1 . For Western designers, China and its rich culture have long been an inspiration for Western creative.
“It’s no secret that China has always been a source(来源) of inspiration for designers,” says Amanda Hill, chief creative officer at A+E Networks, a global media company and home to some of the biggest fashion(时尚) shows.
Earlier this year, the China Through A Looking Glass exhibition in New York exhibited 140 pieces of China-inspired fashionable clothing alongside Chinese works of art, with the aim of exploring the influence of Chinese aesthetics(美学) on Western fashion and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries. The exhibition had record attendance, showing that there is huge interest in Chinese influences.
“China is impossible to overlook,” says Hill. “Chinese models are the faces of beauty and fashion campaigns that sell dreams to women all over the world, which means Chinese women are not just consumers of fashion — they are central to its movement.” Of course, not only are today’s top Western designers being influenced by China—some of the best designers of contemporary fashion are themselves Chinese. “Vera Wang, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu are taking on Galliano, Albaz, Marc Jacobs—and beating them hands down in design and sales,” adds Hill.
For Hill, it is impossible not to talk about China as the leading player when discussing fashion. “The most famous designers are Chinese, so are the models, and so are the consumers,” she says. “China is no longer just another market; in many senses it has become the market. If you talk about fashion today, you are talking about China—its influences, its direction, its breathtaking clothes, and how young designers and models are finally acknowledging that in many ways.”
1. What can we learn about the exhibition in New York?| A．It promoted the sales of artworks. | B．It attracted a large number of visitors. |
| C．It showed ancient Chinese clothes. | D．It aimed to introduce Chinese models. |
| A．They are setting the fashion. | B．They start many fashion campaigns. |
| C．They admire super models. | D．They do business all over the world. |
| A．learning from | B．looking down on | C．working with | D．competing against |
| A．Young Models Selling Dreams to the World |
| B．A Chinese Art Exhibition Held in New York |
| C．Differences Between Eastern and Western Aesthetics |
| D．Chinese Culture Fueling International Fashion Trends |
2 . “What is civilization?” asked Kenneth Clark 50 years ago in the influential BBC series on the subject. “I don’t know, and I can’t define it in abstract terms, yet. But I think I can recognize it when I see it, and I’m looking at it now.” And he turned to gesture behind him, at the soaring Gothic towers and flying buttresses of Notre Dame (巴黎圣母院).
It seems inhuman to care more about a building than about people. That the sight of Notre Dame going up in flames has attracted so much more attention than floods in southern Africa which killed over 1,000 arouses understandable feelings of guilt. Yet the widespread, intense grief at the sight of the cathedral’s collapsing steeple (尖塔) is in fact profoundly human—and in a particularly 21st-century way.
It is not just the economy that is global today, it is culture too. People wander the world in search not just of jobs and security but also of beauty and history. Familiarity breeds affection. A building on whose sunny steps you have rested, in front of which you have taken a selfie with your loved one, becomes a warm part of your memories and thus of yourself.
This visual age has given beauty new power, and social media have turned great works of art into superstars. Only a few, though, have achieved this status. Just as there is only ever a handful of world-famous actors, so the pantheon (万神殿) of globally recognizable cultural symbols is tiny: the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s David, the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid— and Notre Dame. Disaster, too, is visual. In the 24 hours after the fire started, videos on social media of the burning cathedral were viewed nearly a quarter of a billion times.
Yet the emotions the sight aroused were less about the building itself than about what losing it might mean. Notre Dame is an expression of humanity at its collective best. Nobody could look up into that arched (拱形的) ceiling without wondering at the collective genius of the thousands of unknown craftsmen who, over a century and a half, realized a vision so grand in its structural ambition and so delicate in its hand-made detail. Its survival through 850 years of political unrest—through war, revolution and Nazi occupation—binds the present to the past.
1. The BBC series in the first paragraph is mentioned to show ________.| A．Notre Dame is a typical example of civilization |
| B．civilization is supposed to be defined in abstract terms |
| C．civilization was founded in the past and lasts for decades |
| D．it’s cruel to care more about buildings than about people |
| A．the disaster coincided with the floods in southern Africa |
| B．people has lost a historical landmark to take a selfie and rest |
| C．France’s economic prosperity has made it a must-see place for visitors |
| D．cultural globalization has bred a common sense of cultural identity |
| A．People’s sadness at the misfortune mainly lies in the building itself. |
| B．People wondered who contributed to such an artistic achievement. |
| C．Notre Dame is a witness to Nazi invasion and French revolution. |
| D．Fortunately we are blessed with countless splendid works of art. |
| A．Notre Dame: The Architectural Treasure |
| B．Notre Dame: The Humanistic Expression |
| C．Notre Dame: A Victim To Natural Disaster |
| D．Notre Dame: A Must-be Tourist Attraction |
A birthday is a time when someone celebrates the anniversary of his/her birth. It is the expression of thanking God for your birth and still keeping alive. Birthdays
In Chinese culture, newborn babies are considered to be one year old. A Chinese child’s first birthday party takes place
More and more Western-style birthday cakes
4 . In American culture, I am noticing a lack of respect, especially among children. This should be treated
In 1995, I spent a couple of months in Kenya where I lived with a pastor’s family. This pastor was a part of the Maasai tribes that have some unique customs. One of them is the
In my early 20’s, I worked at a children’s home in South Carolina where the children from 4 to 19 years old were taught to respect their elders. They
Immanuel Kant expressed two
| A．passionately | B．steadily | C．publicly | D．alarmingly |
| A．challenging | B．faking | C．piloting | D．abandoning |
| A．assistance | B．greeting | C．blessing | D．guarantee |
| A．come forward | B．drop by | C．show off | D．fall down |
| A．pretend | B．suspect | C．determine | D．acknowledge |
| A．located | B．ranked | C．addressed | D．defied |
| A．delight | B．delay | C．decline | D．distress |
| A．gesture | B．secret | C．behavior | D．authority |
| A．peers | B．enemies | C．guards | D．owners |
| A．controversial | B．accepted | C．foreign | D．equivalent |
| A．twisting | B．imposing | C．banning | D．sparing |
| A．reason | B．solution | C．harmony | D．consciousness |
| A．similarity | B．response | C．obedience | D．approach |
| A．environmental | B．external | C．voluntary | D．flexible |
| A．luxuries | B．glories | C．instruments | D．models |
下面的漫画展示的是剧场中的场景。请以此为素材写篇短文。你的作文必须包括：
简要描述漫画内容；
就其折射出的社会现象谈谈你的感想。
（注：文中不得出现真实的姓名及学校名称。）
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| A.led B.forcing C.having D.planned E.performing F.limited G.monitoring H.announcing |
New Year’s Eve celebrations will still be on in Times Square, but with smaller crowds
NEW YORK — Revelers(狂欢者)will still ring in the new year in New York’s Times Square next week, there just won’t be as many of them as usual under new restrictions announced Thursday as the city struggles with a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Viewing areas that normally accommodate about 58,000 people will be
“There is a lot to celebrate and these additional safety measures will keep the fully vaccinated crowd safe and healthy as we ring in the New Year,” de Blasio said, noting the city’s success in getting residents vaccinated while also keeping businesses open.
The added precautions for New Year’s Eve in Times Square were spurred by the rapid spread of the omicron variant in the Big Apple, where lines for testing have snaked around blocks in recent days.
On Wednesday, the city set yet another one-day testing record with 22,808 new cases, though a true comparison to the number of cases during the initial COVID-19 surge in spring 2020 is impossible because tests were very limited at the time.
Because of vaccinations, hospitalizations and deaths from the current surge are far fewer than at the pandemic’s height.
The new wave of cases has
Little more than a month ago, de Blasio gladly announced that a fully vaccinated crowd of hundreds of thousands of people would be back at the iconic celebration — dressing goofy 2022-themed glasses and watching a crystal-clad ball drop at midnight — after it was limited last year to small groups of essential workers.
But that was before omicron caught fire,
On Tuesday, the Fox network gave its decision, pulling the plug on a planned live broadcast from the New Year’s Eve event.Other networks plan to air the festivities, including Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on ABC, the loyal program now hosted by Ryan Seacrest.
De Blasio said along with Thursday’s announcement that the city is
On New Year’s Eve last year, Times Square was mostly empty, with Jennifer Lopez and other artists
“New York is the best place in the world to celebrate New Year’s Eve and now it will be one of the safest against COVID as well,” Mayor-elect Eric Adams said in a written statement supporting the new precautions.
“New Yorkers and visitors alike can now enjoy Times Square and the rest of our city as we ring in 2022.”
| A. opportunity B. invented C. marking D. exposed E. celebrated F. typically G. responsibility H. valuing I. represents J. assigned K. particularly |
Celebrating Kwanzaa(宽扎节)
This past summer, I left home without my family for the first time to go to Ghana for two weeks in The Year of Return. The Year of Return is a year
I joined Pittsburgh Public School’s African American Center for advanced Studies Executive committee and was fully
Much like a harvest festival, the holiday was
During the festival, we begin by reading up on the holiday, going through the seven principles
On each day of Kwanzaa, we light one of the seven candles. The candles come in three colors: black, red and green. We start with one black candle for the people. There are three red candles for their struggle and three green candles for their future. Each candle also
Over the seven nights of Kwanzaa, people
For two continuous years, I’ve chosen Ujamaa as my principle of the day. It’s the principle of cooperative economics, and to me it means investing in and supporting black-owned businesses. My main reason for choosing Ujamaa is that it is also the name of the store in the Hill District that gave me the
8 . Guns have a special place in American culture, and though not everyone agrees on whether or not they are a good thing, there is no mistaking that they will be part of the cultural landscape for some time. To answer the question, no, not everyone has a gun.
Americans use guns for one of two uses: either for sport, where they can use them on firing ranges or for hunting in approved areas, or for self-protection. The latter is where most people begin to take sides, either arguing for the removal of guns from society or allowing more people to have them. There are organizations and community groups for both sides and both sides have strong feelings.
Legally, there are restrictions on gun owners.
It is important to remember, however, that the news stories that make the United States seem like a dangerous place are deceiving; guns are not everywhere or constant.
| A．You are only allowed to purchase a firearm if you have had a background check and meet certain legal requirements. |
| B．There have been many enlightening articles on gun control in America. |
| C．If you were to visit the United States for two months the only gun you might see is in a museum or on a police officer. |
| D．Less than fifty percent of homes in the United States own weapons, and many of those homes are in rural areas where guns may have a greater use. |
| E．More people are deciding to legalize their gun transactions instead of buying them on the black market. |
| F．What alarms people the most about American gun culture are the illegal guns and shooting, which make some places feel unsafe. |
假定你是明启中学的学生李华，你校交换生 Allen 打算在圣诞节为他的父母各送一件具有典型中国文化特色的礼物。他初步选出了四件礼物：旗袍(cheongsam)、紫砂茶具(purple clay tea set)、丝绸围巾(silk scarf)、书画折扇(calligraphy and painting folding fan)，现在发邮件向你咨询。请你给他写封邮件，谈谈你的意见。内容包括：
1. 为他父母分别推荐的一件礼物；
2. 推荐这两件礼物的理由；
3. 对 Allen 父母的问候。
注意：作文中不得出现你本人的姓名、班级和学校等真实信息。
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10 . Culture can affect not just language and customs, but also how people experience the world on surprisingly basic levels.
Researchers, with the help of brain scans, have uncovered shocking differences in perception(感知) between Westerners and Asians, what they see when they look at a city street, for example, or even how they perceive a simple line in a square, according to findings published in a leading science journal
In western countries, culture makes people think of themselves as highly independent entities(实体) .When looking at scenes, Westerners tend to focus more on central objects than on their surroundings. East Asian cultures, however emphasize inter-dependence. When Easterners look at a scene, they tend to focus on surroundings as well as the object.
Using an experiment involving two tasks, Dr Hedden asked subjects to look at a line simply to estimate its length, a task that is played to American strengths. In another, they estimated the line's length relative to the size of a square, an easier task for the Asians.
The level of brain activity, by tracking blood flow, was then measured by Brain Scanners. The experiment found that although there was no difference in performance, and the tasks were very easy, the levels of activity in the subjects’ brains were different. For the Americans, areas linked to attention lit up more, when they worked on the task they tended to find more difficult--estimating the line's size relative to the square. For the Asians, the attention areas lit up more during the harder task also--estimating the line's length without comparing it to the square. The findings are a reflection of more than ten years of previous experimental research into east-west differences
In one study, for instance, researchers offered people a choice among five pens, four red and one green. Easterners were more likely to choose a red pen while Westerners were more likely to choose the green one.
Culture is not affecting how you see the world, but how you choose to understand and internalize(使内化) it. But such habits can be changed. Some psychological studies suggest that when an Easterner goes to the West or vice versa, habits of thought and perception also begin to change. Such research gives us clues on how our brain works and is hopeful for us to develop programs to improve our memory, memory techniques and enhance and accelerate our learning skills.
1. According to the passage, Chinese people are most likely to_________.| A．emphasize independent thinking more |
| B．always focus more on their surroundings |
| C．focus on the context as well as object |
| D．think of Westerners as highly independent entities |
_________.| A．the task is much easier |
| B．the blood flow is tracked |
| C．people begin to choose colors |
| D．the task is more difficult |
| A．They indicate that culture has a great impact on the way people talk and behave. |
| B．They show that Easterners and Westerners have great differences in perceiving the world |
| C．They suggest that people's habits of thought and perception can be changed in different cultures. |
| D．They make it clear that Easterners and Westerners lay emphasis on different things |
| A．Easterners prefer collectivism to individualism |
| B．East Asian cultures lay more emphasis on independence |
| C．It took over ten years to find out how to improve our brainpower |
| D．Americans will change their habits of perception when they're in Britain |
