The Duanwu Festival, also
Qu Yuan,
You don’t have to live in China long to know that
The Mid-Autumn Festival,
Festival Celebration between New Zealand and China
Guo Zongguang, who is the
Brett Hudson, a member of Parliament, acknowledged that China, now New Zealand’s largest trading partner, provided New Zealanders with thousands and thousands of
3 . A British friend told me he couldn’t understand why Chinese people love eating sunflower seeds(嗑瓜子) as a snack so much.“I’ve met a lot of older Chinese and many have a crack in their front teeth, I believe that’s from cracking the seeds,”he said.
I had never noticed the habit, but once he mentioned it, I suddenly became more aware, I realized that whenever I’m watching TV or typing a report, I always start mindlessly cracking sunflower seeds. My friend doesn’t like sunflower seeds, and, to him, it seems unnecessary to work so much just to get one small seed.
When we were young, the whole family would usually get together for Chinese New Year. Then, we all lived close to one another, usually in a small city, and sometimes even neighbors would go door-to-door on Chinese New Year’s Eve to check out what every household was making.
I remember my parents would be in the kitchen cooking. Out in the living room, a large table would already be laid out, complete with fancy tablecloth, ready-made dumpling fillings, and dishes full of candy, fruits and sunflower seeds. Some of the dishes were to be offered to our ancestors later, while others were for neighbors and children to eat before the evening feast. I must have learned how to crack sunflower seeds back then.
I don’t think it’s right to criticize one’s choice in food or eating habits, no matter how strange they may seem.
It’s not only in China. When I went abroad, I found people had all sorts of strange habits when it came to food. In Denmark, they put salted red fish on bread and eat it for dinner, no matter how much it ruins your breath. They think it’s a delicacy(美味佳肴), and it’s connected to their certain culture. I think it’s a wonderful tradition.
1. What did the writer become aware of?A.She had ever typed a report about seeds. |
B.She had various snacks while watching TV. |
C.She had a habit of cracking sunflower seeds. |
D.She damaged her teeth by eating sunflower seeds. |
A.The families get together for it. | B.Eating sunflower seeds is related to it. |
C.The traditions of celebrating it disappear. | D.Children can eat delicious food on that day. |
A.Indifferent. | B.Critical. | C.Understandable. | D.Doubtful. |
A.It is good to form healthy eating habits. |
B.Eating habits come from a certain culture. |
C.Changing your eating habits will change your life. |
D.One kind of food doesn’t necessarily suit everyone. |
4 . Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that started, “Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us.” That “quite” saddened me. I thought he was saying “we’re kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we had hired someone else.” Then I discovered that in American English “quite” sometimes means “very”, while in British English it means “fairly”.
So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don’t just mean the words people speak. It is body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures.
Some of the differences may be only on the surface——dress, food and hours of work——while others may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate, while getting on with business.
Some of the differences may be an improvement. People are more polite; the service is better; you ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again. However, other differences can be troubling, like punctuality. If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock your quests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the evening in Greece. I prefer not to use the word “late” because there is nothing wrong with the times people arrive. It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country.
1. The author was unhappy as mentioned in paragraph 1 because he thought ________A.The American bank didn’t think much of him. |
B.The American bank might hire another person. |
C.It’s difficult to get used to American culture. |
D.It’s easy to understand Americans. |
A.encourages | B.helps to narrow |
C.increase | D.stress |
A.Ask the native people for help. | B.Understand and accept them. |
C.Do things in our own ways. | D.Do in-depth research. |
A.Italians | B.Germans |
C.Greeks | D.the British |
Waking up at 7 in the morning, 25-year-old Fan Yupei cleans up,
Life in her hometown, Shenhou town, in Yuzhou City, is much
Shenhou town is home
Thanksgiving, as we know, was invented by a lady
7 .
A.I then witnessed an astonishing scene. |
B.Not one of the passers-by seemed to notice that it was a man. |
C.This was totally different from the bitter experience I had in New York. |
D.Within minutes, a doctor arrived, and two other locals joined in to assist. |
E.I soon came to see that day's lesson as basic knowledge for a New Yorker. |
F.I'll always remember a lesson that I learned as a boy growing up in New York City. |
G.Yet many years later I had a very different experience while visiting a market in Rangoon. |
8 . Chicago festival season is here, but are you ready? Music festivals, film series, street fests, beer bashes – it’s a summer long party. So pull out your calendar, read our guide and start enjoying weekends.
♦Friday Art Markets at Daley Plaza
Select Fridays August 19 through September
Daley Plaza
Cost: Free
Directions: Nearly 75 artists will be showing their work in Daley Plaza, including jewelry, ceramics, sculpture, paintings, glass, wearables, wood and mixed media.
Website: http://www.FridayArtMarketsaDaleyPlaza php?sid=146320
♦Renegade Chicago Pop-Up
Sept. 9-10
Pilsen
Cost: Free
Directions: Get your hands on the goods at this outdoor celebration of all things handmade. Festivities include food trucks, DJ sets, craft brews, DIY workshops, photo ops and shopping.
Website: http://www.RenegadeChicagoPop-Up php?sid=146346
♦Millennium Park Summer Music Series
Select Mondays and Thursday June 12 through Aug. 21
Millennium Park
Cost: Free
Directions: Grab a blanket and some picnic snacks for a free outdoor concert in the park. The music series features a wide variety of music from top local, national and international artists.
Website: http://www.MillenniumParkSummerMusicSeries php?sid=146432
♦Northsider Craft Beer Fest
Sept 23
Uptown
Cost: $15 - $69
Directions: Spend a day on the green sampling beers and hard ciders (苹果汁)from breweries across the country, including Colorado, Michigan, California and Wisconsin – and let’s not forget those in our own home state, too.
Website: http://www.NorthsiderCraftBeerFest php?sid=146467
1. What can you buy when you visit Friday Art Markets at Daley Plaza?A.Art works. | B.Beers. |
C.Picnic snacks. | D.Fruit juice. |
A.Friday Art Markets at Daley Plaza. | B.Renegade Chicago Pop-Up. |
C.Millennium Park Summer Music Series. | D.Northsider Craft Beer Fest. |
A.Friday Art Markets at Daley Plaza. | B.Renegade Chicago Pop-Up. |
C.Millennium Park Summer Music Serie. | D.Northsider Craft Beer Fest. |
9 . The “Chong Yang Festival” is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, which is also known as the Double Ninth Festival.
Climbing Mountains
People like to climb mountains on this festival, so Double Ninth Festival is also called “Mountain-climbing Festival”.
The 9th lunar month, with clear autumn sky and bracing air, is a good time for sightseeing.
Climbing mounting also indicates “climbing to a higher position”. Another reason why climbing mountains are valued by people, especially by the elderly is that it has a meaning of “climbing to ligneous life”. Climbing mountains on Double Ninth Festival was already popular in the Tang Dynasty.
Drinking Chrysanthemum Flower(菊花) Wine
The chrysanthemum flower wine is unique in brewing. In ancient times, people usually picked fresh chrysanthemum flowers and leaves on the 9th of the 9th lunar month, and brewed the mixture of them and grains into the wine.
The Double Ninth cake is also known as “flower cake”. It dates back to the Zhou Dynasty. It is said that the cake was originally prepared after autumn harvests for farmers to have a taste of what was just in season, and it gradually grew into the present cake for people to eat on the Double Ninth Day.
A.Eating Double Ninth Cake |
B.Making “flower cake” with friends |
C.A lot of poems were devoted to this custom |
D.So people love to go sightseeing this month |
E.It would not be drunk until the same day next year |
F.Here are some traditional customs of the Double Ninth Festival |
G.But few Chinese people are aware of the importance of the festival |
At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival.Eight theater groups turned up uninvited in 1947,in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform,and they did so in a public house disused for years.
Soon,groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge,Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theater by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.
Today the “Fringe”,once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theater,music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yet as early as 1959,with only 19 theater groups performing,some said it was getting too big.
A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1,25 million tickets were sold.
1. What was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at he beginning?
A.To bring Europe together again. |
B.To honor heroes of World War 11. |
C.To introduce young theater groups. |
D.To attract great artists from Europe. |
A.They owned a public house there. |
B.They came to take up a challenge. |
C.They thought they were also famous. |
D.They wanted to take part in the festival. |
A.Popular writers. |
B.University students. |
C.Artists from around the world. |
D.Performers of music and dance. |
A.has become a non-official event |
B.has gone beyond an art festival |
C.gives shows all year round |
D.keeps growing rapidly |