”. So they did not go to house where the sign outside said “VACANCIES “, which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to house where the sign said “NO VACANCIES”, because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result, they stayed at hotels!
We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish, the word “DIVERSION” means fun. In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word “DIVERSION” on a road sign, they thought they were going to have fun. Instead, the road ended in a large hole.
English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris, when someone offered me some more coffee, I said “Thank you” in French. I meant that I would like some more. However, to my surprise, the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that “Thank you” in French means “No, thank you.”
1. The writer’s friends in Spain wanted to get advice about ________.| A．the chance of learning English | B．the way of going to England |
| C．the traffic rules in England | D．finding places to stay in England |
| A．it would be convenient for them to have dinner |
| B．it would be much cheaper than staying in hotels |
| C．they would be able to practise their English |
| D．there would be no problem about finding accommodation there |
| A．they misunderstood the signs outside the door |
| B．there were no such “bed and breakfast” houses in England |
| C．they found there were no free rooms there |
| D．people there were away on holiday |
| A．fall into a hole |
| B．have to take a different road |
| C．find that the road is blocked by crowds of people |
| D．have a lot of fun and enjoy yourself |
| A．he doesn’t want any more coffee |
| B．he wants to show his appreciation |
| C．he just wants to express his politeness |
| D．he wants to have some more coffee |
