1 . The Silk Road is the name of different roads that long ago connected Europe, Africa and Asia. People reached these different places along these roads. Scientists believe people began to travel the Silk Road about 3000 years ago. By the time the Chinese silk trade became important in the world, the Silk Road covered almost 6500 kilometers. It spread from Rome to China, which is from the West to the Far East.
Traders travelling along the Silk Road carried silk, of course. They also carried and traded spices (香料), cloth, valuable stones and gold.
There is a famous old story along the old road. It is said that Roman soldiers travelled through central Asia. They started to live somewhere near the ancient Chinese village of Liqian. Sortie of these Romans married local Chinese women and the story of blue-eyed villages of China was started.
During its busiest period, the Silk Road allowed people from many different cultures and countries to meet each other and mix. The Silk Road allowed the sharing of valuable goods and new ideas. These included people and trading goods from the Mediterranean, Persian, Magyar, Armenian, Bactrian, Indian and Chinese areas. All these peoples travelled the Silk Road, and they shared goods, stories, languages, and cultures.
In modern times, the old Silk Road routes (路线) are still used, but now they are crossed by trains instead of camels and horses. There is even a Silk Route Museum in Jiuquan in China. It has over 35,000, objects from all along the Silk Road. In this way, China protects the history of many countries and peoples.
1. How many kilometers did the Silk Road cover?| A．About 3000. | B．Nearly 6500. | C．Almost 2000. | D．Over 35,000. |
| A．Silk. | B．Cloth. | C．Gold. | D．Tea. |
| A．Valuable things could not be sold along the Silk Road. |
| B．The Silk Road allowed people from different countries to mix. |
| C．Ancient Chinese along the Silk Road maybe able to speak different languages. |
| D．The objects in the museum in Jiuquan in China are from all along the Silk Road. |
| A．History and Geography. | B．Sports World. |
| C．Man and Animals. | D．Popular Science. |
2 . Food festivals are a common occurrence in the UK and take place in all sorts of places and at all sorts of times. Whatever your taste, there’s a food festival to match — no matter how specialized.
1. Meatopia
This three-day, London-based festival takes place at the end of August and is a meat lover’s paradise. In addition to a range of legally sourced meat products, from juicy burgers to tender steaks, attendees can listen to live music, watch butchery demonstrations, and attend informal meat-based workshops.
2. The National Honey Show
If you have a sweet tooth, then it could be that the National Honey Show, which started in 1921 and is the largest event of its kind, is the place for you to be. This three-day event attracts many local entries who showcase their sweet golden honey, some of which is sold globally.
3. The Orange Sauce Festival
Have you heard about a festival that is devoted only to orange sauce? Held in Cumbria, this sweet, fragrant festival has been running for 3 years. What attracts people most is a competition to find the best homemade orange sauce. There are thousands of participants from over 30 different countries across the globe, bringing their local snacks to share here.
4. The Ginger and Spice Festival
If you’d prefer something with a little more kick to it, then you could attend The Ginger (姜) and Spice Festival held in Market Drayton. Unlike other food festivals, it celebrates its town’s historic connection to Robert Clive, who returned from India with ginger. Because of this, they specialize in baking gingerbread, but also sell a range of traditional spices from mild to hot.
1. What do Meatopia and the National Honey Show have in common?| A．Both of them last for three days. | B．Both of them hold workshops. |
| C．Both of them originated from London. | D．Both of them have a long history. |
| A．The Meatopia. | B．The Ginger and Spice Festival. |
| C．The National Honey Show. | D．The Orange Sauce Festival. |
| A．It has something to do with a historic figure. |
| B．The ginger used in the festival is from India. |
| C．It sells spicy food. |
| D．The food is cooked by Robert Clive. |
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 . 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 |
5 . If it had not been for Fan Jinshi and her team, the world cultural heritage of Dunhuang Mogao Caves in a remote Chinese desert might have long been destroyed by sand, weather or humans.
Born in Beijing and raised in Shanghai, Fan has spent half a century fighting an uphill battle to preserve the ancient Buddhist wall paintings at Dunhuang, in Northwest China’s Gansu Province. The 1,653-year-old Dunhuang Mogao Caves are a huge collection of Buddhist art—more than 2,000 buddha figures and 45,000 square metres of paintings spread among 735 caves. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Archaeologist Fan was sent to Dunhuang after graduating from Peking University in 1963. While in Dunhuang, a remote village in the desert then, Fan lived in an abandoned temple. At first, she did not even dare to go out to the toilet at night. To protect the treasures from sand and dampness, Fan and other workers put doors on the caves, planted trees and started monitoring temperature and humidity in the caves. They also controlled the number of visitors.
In the late 1990s, with tourism booming nationwide since national holidays were extended, the local government planned to go public with Dunhuang Mogao Caves, but found Fan firmly in_their_way. “The heritage would have been destroyed if it had been listed，” she said.
Dunhuang Academy has now photographed and cataloged online all the sculptures and paintings. “Despite our efforts to minimise damage, we can’t completely stop them from being eroded. But the digital database will last.”
Fan was grateful when her husband joined her in Dunhuang in 1986 after 19 years of separation. Her two sons grew up seldom with her accompany. “I have not been a good mother or wife. With regard to my family, I’m full of guilt，” she said. Fan, 81, retired four years ago as the director of Dunhuang Academy but continues her efforts as a national political adviser.
1. When was Fan separated from her husband?| A．In 1963. | B．In 1967. |
| C．In 1986. | D．In the late 1990s. |
| A．Go to a place. |
| B．Be in favour of something. |
| C．Reject something. |
| D．Give in to something. |
| A．The history of Dunhuang Mogao Caves. |
| B．The attractions of Dunhuang Mogao Caves. |
| C．Fan’s devotion to preserving Dunhuang Mogao Caves. |
| D．The appeal for the protection of Dunhuang Mogao Caves. |
| A．Considerate. | B．Kind. |
| C．Humorous. | D．Devoted. |
6 . November 17 is an important day for black cats in Italy. An animal rights group has named that day as “Black Cat Day” to stop the killing of thousands of the cats. Why do people hate this animal so much? It is because people believe black cats bring bad luck if you see them walking across your path.
The black cat is just one of the symbols of superstition (迷信). You may already know that Western people don’t like the number 13. Besides knocking over a salt bottle, they also believe that walking under a ladder, opening an umbrella indoors and breaking a mirror can also bring bad luck.
According to Andrew Macaskill, who works for Teens, British people believe it is unlucky to see one magpie (喜鹊). But two bring good luck. “In Britain, people like to have a horseshoe over door. They believe it can bring good luck.” Macaskill said，“But the horseshoe needs to be the right way up, The luck runs out if it is upside down.”
In the US, people usually spit on a new baseball bat before using it for the first time. They think this can bring good luck. Also, it is believed that good spirits live in trees. So by knocking on anything made from wood, people can call upon those spirits for protection against misfortune. People in the US also believe there are devils in brooms (扫帚). So don’t lean a broom against a bed. The evil spirits will cast a spell on the bed.
1. In Italy, people hate black cats because the people think ________.| A．an animal rights group try to protect them | B．they walk on people’s path |
| C．“Black Cat Day”is a bad day | D．it is unlucky to see them |
| A．4. | B．5. | C．6. | D．7. |
| A．Bad guy. | B．Bad luck. | C．Bad devil. | D．Bad animal. |
| A．many black cats are killed in Italy each year |
| B．all the people in the world hate the number of thirteen |
| C．magpies are the symbol of good luck in Britain |
| D．in the US the things living in the trees can bring good luck |
| A．Black Cat Day | B．Western Superstition Symbols |
| C．Bad Luck and Good Luck | D．Western People’s Belief |
7 . Sports are full of math. It is not just the score of the matches but lots of other numbers. So if you like all the numbers in sports, you may want to check out the National Math Festival (NMF) from 10 am to 4 pm Saturday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
The festival—this is the third NMF—will be full of fun activities connected with math for kids. There is a new game called Flagway, in which teams of five to eight players move across a game floor using their speed and knowledge of math.
John Urschel, who once played for a famous American football team, will speak about the physics in football. He is studying advanced math at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
But it's not all sports at the festival. There will be lots of other activities on how math is related to such non-sports activities as dance, music and the environment.
Like magic shows? Magician Mark Mitton will show how you can play tricks (把戏) in front of your friends with everyday objects.
Did you see the movie Frozen? Joseph Teran, a teacher at the University of California, Los Angeles, will speak about the math behind the special effects in the movie. Speaking of movies, the festival will show a film from the science television series Nova called Prediction by the Numbers. It shows how math is used to predict many things, including storms and TV game shows.
Kids and adults will be playing board games during all six hours of the festival. You can bring your favorite game or just join in the fun.
Kirsten Bohl, the project director of the NMF, says she wants kids who come to the festival to think, “Wow! I didn't realize math was so interesting and tied to so many things in my life.”
Maybe you want to know how much money your family will pay to attend the festival. Kids cost zero dollars, zero cents. Adults cost the same. Even if you have a huge family, all those zeros add up to zero.
1. If players want to win Flagway, what should they do?| A．Play in pairs with a teammate. | B．Be good at math. | C．Watch Nova before the game. | D．Use some knowledge of music. |
| A．John Urschel. | B．Mark Mitton. | C．Joseph Teran. | D．Kirsten Bohl. |
| A．It is about fun sports activities only. | B．It offers games to all ages for free. |
| C．It is held to celebrate the birth of board games. | D．It needs every visitor to play at least one game. |
| A．To show the importance of math in our life. | B．To talk about how math is connected with different games. |
| C．To call on young kids to pay attention to math. | D．To introduce a festival at which math and sports come together. |
8 . 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. |
9 . Qing ming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, is a traditional festival where Chinese pay respects to their ancestors and the dead. People in different regions of the country consume different foods on the day according to local customs. From green rice balls and omelets (煎蛋饼) to fried dough twists and pancakes, here are some traditional foods people eat on the special day.
Qingtuan, or green rice balls, are widely consumed in China’s Jiangnan area — the region south of the Yangtze River — around Qingming Festival. The seasonal delicious food is usually made from glutinous rice (糯米) mixed with pounded mugwort — an eatable wild herb thought to prevent toxic insect bites.
In both northern and southern China, it is an age-old tradition to eat sanzi, or fried dough twists, on Tomb-Sweeping Day. However, the sanzi in North and South China are different from each other in terms of size and material. Northern people prefer larger ones made from wheat, while people in the South enjoy smaller ones made from rice.
Thin pancakes are a popular food for people in Xiamen in Southeast China’s Fujian province on Tomb-Sweeping Day. To make it tastier, they usually add dried seaweed, omelet, vegetables and chili sauce to the pancakes.
In Qingdao in East China’s Shandong province, people eat spring onion and omelet on the day. They believe the special combination makes eyes brighter. In ancient times, pupils often sent eggs to their teachers to show respect on the day.
In many places in Southeast China’s Fujian province, people thought eating steamed rice with leaf mustard (芥菜) on Tomb-Sweeping Day could help prevent scabies and other skin diseases for the whole year.
The steamed bun is named after Jie Zitui, a famous hermit of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC). People in Shanxi province have a tradition of eating the bun on Tomb-Sweeping Day. Colorful dough animals and flowers are frequent decorations, while eggs and jujubes (红枣) are added inside to increase sweetness.
1. What’s special about sanzi?| A．People in South China prefer sanzi made from wheat. |
| B．People in North China prefer smaller size of sanzi |
| C．It is only accessible on Tomb-Sweeping Day. |
| D．The sanzi varies in different places. |
| A．To help improve eyesight | B．To show respect to ancestors |
| C．To exchange eggs with teachers | D．To make the omelet tastier |
| A．Colorful flowers | B．Dough animals | C．Dough eggs | D．Jujubes |
| A．They are both made from glutinous rice. | B．They are believed to be beneficial to health. |
| C．They are both popular around China. | D．They have the same eatable herbs in them. |
10 . Traveling abroad is becoming increasingly popular these years. Some people are afraid of making linguistic (语言的) mistakes while traveling. Actually, cultural mistakes may be more serious, which can lead to serious misunderstanding.
●Touching Someone
In Thailand, the head is considered sacred — never even pat a child on the head.
●Talking over Dinner
In some countries, like China, Japan and some African nations, food is important, so don’t start chatting about your day’s adventures while everyone else is digging into dinner.
●Removing Your Shoes or Not
Take off your shoes when arriving at the door of a London dinner party and the hostess will find you rude, but fail to remove your shoes before entering a home in Asia, Hawaii, or the Pacific Islands and you’ll be considered disrespectful. So, if you see a row of shoes at the door, start undoing your shoelaces.
Once you are on the ground of a different country, remain highly sensitive to native behavior.
| A．If not, keep the shoes on. |
| B．You’ll be likely to meet with no response. |
| C．Never be completely surprised by anything. |
| D．Personal spaces are different among countries. |
| E．As the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” |
| F．Watch out for the following cultural mistakes and try to avoid them. |
| G．The linguistic mistake means that someone is not fully expressing his idea. |
