1 . Each year, the women of Olney, England, and Liberal, Kansas, have an unusual “pancake racing”. This tradition is said to have started on Shrove Tuesday,1445, in Olney. Shrove Tuesday is the day before the Christian season of Lent begins.
It is said that in 1445, an Olney woman was making pancakes. She suddenly heard the church(教堂) bells ring, signaling the beginning of the Shrove Tuesday service. Realizing that she was going to be late for church, she raced out the door still wearing her apron(围裙) and headscarf and holding her frying pan(锅) with a pancake in it. Olney women continue this tradition more than 500 years later.
In 1950, a person of Liberal wanted his town to join in Olney Pancake Race. He made some phone calls to Olney to set up a friendly competition, and the people of Olney accepted the challenge.
The rules are simple. Racers must wear the traditional headscarf and apron. They have to flip(抛) the pancake in the air so that it flips and lands back in the pan on the other side. After the race, there are Shrove Tuesday church services. Then Liberal and Olney connect through a video call to compare race times and announce a winner.
In both towns, the races have grown into larger festivals. Olney’s festival is an allday event starting with a big pancake breakfast. Liberal’s festival lasts four days and includes a parade, a great show, and eating competitions.
Although the women’s race is still the main event, both towns now hold races for boys and girls of all ages. Emma Evans,14, was the winner of her age group’s race in Liberal last year. She wore an apron that her grandma made for her and used a pan passed down to her from her older brother. Her family cheered her on from the sidelines.
“It’s a family tradition, ”Emma says. “And there are only two places in the world that compete against each other in a race like this, so it feels special.”
1. What do we know about Olney Pancake Race?| A．It was founded by a cook. | B．It was started during Lent. |
| C．It is a centuriesold tradition. | D．It has been held every year since 1445. |
| A．Wear their formal clothes. | B．Throw and catch the pancake. |
| C．Hand the pancake to another. | D．Eat the pancake while running. |
| A．lasts only one day | B．has more varied activities |
| C．holds different races for boys | D．starts with a delicious breakfast |
| A．It is familyfriendly. | B．It is quite competitive. |
| C．It should be internationalized. | D．It should provide aprons for racers. |
2 . The story of Santa Claus began hundreds of years earlier. During the fourth century, a Roman Catholic church official called Nicholas of Myra became famous for his many good actions. Nicholas was made a saint after his death and it became common in northern Europe to hold a celebration on December 6th, the day Nicholas died. All kinds of stories were told about saint Nicholas and the Dutch brought one of these stories with them to America. They believed that each year the saint rode a white horse from home to home. He gave presents to children who had been good, and coal or straw to children who had been bad. Other Americans who lived nearby greatly enjoyed the Dutch celebrations. They decided to make saint Nicholas part of their own celebration of Christmas. But he got a new name Santa Claus. It was taken from the Dutch words for Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus. The Dutch imagined Saint Nicholas to be a serious, even frightening person, who could punish as well as give gifts. But in 1822, an American named Clement C. Moore wrote a Christmas poem for his children, the poem called A Visit from St. Nicholas, created a completely new Santa Claus. Dr. Moore described a short, happy, little man who rode in an open sleigh. The sleigh was pulled from house to house by eight white reindeer. At each house Santa delivered gifts by dropping them down the chimney into the fireplace. Dr. Moore’s poem was published in a newspaper in New York, in 1823. It soon became popular all over America and it became the source for the Santa Claus American children still believe in today.
An American artist named Thomas Nast also played a part in creating Santa Claus. Beginning in 1860’s, Mr. Nast drew pictures of Santa Claus for an American publication called Harper’s Weekly. These pictures showed a fat, smiling old man with a red nose and white beard. He was dressed in a red suit with white fur and a black belt. Today more than one hundred years later, that same Santa Claus can be seen everywhere at Christmas time.
1. Nicholas died ________.| A．on December 25th | B．on December 6th |
| C．in 1822 | D．in 1823 |
| A．he lived during the fourth century |
| B．he was a Roman Catholic Church official |
| C．he did a lot of deeds |
| D．he lived in Myra, the ancient capital of Lycia |
| A．gave presents to each child |
| B．gave nothing to the bad children |
| C．gave coal or straw to the bad children |
| D．gave presents to the adults |
| A．a newspaper | B．a poem |
| C．a chimney | D．a forest |
3 . Traveling without a map in different countries. I find out about different ways of giving directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”
Foreign tourists are often puzzled in Japan because most streets there don’t have name signs. In Japan, people use landmarks (标志性建筑) to give directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the comer. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
People in Los Angeles, the US, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance by time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “It’s about five minutes from here.” You don’t understand completely. “Yes, but how many miles away is it, please?” To this question you won’t get an answer, because most probably they don’t know it themselves.
People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because tourists seldom understand the Greek language. Instead, a Greek will often say, “Follow me.” Then he’ll lead you through the streets of the city to the post office.
Sometimes a person doesn’t know the answer to your question. What happens in the situation? A New Yorker might say. “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People there believe that “I don’t” is impolite. They usually give an answer, but often a wrong one. So a tourist can get lost very easily in Yucatan! However, one thing will help you reach your destination everywhere in the world. It’s body language.
1. Which of the following is probably an example of Japanese directions?| A．“The post office is at Street Kamira.” |
| B．“Turn right at the hospital and go past a school.” |
| C．“The post office is about five minutes from here.” |
| D．“Go south two miles. Turn west and then go another mile.” |
| A．They prefer to lead you the way. |
| B．They prefer to use body language. |
| C．They use landmarks to give directions instead of distance. |
| D．They often have no idea of distance measured by miles. |
| A．Using street names. | B．Leading the way. |
| C．Using landmarks. | D．Giving people a wrong direction. |
| A．people in Mexico know street names well |
| B．body language makes you get lost in Yucatan |
| C．people in Mexico prefer to use body language |
| D．people in Yucatan sometimes give wrong directions |
4 . Chinese ancient poetry was the heart and soul of Chinese ancient literature. Poems and songs have been the means of entertainment of men from the earliest times. Chinese ancient poetry was primarily written to be chanted or sung.
The poetic persona (表面形象) is a feature of classical Chinese poetry. The persona appears when the poem is written from the viewpoint of some other person. Some poems are comments on the contemporary society and life. Chinese ancient poems, although apparently simple in the first reading, have deeper and greater meanings when read intensively.
The earliest Chinese ancient poetry begins with The Book of Songs which is a collection of 305 poems. It was the first comprehensive compilation(辑)of Chinese ancient poems. Each poem in The Book of Songs was set to music and could be sung. Folk songs made up the most part of the book! Confucius, the great ancient philosopher, was fond of this book. It was also the accepted textbook of the Confucian school.
Chinese poetic history is extremely long and colorful. The Tang dynasty, the golden age of Chinese ancient poetry, produced many famous poems. Three Hundred Poems of the Tang Dynasty, was compiled by Heng Tang Tui Shi(蘅塘退士) of the Qing dynasty. This was used for very many years to teach primary students.
Almost everything is the subject of Chinese ancient poetry including marriage, agriculture, courtship(求爱), sorrow and joys, romance, heroic deeds and so on. Generally, each poem is usually composed of lines of four, five or seven syllables. Translations of Chinese ancient poems are available in books and also online. Now these beautiful poems have attracted readers all over the world.
1. What’s the earliest Chinese poetry intended to do?| A．To record history. | B．To spread knowledge. |
| C．To entertain people. | D．To state people’s thoughts. |
| A．Modern and symbolic. | B．Simple but meaningful. |
| C．Difficult and figurative. | D．Imaginative but unreal. |
| A．It is compiled by Heng Tang Tui Shi. |
| B．It includes more folk songs than other kinds of poems. |
| C．It was the textbook for kids during Confucius’s childhood. |
| D．It was produced during the golden age of Chinese ancient poetry. |
| A．Chinese ancient poetry has limited subjects. |
| B．Chinese ancient poems win popularity overseas. |
| C．Every Chinese ancient poem is made up of four lines. |
| D．Something in Chinese ancient poems is lost in translation. |
5 . The kites in Weifang never disappoint. Every year the Weifang International Kite Festival amazes visitors and netizens (网民) with innovative kites, as “paper birds” of unimaginable designs keep appearing in the sky.
The origin of kites in China can be traced back to the Warring States Period when the great Chinese philosopher Mozi in the State of Lu (part of today’s Shandong Province) made the first “wooden kite”. Kites didn’t actually become popular until the Ming Dynasty. By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, artists specialized in kite making began to appear in Weifang. In 1984, the first Weifang International Kite Festival was held.
Kites were used in China for military purposes at the very beginning. They were made to signal and measure distance, providing intelligence to aid moving large armies across difficult terrain (地形). For example, they can be used to calculate and record wind readings, similar to ship flags at sea. Over time, kites became associated with leisure activities, and were often flown during festivals and holidays.
Today, kite-flying is a popular leisure activity in China, and the Weifang International Kite Festival is one of the largest kite festivals in the world. In 2023, 622 kite artists from 59 countries and regions participated in the event. Compared with previous festivals, the 2023 event was highlighted by many innovations by both veteran (经验丰富的) and young kite makers. Zhang Xiaodong, 74, as a national intangible culture inheritor of Weifang kites, he has attended all 40 festivals. In the early days, he only brought traditional kites to take part in the competitions, but this time, he applied sound and light to make the fairy tale of Chang'e flying to the moon come “alive”.
The Weifang kite festival is not only a platform to share kite-making skills, but also a way to enhance friendship between people from different countries. The innovative kites presented in 2023 brought many pleasant surprises to kite lovers all over the world, and brought the people of China and other countries closer. As one netizen put it, “No matter how far away kite lovers go, there is always a ‘thread’ in their heart that can pull them together.”
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The history of kites in China. | B．The popularity of kites in Weifang. |
| C．The introduction to great kite artists. | D．The development of kite-making skills. |
| A．To serve as gifts at festivals. | B．To judge the height of mountains. |
| C．To measure wind speed for sailors at sea. | D．To provide important information for armies. |
| A．It involved more creative kite artworks. |
| B．It became the largest kite festival in the world. |
| C．It contained plenty of Chinese traditional elements. |
| D．It attracted many young kite artists’ wide attention. |
| A．It inspires artists to create a lot of surprises. |
| B．It is a good platform for kite makers to share skills. |
| C．It promotes the spread of traditional Chinese culture. |
| D．It strengthens the bond between kite lovers all over the world. |
6 . Tea originated in China over two thousand years ago. Today, the country owns over 2,000 varieties of tea, differing in taste, sweet and purpose. Some teas, such as Huang Shan, refresh the sense of taste with their special flavor, while others, such as spicy chai, are added with spices (香料) .
China first started exporting tea during the Ming dynasty (1368—1644), and the drink has since come to lead humanity’s drinking habits far beyond Asia. It is the most widely consumed drink on Earth today, aside from water and coffee.
In Chinese mythology, tea was first discovered by Chinese Emperor Shennong (“Divine Farmer”) in 737BC， when a soft wind carried some leaves into a pot of boiling water. However, the oldest dependable evidence comes from ancient plant remains found in 2016 in Xi’an and western Tibet, showing that tea was grown at least 2,100 years ago during the Western Handy nasty when it was most likely used as medicine.
Generation after generation of tea makers experimented with different brewing (冲泡) techniques, leaves, and ceremonies, resulting in today’s tea culture full of life. There’s no doubt that China’s tea culture has become one of the most popular, diverse, and unique traditions in the world.
China is already the world’s largest tea exporter. The inclusion of the country’s traditional tea-making process on the UNESCO list will obviously generate practical benefits for tea makers in the country and across the world as more resources are given to protect and preserve such millennia-old tea culture and technical practices. As additional attention is brought to this traditional technique, the Chinese tea sector will further tap its potential and improve its growth.
As one of China’s oldest cultural practices, traditional tea processing techniques show the spirit of modesty (谦逊), peace, and comity (礼让). No matter your preference for green or dark tea, with milk or without, Chinese tea isn’t just brews. Instead, it is a bridge connecting different cultures and peoples.
1. What does the first paragraph mainly tell us?| A．Chinese tea has a fresh taste. | B．Chinese tea is added with spices. |
| C．Chinese tea has a long history. | D．Chinese tea has a rich variety. |
| A．In about 737 BC. |
| B．Two thousand years ago. |
| C．During the Ming dynasty. |
| D．During the Western Handy nasty. |
| A．Hopeful. | B．Objective. | C．Careless. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．Chinese Tea Benefits the Globe a Lot |
| B．Chinese Protect and Develop Its Tea Culture |
| C．Chinese Tea Is Included in the UNESCO List |
| D．China Plays a Vital Part in Cultural Diversity |
7 . Statistics show that most toddlers (刚学走路的小孩) learn how to say about 20 words by 18 months. Talking is easy. If you ask anyone, none will remember how they started doing it, it just comes naturally.
But what might not flow as smoothly as words, is body language. It’s a whole different deal when you’re using your hands, eyes or head instead of your tongue. And what makes it even more complicated is the fact that body language differs all around the world.
I find it shockingly amazing how just a small finger gesture could mean one thing in the East and the completely opposite in the West. For instance, in Japan bowing is the most common greeting. It shows respect and Japanese pay a lot of attention to the details like the timing, posture and movement. A bow in Japan represents sincerity, respect and graciousness. While in New Zealand Maori the pressing of noses and foreheads is the traditional greeting. They call it “hongi”, which is regarded as the breath of life.
For most of us, nodding our heads up and down often means agreement, but not for the Bulgarians or Greeks. In both cultures, nodding one’s head up and down actually means “no”. The American goodbye wave could actually be interpreted (领会) as a “no” in many parts of Europe and Latin America. And the Italian goodbye wave would be understood in America as a “come here” and the American “come here” gesture would actually be seen as an insult (侮辱) in most of Asia.
So before you travel to explore a different culture, make sure you’re aware of alternate meanings for body language. We live in a world with many different cultures, so don’t forget how differently one hand gesture can be interpreted!
1. What makes body language misunderstood often?| A．Its wide uses. | B．Its smooth flowing. |
| C．Its difficulties in understanding. | D．The background of different cultures. |
| A．Greeting. | B．Respect. | C．Tradition. | D．Breath. |
| A．America. | B．Greece. | C．New Zealand. | D．Japan. |
| A．The Origin of Body Language | B．The Limitation of Culture |
| C．Body Language Around the World | D．The Culture of Maori |
8 . On April 18—the International Day for Monuments and Sites, China Daily’s digital employee Yuanxi and Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes’ official virtual cartoon figure Jiayao together introduced an interactive digital platform that hosts a virtual copy of the Mogao Grottoes’ Library Cave(藏经洞) to the world.
The platform was developed jointly by the Dunhuang Academy and the Chinese tech firm Tencent. It uses gaming technologies to show the historical scenes of the Library Cave in the digital world.
The Library Cave in Mogao Grottoes was discovered in 1900, with more than 60,000 cultural relics dating from the 4th century to the 11th century unearthed. It was one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the 20th century.
On the platform, visitors can role-play and “time travel” to ancient dynasties and talk with eight historical figures. The public can enter the platform through the Digital Dunhuang website and its WeChat mini program.
In the digital age, the model of “culture+technology” has been introduced to promote the development of Chinese culture. The digitalization rate of China’s precious cultural relics is now over 70 percent, according to the 2022 China Digital Collection Industry Research Report released by iResearch.
Institutions such as the Palace Museum have also started online digital services of their own. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology allows the public to view the interior of the buildings through the Palace Museum’s WeChat mini program.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has also encouraged the development and transformation of cultural intellectual property(知识产权) by digital means. China Central Television has created a series of digital collections with different Dunhuang themes, such as the Dunhuang divine deer(神鹿) Youyou. It was created based on the image of the nine-colored deer from Dunhuang murals(壁画). The public can see the divine deer on CCTV’s own digital platform.
Digital collections cater to the consumption habits of young people, who grow up in the information age. They not only protect the intellectual property of the collections but also bring the public closer to China’s “excellent traditional culture”, noted Dunhuang Art Institute.
Su Bomin, director of the Dunhuang Academy, told Xinhua that more efforts will be made to explore new forms for showing cultural relics and offer the public greater cultural experiences to develop Dunhuang culture.
1. What can visitors do on the interactive digital platform for the Mogao Grottoes’ Library Cave?| A．Play role-playing games set in ancient times. |
| B．Play video games featuring historical figures. |
| C．Talk to the designer of the digital Library Cave. |
| D．Design digital caves showing historical scenes. |
| A．To show the latest gaming technologies. |
| B．To help cultural institutions make a profit. |
| C．To promote the development of Chinese culture. |
| D．To encourage people to explore new forms of cultural relics. |
| A．To stress the importance of digital collections. |
| B．To describe its popularity among young people. |
| C．To present how digital collections are developed. |
| D．To introduce a successful example of digital collections. |
| A．Ignore. | B．Satisfy. |
| C．Challenge. | D．Change. |
9 . At first glance, Huaguoshan kindergarten in Zhuzhou, a city in the southern province of Hunan, looks much like any other schools for kids in China. But it has a year-long waiting list, because of its widely advertised guoxue.
Children at Huaguoshan are taught how to bow, and how to greet each other politely. In some rooms they learn ancient techniques. In others, they recite poems, perform tea ceremonies and play Chinese chess. The school says that mastering skills is secondary to building character. “For example, our children learn to respect their rivals (对手) and accept defeat in chess,” explains one of the teachers.
Of course, the school charges hefty fees. Actually, the guoxue trend has already created a huge demand for education in kindergartens across China. Frost & Sullivan, a data firm, estimated that the market for preschool children was worth $73 billion in 2020, almost doubled its value in 2018.
Strictly speaking, guoxue content has long been part of the curriculums from primary to high schools in China. In 2014, the number of classical texts to be taught in primary schools increased from 14 to 72. In 2017, the government put out new guidelines for more comprehensive guoxue curriculums in primary and secondary schools by 2025. In 2020, more guoxue content was added to the university entrance exam. In May, 2021, the education ministry approved more guoxue classes to strengthen “a sense of belonging to and pride in the Chinese nation”.
Guoxue is the ancient system of thought that emphasizes respect for authority and usually involves learning traditional morals, thoughts, and classical Chinese texts, especially those associated with Confucius, who thought that such values were essential to achieve moral excellence as individuals. He thought that such upstanding citizens would form the basis for social harmony and stability.
After decades of welcoming foreign trends, many Chinese people are now interested in Chinese traditions. Television shows include “Chinese Poetry Conference”, in which participators are quizzed on classical poems. Young people wear traditional clothes in public.
1. Why is Huaguoshan kindergarten so popular?| A．It has the best teachers. | B．It has very pretty buildings. |
| C．It focuses on skill learning. | D．It stresses character building. |
| A．Various. | B．Low. | C．Extraordinary. | D．Reasonable. |
| A．The study burdens on students. | B．The increasing trend of guoxue. |
| C．The effects of guoxue education. | D．The huge guoxue market potential. |
| A．Classical poems. | B．Traditional morals. |
| C．Modern technology. | D．Confucian thoughts. |
10 . Tea is a simple drink, and one that has long been central to the lives of millions of people, originally in the East, and now almost worldwide. There are six major types of tea in China—green tea, black tea, Oolong tea, dark tea, white tea, and reprocessed tea, distinguished(区分) mainly by different methods of production.
China, the homeland of tea, is a leading producer and customer, and the discovery and usage of tea have a history of four or five thousand years. Tea developed from the earliest fresh-boiled tea taken as a kind of soup, to later dried-and-preserved teas, and from simple green tea to the blending(融合) of six major kinds of tea.
Drinking tea first started to become popular in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has continued into contemporary(当代的) times. The flavour of tea, which may be drunk weak or strong, contains both bitter and sweet elements. The origin of tea is lost among history and legend. What can be roughly confirmed is that tea originated in southwest China. In Yunnan, and elsewhere, there are still some wild tea trees that are over 1,000 years old.
It is said that the first person to discover the effects of tea was Shen Nong—the father of agriculture and herbal medicine in China. In ancient times, people knew very little about plants. In order to find out which plants could be eaten safely, Shen Nong tasted various kinds of plants to test them as food or medicine. After he had eaten the plants, Shen Nong observed their reactions in his stomach—he is said to have had a “transparent stomach”!
With the popularization of tea, people in different regions and of different nationalities developed their own unique customs of taking tea. In Guangdong, for example, people like drinking morning tea, while people of the Bai nationality treat their guests with “Three-Course Tea”. Tibetan people prefer buttered tea and those from Inner Mongolia like milk tea.
These various tea customs make up the rich and profound(深厚的) Chinese tea culture. Many traditional Chinese families drink tea after dinner or when greeting visitors. This is not only a healthy habit but also reflects rich culture and history.
1. How can we tell different types of tea?| A．By its colour. | B．By its popularity. |
| C．By its drinking way. | D．By its production method. |
| A．It has been known for about 4,000 or 5,000 years. |
| B．It originated in Yunnan, southwest China. |
| C．It is most accepted for the sweet flavour. |
| D．It’s taken in a similar way despite regions. |
| A．How the effect of tea was discovered. |
| B．What the origin of tea is. |
| C．Why our ancestors grew tea. |
| D．When Shen Nong tasted tea. |
| A．Out of fashion. | B．Worthy of praise. | C．Money-making. | D．Eco-friendly. |
