1 . There is more of a connection between food and culture than you may think. On an individual level, we grow up eating the food of our culture. It becomes a part of who we are. Many associate food from our childhood with warm feelings and good memories and it ties us to our families, holding a special and personal value for us. Food from our families often becomes the comfort food we seek as adults in times of frustration and stress.
On a large scale, traditional food is an important part of culture. It also operates as an expression of cultural identity. Immigrants bring it wherever they go, and it is a symbol of pride in their culture and means of coping with homesickness.
Many immigrants open their own restaurants and serve traditional dishes. However, the food does not remain exactly the same. Some materials needed to make traditional dishes may not be readily available, so the taste and flavour can be different from what they would prepare in their home countries. Additionally, immigrants do not only sell dishes to people from the same countries as them, but to people from different countries. Therefore, they have to make small changes in the original dishes to cater to a wider range of customers. Those changes can create new flavours that still keep the cultural significance of the dishes.
We should not only embrace our heritage (传统) through our culture’s food, but also become more informed about other cultures by trying their food. It is important to remember that each dish has a special place in the culture to which it belongs, and is special to those who prepare it. Food is a window on culture, and it should be treated as such.
1. What’s the function of food mentioned in the text?A.To help motivate homesickness. |
B.To show cultural identity. |
C.To reflect a country’s history. |
D.To show a community’s superiority. |
A.The specific traditional food. |
B.The national culture. |
C.A traditional expression of food. |
D.The old-fashioned taste. |
A.To attach cultural importance to their dishes. |
B.To announce the beginning of their life on foreign soil. |
C.To make the dishes popular among customers. |
D.To present their own food culture in a new way. |
A.Negative. |
B.Balanced. |
C.Unfair. |
D.Unchangeable. |
2 . Imagine that while walking through a park one day, you begin to notice strange things all around you. People in colorful clothes from centuries ago walk on the paths. A magician is doing amazing tricks. Musicians play strange music on strange instruments. Knights on horseback show their skills in riding competitions. The smell of roasting meat begins to make your mouth water. A pleasant voice shouts, “Good morrow!”
What is going on? Have you traveled back in time? In a way, yes. You have found yourself in the midst of a Renaissance fair(文艺复兴节)!Since the 1960s, Renaissance fairs have grown in popularity in the US and Canada. Communities in at least 44 states and two Canadian provinces now hold annual Renaissance fairs. Over 200 fairs are held every year, with 40 in California alone. The first Renaissance fair was started in the 1960s by a school teacher in Southern California named Phyllis Patterson. She wanted to give her students a real-life history experience, so she created the “Renaissance Fair” in her backyard. The rest, as they say, is history.
Since Renaissance fairs are “living history”, you might think they are designed to be mainly educational. It’s true that some people try to make the fairs as genuine as possible. However, for many others, the key word is entertainment. With all the musicians and magicians walking about, you will definitely be entertained. A renaissance fair will be a feast for your eyes and your ears, not to mention your stomach.
You can enjoy sampling the food and drink while watching parades and live animal displays. Browse through the booths(摊位) and admire the artwork and handcrafts. You are sure to be both educated and entertained. If you’re wondering how to dress to attend a Renaissance fair, that’s up to you. Some people go all out and dress up in costumes. Others just go in their normal, everyday clothes. However you dress, you’re sure to be overwhelmed by the sights and sounds and smells of a Renaissance fair. And if you have ever wanted to travel back in time, here’s your chance.
1. What is the first paragraph about?A.A chapter of a war novel. | B.A sight of the local market. |
C.A slow walking in the park. | D.A scene of Renaissance fairs |
A.To help her students become the master of history. |
B.To allow her students to pay in her backyard. |
C.To make her students experience history. |
D.To give her students an experience of life. |
A.communication | B.fun |
C.business | D.adventure |
A.you are free to dress for the fairs | B.you are taught to make art work |
C.you have to look after live animals | D.you can enjoy food free of charge |
A.Americans and Canadians like fairs more |
B.Attending Renaissance fairs is to be educated |
C.California is where modern fairs were born |
D.Renaissance fairs are more popular than ever |
Cave No.12 of the Yungang Grottoes (石窟), the 1,500-year-old masterpieces of Chinese Buddhist art, has been recently “moved” to the Zhejiang University Museum of Art and Archaeology by 3D printing technology,
Cave No.12,14 meters deep,11 meters wide and 9 meters high, also known
The researchers
4 . Why Is 2020 Called a Leap Year?
February 29 comes up on the calendar only every four years. A year with a February 29 might be good news if you are paid by the day or the week. But it might be bad news if you were born on a February 29.
American English has a term for the unusual situation. February 29 is called a leap day. And the entire 12-month period with a February 29 in it is called a leap year. This year, 2020, is such a year.
In a leap year, the dates jump over one day of the week. Let me explain. In 2017, the last day of the year, December 31, fell on a Sunday. In 2018, it fell on a Monday. In 2019, it fell on a Tuesday. But in 2020, December 31 will fall on a Thursday.
The reason for a leap day or a leap year is because our calendar does not follow the Earth’s orbit around the sun exactly.
“Leap” is also an important word for two other common American expressions.
A.One is a kind of warning. |
B.That’s why we called it a Leap Year |
C.It just leaped right over Wednesday. |
D.Each year, we have a little time left over. |
E.You have to wait three years in between birthdays! |
F.As a verb, the word “leap” means to jump, or to move quickly. |
G.Some ancient peoples would likely tell couples not to do it, however. |
5 . “What are you?” they ask. “Guess,” I say. Some suggest I have Japanese eyes. Others think I’m Filipino, maybe Indian. Few guess the truth: I am Mexican American. But it’s not like I’ve ever worn that name alone. I’m part of a younger generation of Americans whose identity is shaped neither by where we came from nor where we ended up.
My parents know the California immigrant experience first-hand. They grew up picking fruit in the San Joaquin Valley, knowing what it was to be poor, but also knowing what it was to be Mexican. Wanting a better life for their children, they went to college and got professional jobs. By the time I was born, they were fully accepted into the middle class. I grew up in the racially mixed zones of Sacramento, and when my parents talked of their years in the fields it was hard to connect those stories to where we found ourselves now.
By the time I reached my teens, difference had announced itself. We were all struggling for a sense of individuality, looking everywhere but where we came from. Identity became goods. Wearing certain clothes and liking certain kinds of music created social categories.
I became a junkman, sorting through the ruins of pop culture past looking for the pieces of myself. In love with the Beatles, I linked myself to England. Fascinated by Japanese cartoon, I took language classes at the local Buddhist temple.
I grew up American to a fault, rarely considering my own people’s culture and humanity. I left Sacramento and moved to San Francisco’s Mission District to put myself together again. There I first saw my people living in a separate community that had its own language, one I’d never learned. My brown face led people to ask me for directions in Spanish. I could only respond with a universally understood shrug.
“This is what I am,” I said to myself, looking at a street full of newly arrived immigrants. No, that wasn’t quite it. I corrected myself: “This is where I come from.”
Is it tragic that I grew up far from my mother culture, discovering it so late in life? I prefer to think that my American upbringing has taught me to apply insights from many different cultures to my everyday life. I am a product not just of Mexico or the U.S. but of the world as a whole.
1. Where does the writer grow up?A.In Sacramento. | B.In a Mexico town. |
C.In the San Joaquin Valley. | D.In San Francisco’s Mission District. |
A.To promote mother culture. | B.To adapt to new surroundings. |
C.To clearly express individuality. | D.To learn from different cultures. |
A.liked to play sports | B.wanted to learn Spanish |
C.was interested in different cultures | D.did not like living in San Francisco |
A.the growing pains of immigrants | B.the culture differences in America |
C.the author’s exploration of his identity | D.the problems of immigrants in America |
1. How long did Michael stay in China?
A.Five days. | B.One week. | C.Two weeks. |
A.Russia. | B.Norway. | C.India. |
7 . Some people are so rude. Who sends an e-mail or a text message that just says “Thank you?” Who leaves a voice mail message rather than texts you? Who asks for a fact easily found on the Internet?
Maybe I’m the rude one for not appreciating life’s little courtesies(礼节). But many social norms(规范) just don’t make sense to people drowning in digital communication.
Take the thank-you note. Daniel Post Senning, a coauthor of Emily Post’s Etiquette,asked, “At what point does showing appreciation outweigh the cost?”
This isn’t the first time technology has changed our manners,
In the age of the smart phone, there is no reason to ask once-acceptable questions about:the weather forecast, a business’s phone number, or directions to a house, a restaurant, or an office, which can be easily found on a digital map.
How to handle these differing standards? Easy: Consider your audience. Some people,especially older ones, appreciate a thank-you message.
A. Then there is voice mail.
B. Others, like me, want no reply.
C. But people still ask these things.
D. Don’t these people realize that they’re wasting your time?
E. Won't new technology bring about changes in our daily life?
F. Face-to-face communication makes comprehension much easier.
G. When the telephone was invented, people didn't know how to greet a caller.
1. 感谢他的招待;
2. 介绍中国的国庆节(时间、意义等);
3. 欢迎他来中国。
注意:1. 词数100左右;
2. 可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯;
3. 开头和结尾已给出,不计入总词数。
Dear Rick,
How is everything going?
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Best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
Remains of ancient civilizations are places
Even older than the Great Wall of China is the Great Pyramid of Giza. Over a 20-year period, thousands of
10 . The Temple of the Moon is an Incan ceremonial temple on Huayna Picchu near Machu Picchu, in Peru. The site is made up of stone masonry and an open-face and shallow cave. In the centre of the cave is a throne carved out of rock. Beside the throne are steps that lead deeper into the cave. The Temple of the Moon dates back 1500 years and was rediscovered in 1936.
The Temple of the Moon consists of three structural parts: an overhanging cave with excellent stone works, a very tall double-jamb (双重门柱) doorway beyond, and farther beyond, several structures. The temple also has niches (壁橱) and fake doors inserted in the stones, with a huge 8 meter high by 6 meter wide entrance. Its three doors are 1.60 meters high (in the front) and 1.00 meter high (at the sides). Inside, there are six niches.
Most scientists and authors believe that the name of the temple is arbitrary (任意的), as many other names given to sites in Machu Picchu. Ruth M Wright and Alfredo Valencia Zegarra, authors of The Machu Picchu Guidebook: A self guided tour say that they find no evidence that the moon played any part in the use of the temple. Others argue that the temple gets its name from the way moonlight radiates (散发) inside the cave at night.
The purpose of the temple’s being built is not exactly known. There is a theory that it must have been a royal tomb, a place of worship and a look-out post. Some believe that this was a place for sacrifices (献祭), because the structure has beautiful niches and in front of the cave, there is a rock carved in the shape of an altar (祭坛). Others think it was a ceremonial bathing complex.
The trail that leads from the summit of Huayna Picchu to the temple is very exposed and can be quite slippery. A few spots have a steel handrail, but a fall in many places would have serious results. The trail that leads off from the main Huayna Picchu trail is easier and safer, but still presents dangers.
1. Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraphs 1 and 2?A.There are wonderful stone works inside the cave. | B.There are numberless steps outside the cave. |
C.The temple is factually a huge cave. | D.The temple was rebuilt in 1936. |
A.Ruth M Wright and Alfredo Valencia Zegarra named the temple. |
B.There’s evidence that the temple is related to moonlight. |
C.Scientists proved the moon played a role in the temple. |
D.Many sites in Machu Picchu were named at will. |
A.construction | B.access | C.location | D.size |
A.introduce a site in Peru | B.ask people to protect historical sites |
C.encourage people to visit the temple | D.convince people to learn Peruvian culture |