1 . 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 |
2 . The UK has many strange traditions. One is Pancake Day. This tradition comes from Shrove Tuesday. It is a Christian tradition before the star of Lent. On that day, people across the UK make and eat pancakes in order to use up the food they have in their houses before the start of Pancakes are large and thin and can be topped with either salty or sweet ingredients. People make pancakes in their homes but you might also find that some schools or businesses hold special Pancake Day events, one of which is pancake race.
In a typical pancake race, competitors have to run holding a frying pan with a pancake in it. As competitors run, they have to throw the pancake in the air so that it flips and lands back in the pan on the other side. The winner is the first to reach the finish line, although they should also be careful to make sure that the pancake is complete and that it hasn't broken along the way.
One of the most famous pancake races is the Rehab Parliamentary Pancake Race. The race is a competition between two teams—one team of Members of Parliament (MPs), and one team of journalists—most of whom take part in the race wearing their work suits! The race is shown on the news and covered on TV all around the world. And as well as a bit of fun, the race is also held for a good cause. It draws people's attention to the charity Rehab, which works with people with disabilities and others who suffer from social exclusion.
Another important part of the race is the official starter chosen to announce the start of the race. This is seen as a prestigious role and is usually given to a British news presenter. But whoever is chosen usually has a hard time trying to control the race-the MPs are known for cheating every year!
1. Why do the British people eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday?| A．To make a wish for the coming new year. | B．To prepare food for the coming Lent. |
| C．To eat up all the food they have. | D．To share food with others. |
| A．people compete to win the biggest pancake |
| B．people try to make pancakes as fast as possible |
| C．people compete to make the most delicious pancake |
| D．people try to run fast while keeping pancakes complete |
| A．It has raised lots of money for the charity Rehab |
| B．Only people in London could watch it on TV. |
| C．It usually attracts lots of attention worldwide. |
| D．Many disabled people have taken part in it. |
| A．Respectable. | B．Competitive. | C．Traditional. | D．Serious. |
3 . 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. |
4 . 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 |
5 . The most important holiday in spring, especially for Christians （基督徒）, is Easter. This Christian holiday is not on the same date every year,but it’s always on a Sunday. It can be any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Many people celebrate Easter by buying new clothes. Children celebrate by hunting for colored eggs that their parents have hidden around the house. People also give Easter baskets filled with candy and other goodies to one another to celebrate the day.
But the holiday is more than new clothes and good things to eat. On Easter, many people go to church to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection （复活） from the dead.
Most people color them. Some people hide them. Others just eat them. But no matter what one does with Easter eggs， they are an important Easter tradition throughout the Western world.
People from many different cultures celebrate Easter. In both America and Belgium, children look for Easter eggs hidden on lawns and in bushes. In America, children believe the eggs are hidden by the Easter bunny （复活节兔子）. But in Belgium, the hidden eggs are supposed to have fallen from church bells. In Bulgaria, red Easter eggs are lucky in churches; Bulgarian families also hit these Easter eggs together to see whose is the strongest. The winner looks forward to good fortune that year. Still dozens of other Easter traditions exist. In parts of Austria, for example， children sing from door to door and are rewarded with colorful eggs.
1. To celebrate Easter， people ________.| A．go shopping， hide colored eggs and children hunt for them |
| B．give Easter baskets filled candy and goodies to one another |
| C．buy new clothes， hide colored eggs and children look for them around the house |
| D．both B and C |
| A．buying new clothes |
| B．going to church to celebrate Jesus‘ resurrection |
| C．eating delicious food and paint color eggs |
| D．exchange beautiful gifts each other |
| A．blesses | B．Easter eggs |
| C．candy and goodies | D．Easter bunny |
6 . Edinburgh is the world’s festival city. There are 12 festivals throughout the year, half of which are celebrated during the months of July and August.
Hundreds of thousands of people visit the Scottish capital during the summer.
Here are some of the events:
The Edinburgh International Festival
This is the original Edinburgh festival, which began in 1947. Actors, musicians, dancers and opera singers from all over the world perform to huge audiences. You need tickets for most events which take place in theatres around the city.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe
This is the largest arts festival in the world with thousands of shows taking place across the city. More than 20,000 artists take part, as the festival is open to anyone. Visitors can choose from a huge variety of acts.
Join thousands of visitors and locals at the Royal Mile, Edinburgh’s main street, to watch all kinds of performers and shows.
The Edinburgh International Book Festival
The largest book festival in the world began in 1983 and takes place every year in Charlotte Square Gardens, in the center of Edinburgh. There are more than 700 events for children and adults who love books. You can meet many authors, talk to them, ask them to sign a book or listen to them talk about their stories. Children can listen to stories and watch illustrators (插图作者) draw pictures.
The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival
Music lovers come to this festival to enjoy music shows around the city. One of the highlights of this musical event is the street carnival (嘉年华), which is free to all. Artists perform street theatre, dance and circus shows in amazing costumes, and everyone can join in the dancing.
1. Which is true about Edinburgh?| A．It’s the Scottish capital city. |
| B．It’s the largest city in the world. |
| C．The festivals are celebrated every month. |
| D．Tourists around the world come to the city after winter. |
| A．It’s free to Scottish people. |
| B．It’s held at the Royal Mile. |
| C．It takes place in July every year. |
| D．The artists mainly perform in theatres. |
| A．The Edinburgh International Festival. |
| B．The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. |
| C．The Edinburgh International Book Festival. |
| D．The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival. |
| A．They can try on different costumes. |
| B．They can join a singing competition. |
| C．They can take part in a street carnival. |
| D．They can get pictures from famous painters. |
| A．an advertisement |
| B．a tour journal |
| C．a news report |
| D．an announcement |
7 . 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 |
8 . 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. |
9 . If you surf the Internet, you will see that almost every day of the year celebrates some kind of food. Those "holidays", like National Onion Ring Day, have become very popular across the United States. They give people a chance to enjoy something they might not eat normally. Traditional food holidays also give restaurants and other businesses a chance to advertise their things.
But where did these American "holidays" come from? Many are the invention of an Alabama man, John-Bryan Hopkins. He writes about food for his website Foodimentary. com. Hopkins told Times magazine that when he began his site in 2006, there were only 175 "holidays." "I filled in the rest," he said.
The National Day Calendar has a list of all the different food and non-food related "holidays". In the past the website used to let anyone pay to create their own day—for a price. But now, the site only accepts requests from businesses in order to make more money.
While some food "holidays" are indeed made-up, many have their history. For example, National Beer Day on April 7marks the end of a US ban on the sale of beer drinks. The ban lasted from 1920 until 1933.
The Salvation Army, a Christian group, began to celebrate US National Doughnut Day on June l, 1938. It was meant to honor women who served soldiers doughnuts during World War I.
But not everyone likes food holidays. Bethany Jean Clement is a food writer for the Seattle Times newspaper. She wrote, "I get that some people might like celebrating National Doughnut Day. However, you really can have a doughnut any day you want, so there's no need to celebrate it!"
1. The function of the celebrations of some kind of food is to ________.| A．inspire people to expand their range of choices for food |
| B．let the inventor appear on the Time magazine cover |
| C．force people to eat what they might not eat in daily life |
| D．let the owners of the restaurants to earn more money |
| A．To sell many more products. | B．To create a new magazine. |
| C．To gain more economic benefit. | D．To attract more food writers. |
| A．Creative. | B．Unnecessary. | C．Unique. | D．Meaningful. |
| A．Good Chances to Enjoy American Food | B．American Food Online: A New Fashion |
| C．Traditional American Food on the Internet | D．National Food Days: An American Tradition |
10 . Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that started, “Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us.” That “quite” saddened me. I thought he was saying “we’re kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we had hired someone else.” Then I discovered that in American English “quite” sometimes means “very”, while in British English it means “fairly”.
So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don’t just mean the words people speak. It is body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures.
Some of the differences may be only on the surface——dress, food and hours of work——while others may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate, while getting on with business.
Some of the differences may be an improvement. People are more polite; the service is better; you ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again. However, other differences can be troubling, like punctuality. If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock your quests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the evening in Greece. I prefer not to use the word “late” because there is nothing wrong with the times people arrive. It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country.
1. The author was unhappy as mentioned in paragraph 1 because he thought ________| A．The American bank didn’t think much of him. |
| B．The American bank might hire another person. |
| C．It’s difficult to get used to American culture. |
| D．It’s easy to understand Americans. |
| A．encourages | B．helps to narrow |
| C．increase | D．stress |
| A．Ask the native people for help. | B．Understand and accept them. |
| C．Do things in our own ways. | D．Do in-depth research. |
| A．Italians | B．Germans |
| C．Greeks | D．the British |
