1 . The American Craftsman style is a type of design. It was popular from 1900 to the 1930s. It changed the style of building in the United States.

The craftsman style originally began in Europe. The British Arts and Crafts style arose in the 1860s. The unique designs of this movement tried to offer dignity to the common person. Handmade items were preferred because they were thought better than items that were mass-produced. But this British style was still Victorian. It still only served the wealthiest clients.

In 1897 a group of Boston architects brought these handcrafted styles to American. They planned a show of craft objects, which turned out to be a huge success. Here they realized the potential and established the Society of Arts and Crafts on June 28, 1897. Its slogan was “to develop and encourage higher standards in the handicrafts.”

The American style began as the Victorian Era was ending. It emphasized handmade work. Originality and simplicity were highly valued. Local materials and the quality of the handicraft were very important. these traits were meant to dignify the modest homes of the middle class.

These simple designs used glass and wood that were produced locally. They were also very elegant. The metalwork was a reaction to Victorian Opulence. The increase of mass-produced housing items was rejected. The American Craftsman used clean lines. It also relied on sturdy structure. Natural materials were always used in these houses if possible.

This style introduced many changes to the average American home. New designs were made for families without servants. This was a trait of the new middle class. The kitchen went form being a hidden room to a prominent one. Another development was the breakfast nook. This new area provided the family with a place to gather at any time of day.

Also, inspirational to the Craftsman style were the Shaker and Mission designs. The American Craftsman style led to the Art Deco Movement of the 1930s.

1. According to the passage, the American Craftsman style is a type of ________.

A．Shaker and Mission design

B．house made for families with servants

C．design which was popular from 1900 to the 1930s

D．breakfast nook

2. According to Para. 6, all the following are true about the American Craftsman style EXCEPT________.

A．The breakfast nook provided the family with a place to gather.

B．The kitchen became a more prominent room.

C．This style did not make any changes to the middle-class American home.

D．Houses were designed for a new middle class with no servants.

3. The word opulence in the passage is closest in meaning to ________.

A．richness	B．greed
C．ugliness	D．distaste

2 . Every country has certain cultural patterns making it unique. Of course, habits and customs between cultures and countries tend to overlap(重叠). The popularity of social media, for instance, ignores borders and breaks down cultural differences. Technology has made the world a much smaller and culturally similar place. However, when looking at a foreign country, we will always find differences between our traditions and theirs. Young Italians and young Americans, for example, though alike in many respects, have also some pronounced differences, especially when it comes to work, pastimes and sports.

Most American teens have part-time jobs through high school and college. Youths in Italy tend not to. The reasons behind this are multifaceted. It is, to begin with, rather hard in Italy to find the type of part-time jobs students usually take up. Moreover, there is also a different cultural attitude to take into consideration, especially when thinking of certain parts of Italy. Young Italians like to enjoy life to the full and feel there will be time to work once they become adults, hence the lack of interest in finding odd jobs while still in school. Like the old saying goes, some Italians work to Live, while some Americans often live to work.

In a lot of ways, young Italians and Americans spend their free time in a similar fashion. Listening to music, watching movies, hanging out, practicing sports and surfing the Internet are all common ways to pass some free time. Italians, especially, make a point of going out and being social, often choosing between pizzeria or birrerie (place for pizza or beer), which stay open late. Italians often pile into a couple of cars and go out in a big group. In general, American teens participate in a lot of extracurricular(课外的) activities, many often through school, while Italians may not take part in so many.

When going out, Italian teens tend to meet and gather on the streets of their cities or towns, something not as common in the United States, especially in highly populated areas. This very Italian habit can be linked to the urban arrangement of Italian towns. Many of them date back thousands of years and feature central piazzas(广场) and areas built around historical sites that have now become gathering places for the young. If you’re in Italy, don’t be surprised by the sight of hundreds gathered in a piazza or on the street, laughing and drinking the night away.

1. The passage is mainly about ________.

A．the unique lifestyles shared by American and Italian teens

B．the relationship between young people of America and Italy

C．some customs and habits of the Americans and Italians

D．some differences in tradition between young Americans and Italians

2. By saying “some Italians work to live, while some Americans often live to work”, the author most probably wants to tell us that ________.

A．Italians have a better life attitude toward working

B．Americans are more diligent and thus live a better life

C．Americans and Italians both find it hard to locate a satisfying job

D．Italians and Americans have different choices regarding work

3. According to paragraph 3, which of the following statements is true?

A．American teens practice sports and surf the Internet to pass time.

B．Italian youth take an active part in extracurricular activities.

C．American teens like to drive out and social together in big groups.

D．Italian youth enjoy pizza and beer because they are cheap.

4. If there is one more paragraph in this passage, what will it most probably be about?

A．The working conditions of the young Americans and Italians.

B．The differences in practicing sports between teens of the two nations.

C．The central piazzas and areas built around historical sites in Italy.

D．The urban arrangement of the highly populated American cities.

3 . An opinion poll was conducted in the early 1990s to find out the cultural attitudes of residents of five countries in Western Europe (Britain, France, Italy, Spain and Germany). One thousand people, forming a representative sample of the adult population, from each of the five participating countries were interviewed.

The poll assumed that literature, history, science, arts, law, economics and so on would be regarded as significant elements of culture by all participants, but it set out to examine the areas which they considered the most important forms of cultural expression. In addition, the poll required interviewees to indicate in a questionnaire the type of education they considered most appropriate for the modern world, the best channels of knowledge and arts they most valued.     1    

The results of the poll show interesting differences between the participating nations in terms of which components of culture they regard as most important forms of cultural expression. For the French and Italians, literature comes well at the top of the list.     2     History occupies second place for the French, the Italians and Germans but is given very low priority by the British. For the Spanish these four areas are more or less equal, with mathematics having a slight edge.

It seems that members of each country in the survey have a common definition of culture but that definition varies from country to country.     3     The French and Italians are literary peoples, the British scientific and the Germans practical and hard-working.

France has the distinction, according to the results of the poll, of being the country which provokes most interest from its British. Italian and German neighbors.     4     The French also placed Italy first. Italy occupies second place for both the British and the Germans. It would seem, then, that the “literary” nations of France and Italy are more culturally exciting than the scientific British or the practical Germans!

A．In contrast, mathematics is given priority by the British and economics,/politics by the   Germans.

B．There are clear differences in the views of various European nations.

C．The interviewees were also asked which European country they found most attractive from a cultural point of view.

D．Spanish interviewees indicated more interest in Italy than in France.

E．The residents of the five countries of the survey share the view that books are the best way of broadening knowledge.

F．The variations tend to support the national stereotypes we have of one another.

4 . Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

The man who put romance back into roses for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is when unromantic people splurge (挥霍) on overpriced roses and expensive restaurants. It doesn’t have to be this way.     1    For this we have to thank David Austin, the rose guru (专家，大师), who died at 92 on 18 December last year.

Mr. A, as his staff knew him, brought romance back to roses, creating the English Rose, a marriage between fragrant Old Roses and the repeat-flowering Hybrid Tea varieties which had largely replaced them before the young son of a Shropshire farmer decided to change all that.

    2    But still most of the nurseries were unconvinced. It took another 20 years until his Mary Rose and Graham Thomas (named after his horticultural mentor) established Austin and his English Roses—colorful, repeat-flowering, deeply fragrant—in the hearts and gardens of British growers.

The rest is Chelsea-gilded history. Graham Thomas was later voted the world’s favorite rose and his Gertrude Jekyll was twice-named the UK’s favorite.

We have three roses on our London roof terrace: a spicy apricot that a few years ago won best plant at Chelsea; a Bengal Crimson from Great Dixter and a perfect yellow David Austin, named, I think, after an actress.     3    

So steer clear of the more obvious flower choices for the 14th. Roses, like people, are rarely at their best after a long-haul (长途运输) flight.     4    Maybe think about buying a rose for summer flowering. It is what Mr. A deserves and would have wanted.

A．Search out something personal, surprising and special.

B．The roses you receive today have been paid for in advance.

C．The love we share makes life so beautiful, and I love you more than roses can say.

D．As I write, the name escapes me but never the repeated flowering and its fragrance.

E．It took a decade of dedication before Austin’s Rosa Constance Spry was released in 1961.

F．Roses don’t have to come in red buds and straight stems, and they don’t have to smell of desperation.

5 . “What is civilization?” asked Kenneth Clark 50 years ago in the influential BBC series on the subject. “I don’t know, and I can’t define it in abstract terms, yet. But I think I can recognize it when I see it, and I’m looking at it now.” And he turned to gesture behind him, at the soaring Gothic towers and flying buttresses of Notre Dame (巴黎圣母院).

It seems inhuman to care more about a building than about people. That the sight of Notre Dame going up in flames has attracted so much more attention than floods in southern Africa which killed over 1,000 arouses understandable feelings of guilt. Yet the widespread, intense grief at the sight of the cathedral’s collapsing steeple (尖塔) is in fact profoundly human—and in a particularly 21st-century way.

It is not just the economy that is global today, it is culture too. People wander the world in search not just of jobs and security but also of beauty and history. Familiarity breeds affection. A building on whose sunny steps you have rested, in front of which you have taken a selfie with your loved one, becomes a warm part of your memories and thus of yourself.

This visual age has given beauty new power, and social media have turned great works of art into superstars. Only a few, though, have achieved this status. Just as there is only ever a handful of world-famous actors, so the pantheon (万神殿) of globally recognizable cultural symbols is tiny: the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s David, the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid— and Notre Dame. Disaster, too, is visual. In the 24 hours after the fire started, videos on social media of the burning cathedral were viewed nearly a quarter of a billion times.

Yet the emotions the sight aroused were less about the building itself than about what losing it might mean. Notre Dame is an expression of humanity at its collective best. Nobody could look up into that arched (拱形的) ceiling without wondering at the collective genius of the thousands of unknown craftsmen who, over a century and a half, realized a vision so grand in its structural ambition and so delicate in its hand-made detail. Its survival through 850 years of political unrest—through war, revolution and Nazi occupation—binds the present to the past.

1. The BBC series in the first paragraph is mentioned to show ________.

A．Notre Dame is a typical example of civilization

B．civilization is supposed to be defined in abstract terms

C．civilization was founded in the past and lasts for decades

D．it’s cruel to care more about buildings than about people

2. Notre Dame fire has aroused worldwide concerns because ________.

A．the disaster coincided with the floods in southern Africa

B．people has lost a historical landmark to take a selfie and rest

C．France’s economic prosperity has made it a must-see place for visitors

D．cultural globalization has bred a common sense of cultural identity

3. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．People’s sadness at the misfortune mainly lies in the building itself.

B．People wondered who contributed to such an artistic achievement.

C．Notre Dame is a witness to Nazi invasion and French revolution.

D．Fortunately we are blessed with countless splendid works of art.

4. What might be the best title for the passage?

A．Notre Dame: The Architectural Treasure

B．Notre Dame: The Humanistic Expression

C．Notre Dame: A Victim To Natural Disaster

D．Notre Dame: A Must-be Tourist Attraction

6 . For Western designers, China and its rich culture have long been an inspiration for Western creative.

“It’s no secret that China has always been a source(来源) of inspiration for designers,” says Amanda Hill, chief creative officer at A+E Networks, a global media company and home to some of the biggest fashion(时尚) shows.

Earlier this year, the China Through A Looking Glass exhibition in New York exhibited 140 pieces of China-inspired fashionable clothing alongside Chinese works of art, with the aim of exploring the influence of Chinese aesthetics(美学) on Western fashion and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries. The exhibition had record attendance, showing that there is huge interest in Chinese influences.

“China is impossible to overlook,” says Hill. “Chinese models are the faces of beauty and fashion campaigns that sell dreams to women all over the world, which means Chinese women are not just consumers of fashion — they are central to its movement.” Of course, not only are today’s top Western designers being influenced by China—some of the best designers of contemporary fashion are themselves Chinese. “Vera Wang, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu are taking on Galliano, Albaz, Marc Jacobs—and beating them hands down in design and sales,” adds Hill.

For Hill, it is impossible not to talk about China as the leading player when discussing fashion. “The most famous designers are Chinese, so are the models, and so are the consumers,” she says. “China is no longer just another market; in many senses it has become the market. If you talk about fashion today, you are talking about China—its influences, its direction, its breathtaking clothes, and how young designers and models are finally acknowledging that in many ways.”

1. What can we learn about the exhibition in New York?

A．It promoted the sales of artworks.	B．It attracted a large number of visitors.
C．It showed ancient Chinese clothes.	D．It aimed to introduce Chinese models.

2. What does Hill say about Chinese women?

A．They are setting the fashion.	B．They start many fashion campaigns.
C．They admire super models.	D．They do business all over the world.

3. What do the underlined words “taking on” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．learning from

B．looking down on

C．working with

D．competing against

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Young Models Selling Dreams to the World

B．A Chinese Art Exhibition Held in New York

C．Differences Between Eastern and Western Aesthetics

D．Chinese Culture Fueling International Fashion Trends

7 . From Selling Books to Selling Life

Charing Cross Street is the most famous bookstore street in London. From the largest female bookstore in Europe to the first detective novel store in Europe, from independent bookstores to large chain ones, _____________, it is a scenic spot worth visiting over and over again. The 84 Charing Cross Street, ___________ as the Love Bible, tells the story of the New York woman writer Helene Hanff and the London bookseller Frank Percy Doel. It has been ___________ into dozens of languages. Broadcasting, stage plays, and movies continue to interpret this friendship based on books. Charing Cross Street has thus become a ____________ landmark in London, attracting many literary enthusiasts and tourists with its unique literary charm.

However, today’s situation is no longer the same. With the closing of a number of chain bookstores, some independent bookstores have begun to think about how to ____________ the British literary tradition with dignity. Recently, British book agents, writers, bookshop operators and other groups gathered here to explore the ___________ model of the future bookstore.

Judging from the current business model, those who can survive are completing the ____________ from selling books to selling life. Perhaps the literary lifestyle of the British, which is deep into the bone, should be considered as the most ___________ secrets. As the largest independent bookstore in the United Kingdom, Waterstone is currently undergoing design changes by LDS, a British architectural firm. Architect Alex said they __________ improving customer experience and planned to build multiple space. “We will have some small rooms full of books, like private study rooms, in which one can discuss his works with the author.” The focus of the future physical bookstore is on creating an atmosphere. __________, bars and cafes are an essential part of the bookstore. Booksellers and authors generally believe that bookstores must develop in the direction of a cultural ___________ so that people come here for a lot of money, attending concerts, watching movies, or participating in discussions.

Some writers say that physical bookstores can ___________ their business beyond selling books and provide cultural services to customers. Other writers believe that bookstores can __________ a membership system. ___________ discounts, members are given the opportunity to attend lectures, literary gatherings and meetings with authors, and corresponding membership activities are __________ for children and students, and visiting bookstores has become part of the daily lives of more people as a cultural leisure method.

1.

A．no kidding

B．no doubt

C．no way

D．no problem

2.

A．known

B．selected

C．learned

D．defined

3.

A．presented

B．burst

C．divided

D．translated

4.

A．geographical

B．academic

C．cultural

D．traditional

5.

A．discover

B．research

C．interpret

D．continue

6.

A．survival

B．material

C．moral

D．spiritual

7.

A．resolution

B．connection

C．transition

D．question

8.

A．commercial

B．confidential

C．academic

D．logic

9.

A．focused on

B．relied on

C．took on

D．carried on

10.

A．Meanwhile

B．Therefore

C．Moreover

D．Nevertheless

11.

A．value

B．complex

C．symbol

D．identity

12.

A．expect

B．explode

C．expand

D．explore

13.

A．adjust

B．activate

C．acquire

D．adopt

14.

A．In addition to

B．Instead of

C．Except for

D．Because of

15.

A．stimulated

B．conducted

C．resolved

D．postponed

8 . In 1888 an Egyptian farmer digging in the sand near the village of Istabl Antar uncovered a mass grave. The bodies weren’t human. They were feline — ancient cats that had been mummified(木乃伊化的) and buried in holes in astonishing numbers. “Not one or two here and there”, reported English Illustrated Magazine, “but dozens, hundreds, hundreds of thousands, a layer of them, a layer thicker than most coal joints, ten to twenty cats deep. ” Some of the linen-wrapped cats still looked presentable, and a few even had golden faces. Village children peddled the best ones to tourists for change; the rest were sold as fertilizer. One ship transported about 180,000, weighing some 38, 000 pounds, to Liverpool to be spread on the fields of England.

Those were the days of generously funded explorations—that dragged through acres of desert in their quest for royal tombs, and for splendid gold and painted masks to decorate the estates and museums of Europe and America. The many thousands of mummified animals that turned up at religious sites throughout Egypt were just things to be cleared away to get at the good stuff. Few people studied them, and their importance was generally unrecognized.

In the century since then, archaeology has become less of a treasure hunt and more of a science. Archaeologists now realize that much of their sites’ wealth lies in the majority of details about ordinary folks—what they did, what they thought, how they prayed. And animal mummies are a big part of that.

“They’re really displays of daily life,” says Egyptologist Salima Ikram. After peering beneath bandages with x-rays and cataloguing her findings, she created a gallery for the collection — a bridge between people today and those of long ago. “You look at these mummified animals, and suddenly you say, Oh, King So-and-So had a pet. I have a pet. And instead of being at a distance of 5,000-plus years, the ancient Egyptians become clearer and closer to us.”

1. Which of the following words has the closest meaning to “peddled”(paragraph 1)?

A．modernized

B．displayed

C．illustrated

D．demonstrated

2. Why was archaeology once referred to as a“treasure hunt ”(paragraph 3)?

A．In the royal tombs, there were many treasures made of silver and gold.

B．Animal mummies could be made into fertilizer which is very valuable.

C．It was hard to find animal mummies since they were buried under dirt.

D．People sought the remains of ancient Egypt merely for their material value.

3. Which of the following is TRUE about Salima Ikram?

A．She wishes to establish the continuity of pets over history.

B．She believes that studying the remains can help modern society relate to the past.

C．She wants to identify the King’s personal belongings and classify them.

D．She doubts if current society will understand the significance of Egyptian remains.

4. This article probably encourages the readers to _____________.

A．value the past by studying the remains left behind by our ancestors

B．make full use of the remains our ancestors have left behind

C．understand that animal mummies are more important than gold and masks

D．become more sensitive to the ancient lifestyle of our ancestors

9 . Like their ancient toga-wearing counterparts, modern philosophers continue to disagree on the nature of freewill. Do we really have any control over the choices we make and the things we desire, and if so, to what degree?

Theories of freewill vary, but the ancient words of Plato still line up with our modern perceptions(概念) of temptation and willpower. The respected Greek philosopher argued that the human experience is one of constant struggle between the intellect and the body, between rationality and desire. Along these lines, true freedom is only achievable when willpower unchains us from bodily, emotional, instinctual slavery.

You can find similar thoughts throughout world religions, most of which offer a particular and often difficult path to rise above our darker natures.

And science? Well, science mostly agrees with all of this. Willpower is all about overcoming your natural desires to eat cupcakes, skip your morning workout, play games on mobile phone, hit the snooze alarm and check your e-mail during a funeral.

Your willpower, however, is limited. If life were a video game, you'd see a glowing "willpower" or "ego"(自我) meter at the top of the screen next to your "life" meter. Successfully resist one temptation, and the meter drains a little. The next temptation drains the "willpower" meter even more, until there's nothing left at all.

Our modern scientific understanding of willpower in large part stems from a 1996 research experiment involving chocolate and radishes(小红萝卜). Psychologist Roy Baumeister led a study in which 67 test subjects were presented with tempting chocolate chip cookies and other chocolate-flavored treats before a persistence-testing puzzle. Here's the catch: The researchers asked some of the participants to withdraw from sweets and snack on radishes instead.

Baumeister's results told a fascinating story. The test subjects who resisted the sweet stuff in favor of radishes performed poorly on the persistence test. They simply didn't have the willpower left to resist slacking off(松懈).

The research inspired more than a thousand additional studies discussing everything from the influence of positive messages to the ego-sapping power of daily decisions

Studies also show that cognitive capacity also affects our ability to hold out against temptation. Cognitive capacity is essentially your working memory, which you employ when resisting a temptation ... or holding a string of numbers in your head. A 1999 study from the University of Iowa professor Baba Shiv found that people tasked with remembering a two-digit number held out better than people remembering a seven-digit number when tempted with chocolate cake.

1. What do you understand by ‘freewill’?

A．The control we have over the choices.

B．The choices we make and the things we desire

C．The choices that philosophers force us to make

D．Our perception of temptation.

2. According to Plato, when is true freedom available?

A．When there is a struggle between the intellect and the body

B．When our willpower helps us to overcome our basic instincts

C．When we desire that which we cannot achieve

D．When we have no control over our ego

3. What is meant by ‘cognitive capacity’?

A．Willpower to realize one’s own ego.	B．Our ability to overcome temptation
C．Our ability to remember things.	D．The desire to give in to temptation

10 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

The biggest house of cards, the longest tongue, and of course, the tallest man: these are among the thousands of records logged in the famous Guinness Book of Records. Created in 1955 after a debate     1     (concern) Europe's fastest game bird,     2     began as a marketing tool sold to pub landlords     3     (promote) Guinness, an Irish drink, became the bestselling copyright title of all time (a category that excludes books such as the Bible and the Koran). In time, the book would sell 120 million copies in over 100 countries— quite a leap from its humble beginnings.

In its early years, the book set its sights on     4     (satisfy) man's inborn curiosity about the natural world around him. Its two principal fact finders, twins Norris and Ross McWhirter, moved wildly around the globe to collect facts. It was their task to find and document aspects of life that can be sensed or observed, things that can be quantified or measured. But not just any things. They were only interested in superlatives: the biggest and the best. It was during this period     5     some of the remarkable Guinness Records were documented, answering such questions as "What is the brightest star?" and "What is the biggest spider?"

Once aware of the public's thirst for such knowledge, the book's authors began to branch out to cover increasingly doubtful, little-known facts. They started documenting human achievements as well. A forerunner for reality television, the Guinness Book gave people     6     chance to become famous for accomplishing odd, often pointless tasks. Records were set in 1955 for consuming 24 raw eggs in 14 minutes and in 1981 for the fastest solving of a Rubik's Cube (which took a mere 38 seconds). In 1979 a man yodeled(用真假嗓音交替唱) non-stop for ten and a quarter hours.

In its latest appearance, the book has found a new home on the internet. No longer     7     (restrict) to the limits of physical paper, the Guinness World Records website contains seemingly innumerable facts concerning such topics as the most powerful combustion(燃烧) engine, or the world's longest train. What is striking, however, is that such facts are found sharing a page with the record of the heaviest train to be pulled     8     a beard.

Originating as a simple bar book, the Guinness Book of Records     9     (evolve) over decades to provide insight into the full range of modern life. And although one may be     10     (likely) now to learn about the widest human mouth than the highest number of casualties in a single battle of the Civil War, the Guinness World Records website offers a telling glimpse into the future of fact-finding and record-recording.