1 . Many of China's ancient architectural treasures crumbled to dust before Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng began documenting them in the 1930s. The husband and wife team were by far the best-known
Becoming China's first architectural historians was no easy
Their greatest discovery came on an expedition in 1937 when they dated and extremely
Liang and Lin crawled into the temple's most
＂In complete darkness and amid the
| A．architects | B．historians | C．preservationists | D．travelers |
| A．documents | B．efforts | C．operations | D．encouragements |
| A．achievement | B．dream | C．determination | D．breakthrough |
| A．construct | B．develop | C．announce | D．save |
| A．opposing | B．unexpected | C．unfamiliar | D．dangerous |
| A．Exploring | B．Touring | C．Developing | D．Overlooking |
| A．unadvisable | B．priceless | C．demanding | D．worthless |
| A．tolerance | B．accusation | C．suspicion | D．risk |
| A．efficiently | B．carefully | C．merrily | D．creatively |
| A．built | B．ruined | C．discovered | D．recorded |
| A．untidy | B．ancient | C．forgotten | D．important |
| A．crawl | B．experience | C．prospect ion | D．exploitation |
| A．unknown | B．disgusting | C．hard | D．thick |
| A．at last | B．in contrast | C．in result | D．with effort |
| A．misery | B．result | C．reflection | D．importance |
2 . Last - Minute Father’s Day gift ideas
Okay, it’s officially last minute for deciding and choosing Father’s Day gifts. Here are some last-minute ideas.
The gift of music. If you’ve got the cash, and think Dad might like his own MP3 player to enjoy, go with an Apple iPod nano ($ 60), which would allow him to listen to and wirelessly buy all kinds of music via a Yahoo! Music subscription. If he’s strictly a CD man, burn one for him with some new tunes you think he’d like. |
Digital camera. The most expensive thing on this last-minute list, the Canon PowerShot SD600 IS Digital Elph ($ 102) is a can’t - miss choice for excellent photos with simple - to - use features. It slips into a pocket and makes taking great pictures of the kids nearly effortless. |
Do something for him. Sometimes the best gift is noticing what Dad does around the house to keep things running smoothly, and then offering to do it in his stead. Mow the lawn. Take out the garbage and recycling for a month. If you don’t live near your Dad, you can promise to do a few things to help out around the house on the next visit. Remember it is free of charge! |
Something simple. Kids can make a unique, personal T-shirt ($5) for Dad quickly and easily with EasyImage. |
Sunday will be here before we know it. Don’t put it off another day!
1. If Tom’s father is crazy about music, how much will it cost Tom to buy the gift for him?| A．$102 | B．$60 | C．$10 | D．$5 |
| A．A senior high school student with little pocket money . |
| B．A father who likes traveling and taking photos for his kids |
| C．A professional photographer |
| D．A grandpa who is too sick to walk about |
| A．mow the lawn | B．wash the car |
| C．take out the garbage | D．make a unique, personal T-shirt |
3 . [1] It has been said that the English and the Americans are two great people separated by one language. Among these differences, how space is treated always goes unnoticed.
[2] The middle-class American growing up in the United States feels he has a right to have his own room, or at least part of a room. American women who want to be alone can go to the bedroom and close the door. The closed door is the sign meaning “Do not disturb” or “ I’ m angry.” An American is available if his door is open at home or at his office. He is expected not to shut himself off but to maintain himself in a state of constant readiness to answer the demands of others.
[3] …?
[4] The contrasting English and American patterns have some remarkable implications, particularly if we assume that man, like other animals, has a built-in need to shut himself off from others from time to time. An English student told me what happened when hidden patterns conflicted. He was quite obviously experiencing strain(压力) in his relationships with Americans. Nothing seemed to go right and it was quite clear from his remarks that we did not know how to behave. An analysis of his complaints showed that a major source of irritation(恼怒) was that no American seemed to be able to pick up the subtle clues that there were times when he didn’t want his thoughts interrupted. As he stated it, “I’m walking around the apartment and it seems that whenever I want to be alone my roommate starts talking to me. Pretty soon he’s asking “What’s the matter?” and wants to know if I’m angry. By then I am angry and say something.”
[5] Now the picture seems quite clear. When the American wants to be alone he goes into a room and shuts the door--- he depends on spatial features for screening. For an American to refuse to talk to someone else present in the same room, to give them the “silent treatment,” is the eventual form of rejection and a sure sign of great displeasure. The English, on the other hand, lacking rooms of their own since childhood, never developed the practice of using space as a refuge from others. They have in fact internalized(内化) a set of barriers, which they erect and which others are supposed to recognize. Therefore, the more the Englishman shuts himself off when he is with an American, the more likely the American is to break in to assure himself that all is well. Tension lasts until the two get to know each other. The important point is that the spatial and spatial needs of each are not the same at all.
1. What will the paragraph 3 (which is omitted in the paper) more probably talk about?| A．The conditions of the English with regard to their understanding of space. |
| B．The response of the Americans to some unexpected demands of others. |
| C．The reaction of working class and upper class Americans to space. |
| D．The illustration of the living environment of upper-and middle-class Englishman. |
| A．prove humans are born with the need to keep themselves to themselves sometimes |
| B．demonstrate the contrasting features of the American and British problems in conflict |
| C．analyze why the British tend to be left alone without his thoughts being interrupted |
| D．stress the importance of reading delicate clues in communication with foreigners |
| A．The Americans’ failure to recognize the English’s need for space may cause the conflict. |
| B．The English prefer to tell those around not to disturb them when they are in low spirits. |
| C．The Americans are more willing to socialize with others in the workplace than the English. |
| D．The Americans will not refuse to talk to others unless they are in intense annoyance. |
| A．The difference between the English and the Americans in space lies in their use of English. |
| B．The English and the Americans have been adapted quite differently with regard to space. |
| C．The Americans have different concepts of space because they tend to enjoy more space. |
| D．The English prefer to pour their inner thoughts to others when they are in great trouble. |
In an effort to prevent language loss, scholars from a number of organizations- UNESCO and National Geographic among them –have for many years been documenting dying languages and the cultures they reflect.
Mark Turin, a scientist at the Macmillan Center, Yale University, who specializes in the languages and oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following that tradition. His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi with an Ethnolinguistic Introduction to the Speakers and Their Culture, grows out of his experience living, looking and raising a family in a village in Nepal.
Documenting the Tangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayans reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not content to simply record these voices before they disappear without record.
At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials- including photographs, films, tap recordings, and field notes- which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection.
Now, through the two organizations that he has founded-the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project- Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, found in libraries and stores around the world, available not just to scholars but to the youngers.
Generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected.Thanks to digital technology and the widely available Internet. Turin notes, the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.
1. Many scholars are making efforts to ________.
| A．promote global languages |
| B．rescue the disappearing languages |
| C．search for language communities |
| D．set up languages research organizations |
| A．Having first records of the languages. |
| B．Writing books on language searching. |
| C．Telling stories about language users. |
| D．Linking with the native speakers. |
| A．The cultural statics in India. |
| B．The documents available at Yale. |
| C．His language research in Britain. |
| D．His personal experience in Nepal. |
| A．Write sell and donate. |
| B．Record, repeat and reward. |
| C．Collect, protect and reconnect. |
| D．Design, experiment and report. |
5 . In spring, chickens start laying again, bringing a welcome source of protein at winter's end. So it's no surprise that cultures around the world celebrate spring by honoring the egg.
Some traditions are simple, like the red eggs that get baked into Greek Easter breads. Others elevate the egg into a fancy art, like the heavily jewel-covered "eggs" that were favored by the Russians starting in the 19th century.
One ancient form of egg art comes to us from Ukraine. For centuries, Ukrainians have been drawing complicated patterns on eggs. Contemporary artists have followed this tradition to create eggs that speak to the anxieties of our age: Life is precious, and delicate. Eggs are, too.
"There's something about their delicate nature that appeals to me," says New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. Several years ago, she became interested in eggs and learned the traditional Ukrainian technique to draw her very modern characters. "I've broken eggs at every stage of the process—from the very beginning to the very, very end. "
But there's an appeal in that vulnerability. "There's part of this sickening horror of knowing you're walking on the edge with this, that I kind of like, knowing that it could all fall apart at any second" Chast's designs, such as a worried man alone in a tiny rowboat, reflect that delicateness.
Traditional Ukrainian decorated eggs also spoke to those fears. The elaborate patterns were believed to offer protection against evil.
"There's an ancient legend that as long as these eggs are made, evil will not prevail in the world," says Joan Brander, a Canadian egg-painter who has been painting eggs for over 60 years, having learned the art from her Ukrainian relatives.
The tradition, dating back to 300 B. C., was later incorporated into the Christian church. The old symbols, however, still endure. A decorated egg with a bird on it, given to a young married couple, is a wish for children. A decorated egg thrown into the field would be a wish for a good harvest.
1. Why do people in many cultures prize the egg?| A．It is a welcome sign of the coming of spring. |
| B．It is their major source of protein in winter. |
| C．It can easily be made into a work of art. |
| D．It can bring wealth and honor to them. |
| A．They are shaped like jewel cases. |
| B．They are cherished by the rich. |
| C．They are heavily painted in red. |
| D．They are favored as a form of art. |
| A．Eggs serve as an enduring symbol of new life. |
| B．Eggs have an oval shape appealing to artists. |
| C．Eggs reflect the anxieties of people today. |
| D．Eggs provide a unique surface to paint on. |
| A．She never knows if the egg will break before the design is completed. |
| B．She can add multiple details to the design to communicate her idea. |
| C．She always derives great pleasure from designing something new. |
| D．She is never sure what the final design will look like until the end. |
| April 12 Rainy Today, I arrived at my friend Worawut’s house outside of Bangkok for the holidays. His family was doing a spring-cleaning of their pretty wooden house in preparation for Songkran Festival. They put their hands together to greet me with a traditional gesture called the wai. April 13 Cloudy That smells wonderful! The women were cooking Thai foods for the next day’s ceremonies. We men went to the river and brought lots of sand to the village wat. The wat was a beautiful Buddhist temple where the monks lived. We left the sand in piles near the wat. April 14 Sunny We all dressed up and went to the village wat. The monks waited with their bowls at a long table. Monks are used to a life of sacrifice and discipline, but not today. We filled their bowls with rice and all kinds of palatable foods. Everyone smiled and music played as the monks ate. After that, we attended the bathing ceremony. We poured water over little stone Buddhas. Young people poured some sweet water into the hands of older people to show respect for them. Outside, everyone used sand we had brought to make sand pagodas. April 15 Sunny Today was the last day of the festival, and Worawut told me to get ready for some water throwing. We put lots of buckets of water on the truck and drove into the village. Everyone was throwing buckets of water. Nobody escaped dry! On such a hot day, the water felt really good. I can’t wait to come back next year! |
1. The passage is most probably taken from _______.
| A．a festival poster |
| B．a traveler’s festival journal |
| C．a festival brochure |
| D．a traveler’s festival poem |
| A．in middle April |
| B．when the weather turns cold |
| C．in the beginning of April |
| D．at the end of April |
| A．cook various kinds of foods for older people |
| B．take sand from the river, and then use the sand to make pagodas for older people |
| C．pour smelly water all over older people |
| D．pour the water that smells good into the hands of older people |
| A．the throwing of water made him feel joyful |
| B．the delicious Thai foods left him with a deep impression |
| C．his friend Worawut treated him very well |
| D．dancing with the monks brought him a lot of fun |
“Melting pot” means a place where people from many different ethnic groups or cultures form a united society. The idea comes from
A Frenchman who was living in America expressed the idea more than 200 years ago. J. Hector de Crevecoeur
For many years, Americans generally accept the idea
New groups of immigrants from Asia and Latin America are changing the United States today. Some are resisting learning American culture and language. Reports say some Americans fear that the nation is separating into many groups that have no
Some experts who study immigration say they now compare American society
May Day in India
Each May 1, workers in India join others around the world to mark May Day, depending on local customs.
It’s quite appropriate that India celebrates with an official holiday in some of its 29 states and seven union territories. After all, the country has an
Here’s a Q&A on May Day in general:
Isn’t May Day about dancing around a pole?
You are correct — dancing is involved. That’s because “May Day” actually does double duty, celebrating two different things.
May Day originally started out as a celebration with roots in roman traditions. By the Middle Ages, May Day also
That
What does that have to do with workers?
This is where May Day’s double duty comes in.
In May 1886, US activists organized a national strike
And that’s
So where does India fit in with all of this?
India’s first Labor Day was celebrated in 1923 in Madras, now called Chennai. Over time, the holiday spread to other parts of the country.
According to Hindu.com, organizations and trade unions arrange parades and “children enter contests
9 . Learning how to cope with death has always been a central part of human existence. Even the Pixar movie Coco bases its story on the Mexican traditions of Dia de los Muertos. In this article, you will find out why and how Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead.
I once visited the Museum of Mummies in the Mexican city of Guanajuato with a Swedish friend. The mummies were displayed among fake cobwebs ( 蜘 蛛 网 ), and other cheap adornments (装饰物). Confronted with this seeming lack of respect for the dead, I explained to my shocked companion that Mexicans have a peculiarly different relationship with death to other cultures. As the Nobel Prize-winning Mexican writer Octavio Paz explained in his work:
“The Mexican ... is familiar with death, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, and celebrates it. True, there is as much fear in his attitude as in that of others, but at least death is not hidden away: he looks at it face to face, with impatience, disdain (鄙视) or irony.”
The celebration of the Day of the Dead — a week of festivities from 28 October to 2 November — is an essential part of this embracement of death that is particular to Mexican national identity. The popular belief is that the dead have divine permission to visit friends and relatives on earth and enjoy once again the pleasures of life. Therefore, Mexicans visit the graves of families and friends and adorn them with colorful flowers and offerings of food. The period is a joyous celebration of life, rather than a sober mourning of its passing.
The origins of the festival lie in the 16th-century fusion of the Aztecs’ belief in death as merely one part in the wider cycle of existence, their ritual venerations (仪式崇拜) and offerings to the goddess Mictecacihuatl (“Lady of the Dead”) for the deceased, and the Spanish conquerors’ desire to accommodate these festivities within the Catholic celebrations of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
In a country as socially and geographically diverse as Mexico, there is significant regional variation in the nature of festivities: the southern state of Chiapas is far more likely to focus its efforts on processions ( 队 伍 ) and public commemorations( 纪 念 ) of death than the valley of
Mexico, where the decoration of altars ( 供 坛 ) in homes and tombs of the deceased is more popular. Urbanization, too, plays a large role in regional variations. For the south and rural areas the period holds far greater social and cultural significance than in the north and large cities; families and communities in rural areas will often spend large parts of the year preparing for the occasion.
1. Why does the author say “Mexicans have a peculiarly different relationship with death to other cultures?”| A．Because Mexicans always show their respect for death in the form of mummies. |
| B．Because Mexicans do not fear death or respect it. |
| C．Because adornments like flowers can be seen everywhere during the Day of the Dead. |
| D．Mexicans face death bravely rather than hide it away. |
| A．It was the Aztecs who determined how to celebrate the Day of the Dead. |
| B．The Aztecs believed death was part of the wider cycle of existence. |
| C．The Aztecs would give offerings to the goddess of death for their lost loved ones. |
| D．The Spanish conquerors wanted to fit the festivities into some of their Catholic celebrations. |
| A．Because they can ask God to permit the dead to visit them in this way. |
| B．To celebrate the joy of new life in spring. |
| C．Because the dead will be permitted to visit their families and enjoy the pleasure of life again. |
| D．Because this is an essential part of embracement of death. |
| A．People in the south and rural areas put more emphasis on the occasion. |
| B．People in the valleys usually decorate the alters in homes and the tombs of the dead. |
| C．People in the north and big cities spend large part of the year preparing for the celebration. |
| D．The southern states do not care about the decoration of alters at home. |
I used to hate waiting in line, thinking of it as a big waste of time and a test on my patience, but
Probably because the country is not very big, with limited resources,
Gradually I came to realize that
But don’t think Israeli people are cruel. If you have to leave for a short time,
Their culture
Compared
