1 . There are many interesting stories about Chinese fans in historical records, novels, and legends.
The reason why fans evolved into artwork was largely related to men of letters, who liked to paint or write poetry on fans, and gave them to their friends as gifts.
It has been popular to draw fans or write poems about fans, and paint or write on paper fans. There is a story about Wang Xizhi, known for his Chinese calligraphy. Wang once saw an elderly lady selling fans. The business was not so good. She looked very upset, so Wang decided to help her.
It has been popular to paint on fans since Tang Dynasty. Artwork on fans is also a unique type of Chinese painting. As space is limited, the painters pay close attention to the composition on the half-circle fan.
For thousands of years, Chinese people never stopped innovating fan design, and adopted different materials such as bamboo, paper, bones. They made fans of many shapes, such as circular and square shapes.
| A．They asked for better decoration of fans. |
| B．Feather fans are famous due to Zhuge Liang. |
| C．Wang taught the old woman to draw on fans. |
| D．In ancient times, fans served as the symbol of social classes. |
| E．Some famous ones are the feather fan held by Zhuge Liang. |
| F．He wrote a few characters on each fan and told her to raise the price. |
| G．So the creation of imagery or scenery requires extra skill and accuracy. |
2 . How to Celebrate Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. Thanksgiving is about spending time with family and friends, and being thankful for the people and things in their life.
Invite family and friends a month ahead of time. Make a list of family and friends that you would like to celebrate Thanksgiving with. Let them know that you will be celebrating Thanksgiving and that you would like them to come. Letting them know ahead of time will allow them to make plans if they need to travel.
Choose a potluck (自带餐) for the Thanksgiving meal. A potluck meal will make it easier for you to cook. If you choose this type of meal, ask your guests what they would like to bring. Make a list of the dishes they will be bringing.
Make a shopping list. Make a list of all the things you will need to prepare the meal. Buy dry ingredient (食材) one or two weeks ahead.
| A．Buy the turkey two or three weeks ahead. |
| B．Then the host provides the rest of the food. |
| C．You know that some people may refuse you. |
| D．Buy fresh ingredients five to seven days in advance. |
| E．It is celebrated by having a big meal with a turkey. |
| F．If you don’t feel like making a turkey, order pizza or takeout. |
| G．Make other dishes to help you feel the Thanksgiving spirit. |
3 . Gifts and packaging play a crucial role in providing an income and educating visitors.
After enjoying a museum or art gallery, Milly Zi, a management adviser in Beijing, usually visits the souvenir shop to buy something to remember the visit. About a decade ago, Zi was attracted by a roll of sticky tape in the Taipei Palace Museum. The tape, designed in red, yellow and white, had four Chinese characters making a phrase — zhen zhi dao le — a sentence of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, meaning “I am aware.” “The product has history and culture in it,” Zi said, “and it has aroused my interest in learning more about the history behind it.”
The latest digital technology is also helping museums to be more creative. In October 2021, the Hubei Provincial Museum released 10,000 digital copies of the sword of Gou Jian, king of the state of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period, a famous cultural relic on display in the museum. Their popularity can be gauged by how quickly they sold out. “All the copies were sold in just three seconds,” said Wang Xianfu, deputy head of the museum.
Digital collections go beyond the restrictions of time and space, making museums more open, interesting and modern. “It’s a new experience, a combination of civilization and modern high⁃tech,” Wang said.
“The popularity of digital cultural relics has resulted in more museums exploring the concept. Digitized cultural relics are a new form of creative cultural products, which can be sold, purchased, collected and used.” Ma Xiaolin said, head of Henan Museum.
“I think museums have two functions — to remember and to spread Chinese culture,” said Yu Lin, manager of the development department at Ant Group. “I hope new technologies will promote Chinese culture in a way the younger generation is happy to accept.”
1. Why did the tape attract Milly Zi?| A．It was used by Kangxi. | B．It has a long history. |
| C．It was creatively designed. | D．It is a digital cultural relic. |
| A．Judged. | B．Guarded. | C．Developed. | D．Gained. |
| A．To emphasize the importance of Chinese cultural relics. |
| B．To make an advertisement for the Hubei Provincial Museum. |
| C．To illustrate a modern technology to make museums’ work effective. |
| D．To popularize the ancient Chinese civilizations of the Spring and Autumn period. |
| A．Open more souvenir shops. |
| B．Produce more cultural gifts. |
| C．Go digitized with modern technology. |
| D．Invite experts to give lectures on Chinese history. |
4 . The 9th edition of the Joy Dancing Beijing Culture and Art Exchange Week of International Youth opened in Beijing on Tuesday.
The opening ceremony saw the participation of children and teenagers, from both home and abroad, deliver performances featuring dance, songs, rap, djembe (a West African drum) and poetry recitals, showcasing regional cultural elements and expressing the themes of harmony and peace.
“All the performances in the opening gala were meticulously selected to showcase international perspectives, the characteristics of Beijing and the grandeur of China,” chief director of the ceremony Chen Xini says.
“Many contemporary subjects, such as the Global Civilization Initiative, the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, biodiversity conservation, global intangible cultural heritage, rural vitalization and traditional Chinese culture, were showcased through artistic expression.”
This year’s event consisted of three major sections — the opening gala, an art carnival and an art education program, with the aim of providing young people, from both home and abroad, the opportunity to foster friendship, deepen their understanding of other cultures, as well as immerse themselves in the cultural atmosphere of Beijing.
Sixteen youth delegations, from countries including Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, Russia and Thailand, as well as more than 3,000 young people from around China, participated in performances and cultural exchange activities.
A few delegations also attended events hosted at the embassies of Mali, Ghana, Chile, Armenia and Uzbekistan, among others.
The exchange week, which concluded Thursday, was overseen by the China Soong Ching Ling Science and Culture Center for Young People and the Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and was co-hosted by Beijing Trade Association for Performances and the Charming Schools event committee.
“Under the theme of ‘colorful Silk Road’, we aim to foster mutual learning among civilizations through art exchanges, promote connections through dialogue, and create a new chapter in Belt and Road cooperation featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits,” says Wang Yanxia, vice-president of the Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
1. What performance can be selected in the opening gala?| A．related to art |
| B．concerning the right subjects |
| C．given by teenagers |
| D．aiming at peace promotion |
| A．a week | B．five days | C．three days | D．two days |
| A．popular | B．formal | C．profitable | D．influential |
5 . HEFEI, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) - A poetry festival kicked off Wednesday to commemorate Li Bai, a famous Chinese poet from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), in Ma’anshan City of east China’s Anhui Province.
More than 500 representatives attended the opening ceremony of the 33rd Li Bai poetry festival, including poetry experts, scholars and poetry lovers from across the country. A poem recital activity will also be held online this year between Chinese and Japanese poem enthusiasts to promote bilateral cultural exchange.
Li Bai is a household name in China as Shakespeare to the UK or Tagore to India. He lived between 701 and 762, also a golden age of Chinese poetry, and his poems are brimful of patriotism and romanticism. He spent his last days in Ma’anshan and wrote about 50 poems about the city throughout his life. It is said he was buried at the foot of Daqing Mountain in the city after he passed away.
A total of 871 poems have been submitted to the organizing committee to participate in this year’s festival. More than 100 statues of Li Bai and figures that appeared in his poems have been collected from all over China for exhibition at the festival.
Participants will pay homage to places in and around Ma’anshan City which Li Bai once visited. They will also pay a visit to Li Bai’s tomb on Thursday.
The first Li Bai poetry festival was held in 1989 in Ma’anshan, and it has become a shining cultural activity of the city ever since. Ma’anshan was named as Chinese City of Poetry by the Poetry Institute of China in 2014.
1. For what was a poetry festival held in Ma’anshan City?2. Who attended the 33rd Li Bai poetry festival?
3. Why is Li Bai recognized as Tagore in India?
4. Besides 871 poems submitted to the organizing committee, what else were acquired?
5. What influence has the Li Bai poetry festival on the City of Ma’anshan?
6 . 24 Solar Terms: 8 things you may not know about Frost’s Descent
The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Frost’s Descent (霜降), the 18th solar term of the year, begins this year on Oct 23 and ends on Nov 6.
Frosty autumn
Eating fruit
Eating persimmons during Frost’s Descent can help people resist the cold and protect their bones. In the countryside, people believe that their lips will crack if they don’t eat persimmons during this period. The apple is one kind of recommended fruit during Frost’s Descent. Apples can moisten the lungs, quench one’s thirst and help one’s digestion.
Eating duck
It’s a custom to eat duck on the first day of Frost’s Descent in south Fujian province. There is a saying in Fujian which goes, “Even nourishing all year is not as good as nourishing the human body on the first day of Frost’s Descent.”
People in areas such as Daxin county in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region celebrate the first day of Frost’s Descent. In the Frost’s Descent Festival, the Zhuang people offer sacrifices, dance and sing folk songs. With a history of more than 360 years, the festival is to commemorate Cen Yuyin, a heroine in battles against foreign aggression.
| A．Eating chestnuts |
| B．Frost’s Descent Festival |
| C．But eating too many could be harmful |
| D．Frost’s Descent is the last solar term of autumn |
| E．Eating duck is a way for people there to gain weight |
| F．The pear is another recommended fruit during Frost’s Descent |
| G．Frost consists of white ice crystals of frozen water vapor near the ground |
7 . Celebrating the Harvest Around the World
A harvest festival is a celebration of the fall months and the harvest that often accompanies these months. Many countries celebrate harvest festivals in different forms.
Canada
In Canada, people celebrate their harvest on Thanksgiving. This tradition is said to date back to the 16th century. The English explorer Martin Frobisher(1535—1594) came upon the land, searching for the “New World”. As he arrived in Canada in 1578, he celebrated surviving the long journey by holding a formal celebration and eating salt beef and peas. Today, it has become a recognized holiday in the country that falls on the second Monday in October. On Thanksgiving, most return home to gather with their family. One of the highlights(高潮) of the holiday is a big Thanksgiving Day meal, which usually includes turkey and bread, which are prepared and presented in a unique Canadian way.
The United Kingdom
Harvest festival activities are considered a special time for communities to come together in celebration. The harvest festival may start with carrying baskets of fruits and vegetables to a local church where people sing praise songs for a healthy harvest while praying for future harvests. A special effort may be made to give food to the less fortunate. Large dinners may also be hosted where each member brings a special dish to share with each other.
China
In 2023, the Farmers’ Harvest Festival was launched in China. It’s held on the day of the autumn equinox(秋分), which falls roughly on Sept. 22 or 23. Every year, a range of events are organized nationwide. In Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, farmers brought 100 seed varieties to the main site of the ceremony in Hanhu District and placed them in a wall to mark the achievements of the seed industry. In Heilongjiang Province, the festival was combined with local traditions of the Daur people and the locals danced around bonfires.
1. Originally, Thanksgiving was celebrated in Canada for .| A．their harvest | B．finding the new world |
| C．surviving the long journey | D．gathering with their family |
| A．attending a church service | B．donating food to the poor |
| C．sharing food at a dinner party | D．dancing around bonfires |
| A．Different countries celebrate their harvest in different ways. |
| B．There are similarities in celebrating the harvest among different places. |
| C．The Farmers’ Harvest Festival is an annually nationwide thing in China. |
| D．Local traditions are included in celebrating the harvest around China. |
8 . Chinese mooncake is the representative food of the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is a kind of round cookie with various fillings and different artistic patterns on the surface.
In Chinese culture, roundness symbolizes completeness and togetherness. The mooncake is not just a food. It’s a cultural tradition deep in Chinese people’s hearts, symbolizing a spiritual feeling. At Mid-Autumn Festival, people eat mooncakes together with family, and present mooncakes to relatives or friends to express love and best wishes.
As early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties in what today are Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces in east China, there was a kind of “Taishi cake” thick at the center and thin at the edge, which was the origin of the mooncake. In the Han Dynasty, sesame (芝麻) and walnuts were introduced into China, and round cookies filled with these foods appeared. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that the name “mooncake” was used for the first time. In the Northern Song Dynasty, mooncakes got popular in the royal palace. In the Ming Dynasty, the custom of eating these cookies during the Mid-Autumn Festival became popular.
Mooncakes vary according to different regional styles and tastes. Cantonese-style mooncakes are known for their sweetness. Suzhou-style mooncakes have existed for more than a thousand years. They have soft layers of dough (面团) and lots of sugar and lard, making them available in sweet or salty tastes. Beijing-style mooncakes use sweetness delicately and are decorated well. Chaoshan-style mooncakes are usually larger than other mooncakes with common fillings of red bean paste and potato paste.
Most mooncakes contain high amounts of sugar and oil, which are not healthy. To decrease the harmfulness that high fat and calories bring to our body, some foods are recommended to eat together with mooncakes, including tea, sour fruit like grapes, and wine. They help digest and take away fat in our body. Also, do not eat too much at one time.
1. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?| A．The features of moon cakes. | B．The history of the moon cakes. |
| C．The customs of the moon cakes. | D．The meaning behind moon cakes. |
| A．In the Han Dynasty. | B．In the Tang Dynasty. |
| C．In the Ming Dynasty. | D．In the Northern Song Dynasty. |
| A．They contain less sugar. | B．They are generally larger in size. |
| C．They have a much longer history. | D．They feature fine decorative patterns. |
| A．To stress the importance of a healthy diet. | B．To call on people to value traditional culture. |
| C．To tell people how to eat mooncakes healthily. | D．To recommend some new flavors of mooncakes. |
9 . A perfect performance of Chinese Shaolin Kung Fu amazed hundreds of audiences in Bowers Museum in US Southern California on Sunday.
This Kung Fu demonstration by Shaolin monks (僧人) was a highlight of the 2023 Shaolin Cultural Day, a rare cultural event for the Orange County community in Southern California.
“The event offers a unique opportunity for the Orange County community to actively engage with Shaolin culture and gain firsthand experience in various Shaolin activities,” said Anne Shih, chairwoman of the Board of Governors of Bowers Museum. “Whether it’s learning from Kung Fu masters or enjoying interactive Shaolin activities, these experiences will help audiences to experience the Chinese culture and better understand Chinese traditions,” Shih said.
With a history of over 1, 500 years, Shaolin Kung Fu is one of China’s most treasured cultural heritage items, and has been practiced by Kung Fu lovers around the world.
Larry Lee, a 72-year-old resident of Orange County, said he has been practicing Kung Fu for over 50 years. “The traditional Chinese martial arts have deep intelligence in it. They relate to a way of life that goes much deeper than just fighting.” Lee said besides Kung Fu, he is also interested in Chinese medicine and other elements of the Chinese culture.
The 2023 Shaolin Cultural Day served as a fitting finale (场) to the 2023 Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, providing a platform to honor and appreciate the contributions of the AAPI community.
“The event will help people of other communities to be better informed about China and the Chinese culture, and therefore developing understanding and friendship,” said Cultural Counselor (参赞) of the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles Wang Taiyu. “We hope through such activities, we can promote friendship between Chinese and American peoples, and contribute to China-US relations.” he said.
1. What can we infer about Shaolin Kung Fu from paragraphs 1 and 2?| A．It was performed on a school’s playground. | B．Orange County didn’t enjoy it often. |
| C．Its performance lasted two weeks. | D．Its attracted vistiors all over the world. |
| A．Helping Southern Californians learn Chinese quickly. |
| B．Helping audiences become Kung Fu masters through practice. |
| C．Helping audiences have a better knowledge of Chinese traditions. |
| D．Helping Orange County attract more Kung Fu lovers around the world. |
| A．They include wisdom in them. |
| B．They focus mainly on fighting. |
| C．They represent Chinese culture and history. |
| D．They inspire you to be expert at Chinese medicine. |
| A．To stress the importance of communities. | B．To advise how to understand each other. |
| C．To compare different cultures. | D．To build up better friendships. |
10 . If you are a party animal in Guangxi, join us to explore some of the popular festivals in Liuzhou.
Temple Fair Day
It is believed to be the oldest and the largest temple fair day celebrated in Fengshan, Liuzhou. It is an event known to easily attract more than 30,000 people to take part in the parades. It is a day for enjoying temple wishes, dancing to non-stop ethnic songs, and tasting lots of local dishes.
Time: February Price: Free
March 3rd Festival
This is an annual event that takes place every March in Sanjiang county. The festival features a lot of ethnic minority homemade food. You can also expect to enjoy live ethnic music and dances performed by famous local dancers.
Time: March 3rd Price: 3 RMB
Liuzhou Marathon Festival
This event started more than 10 years ago. Currently, it is an attractive weekend that sees attendance go way past 12,000 people. During the festival, participants take part in exciting activities, with the major ones like funny marathon, and food sales.
Time: April Price: 12 RMB
Dragon Boat Show
Longtan park is usually the place of Dragon Boat Show—a festival for boating lovers that occurs in May. It is the largest dragon boat show in Liuzhou. A great deal of people will be there at that time. Welcome to join the show.
Time: May Price: 5 RMB
1. What is special about Temple Fair Day?| A．It features famous dance. | B．It lasts two months. |
| C．It started 10 years ago. | D．It’s free of charge. |
| A．Buy some books. | B．Watch boat show. |
| C．Taste nice food. | D．Join a parade. |
| A．Liuzhou Marathon Festival. | B．March 3rd Festival. |
| C．Dragon Boat Show. | D．Temple Fair Day. |
| A．over 2,000. | B．over 12,000. |
| C．2,000. | D．12,000. |
| A．Longtan park. | B．Sanjiang park. |
| C．Liuzhou park. | D．Fengshan park. |
