1 . Food festivals are a common occurrence in the UK and take place in all sorts of places and at all sorts of times. Whatever your taste, there’s a food festival to match — no matter how specialized.

1. Meatopia

This three-day, London-based festival takes place at the end of August and is a meat lover’s paradise. In addition to a range of legally sourced meat products, from juicy burgers to tender steaks, attendees can listen to live music, watch butchery demonstrations, and attend informal meat-based workshops.

2. The National Honey Show

If you have a sweet tooth, then it could be that the National Honey Show, which started in 1921 and is the largest event of its kind, is the place for you to be. This three-day event attracts many local entries who showcase their sweet golden honey, some of which is sold globally.

3. The Orange Sauce Festival

Have you heard about a festival that is devoted only to orange sauce? Held in Cumbria, this sweet, fragrant festival has been running for 3 years. What attracts people most is a competition to find the best homemade orange sauce. There are thousands of participants from over 30 different countries across the globe, bringing their local snacks to share here.

4. The Ginger and Spice Festival

If you’d prefer something with a little more kick to it, then you could attend The Ginger (姜) and Spice Festival held in Market Drayton. Unlike other food festivals, it celebrates its town’s historic connection to Robert Clive, who returned from India with ginger. Because of this, they specialize in baking gingerbread, but also sell a range of traditional spices from mild to hot.

1. What do Meatopia and the National Honey Show have in common?

A．Both of them last for three days.	B．Both of them hold workshops.
C．Both of them originated from London.	D．Both of them have a long history.

2. If you are interested in foreign food, which festival do you like best?

A．The Meatopia.	B．The Ginger and Spice Festival.
C．The National Honey Show.	D．The Orange Sauce Festival.

3. What is special about the Ginger and Spice Festival ?

A．It has something to do with a historic figure.

B．The ginger used in the festival is from India.

C．It sells spicy food.

D．The food is cooked by Robert Clive.

2 . 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.

2. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．The specific traditional food.

B．The national culture.

C．A traditional expression of food.

D．The old-fashioned taste.

3. Why do some immigrants have to change the original dishes in their restaurants?

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.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards different food cultures?

A．Negative.

B．Balanced.

C．Unfair.

D．Unchangeable.

3 . I was born and raised in England in a culture where privacy and “keeping yourself to yourself” were valued traditions. Speaking to strangers was not encouraged. People were most hospitable and friendly.

However, I have been lucky enough to spend some time in both Italy and the US, where I found traditions of hospitality and politeness to be very different.

I experienced Italian hospitality firsthand. On a crowded railway carriage travelling, one afternoon, from Genoa to Florence, sinking gratefully into an empty seat, I was scolded in rapid Italian by a gentleman who was returning to this seat ---- it had not been “spare” after all. I apologized in English, and got up to allow him back into the seat. The gentleman obviously had no understanding of the English language, but he, too, realized my genuine (真诚的) mistake. He smiled and gestured for me to remain in the seat, and he himself remained standing in the corridor for the remainder of the journey. The other occupants of the carriage smiled and nodded at me and made me feel quite welcome amongst them. I feel that if this had been in England, a foreigner who made a mistake would not always be so kindly treated.

Transport also featured in the differences I noticed between English and American culture. I flew to New York on a plane with mainly English passengers. We sat together in near silence. Nobody spoke to me nor, as I expected, to anyone else they did not know. They felt it was not polite to interrupt someone else’s privacy. However, when I travelled across the United States, whether by plane or bus, I was never short of conversation. Conversation was going on all around me and whoever sat next to me was happy to introduce themselves and ask me about myself. They obviously felt it would have been rude not to speak to another person, whether they were strangers or not.

1. What do we know about the occupants when the author was travelling in Italy?

A．They were all on the side of the gentleman.

B．They all laughed at the author for his mistake.

C．They would not bear a mistake like the author’s in public

D．They all showed their understanding of the author’s mistake.

2. How does the author finally believe the Italian people are?

A．Cold.

B．Rude

C．Helpful.

D．Hospitable.

3. Why did English passengers sit in near silence according to the last paragraph?

A．They were too tired to speak to anyone.

B．They were all strangers to each other.

C．Privacy was a valued tradition in England.

D．Everybody was deeply lost in though.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Different Ways of Hospitality and Politeness

B．Co-understanding Each Other

C．My Unforgettable Travelling Experience Abroad

D．The Importance of Privacy

4 . The Peony Culture Festival of Luoyang

Spring is time for people to go out and see blossoming flowers. Luoyang in Henan, China is famous for peonies, the city’s official flower. The city’s annual Peony Culture Festival begins in early April and lasts till early May. Peonies are in full bloom during the event, which was first held in 1983.

You can go to the Luoyang National Peony Garden. The peonies there are known for their rich colors and long florescence. Don’t miss the 1,600-year-old “Peony King”!

Chinese Language Day

Chinese is one of the six official working languages of the United Nations. The LIN has set different days for these languages to promote their uses. It holds exhibitions, shows and other activities. In 2010, the first Chinese Language Day was held on Nov. 12. But since 2011, it has been held on April 20. The date is close to Grain Rain, one of the 24 solar terms. It means “rain of millet”. People celebrate Grain Rain to remember Cangjie, a mythical character. Many people believe that Cangjie was the first person to write Chinese characters. When he did this, it rained millet and saved people from hunger.

China Astronautics Day

On April 24, 1970, China’s first man-made Earth satellite — Dongfanghong I — went into space. It was a big step for China’s space program. In 2016, the government set April 24 as China Astronautics Day. Many events are held across the country to celebrate this special day. For example, astronauts and scientists will give talks to students. Some cities will hold exhibitions about space development.

Last year, China had big plans for its space program. On December 8, it launched its second lunar rover（月球车）as part of the Chang’e 4 space mission, which landed on the far side of the moon.

1. When was the first Chinese Language Day held by the United Nations?

A．In 1970.	B．In 1983.
C．In 2010.	D．In 2011.

2. What does the introduction to “China Astronautics Day” show?

A．China sent the first man-made earth satellite.

B．China has progressed greatly in astronautics.

C．Chang’e 4 consists of two lunar rovers.

D．Chang’e 4 is another space station built by China.

3. What do the festivals have in common?

A．They all take place in April at present.

B．They are celebrated nationwide.

C．All the participants are Chinese people.

D．Their dates were once changed for some reason.

5 . In a foreign country, a man visited a local restaurant. He didn’t speak their language. He ordered something indecipherable off the menu. When the waiter brought him a plate of delicious looking fried noodles, he smiled and made an OK sign at the waiter with his thumb and forefinger linked in a circle. Looking angry, the waiter then picked up the dish and thrown it to his lap. What he did wrong, he wondered. Well, nothing is quite as it seems when it comes to using hand gesture in another country.

Gestures have been used to replace words in many countries, and they are often specific to a given culture. Gesture may mean something complimentary in one culture, but is highly offensive in another.

The gesture “thumb-up” is commonly misinterpreted. In English, it is popularly known as ‘thumbs up’, despite the fact that the action is commonly performed with only one hand. English-speaking Caucasians use it to signal ‘OK’, which is the same meaning as O.K. ring gesture. The two can in fact be used almost interchangeably.

Avoid using this gesture in Southern Sardina or Northern Greece unless you want to invite a fight. While American, British and Australian would use the thumb up to signal hitch-hiking to the drivers, this message will not encourage a Greek driver or motorist to stop to give them a ride.

There are no right or wrong signals, only cultural differences. Lack of cultural understanding will lead to disharmony among people from different cultures. When we know what to look for, such encounters with other cultures are actually very interesting, fascinating and fun. It is certainty a great topic to discuss over a cup of coffee and cakes.

1. What did the man in the first paragraph do wrong?

A．He misunderstood the waiter.	B．He made the signal in a rude way.
C．He ordered something off the menu.	D．He didn’t realize cultural differences.

2. What does the underlined word in the second paragraph mean?

A．Full of aggression.	B．Full of admiration.
C．Full of complexity.	D．Full of certainty.

3. What will happen if you make a thumb up toward a man in Northern Greece?

A．He will stop to give you a lift.

B．He will ask you to give him a HA.

C．He will get annoyed and fight against you.

D．He will make the same signal toward you.

4. What’s the purpose of the passage?

A．To tell stories about different cultures.

B．To advise us to have an understanding of cultural differences.

C．To explain the meaning of different gestures.

D．To persuade people from different countries to live in harmony.

6 . Living in a culture that is different from your own can be both an exciting and challenging experience. The following are six cultural differences between China and the US to help promote mutual understanding.
Chinese people do not have the same concept of privacy as Americans do. They talk about topics such as ages, income or marital status, which Americans think is annoying and disturbing.
Family
In China, elders are traditionally treated with great respect while the young are cared for. In America, the goal of the family is to encourage independence, particularly that of the children. Unlike the Chinese, older Americans seldom live with their children.
Friends
Chinese people have different meanings to define friends. Just hanging out together time to time is not friendship. Friendship means lifelong friends who feel it deeply necessary to give each other whatever help might seem required. Americans always call people they meet friends, so the definition of friends is general and different. There are work friends, playing friends, school friends and drinking friends.
Money
As is well known,the Chinese like to save. They are always conservative when they are planning to spend money. It is different in the US, where far fewer families are saving money for emergencies and education than their Chinese counterparts（对应面）.
Education
Chinese people value education and career more than Americans, who in turn put more emphasis on good character and faith.
Team VS Individual
Basically China values the community and the US values the individual. If you achieve something in the US, it’s because you are great. While in China, if you achieve something it’s because the team, or family, or company is great. Everything you do _________ the greater whole, while in America individual merits （功绩）are celebrated.
1. Which is the most appropriate word to show the first cultural difference?

A．Privacy.

B．Income.

C．Age.

D．Marriage.

2. Which is true according to the passage?

A．American parents seldom live with their children.

B．There is no friendship between American people drinking together.

C．Chinese people are usually generous with money to spend.

D．Americans value good character and faith in terms of education.

3. Which one is similar to the underlined phrase?

A．is attached to	B．brings in
C．is promoted to	D．results in

7 . Many Christmas customs are based on the birth of Christ, such as giving presents because of the Wise Men, who brought presents to the baby Jesus（耶稣）Singing Christmas carols is based on the scene of the birth with figures of shepherds, the Wise Men and animals surrounding the baby Jesus.
The origin of Santa Claus begins in the 4th century with St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, an area in the present-day Turkey. By all accounts St. Nicholas was a generous man, particularly devoted to children. After his death around 340 A. D. he was buried in Myra, but in 1087 Italian sailors were believed to steal his remains and removed them to Italy, greatly increasing St. Nicholas’ popularity throughout Europe.
His kindness and reputation for generosity gave rise to claims that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased. St. Nicholas became the patron（保护神）saint of Russia, where he was known by his red cap, flowing white beard, and bishop’s mitre. In Greece, he was the patron saint of sailors; in France, he was the patron of lawyers, and in Belgium, the patron of children and travelers. Thousands of churches across Europe were dedicated（供奉的）to him and sometime around the 12th century an official holiday was created in his honor. The Feast of St. Nicholas was celebrated on December 6 and the day was marked by gift-giving and charity.
After the Reformation, European followers of St. Nicholas declined, but the legend was kept alive in Holland where the Dutch spelling of his name Sint Nikolass was eventually transformed to Sinterklaas. Dutch children would leave their wooden shoes by the fireplace, and Sinterklaas would reward good children by placing treats in their shoes. Dutch colonists brought this tradition with them to America in the 17th century and here the English name of Santa Claus appeared.
1. Why, as is believed, is Santa Claus so popular in Europe?

A．Because of his reputation for generosity.

B．Because he died in Italy.

C．Because of the deed of the Italian sailors.

D．Because of his devotion to Italian children.

2. What was the Feast of St. Nicholas held for?

A．Celebrating Christ’s birthday.

B．Giving thanks to churches.

C．Marking a holiday.

D．Honoring St. Nicholas.

3. What does “Sinterklaas” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．European followers.	B．Santa Claus.
C．Jesus.	D．The Dutch.

4. Which of the following can best describe Santa Claus?

A．Generous, devoted and honored.

B．Dedicated, kind and alive.

C．Well-known, traditional and lovely.

D．Popular, famous and creative.

8 . In the Middle Ages in Europe, theater was an important part of civic, economic and religious life. During this period after the fall of Roman civilization, many cities were destroyed. Southern and Western Europe, famous for its agriculture, became increasingly more agricultural. After several hundred years, many towns appeared again. The Roman Catholic Church took over religion, education and politics. What remained of theater was mostly on the Greek and Roman performing arts.
Theater was reborn as liturgical（礼拜式的）dramas. It was written in Latin and dealing with biblical（圣经）stories which would be performed by church members. Then there came local dramas spoken in common language not Latin. They were more wonderful one-act dramas taking place in town squares or other parts of the city. There were three types of local dramas. Mystery or cycle plays were short dramas based on biblical stories organized into historical cycles. Miracle plays dealt with the lives of the great. Morality（道德的）plays taught a lesson through characters standing for good or bad qualities. ______ in this period existed, but religious drama in the Middle Ages is mostly remembered today. As the Middle Ages ended, the number of religious theatres became small as the church weakened and more secular qualities won over religious theaters.
1. According to the passage, what does "secular plays" mean here?

A．Plays that deal with the lives of the great.

B．Plays that taught a lesson.

C．Plays based on biblical stories.

D．Plays that are not connected with the church.

2. Why did religious theatres become less important as the Middle Ages came to an end?

A．People were not interested in them any longer.

B．The church was not as important as what it had been.

C．People liked new plays.

D．The stories of religious theatres were outdated.

3. According to the passage, why did religious theatres take over in the Middle Ages?

A．People preferred religious theatres to other ones.

B．There were no other types of theatres.

C．The church played an important part in people’s life.

D．The quality of religious theatres was better than that of other theatres.

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

A．European dramas

B．Religious dramas

C．Religious theatres in the Middle Ages

D．Secular dramas in the Middle Ages

9 . 语法填空

In the middle of April, if you walk through Jinghong, which is     1     capital of the Xishuangbanna region in Yunnan province,     2    (chance) are that you’ll get very, very wet. The Dai people will be celebrating their Water Splashing (泼水) Festival from April 13 to 16, marking the new year for the Dai ethnic minority.

Lonely Planet, one of the world’s     3     (large) travel brands, has described what happens: “People race around the streets of Jinghong and the surrounding villages, soaking (浸透) every person     4     sight with buckets of water.”

    5    (tradition), water would be collected and poured only on family members as a symbolic way     6    (ensure) good luck in the coming year. The Dai people believe that the wetter you get, the luckier you will be.

Although water     7     (play) a vital role in the celebration, there is much more to the festival, especially during the first two days     8     water splashing is comparatively kept under control, according to Lonely Planet. People wear their best clothes, while older women in nearby villages     9    (dress) in traditional outfits (服装). They gather with their families and visit Dai temples. There, they wash the statues of the Buddha (佛) with water, a practice     10    (know) as “Bathing the Buddha”.

10 . The Enigma (谜) of Beauty

The search for beauty spans centuries and continents. Paintings of Egyptians dating back over 4,000 years show both men and women painting their nails and wearing makeup. In 18th-century France, wealthy noblemen wore large wigs (假发) of long, white hair to make themselves attractive. Today, people continue to devote a lot of time and money to their appearance.

There is at least one good reason for the desire to be attractive: beauty is power. Studies suggest that good-looking people make more money, get called on more often in class, and are regarded as friendlier.

But what exactly is beauty? It’s difficult to describe it clearly, and yet we know it when we see it. And our awareness of it may start at a very early age. In one set of studies, six-month-old babies were shown a series of photographs. The faces on the pictures had been rated for attractiveness by a group of college students. In the studies, the babies spent more time looking at the attractive faces than the unattractive ones.

The idea that even babies can judge appearance makes perfect sense to many researchers. In studies by psychologists, men consistently showed a preference for women with larger eyes, fuller lips, and a smaller nose and chin while women prefer men with large shoulders and a narrow waist. According to scientists, the mind unconsciously tells men and women that these traits — the full lips, clear skin, strong shoulders — equal health and genetic well-being.

Not everyone thinks the same way, however. “Our hardwiredness can be changed by all sorts of expectations — mostly cultural,” says C. Loring Brace, an anthropologist at the University of Michigan. What is considered attractive in one culture might not be in another. Look at most Western fashion magazines: the women on the pages are thin. But is this “perfect” body type for women worldwide? Scientists’ answer is no; what is considered beautiful is subjective and varies around the world. They found native peoples in southeast Peru preferred shapes regarded overweight in Western cultures.

For better or worse, beauty plays a role in our lives. But it is extremely difficult to describe exactly what makes one person attractive to another. Although there do seem to be certain physical traits considered universally appealing, it is also true that beauty does not always keep to a single, uniform standard. Beauty really is, as the saying goes, in the eye of the beholder.

1. People’s ideas about beauty ________.

A．have existed since ancient times

B．can be easily described

C．have little influence on a person’s success

D．are based upon strict criteria

2. In Paragraph 3, the babies in the study ________.

A．were rated for their appearance

B．were entered in a beauty contest

C．were shown photos of a group of college students

D．were able to tell attractive faces from unattractive ones

3. The underlined word “traits” in Paragraph 4 probably means ________.

A．qualities	B．measurements
C．judgments	D．standards

4. We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．the ideas of beauty vary as people grow up

B．the search for beauty is rooted in lack of confidence

C．the standards for beauty are based on scientific researches

D．the understanding of beauty depends on cultural backgrounds