1 . It's been a rough year for priceless artifacts around the world. In September 2018, a fire wiped out about 90 percent of the collection at the National Museum of Brazil. In April 2019, Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral lost its famous spire in another fire. Most recently, in October, Japan’s 500-year-old Shuri Castle was destroyed — again, by fire.
It's heartbreaking to see even one piece of human history to up in smoke, but there is no need to be depressed. The truth is that we have lost historic sites and artifacts throughout history, to wars and natural disasters. Many are rebuilt or repaired.
Examples include the 18th-century Dresden Frauenkirche in Germany, which was destroyed during the World War II bombing and rebuilt in 2005. There is also the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, China, which dated back to AD 223. It’s been destroyed by fires and wars and rebuilt as many as 11 times.
So it will probably be no different for the National Museum of Brazil, Notre Dame Cathedral, or Shuri Castle. In fact, right after the fire at Notre Dame, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed that it would be rebuilt in five years. During his visit to China in November, it was decided that Chinese experts will participate in the restoration work.
That said, however, there are less fortunate cultural relics—those endangered in Syria and Iraq where wars are ongoing. According to Artnet News, all six UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Syria have been reported damaged. And yet, somehow, they didn't get nearly as much attention as Notre Dame, and probably won't have a chance to be restored to their former glory any time soon.
It might be true that many damaged artifacts make it back. But “many” is not “all”.
1. What are the similarities among the three places mentioned in the first paragraph?a. They are all of great value. b. They were all destroyed in 2018.
c. Nothing is left after the destruction. d. They are all destroyed by fire.
A.a, b | B.a, d | C.a, c | D.c, d |
A.To comfort the heartbreaking readers. |
B.To give examples of the rebuilt historic sites. |
C.To introduce two places of interest to the readers. |
D.To show the importance of rebuilding the historic sites. |
A.All the cultural relics are damaged in Syria due to the wars. |
B.People haven’t recognized the importance of the heritage sites in Syria. |
C.The cultural relics in Syria and Iraq are less fortunate because they are worse destroyed. |
D.Wars destroyed the heritage sites in Syria and prevent people from restoring them right now. |
A.Favorable. | B.Critical. | C.Indifferent. | D.Doubtful. |
I felt butterflies in my stomach when I started calligraphy class ten years ago. I wondered what I was doing there. At that moment, I couldn’t have known that I’d just made one of the best
I sat down and listened to the teacher
After nearly five years of practicing, I started to make versions of well-known poems. Calligraphy seemed like a bridge,
Now, calligraphy is not just
3 . If you're from the northern hemisphere (北半球), you'll find Christmas to be rather different in New Zealand.
New Zealanders continue the British tradition of having a family dinner during the middle of the day on Christmas Day.It usually begins on Christmas morning by exchanging presents which will be left under the Christmas tree in the home.
It may seem a bit strange to hear songs, such as White Christmas or Deck the Halls, in the middle of summer!Nevertheless, Christmas carols (颂歌) are popular.
New Zealand is an extremely(极端地) diverse(多样的) society.People from many cultures do not recognize Christmas in the same way as the early European settlers.
A.They all stop on Christmas Day. |
B.The most obvious difference is the weather. |
C.Most New Zealanders do not go to church regularly. |
D.However, Christmas is a special time for all New Zealanders. |
E.Many towns and cities in New Zealand hold Christmas celebrations. |
F.The Christmas meal itself is increasingly becoming a relaxing affair. |
G.People will hear them played or sung in shopping malls during the holiday season. |
4 . On the evening of April 8, Dunhuang Academy and Huawei jointly launched a brand-new technology-driven tour experience at the Mogao Grottoes. Using Huawei's newly-released Hetu artificial intelligence platform, coupled with the output of the Digital Dunhuang project, visitors to the Mogao Grottoes can enjoy a fantasy experience prior to entering the attraction.
Zhao Shengliang, director of the Dunhuang Academy, said that it has been cooperating with Huawei since March 2019. Using Huawei's latest Hetu technology, visitors are able to see the detailed contents of the Dunhuang Art Murals(壁画) outside the caves, through their Huawei mobile phones. This will reduce the time tourists spend inside the cave, aiding the protection of the cultural relics, while at the same time helping to increase the amount of information visitors can obtain. It is also considered to be a new way of promoting Dunhuang Art.
The Dunhuang Academy has used digital technology to preserve the research and exploration of Dunhuang Grottoes since the early 1990s. It has collected a wealth of data and has realized the goal of sharing of digital Dunhuang globally. It has played an important role in the protection and research of cultural site, as well as promoting the development and progress of related work.
The Huawei Hetu platform unites Dunhuang's study findings, high—resolution images of the site's murals and virtual, three-dimensional models with the real Mogao Grottoes. It has not only re-created the real tour of the scenic spot, but also developed a new way of digitally experiencing the grottoes. When people visit the site, they not only have the experience of seeing the real grottoes, but they can appreciate the admirable artworks more clearly and in greater detail.
In the future, Dunhuang Academy will continue to cooperate with Huawei to create more colorful virtual content to enrich the experience of Mogao Art on the platform, helping people around the world get to know Dunhuang Art better.
1. Which is NOT the advantage of the Hetu technology?A.Decrease the cost of the visitors. | B.Reduce the time visitors spend inside the cave. |
C.Help to protect the cultural relics. | D.Provide more information for tourists. |
A.About a year. | B.90 years. | C.Nearly 30 years. | D.10 years. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Opposed. | C.Indifferent. | D.Hopeful. |
A.Dunhuang Academy Preserves Grottoes Well | B.AI Tech Helps Tourists Enjoy Dunhuang's Art |
C.Huawei Newly Released Hetu AI | D.Dunhuang Grottoes Attract Tourists |
5 . Almost all calligraphy(书法) lovers agree that writing characters with a brush and ink on straw paper offers a way to communicate with not only history and culture, but also oneself. But now Chinese character handwriting is under threat from computers and mobile phones.
A college graduate looking for a job was reportedly turned down by a company because he wrote 24 characters incorrectly in a 400character handwritten resume. A survey by HorizonKey, covering people from 12 major cities in China, found that nearly one third of those interviewed often experience “character amnesia(遗忘)”, with 94 percent saying this is a problem for them.
The main reason is that most Chinese rely too much on the pinyinbased Chinese language input method, which is replacing the tradition of writing characters stroke(笔画) by stroke. The software will conveniently choose the right characters according to the context or word frequency, as there are dozens of characters with the same pronunciation in Chinese.
Education is another problem. In college, most homework and papers are printed out, instead of handwritten. And few teachers use chalk and blackboards, with Microsoft's PowerPoint the mostoften used software to teach knowledge to students.
The number of electronic devices in the classroom is thought to be another reason why students are easily satisfied with just a poor knowledge of the Chinese language and characters. It is quicker to look up a character in an electronic dictionary, but traditional printed dictionaries offer more detailed information on the usage and meaning of the characters. Students pay more attention to remembering a character's pronunciation, but not the other knowledge related to it, which edictionaries rarely provide.
Another worry is the “pollution” of Chinese characters by Internet language. Young people regard using Internet language as cool and fashionable. After they learn to use these expressions, they automatically include them in their writing.
1. With the example of a college graduate, the author shows ________.A.that practicing can improve writing |
B.why certain people are poor writers |
C.that there are differences in students' writing |
D.why Chinese character handwriting is in great danger |
A.are not good at handwriting |
B.can't write characters accurately |
C.show no interest in handwriting |
D.find jobs much more difficultly |
A.Dependence on electronic devices. |
B.Advantages of electronic dictionaries. |
C.Mastery of knowledge of the characters. |
D.Disadvantages of published dictionaries. |
A.Favorable. | B.Uncaring. |
C.Disapproving. | D.Friendly. |
6 . Music and art festivals are fun and exciting events. If you're panning to go to a festival, it's important to plan your trip carefully to ensure that you re safe and have a good time.
■Bring clothes to keep warm or cool
In addition to your fun festival clothing, pack a raincoat, some light tank tops, and a sweater or sweatshirt. Don't forget longer pants for cool evenings or bad weather. In general, it's best to leave your umbrella at home because they can be dangerous in large crowds.
■Get a cheap tent and sleeping bag for multi - day festivals
A majority of people end up throwing their tent away after long festivals, since they normally break from the use. Pick up a less expensive tent with enough room for you and your friends and pack a comfortable seeping bag for yourself, 1f you don't want to camp at the festival, remember to book an AirBnb or a hotel room nearby!
■Place a first aid kit in a proper place
Before the festival, buy a small first aid kit with band aids, and any medication that you need to take, in case you get minor injuries or a headache. Keep it in a proper place that's easily accessible, like your tent or car.
1. Why should umbrellas be left at home?A.They take up too much space. | B.The weather will be terrible. |
C.They might hurt someone. | D.Travelers prefer raincoats, |
A.Sell them. | B.Return them. | C.Pack them up. | D.Throw them away. |
A.It should be put at hand. | B.It ought to be big enough. |
C.It must contain all medicines. | D.It has to be placed in the car. |
Many people have the hobby of collecting things, e.g. stamps, postcards or antiques. In the 18th and 19th centuries,
The parts of a museum open to the public
Many museums are lively places and they attract a lot of visitors. As well as looking at exhibits, visitors can play with computer simulations (模拟) and imagine
8 . April Fool’s Day is a western festival. No one
However, there are some stories about
Today Americans play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on the first of April. One
In Britain today, on the first of April, even
A.understands | B.knows | C.Believes | D.remembers |
A.when | B.why | C.how | D.where |
A.goes | B.tells | C.happens | D.writes |
A.as | B.like | C.with | D.in |
A.like | B.as | C.so | D.for |
A.however | B.but | C.therefore | D.instead |
A.fact | B.news | C.change | D.information |
A.remained | B.continued | C.considered | D.went |
A.Others | B.Somebody | C.Many | D.Some |
A.real | B.true | C.right | D.correct |
A.hands | B.faces | C.backs | D.heads |
A.discovers | B.sees | C.found | D.notices |
A.usual | B.common | C.funny | D.silly |
A.looking down | B.pointing down | C.getting down | D.turning down |
A.Whenever | B.Whoever | C.Whatever | D.Wherever |
A.serious | B.famous | C.interesting | D.important |
A.might | B.should | C.could | D.must |
A.letter | B.speech | C.writing | D.report |
A.so | B.and | C.or | D.but |
A.lying | B.walking | C.flying | D.Landing |
In China, Single’s Day has become a shopping day. It is more like a shopping spree (狂欢) where many Chinese people wait in front of their computers
Black Friday is on the
Black Friday started in the 1980s and now it
It can be a great joy for the whole family
10 . Thanksgiving Day is special holiday in the United States and Canada.
Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in.
In time, other colonies (殖民地) began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day. During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it.
A.But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. |
B.He declared the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving. |
C.The Pilgrims were those who celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day. |
D.Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing. |
E.The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast. |
F.This is why he decided to make it a national holiday throughout the U.S.. |
G.The first New England Thanksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest. |