1 . Argentina lies in the South America. There are many festivals in Argentina during the year. Therefore, you can enjoy the different interesting festivals when traveling there.
First of all, we should talk about the Tango (探戈) Festival inArgentina, which is held in the capital of this country — Buenos Aires, from February to March. You ought to know that Argentina is the home of tango, so Argentinians admire this dance very much. Even if you cannot dance perfectly, you should join the people and try to perform this dance.
The next festival in Argentina is Open Polo (马球) Tournament. You should go to Palermo to see this festival in Argentina. This festival is held every year and is the most important polo tournament in Argentina.This kind of sport is considered the most important in Argentina.
Attending this festival in Argentina, you will be able to communicate with different people and admire the fascinating competition between the teams of different countries, such as Argentina, England, Australia, as well as the US. This festival in Argentina is usually held between November and December every year. So don’t miss the opportunity if you travel to Argentina at this time.
The other festival in Argentina is the Semana Musical Liao Liao. This is a festival of classical music. The festival was created in 1993 and is held at the Liao Liao Hotel, near Bariloche. The festival is held yearly in October. So if you admire this kind of music, you should travel toArgentina in October.
There are also many carnivals in Argentina in summer. Of course, it’s impossible to put everything about festivals in Argentina into just one article. We hope that you have found this article interesting and eye-catching.
1. What would be the best title for the passage?| A．Entertainments in Argentina | B．Festivals in Argentina |
| C．Travel to Argentina | D．A brief introduction to Argentina |
| A．is organized by the government |
| B．welcomes everyone to take part in it |
| C．is held in summer |
| D．holds parties for different dances |
| A．Open Polo Tournament. | B．Every carnival in Argentina. |
| C．The Tango Festival. | D．The Semana Musical Liao Liao. |
| A．Buenos Aires in spring | B．Palermo in April |
| C．Palermo in winter | D．Bariloche in October |
Where: Becket, Massachusetts
When: June 15-Aug. 24
Each summer, this influential dance center presents a number of classes and performances by more than 50 companies from around the world. Highlights (最精彩的部分) this season include the Dance Theater of Harlem’s production of Alvin Ailey’s “The Lark Ascending”, which opens the festival.
Many events are free. Ticketed performances start at $22. jacobspillow.org.
Moab Music FestivalWhere: Moab, Utah
When: Aug. 29-Sept. 9
This area is better known for mountain biking than for music. But since 1992, it has hosted a private festival that brings classical, jazz, Latin and other types of music to the land. This year there will be 16 concerts, including three “Grotto Concerts”, where guests take a 45-minute boat ride down the Colorado River to performances.
Events start at $25. moabmusicfest.org.
Cheyenne Frontier DaysWhere: Cheyenne, Wyoming
When: July 19-28
There’s something for everyone at this 117-year-old festival, from an “Indian village” and Old West museum to country concerts. But the competition is still the main attraction, with cowboys and cowgirls competing for major money in the world’s largest outdoor stage.
Competition tickets start at $18, and concert tickets at $23. cfdrodeo.com.
The Glimmerglass FestivalWhere: Cooperstown, New York
When: July 6-Aug. 24
Each summer, opera lovers from around the country (and the world) travel to upstate New York to watch productions that include stars like Nathan Gunn and Ginger Costa-Jackson. This year’s performances include Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman” and Verdi’s “King for a Day”, in honor of the 200th birthdays of both composers (作曲家).
Tickets start at $26. glimmerglass.org.
1. If you want to enjoy a “Grotto Concert”, which date suits you best?| A．June 15. | B．July 19. |
| C．August 24. | D．September 4. |
| A．Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. |
| B．the Glimmerglass Festival. |
| C．Cheyenne Frontier Days. |
| D．Moab Music Festival. |
| A．Education. | B．Art. |
| C．Business. | D．Literature. |
3 . The “24 solar terms” (节气) originated and was first used in China. It was created thousands of years ago on the basis of practical needs of agricultural. Ancient Chinese people used it to guide agricultural production, explain special climate signs and even come up with healthy living tips. Last year, the 24 solar terms was added to UNESCO's world cultural heritage list(联合国教科文组织世界文化遗产名录). Now, it has been brought to life thanks to a creative designer from Southwest China's Guizhou Province.
On the eve of this year's Qingming Festival, Shi Changhong released (发布) his version of reproduced and packaged characters for each solar term in the form of “moving art” of gifs. Since their first release on Zcool on March 29, the gifs have won great praise among the general public and quickly flooded the social media with millions of hits during the festival period.
To maximize publicity, Shi released his work in three forms: the video, the animation and pictures. The background sounds add to the brilliance.
“When I watch the short video, I can strongly feel the Chinese-style elements hidden in it. And it is really cool to liven up traditional Chinese culture in such a unique way.” WeChat user Xiao Feifei said.
“It is really a comfort to me to see so many people like my latest work. To be honest, it would really surprise me if the work had not aroused great interest among Chinese people. The 24 solar terms is a deeply rooted concept that covers the essence of Chinese wisdom. However, only a small portion of people know all the names or the correct order of those terms. My intention is to increase Chinese people’s self-awareness to learn more about our traditional fine culture. Actually, the 24 solar terms work is only a part of my whole design program ‘Charm China’, which I started a year ago.” Shi told China Daily.
1. Which part of the newspaper does the text probably belong to?| A．Travel. | B．Culture. | C．Agriculture. | D．Education. |
| A．Newspaper. | B．Magazine. |
| C．Radio broadcast. | D．Website. |
| A．The background sounds of the work make the video more attractive. |
| B．It really surprised Shi Changhong to see so many people like his latest work. |
| C．Most people know all the names or the correct order of the 24 solar terms. |
| D．The 24 solar terms work designed by Shi Changhong was added to UNESCO’s heritage list. |
| A．To introduce a creative designer. |
| B．To introduce the 24 solar terms work. |
| C．To introduce the origin of the 24 solar terms. |
| D．To introduce a design program “Charm China”. |
4 . The Tiger Ying was a bronze water vessel (E-a) used in ancient China. Dating back some 3,000 years ago, it's a precious cultural relic. It is particularly special not only because its cap and spout(容器的嘴) were cleverly made into the shape of a tiger, but because such ancient practical bronze vessels are rare to find today.
Bronze vessels first appeared in China in the Xia Dynasty, which lasted from 2070 BC to 1600 BC. They reached their high use in the Shang and Zhou dynasties that covered a long period from 1600 BC to 221 BC. At that time，bronze vessels were used mostly in religious ceremonies. They had many functions, including food vessels, wine vessels, water vessels as well as musical instruments. Food vessels include Ding, a cooking vessel with two circle handles and three or four legs and Gui, a round mouthed vessel with two or four circle handles.
The bronze vessels needed to go through special processes (过程) to produce extremely beautiful features that are hard to achieve even today. They show the social productivity of that time. Since their production was limited, the number, size, function and combination style of bronze vessels all show social positions of their owners in ancient China.
Cultural relics can tell stories of history. For China, a country with a time-honored history, cultural relics are especially precious, since they stand for its several thousand years of civilization. However, statistics (数据) show that more than 10 million Chinese cultural relics have been lost overseas by various illegal means
We can 't change-history, but we can shape the future with friendship. For example, in 2013, the French Pinault family donated bronze rat and rabbit heads from the Old Summer Palace to China. A Japanese auction(拍卖)house in 2016 stopped the sale of Chinese cultural relics illegally obtained by Otani Kozui in the early 1900s.
We hope more Chinese cultural relics can be returned to China as soon as possible according to international agreement
Click here for more information
1. What makes The Tiger Ying special?| A．Its rare material. |
| B．Its long history. |
| C．Its design for part of the vessel |
| D．Its cultural effect |
| A．1379 | B．1849. | C．470. | D．1821 |
| A．To appreciate and protect. |
| B．To value and improve |
| C．To spread and exchange. |
| D．To admire and reproduce. |
| A．In a text book |
| B．In a tour brochure. |
| C．In a travel journal. |
| D．On a website page |
5 . The Arising of Celebrating Foreign Festivals
Nowadays, people in China are increasingly interested in celebrating foreign festivals, especially those western festivals.
A survey conducted recently by sina.com showed that among the 18,222 people surveyed 63.90% said celebrating Christmas is just another way of recreation (娱乐), nothing serious, while 17.85% surveyed considered the festival as a fashion act, showing they were not "out". These two parts clearly indicate the general opinion of the young. 10.45% people involved said the celebration of a religious western festival with so much enthusiasm is absolutely ridiculous (荒谬的) pursuit (追求)of foreign goodness. Only 7.80%of the people define Christmas as a kind of festival colonization(殖民).
The arising of celebrating foreign festivals clearly has something to do with the advancement of China's economy. In my point of view, Christmas and other festivals celebrated in China have difference from the origin. They have lost their religious background and tumed into a big occasion to have fun and enjoy life. Shop owners' pockets are filled, the public's hunger for happiness is filled, and that is enough. Foreign festivals in China are more like carnivals giving people pleasure and enjoyment.
The crisis (危机)of traditional Chinese festivals that are losing their attraction may be linked to the culture tradition and background of the festivals. Most Chinese festival culture is related more or less to real life. "The country is based on its people while the people are relied on their food".
But the western culture shows much of romance. Some festivals have their religious background while others have much to do with culture and people. At this point, food seems to be too plain. Flowers and chocolates are more welcomed.
Foreign festivals in China today are celebrated for fun. They give people opportunities to relax and celebrate, to show appreciation and gratefulness. The acceptance of foreign festivals generally depends on the openness of the public, the familiarity with the western culture, and most importantly, on people's economic status(地位).
1. What do we know about the people surveyed?| A．Most think celebrating foreign festivals is ridiculous. |
| B．Many fear that traditional Chinese festivals will disappear soon |
| C．Some think that celebrating foreign festivals is a sign of foreign goodness chasing. |
| D．Half think celebrating foreign festivals makes people not go out of fashion. |
| A．They have lost their religious background. |
| B．They are the same as those celebrated in the West. |
| C．They can give more fun than traditional Chinese festivals. |
| D．They may reduce the hunger of public people. |
| A．Foreign festivals can make Chinese shop owners' pockets full quickly |
| B．The food at foreign festivals is too simple. |
| C．Chinese festivals always have something to do with culture. |
| D．Foreign festivals are romantic while traditional Chinese ones are connected with reality. |
| A．People can relax themselves. |
| B．People can make more money. |
| C．Foreign festivals have more traditional culture. |
| D．People want to know more about the western culture. |
6 . More than 10 million Chinese cultural relics have been lost overseas, lots of which were stolen and illegally shipped out of China during the times of war before 1949. About 1.67 million pieces are housed in no more than 200 museums in 47 countries, which accounts for 10 percent of all lost Chinese cultural relics, and the rest are in the hands of private collectors.
Most of these treasures are owned by museums or private collectors in the United States, Europe, Japan and Southeast Asian countries. There are more than 23,000 pieces in the British Museum, most of which were stolen or bought for pennies more than 100 years ago.
The major method to recover these national treasures was to buy them back. In some cases, private collectors donated the relics to the government. Also, the government can turn to official channels to demand the return of relics.
In 2003, a priceless bronze pig’s head dating from the Qing Dynasty was returned to its home in Beijing after it was removed by the Anglo-French Allied Army over 140 years ago. Macao entrepreneur Stanley Ho donated 6 million yuan to buy it back from a US art collector and then donated it to the Poly Art Museum in Beijing.
Although buying-back is the most feasible way to recover the lost treasures, limited funding is always a big headache.
In recent years, the Chinese government has improved efforts to recover the precious cultural relics lost overseas. It has started a national project on the recovery of the treasures and has set up a database (数据库) collecting relevant information. It has signed several international agreements with many countries on this matter, and is also looking for international cooperation to recover the relics by working closely with several international organizations.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．The best way to recover cultural relics. |
| B．The efforts to recover Chinese cultural relics. |
| C．Stanley Ho donated a bronze pig’s head to Beijing. |
| D．Chinese cultural relics were stolen by the Anglo-French Allied Army. |
| A．It was made in the Ming Dynasty. |
| B．It is now in the Poly Art museum in Beijing. |
| C．It was donated by the French government to China. |
| D．It was removed by the Anglo-French Allied Army over 150 years ago. |
| A．Possible. | B．Difficult. | C．Wonderful. | D．Careful. |
| A．China has enough money to buy all the cultural relics back. |
| B．Many countries have returned the lost cultural relics to China for free. |
| C．The Chinese government has done a lot to recover the lost cultural relics. |
| D．China is preparing to set up a database to collect information about the lost cultural relics. |
7 . It's been a rough year for priceless artifacts around the world. In September 2018, a fire wiped out about 90 percent of the collection at the National Museum of Brazil. In April 2019, Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral lost its famous spire in another fire. Most recently, in October, Japan’s 500-year-old Shuri Castle was destroyed — again, by fire.
It's heartbreaking to see even one piece of human history to up in smoke, but there is no need to be depressed. The truth is that we have lost historic sites and artifacts throughout history, to wars and natural disasters. Many are rebuilt or repaired.
Examples include the 18th-century Dresden Frauenkirche in Germany, which was destroyed during the World War II bombing and rebuilt in 2005. There is also the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, China, which dated back to AD 223. It’s been destroyed by fires and wars and rebuilt as many as 11 times.
So it will probably be no different for the National Museum of Brazil, Notre Dame Cathedral, or Shuri Castle. In fact, right after the fire at Notre Dame, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed that it would be rebuilt in five years. During his visit to China in November, it was decided that Chinese experts will participate in the restoration work.
That said, however, there are less fortunate cultural relics—those endangered in Syria and Iraq where wars are ongoing. According to Artnet News, all six UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Syria have been reported damaged. And yet, somehow, they didn't get nearly as much attention as Notre Dame, and probably won't have a chance to be restored to their former glory any time soon.
It might be true that many damaged artifacts make it back. But “many” is not “all”.
1. What are the similarities among the three places mentioned in the first paragraph?a. They are all of great value. b. They were all destroyed in 2018.
c. Nothing is left after the destruction. d. They are all destroyed by fire.
| A．a, b | B．a, d | C．a, c | D．c, d |
| A．To comfort the heartbreaking readers. |
| B．To give examples of the rebuilt historic sites. |
| C．To introduce two places of interest to the readers. |
| D．To show the importance of rebuilding the historic sites. |
| A．All the cultural relics are damaged in Syria due to the wars. |
| B．People haven’t recognized the importance of the heritage sites in Syria. |
| C．The cultural relics in Syria and Iraq are less fortunate because they are worse destroyed. |
| D．Wars destroyed the heritage sites in Syria and prevent people from restoring them right now. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Critical. | C．Indifferent. | D．Doubtful. |
8 . If you're from the northern hemisphere (北半球), you'll find Christmas to be rather different in New Zealand.
New Zealanders continue the British tradition of having a family dinner during the middle of the day on Christmas Day.It usually begins on Christmas morning by exchanging presents which will be left under the Christmas tree in the home.
It may seem a bit strange to hear songs, such as White Christmas or Deck the Halls, in the middle of summer！Nevertheless, Christmas carols (颂歌) are popular.
New Zealand is an extremely(极端地) diverse(多样的) society.People from many cultures do not recognize Christmas in the same way as the early European settlers.
| A．They all stop on Christmas Day. |
| B．The most obvious difference is the weather. |
| C．Most New Zealanders do not go to church regularly. |
| D．However, Christmas is a special time for all New Zealanders. |
| E．Many towns and cities in New Zealand hold Christmas celebrations. |
| F．The Christmas meal itself is increasingly becoming a relaxing affair. |
| G．People will hear them played or sung in shopping malls during the holiday season. |
9 . America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!
1. The writer of this passage must be ______.| A．an American | B．a Chinese |
| C．a professor | D．a student |
| A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
| B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
| C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport | B．offered a ride to his home |
| C．treated hospitably at his home | D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
| A．Friendships between Chinese | B．Friendships between Americans |
| C．Americans’ hospitality | D．Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships |
The answer depends largely on cultural values as well as personal experiences. To the Egyptians, green was a color that represented the hope and joy of spring, while for Muslims, it means heaven. Red is a symbol (象征) of good luck in many cultures. In China, children are given money in a red envelope to bring good fortune in the New Year. For many nations, blue is a symbol of protection and religious beliefs. Greek people often wear a blue necklace hoping to protect themselves against evils (灾祸).
People’s choice of colors is also influenced by their bodies’ reactions (反应) toward them. Green is said to be the most restful color. It has the ability to reduce pain and relax people both mentally and physically. People who work in green environment have been found to have fewer stomach aches.
Red can cause a person’s blood pressure to rise and increase people’s appetites (食欲). Many decorators will include different shades of red in the restaurant. Similarly, many commercial websites will have a red “Buy Now” button because red is a color that easily catches a person’s eye.
Blue is another calming color. Unlike red, blue can cause people to lose appetite. So if you want to eat less, some suggest that eating from blue plates can help.
The next time you are deciding on what to wear or what color to decorate your room, think about the color carefully.
1. Muslims regard green as a symbol of heaven mainly because of their______.
| A．cultural values | B．commercial purposes |
| C．personal experiences | D．physical reactions to the color |
| A．To relax people physically. |
| B．To increase people’s appetites. |
| C．To encourage people to make a purchase. |
| D．To cause a person’s blood pressure to rise. |
| A．Red. | B．Green. | C．Blue. | D．Purple. |
| A．Colors and Human Beings |
| B．The Cultural Meaning of Color |
| C．The Meaning and Function of Color |
| D．Colors and Personal Experiences |
