1 . While the Memorial Hall of Xu Beihong has been closed in light of the COVID-19 (新冠肺炎), art lovers can take a virtual (虚拟的) tour of the former home (故居) of the renowned Chinese painter who lived from 1895 to 1952.
The hall hosted a live streaming (直播) show on International Museum Day, which falls on May 18 every year, and a docent (讲解员) described for viewers the story behind Xu’s artworks. The show attracted nearly 2.9 million views online within 90 minutes.
Nine other Beijing-based former residences of late celebrities—such as Chinese writer Lu Xun, political persons Soong Ching Ling and Li Dazhao—did the same that day in an effort to connect online viewers with art.
Altogether, the 10 shows were watched by 35.13 million people.
“The number of virtual visitors has exceeded that of physical visitors since last September,” said Li Qing, deputy curator (馆长) of the Memorial Hall of Xu Beihong. Live streaming has an edge. It helps us highlight the most iconic collections and interact with more audiences. It has extended the scope and functions of museums’ public services, he added.
“Amid the virus outbreak, works of literature and art displayed in our museum have played a role in lifting moods and giving people hope,” said Liu Qing, a staff member of Beijing Luxun Museum and the New Culture Movement Memorial of Beijing.
According to officials with the Beijing Information Office and the Beijing Administration of Cultural Heritage, 94 themed events were rolled out on May 18 including 50 online exhibitions and 15 live streaming shows.
They are part of the city government’s plan to build Beijing into a city of museums, according to local officials.
“There are 187 registered museums in Beijing. It is a large number,” said Ling Ming, deputy director of the Beijing Administration of Cultural Heritage. “The plan, on the one hand, can help each of them find out their own characteristics and on the other hand, help build a more diverse museum system.”
Beginning in 2018, the Beijing government created interactive programs and mobile apps and encouraged residents to engage in International Museum Day celebrations online, Ling added.
“This year, cloud computing technology was utilized,” he said.
1. Why has the Memorial Hall of Xu Beihong been closed?| A．Because it has been seriously damaged. |
| B．Because his relatives are strongly against it. |
| C．Because the COVID-19 has broken out. |
| D．Because people don’t like his paintings now. |
| A．Lifting spirit and giving people hope. |
| B．Teaching people more technology. |
| C．Raising more money. |
| D．Connecting the Chinese people with the outside world. |
| A．COVID-19 Broke Out Suddenly |
| B．Internet Technology Offers Closer Look at Fine Art |
| C．A Brief Introduction to Xu Beihong’s Works |
| D．Beijing’s Cultural Plans |
2 . November 17 is an important day for black cats in Italy. An animal rights group has named that day as “Black Cat Day” to stop the killing of thousands of the cats. Why do people hate this animal so much? It is because people believe black cats bring bad luck if you see them walking across your path.
The black cat is just one of the symbols of superstition (迷信). You may already know that Western people don’t like the number 13. Besides knocking over a salt bottle, they also believe that walking under a ladder, opening an umbrella indoors and breaking a mirror can also bring bad luck.
According to Andrew Macaskill, who works for Teens, British people believe it is unlucky to see one magpie (喜鹊). But two bring good luck. “In Britain, people like to have a horseshoe over door. They believe it can bring good luck.” Macaskill said，“But the horseshoe needs to be the right way up, The luck runs out if it is upside down.”
In the US, people usually spit on a new baseball bat before using it for the first time. They think this can bring good luck. Also, it is believed that good spirits live in trees. So by knocking on anything made from wood, people can call upon those spirits for protection against misfortune. People in the US also believe there are devils in brooms (扫帚). So don’t lean a broom against a bed. The evil spirits will cast a spell on the bed.
1. In Italy, people hate black cats because the people think ________.| A．an animal rights group try to protect them | B．they walk on people’s path |
| C．“Black Cat Day”is a bad day | D．it is unlucky to see them |
| A．4. | B．5. | C．6. | D．7. |
| A．Bad guy. | B．Bad luck. | C．Bad devil. | D．Bad animal. |
| A．many black cats are killed in Italy each year |
| B．all the people in the world hate the number of thirteen |
| C．magpies are the symbol of good luck in Britain |
| D．in the US the things living in the trees can bring good luck |
| A．Black Cat Day | B．Western Superstition Symbols |
| C．Bad Luck and Good Luck | D．Western People’s Belief |
地位最受欢迎的颜色之一，代表幸福，可以带来好运，使用场所：婚礼、春节等，表达方式：剪纸，中国结，红包，灯笼等。
提示词：婚礼 wedding，中国结 Chinese Knot，红包 red packet， 代表 stand for
Dear Tony,
It’s great to receive your letter. I’m writing to tell you something about Chinese red.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I truly hope my letter will help you understand better about Chinese red.
Yours,
Li Hua
参考词汇：celebrate庆祝；discard抛弃、放弃；set off使爆炸；firework烟花；reunite使重聚
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Liu Ruying,
“Sometimes I was tired,“ she said. ”I had to balance my studies and other
When Liu got the news that her region would have a cultural exchange with other countries, she had the idea of
“I
6 . What are pillows really stuffed with? Not physically, but symbolically? The question occurred to me with the photos in the news and social media from the 50 cities around the world that staged public celebrations for International Pillow Fight Day. Armed with nothing more than bring-our-own sacrificial cushions, strangers struck heavily each other in playful feather from Amsterdam to Atlanta, Warsaw to Washington DC. But why? Is there anything more to this delightful celebration?
As a cultural sign, the pillow is deceptively soft. Since at least the 16th Century, the humble pillow has been given unexpected meanings. The Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu tells a famous story about a wise man who meets a depressed young scholar at an inn and offers him a magic pillow filled with the most vivid dreams of a seemingly more fulfilling life. When the young man awakens to discover that his happy 50-year dream has in fact come and gone in the short space of an afternoon’s nap, our impression of the pillow’s power shifts from wonder to terror.
Subsequent writers have likewise seized upon the pillow. When the 19th-Century English novelist Charlotte Bronte poetically observed “a ruffled (不平的) mind makes a restless pillow”, she didn’t just change the expected order of the adjectives and nouns, but instead she made unclear the boundaries between mind and matter — the thing resting and the thing rested upon.
It’s a trick perhaps Bronte learned from the Renaissance philosopher Montaigne, who once insisted that “ignorance is the softest pillow on which a man can rest his head”. On Montaigne’s thinking, intelligence and happiness confront each other forever in a pillow fight that only one can win.
With the words of Tang. Bronte, and Montaigne, we can perhaps more easily measure the attraction of the global pillow fight. Like a ritual of release, the annual international pillow fight amounts to a kind of cleansing, a brushing off of daily worries: an emptying of the world’s collective mind. Rather than a launch-pad for weightless rest, the pillow is a symbol of heavy thought: an anchor that drags the world’s soul down — one that must be lightened.
1. The example of Tang Xianzu is used to illustrate that ________.| A．pillows give people satisfactory dreams |
| B．dreams are always wonderful while the real world is cruel |
| C．people’s impression of pillows changes from wonder to terror |
| D．pillows symbolically convey the meaning in contrast to their soft appearance |
| A．wrote poems about pillows |
| B．regarded pillows as reflections of our minds |
| C．shared the same viewpoint as Tang Xianzu on pillows |
| D．was likely to have been influenced by the thoughts of the Renaissance |
| A．pillows give us comfort |
| B．pillows make people more intelligent |
| C．people with too many thoughts have less inner peace |
| D．people can easily fall asleep when they know nothing |
| A．Because it is a ritual release. |
| B．Because it makes life delightful. |
| C．Because it comforts restless minds. |
| D．Because it contains a profound meaning of life. |
The buildings in the Old Town of Dali
The Chinese people are without doubt the ones who best understand the nature of tea. We attach great importance
While records of tea in Chinese literature go back to about 5,000 years ago, the beginning of tea’s use as
Not only did tea drinking become a fitting subject for books and poems, but the rich presented tea as
9 . Ancient Dunhuang manuscripts housed abroad have been edited and published by the Institute for Overseas National Literature of Northwest Minzu University since 2006. Up till now, 9 manuscripts kept in the British Library and 22 in the National Library of France have been finished, the institute said on April 24, 2018.
Tens of thousands of valuable ancient documents and cultural relics, discovered in the Mogao Grottos in Dunhuang, Gansu province, were scattered overseas in the early 20th century. Dunhuang manuscripts currently in the British Library and the National Library of France are the most important ancient national documents housed abroad.
Co-edited by Institute for Overseas National Literature of Northwest Minzu University, Shanghai Classics Publishing House, the British Library and the National Library of France, these Dunhuang manuscripts return home in publication form for the first time. The institute is also preparing an online database of the manuscripts.
According to Cai Rang, associate director of the institute, Dunhuang manuscripts scattered overseas in Russia, Britain, France and Japan have rich contents, including Buddhism law, social contract, history, linguistics and art. The institute has edited and published 31 manuscripts over the past 13 years, but the work has not been finished. It plans to publish 15 from the British Library and over 30 from the National Library of France all together. In addition, it will also publish manuscripts collected by other countries.
“Some manuscripts are hard to read because of the indecipherable words. So we read carefully and understand them by comparing with Buddhism documents handed down from ancient times,” Cai said. “Next, document classification and compilation will be our key work for further research.”
The work done by the institute is helpful to study the history and culture of Tubo(present-day Tibet) during the period of 8th to 11th century and the history of national cultural exchanges at that time.
1. When did so many valuable ancient documents, discovered in the Mogao Grottos, were scattered overseas?| A．In the late 19th century. | B．In the middle of the 19th century. |
| C．At the beginning of the 19th century. | D．At the beginning of the 20th century. |
| A．By using modern technology. | B．By asking other famous experts. |
| C．By comparing them with Buddhism documents. | D．By studying the history and culture of Tubo. |
| A．the scientific study of language |
| B．the opinion that people have about someone or something |
| C．something that people may have as part of their character |
| D．a system or method for carrying passengers or goods from one place to another |
| A．Dunhuang manuscripts scattered overseas have rich contents. |
| B．China publishes Dunhuang manuscripts housed overseas. |
| C．High value of ancient documents and cultural relics in Mogao Grottos. |
| D．Prepare an online database of Dunhuang manuscripts housed overseas. |
10 . Holiday Celebrations Throughout Orlando
It's time again for our best free holiday events in Orlando! This year we could all use a little extra holiday cheer. Thankfully, despite some changes, there are still lots of free holiday events in Orlando and throughout Central Florida.
Winter Park "Ye Olde Hometown" Parade(游行)
December 5,2020, starts at 9: 00 a.m.
Central Park on Park Avenue, Winter Park
The Winter Park Chamber of Commerce is proud to host the 68th annual Winter Park Ye Olde Hometown Christmas Parade. The event has been held each December for more than 60years, making it the oldest continuous holiday parade in Central Florida. Reserved spaces for the live event are full, but the parade will be streamed live via Facebook.
20th Annual Christmas Parade
December 5, 2020, starts at 10;00 a.m.
Downtown Mount Dora
Enjoy this annual parade through the streets of downtown Mount Dora. Pets are notallowed.
Winter at Lake Eola Park
December 12, 2020, 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Lake Eola Park
There is an annual tree-lighting, announcement of holiday art contest winners and, of course, Santa Claus at Lake Eola Park. Masks and social distance are among the safety measures to be in place.
9th Christmas Light Ride
December 12,2020,7:00 p.m.
Retro City Cycles, Orlando
Ride through Ivanhoe Village and College Park to take in the great light displays. Ride starts at Retro City Cycles and will be about 6 miles at a casual pace; all bikes are welcome! Don't forget to decorate your bike !
1. What do we know about the event in Winter Park?| A．It enjoys a long history. | B．It has lost its popularity. |
| C．It is hosted by Facebook. | D．It requires reservations online. |
| A．Winter Park. | B．Downtown Mount Dora. |
| C．Lake Eola Park. | D．Ivanhoe Village. |
| A．Wear face masks. | B．Keep social distance. |
| C．Make your bike more beautiful. | D．Arrive at Ivanhoe Village before 7 :00 a.m. |
