1 . A music festival is a community event focusing on live performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme. On the list are the music festivals for fans around the world. Find your favorite now!
Field Day
January 1, 2023, Sydney
Field Day means New Year’s Day for young people in Sydney. Seen as the city’s original multi-stage party, it’s a gathering of friends coming together for a great fun-filled first day of the year. There’s an air of hope and positive energy on a perfect summer’s day.
The Envision Festival
February 27—March 6, 2023, Uvita
The Envision Festival is an annual gathering in Costa Rica that aims to provide an opportunity for different cultures to work with one another to create a better community. The festival encourages people to practice art, music, dance performances, and education. Meanwhile, our connection with nature is expected to be strengthened.
The McDowell Mountain Music Festival
March 2—4, 2023, Phoenix
The McDowell Mountain Music Festival is Phoenix’s musical celebration of community culture. Since its foundation in 2004, it has been the only 100% non-profit music festival designed to support, entertain and educate the community. The festival attracts thousands of visitors each year from around the country, and it is an opportunity to experience true culture.
The Old Settler’s Music Festival
April 20—23, 2023, Dale
The Old Settler’s Music Festival is a nationally known music festival for American music. The festival is held in the country of Texas at the height of the wild flower season. The Old Settler’s Music Festival offers great music and activities for the whole family.
1. In which city can people enjoy a fun New Year’s Day?| A．Phoenix. | B．Uvita. | C．Sydney. | D．Dale. |
| A．It encourages people to receive education. | B．It is not aimed at making money. |
| C．It provides an opportunity for friend gathering. | D．It focuses on cultural exchanges. |
| A．Field Day and the Envision Festival. |
| B．The Envision Festival and the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. |
| C．The Old Settler’s Music Festival and the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. |
| D．The Envision Festival and the Old Settler’s Music Festival. |
2 . Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22nd. Take some time to find out about how one man, who was determined to change the way we treated our planet, didn’t stop until he had made a difference.
In 1963, Senator Gaylord Nelson wasn’t happy with the earth’s condition. He wanted to clean up the planet, solve pollution and environmental problems. A senator is someone US citizens choose to help make laws, so Gaylord had a lot of power. He went to John F. Kennedy, the President at the time, with his concerns. The President agreed that the planet’s environment was a serious issue, so President Kennedy went around the country on a five-day tour to promote the idea of cleaning up the planet. People began making small changes but it wasn’t enough.
A few years later, Senator Nelson decided to put one day aside every year for the cause of saving the planet. On April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated. Since then, Earth Day has become an international holiday. People all over the world are doing something to make Earth a cleaner, better place.
A rock band named Dramarama wrote a song about Earth Day in 1993 called What are We Gonna Do. People are paying more and more attention to save the earth.
1. From the passage we know that Mr. Gaylord Nelson _____.| A．had a little power |
| B．was a President |
| C．was the first to put forward Earth Day |
| D．was the first who decided to save the earth |
| A．Earth Day is an international holiday. |
| B．Earth Day is a holiday that is only celebrated in the U.S. |
| C．John F. Kennedy was chosen by the US citizens to make laws. |
| D．On April 22, 1963, the first Earth Day was celebrated. |
| A．have a good rest at home |
| B．have a five-day tour |
| C．choose someone to make laws to protect the earth |
| D．do something to make the planet a cleaner, better place |
①What are We Gonna Do was written．
②The first Earth Day was celebrated．
③Senator Nelson formed the idea of cleaning up the planet．
④Present Kennedy agreed to promote the idea．
| A．③④②① | B．①③④② | C．④①③② | D．②④①③ |
| A．Earth Day — Having a good holiday. |
| B．Earth Day — Cleaning up our planet. |
| C．Earth Day — Celebrating it. |
| D．Earth Day — Learning about it. |
3 . In America, the first Halloween celebrations were a way to mark the end-of-year harvest season, and the food that was served mainly consisted of homemade seasonal treats like caramel apples and mixed nuts. There were no soul cakes — or candies, for that matter — to be found.
It wasn't until the 1950s that trick-or-treating gained popularity in the US. Following the Great Depression and World War II, the suburbs were booming, and people were looking for excuses to have fun and get to know their neighbors. The old practice of souling came back to life again and was made into an excuse for kids to dress up in costumes and roam (漫游) their neighborhoods. Common trick-or-treat offerings included nuts, coins, and homemade baked goods.
That changed when the candy companies got their hands on the holiday. They had already convinced consumers that they needed candy on Christmas and Easter, and they were looking for an equally lucrative opportunity to market candy in the fall. The new practice of trick-or-treating was almost too good to be true. Manufacturers downsized candies into smaller, bite-sized packages and began marketing them as treats for Halloween. Adults were grateful to have a convenient alternative to baking, kids loved the sweet treats, and the candy companies made billions.
Today, it's hard to imagine Halloween without Skittles, chocolate bars, and the perennial candy corn debates. But when you're digging through a bag or bowl of Halloween candy this October, remember that you could have been eating soul cakes instead.
1. What did people enjoy on earlier Halloween?| A．Caramel apples. | B．Soul cakes. | C．Candies. | D．Peanuts. |
| A．The Great Depression. | B．World War II. |
| C．The kids’ practice. | D．Christmas and Easter. |
| A．Confident. | B．Beneficial. | C．Unforgettable. | D．Changeable. |
| A．Candies in America. | B．Halloween Celebrations. |
| C．Candies and Halloween. | D．Americans and Festivals. |
4 . Live at Leeds Festival, United Kingdom
A weekend of indie music taking over Leeds for one day in May, Metronomy, Sundara Karma and Tom Grennan will headline, but there’s a focus on the city’s newer bands, with the festival aiming to bring new artists into the spotlight. Events take place across the city, with wristbands giving you access to all the places. And to go to this festival, you need to be over 14 years old.
Time: 4 May, 2019
Midnight Sun Film Festival, Finland
Almost a hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle, Sodankylä is where Finnish film director brothers Aki and Mika Kaurismäki rock up every summer for their Midnight Sun Film Festival, a five-day-and-night celebration of new cinema. A mix of silent films, contemporary Finnish ones, recent festival hits and box-office classics are screened around the clock.
Time: 12 - 16 June, 2019
Fuji Rock Festival, Japan
The first ever Fuji Rock Festival was held at the bottom of Mount Fuji back in 1997 and has brought in music and rock fans from all over the world. The festival is now held in the Naeba Ski Resort and is celebrating its 23th anniversary this year. The artists who perform aren’t all rockers. Your wristband has to be checked at the entrance. We offer facilities for children, but they can’t be left unaccompanied.
Time: 26 - 28 July, 2019
The White Nights Festival, St. Petersburg, Russia
The White Nights Festival is held at the city’s famous Mariinsky Theatre and shows some of the world’s best opera and ballet. It’s the best time to visit St. Petersburg because it’s held during the magical summer period when there’s almost 24 hours of sunlight a day.
Time: 11 May - 31 July, 2019
1. Which festival lasts the longest time?| A．Live at Leeds Festival. | B．Midnight Sun Film Festival. |
| C．Fuji Rock Festival. | D．The White Nights Festival. |
| A．In Leeds, United Kingdom. | B．In Sodankylä, Finland. |
| C．In the Naeba Ski Resort, Japan. | D．In St. Petersburg, Russia. |
| A．They are of the same music style. | B．They focus on new artists. |
| C．They require entrance wristbands. | D．They have age limits. |
5 . Chinese New Year has been welcomed in Britain with its biggest ever program of events and celebrations.
From London's Trafalgar Square to major cities across Britain,tens of thousands of British people have joined Chinese communities to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. In Manchester there was a Dragon Parade(舞龙表演）,led by a very impressive 54-meter long dragon,ending in Chinatown where there was traditional Chinese entertainment, more than 6, 000 lanterns,street food villages and a fireworks show. Celebrations also took place in Liverpool, Birmingham, Durham, Edinburgh, Leeds and Newcastle.
Academic Dr Wu Kegang said that the Chinese New Year event in Britain “is now bigger than ever and it is growing every year”. When Wu arrived in Britain 26 years ago from Guangdong,the first thing he noticed was that Chinese New Year was celebrated mainly in towns and cities with big Chinese communities. “You would go to London Chinatown and join your countrymen to celebrate, or to Chinatowns in places like Liverpool and Manchester for events almost only held for Chinese people, ”Wu recalled.
“Now it is so different, and we are seeing local communities all over the country taking part alongside their own Chinese populations, ” he said. “It is clear to me that the celebrations will continue to grow in Britain. Chinese New Year has earned its place in the calendar of events in Britain,and is here to stay. ”
1. Where did the Dragon Parade take place?| A．In London. | B．In Liverpool. |
| C．In Manchester. | D．In Birmingham. |
| A．celebrated mainly by Chinese communities |
| B．celebrated by local communities all over the country |
| C．only celebrated in London, Liverpool and Manchester |
| D．celebrated by tens of thousands of British people with Chinese people |
| A．It will lose its attraction. |
| B．It will become a British official holiday. |
| C．More and more British people will join in the celebrations. |
| D．It will become the most important one in the calendar of events in Britain. |
| A．How Chinese New Year is celebrated in Britain. |
| B．Where Chinese New Year is celebrated in Britain. |
| C．Chinese culture is more attractive than British culture. |
| D．Chinese New Year has become more and more popular in Britain. |
6 . “The grass looks greener on the other side of the fence（篱笆）.”That’s an old saying in English. It means that other places often look better, more interesting than the place where you live.“Let’s go to KFC for dinner and then watch some Japanese cartoons!”We all know it: more and more Chinese kids love American and Japanese food and movies. Some people worry that young Chinese are beginning to feel that way. They see young Chinese ignoring Chinese culture and, instead, buying Japanese cartoon books, watching Korean soap operas and even celebrating western holidays.
Foreign books and soap operas are good, but Chinese writers and actors are just as good. As for holidays, Christmas is nice, but it can never have the meaning for Chinese that the Spring Festival has, and the West has nothing to compare with the Mid-Autumn Festival. China has lots of cool things in its culture: calligraphy, Beijing Opera, quick meals on the streets, and even Jay Chou! And let's not forget the part of Chinese culture I like best: its friendliness. Not all countries are as warm as China.
It’s good to enjoy other cultures and to learn from them, but they can never replace your own culture. It’s good to look on the other side of the fence, but make sure you take a good long look. You will find that the grass isn’t always greener.
Although some people become worried about that, I don’t think they should. Will we get more powerful without learning from other countries? Will Chinese people live more happily without American fast food? Besides, it's fun to learn about different cultures. Chinese kids can learn about other cultures and have fun, but they also need to learn more about their own culture. Be proud of Chinese culture and of being Chinese!
1. The author thinks young Chinese ________.| A．are ignoring our own culture | B．are foolish in learning our own culture |
| C．are interested in our own culture | D．are hating our own culture |
| A．Japanese cartoon books. | B．Korean soap operas. |
| C．The Mid-Autumn Festival. | D．Christmas. |
| A．Hard-working. | B．Friendly. | C．Brave. | D．Honest. |
| A．Chinese culture and western culture | B．Simple young Chinese |
| C．Interesting western culture | D．That grass is not always greener |
7 . Children’s Games in Ancient China
Unlike the children nowadays, the children during ancient times didn’t have smartphones or computers to entertain themselves.
Kicking stone balls
During the Qing Dynasty, kicking a stone ball around was a popular sport in the northern part of China, and it was often played in the winter to keep warm. Stones were carved into small balls and kicked along with feet.
Flying kites
Kites have quite a long history. The earliest kites were made of wood, instead of paper. Nowadays, the three most famous kites are the Beijing kite, Tianjin kite and Weifang kite.
Playing hide-and-seek
Hide-and-seek is a traditional game for children, popular around the nation. Even nowadays, many children like playing it. There are two ways to play. One way is covering a child’s eyes while other kids run around to tease him.
The closest thing to watching a film or television for entertainment during ancient times was going to see a shadow play. Folk artists manipulate puppets behind the screen, narrating stories and accompanied by music.
Setting off firecrackers
Firecrackers have a history of more than 2, 000 years. It is said that there was a beast named “Nian” in ancient China.
| A．Watching shadow plays |
| B．Making a film |
| C．Each of them has distinctive features |
| D．Different materials are used to make the kite |
| E．And to scare off the beast, people burnt bamboo joints to make them blast |
| F．More commonly, participants hide and one child must try to find them |
| G．Instead, they came up with interesting games to play in their childhood |
8 . The Isle of Wight Festival
Start Date
17th Jun 2021
End Date
20th Jun 2021
Location
Seaclose Park, Newport, Isle of Wight
Lineup (阵容)
Lionel Richie，Lewis Capaldi, Snow Patrol, Pete Tong, Duran Duran, Jess Glynne, Sam Fender, The Script and many more!
Details
The Isle of Wight Festival is a landmark moment for their time. The first Isle of Wight Festival took place on 31st August 1968 and featured the likes of T-Rex and Fairport Convention. The 1970 Isle of Wight Festival was a five-day marathon featuring The Doors, Hawk-wind and Joan Baez. Jimi Hendrix also played at the festival in 1970 just weeks before his death.
Flower power
At the height of the flower-power times, hundreds of thousands of music fans came from all over the world to join in the Isle of Wight Festival. They packed onto the Isle of Wight ferry (渡口) from the mainland for up to five days (although some stayed relatively longer) of live rock, communal living, free love and mind-bending substances. Besides all the peace, love and toilets, there was the music-non-stop performances from some of the greatest pop musicians of any era.
The Isle of Wight Festival has been one of the biggest names across the music industry. Come and join in the festival!
1. How long has it been since the first Isle of Wight Festival took place?| A．54 years. | B．52 years. | C．51 years. | D．50 years. |
| A．By sea. | B．By air. | C．By car. | D．By train. |
| A．To introduce the Isle of Wight. |
| B．To praise the Isle of Wight Festival. |
| C．To invite musicians to the Isle of Wight. |
| D．To recommend the Isle of Wight Festival. |
9 . Chinese Culture Shown to the World with Love Li Ziqi, a short video blogger specializing in traditional Chinese cooking and handicrafts has gained worldwide popularity.
Li has about 20 million followers on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter，plus 7 million followers on overseas social media networks. Many foreigners say they have got to know traditional Chinese food culture via her channel.
It is the spirit of craftsmanship（技艺） behind her works that makes Li's video clips attractive. She strictly follows the authentic traditional steps and procedures in making traditional Chinese food and handicrafts, such as peach flower wine and silk, and goes to great lengths to ensure her videos are accurate. Sometimes she spends several months producing one of her videos.
Li has been inheriting（继承） traditional Chinese culture in a rather creative way. A closer look at her videos will show that they are never with any "analysis" that makes people feel bored. They just show the audience each and every detail of traditional Chinese culture so that the latter knows how Chinese live their beautiful and elegant lives. It is that universal appeal that makes her works so attractive. Thanks to Li's efforts, many intangible cultural heritages that only existed in memories and written records now appear before our eyes. Via her short videos, Li presents the image of a beautiful and friendly China.
With the growth of the Chinese economy, people overseas are showing more interest in traditional Chinese culture. Li has shown how to satisfy that interest in a good way, namely showing the best parts of traditional Chinese culture with her heart.
To effectively present the beauty of Chinese culture to the world, we need more Li Zigi.
1. What can we learn about Li Zigi's video clips?| A．They promote the sales of Chinese food and handicrafts. |
| B．They attract a large number of foreigners to visit her online shop. |
| C．They aim to introduce traditional Chinese food culture and handicrafts worldwide. |
| D．They are based on her family's recipes of making traditional Chinese food. |
| A．Analysis of Chinese culture in Li's videos makes people bored. |
| B．Details and accuracy play significant roles in the success of Li's videos. |
| C．Li makes sure all of her video clips are short enough to be downloaded. |
| D．Cultural heritages usually exist in memories and written records. |
| A．nonphysical | B．inaccessible | C．invaluable | D．unnoticeable |
| A．To provide guidance on cooking and making handicrafts. |
| B．To suggest a way of attracting more followers on Sina Weibo. |
| C．To give an example of how to gain worldwide popularity as a short video blogger. |
| D．To encourage more people to make efforts to bring Chinese culture to the world. |
10 . There are no right or wrong signals, only cultural differences. Lack of cultural understanding will lead to disagreement among people from different cultures. Meeting with other cultures is actually very interesting and fun. It is certainly a great topic to discuss over a cup of coffee and cakes.
The gesture “thumbs-up” is commonly misunderstood. In English, it is known as “thumbs up”, though the action is commonly performed with only one hand. English-speaking Caucasians use it to signal “OK”, which is the same meaning as OK ring gesture. The two can in fact be used instead of each other.
To most Europeans, it signals the number 1, since they count from 1 to 5 beginning with the thumb for 1 and ending with the little finger for 5. Other nationalities, like Americans, usually start counting on the index finger for 1, and end with the thumb.
Avoid using this gesture in Southern Sardinia or Northern Greece unless you want to invite a fight. While Americans, the British and Australians would use the thumbs-up sign to signal for hitch-hiking, this message will not encourage a Northern Greek driver or motorist to stop to give them a ride.
What does the “OK” sign mean to you? If you are an English-speaking Caucasian, it means “OK” or “good”. The French understand it as “zero” or “worthless”. The Japanese would read it as “money”.
Don’t show this gesture to a Greek. Ancient Greek vases have been found showing this gesture as an insult. So, if you use this sign in Greece to tell a person that he is “OK”, he will feel insulted. Other regions where this sign can be insulting are Turkey, Malta, Sardinia, Tunisia, Russia, the Middle East, Paraguay, and Brazil.
1. What does the “thumbs-up” gesture show among English-speaking Caucasians?| A．Agreement. | B．Respect. | C．Calmness. | D．Disappointment. |
| A．1. | B．2. | C．4. | D．5. |
| A．Asking for a lift. | B．Giving the “OK” sign. |
| C．Trying to speak English. | D．Showing the gesture “thumbs-up”. |
| A．The function of body language. | B．How to communicate with foreigners. |
| C．The different meanings of two gestures. | D．The importance of learning about other cultures. |
