1 . It is always said that China is the homeland of tea, which has a very long history of tea.     1     However, unlike the western custom of using a convenient teabag, Chinese go to a lot of effort and time to prepare good tea for their guests, using tea leaves, natural spring water and a special kettle etc. to create worldwide famous tea culture. Tea is not just a drinkable beverage(饮料), but also a taste of Chinese traditional culture and inheritance(继承) of spirit. Unsurprisingly, there are various tea leaves in China.     2    

➢Color

    3     Good green tea leaves have jade green with fresh vitality. Twisted pan green tea shows glossy gray green. If some of the tea leaves have dry, dark and brown colors, it means it is old tea. If the leaves have mixed, large contrast colors, it is believed that the tea is mixed with yellow leaves, old leaves and even old tea, which does not live up to the standard of good tea.

➢Flavor(味道)

New tea is extremely clear and transparent with strong aroma(芳香), while old tea is characterized by brown color and weak fragrance. Take green tea and black tea for example, new green tea tastes a little bitter first, and then the fresh sweet taste begins to surface gradually, leaving a long and memorable after taste in mouth.     4    

➢Place of origin

There is great gap of quality among various places of origin.     5     For example, it is well-known that Yunnan produces the best quality Pu'er tea and premium Oolong tea can be found within Fujian Province.

A．Every tea leaf has its own shape.

B．Some varieties are identified by tightness of the leaves.

C．It is always advised to select tea from its main producing areas.

D．While you’re selecting tea, you should pay attention to following aspects.

E．For foreigners in China, drinking tea may seem like simple refreshment(提神).

F．Generally, new tea leaves look fresh and pleasing, with light green or dark green.

G．On the contrary, if bitter taste takes the lead and fresh sweet taste subsides(减弱), it is black tea.

2 . 假定你是李华，你的英国朋友Gary即将回国，他想送给母亲可以代表中国文化的礼物。请你给他写一封邮件，向他推荐一个或两个礼物。内容包括:
1. 推荐礼物；
2. 推荐理由。
注意:
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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3 . This famous site features one of the largest and most representative collections of Buddhist architecture and art in China. It was rated as a 5A-class tourist attraction in 2010.

The Lingshan Grand Buddha is an 88-meter-high open-air bronze statue of Sakyamuni. It is 17 meters higher than the Grand Buddha at Leshan Mountain. It is part of the pattern of Five Buddhas in five directions together with the Big Buddha at Lantau Island in Hong Kong to the south, the Grand Buddha at Leshan Mountain to the west, the Grand Buddha in Yungang Caves to the north and the Grand Buddha at the Longmen Caves in the central area. At the feet of the Grand Buddha, you can feel the loftiness （雄伟）and dignity of Buddhism.

Tips：

Location: Lingshan Road, Mashan town, Binhu district, Wuxi

Tickets: Through ticket： 210 yuan （ $ 31. 85） , and free tickets for the performance of Ode to Auspiciousness for individual visitors

Opening hours for Lingshan Mountain: 7：00 17：00

Opening hours for Brahma Palace: 9：00 18：00

Recommendations:

The Nine-Dragon Fountain

The Nine-Dragon Fountain in front of the giant Buddha will start to play music and the song, The Birth of Buddha , at 10 am every day. A huge lotus（莲花）slowly blooms with six petals, and a 7-meter golden statue of Prince Buddha rises from the lotus, with one hand pointing to the sky and one hand at the earth, symbolizing Buddha's light shining on all things.

The Brahma Palace

The whole palace shows the mixture of traditional cultural elements with Western architectural features. Many cultural heritage items and art works can be found there. Its splendid design surprises every visitor.

1. What is the Lingshan Grand Buddha famous for?

A．Its typical collections of architecture and art.

B．Its special material.

C．Its geographical location.

D．Its long history.

2. What do we know about the performance of Ode to Auspiciousness?

A．It lasts 10 hours for visitors.	B．It costs 210 yuan at least.
C．It's available only for group visitors.	D．It's free if you get a through ticket.

3. Why does the writer recommend the Brahma Palace to us?

A．It’s in front of the giant Buddha.

B．Its design and collections are amazing.

C．Visitors can enjoy a huge lotus there.

D．Many traditional cultural items are on sale.

4 . The Summer Holiday Activities for Families in the UK

While the Astronaut spacewalk, Manchester last year remains in the memory of some families, our week-by-week guide to the school summer break this year features a host of special events and outdoor fun for kids, from open-air cinema and live music to coming face to face with dinosaurs.

Polar fun, Edinburgh

Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh is keeping cool this summer with lots of polar-themed activities, including family science shows on the Arctic and Antarctic, icy experiments, and craft designs where kids can make their own penguin, walrus or polar bear.

Until 28 August, ￡15 adults, ￡9.50 children, dynamicearth. Co. uk.

Dinosaur events, various locations

Dinosaurs in the Wild is a vivid, walk-through experience taking visitors back 67 million years to the late Cretaceous period. Dinosaur Babies is an exhibition of dinosaur embryos and eggs, plus a model nest. Dinosaurs of China displays fossils and skeletons never before seen in Europe.

Until 23 August, NEC in Birmingham, then 7 October to 7 January, Event City Manchester, ￡29.50 adults, ￡26 children, dinosaursinthewild. Com.

Proud Country House kids fest, Brighton

Just 15 minutes from the centre of Brighton, this 18^th century Georgian manor house in Stammer Park has a packed program of events and activities on throughout the summer, including storytelling in the forest, guided bike rides, tree climbing and family yoga.

1 July~10 September, prices vary, usually from￡5~10，booking for events required but house and gardens can be visited without booking, stammer house. co. UK / kids fest.

1. Which activity is not included this year?

A．Astronaut spacewalk.	B．Open-air cinema.
C．Live music.	D．Face to face with dinosaurs.

2. If you want to take the activity in December, where should you go?

A．Edinburgh.	B．Birmingham.
C．Manchester.	D．Brighton.

3. Which activity should be booked?

A．Polar fun.	B．Dinosaur events.
C．Family yoga.	D．Visiting gardens.

5 . In China, poetry is an important part of the curriculum and, with recent changes announced by the Ministry of Education, the number of poems students will have to memorize and recite is being increased from fourteen to seventy-two. Now, before you gasp in horror, let’s think about the reasons why studying so many poems, especially ancient poems, is important.

First of all, poetry is an essential part of traditional Chinese culture.     1    It is also the key to understanding the thoughts and emotions that are common to everyone but which we may be unable to express—the joy of Li Bai dancing with the moon, for example. Everyone has feelings of joy, love, loneliness, sadness and even anger.     2     .

    3    In a few short lines, even something commonplace can become beautiful. Here is a poem called “Fog” by Carl Sandberg: The fog comes / on silent haunches (弓腰蹲着) / and then moves on. Yes, fog does move smoothly, silently and mysteriously like a cat, and Sandberg captures that feeling and image, and makes it beautiful.

    4     After all, a poem is really just a song without music. Most ancient poetry, especially Western poetry, was actually spoken before it was written. Take Homer’s Iliad, for example. The story was apparently told for hundreds of years in palaces and on street corners before Homer wrote it down.

The American poet Robert Frost said, “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” And poems are very concise—there is not a wasted word.     5    

A．Few people read it for pleasure.

B．Poems can also express beauty.

C．Poetry is difficult to recite.

D．Of course, to really appreciate poetry, it has to be read aloud.

E．You are lucky that you now have seventy-two poems to learn!

F．It is a pathway to understanding your history and your society.

G．A good poem can put those emotions into words and bring us self-understanding.

6 . What do you call your partner—darling, sweetheart, babe? I have been called a little owl, a swan and even a “panda-fish.” No, I’m not a supernatural, shape-shifting creature or a character in a children’s storybook. I’ve just been in a few relationships where affectionate nicknames appeared as inside jokes.

Plenty of my friends have developed nicknames with their romantic partners. I asked the question on Facebook and got all kinds of answers: former boyfriends who knew each other as “Tiger and Teddy.” An American man who dated a Chinese woman told me he called her “Popo”, which means “wife” or “broken broken,” depending on your intonation and she called him “Benben,” which he says means something like “dumb dumb,” referring to his poor mastery of the Chinese language at the time.

There seems to be a variety of languages with pet names, too. According to the website of the popular language-learning software Rosetta Stone, the French say “Mon Petit Chou” (my little cabbage or cream puff), the Russians say “Vishenka” (cherry), the Dutch call girlfriends “Dropje” (candy) and in Brazil you can say “Meu Chuchu,” where “chuchu” is a vegetable. In Spain I heard the term “Media Naranja,” meaning half-orange, suggesting that the romantic partners are two halves of the whole.

Is there any science behind using pet names? Is it a mark of a healthy relationship, or unhealthy? Are couples who give each other names, ranging from the generic “Honey” and “Sweetie” to the creative “Loopy Lop,” more likely to stay together? And in our digital age, are these nicknames any more important?

From what has been studied, and from the experience of several experts, it seems nicknames can be a good thing for a relationship—if both partners are into it.

1. Why has the writer been called a little owl, a swan and even a “panda-fish”?

A．Because he looks like a owl, a swan and even a “panda-fish”.

B．Because he is a supernatural, shape-shifting creature.

C．Because nicknames arose as inside jokes in his relationships.

D．Because he loves a character in a children’s storybook.

2. What did the Chinese woman mean by calling her American boyfriend “Benben”?

A．Her boyfriend had a different intonation.

B．Her boyfriend had a weak mastery of Chinese.

C．She thought the man was very stupid.

D．She thought it was a lovely nickname.

3. For what purpose do romantic partners in Spain call each other “Media Naranja”?

A．To introduce half-orange.

B．To show their love for pet names.

C．To mean they are both fat.

D．To suggest they are two halves of the whole.

4. What can we infer from the last two paragraphs?

A．Couples who give each other nicknames are certain to stay together.

B．There must be science behind using pet names.

C．Partners who enjoy their nicknames can keep healthy relationships.

D．Nicknames are no longer important in our digital age.