PROMOTING CULTURE THROUGH DIGITAL IMAGES
Lanzhou, 9 August 2017. A group of researchers and scientists from China and other countries are working together to help increase knowledge and appreciation of China’s ancient cultural heritage. They are recording and collecting digital images of cultural relics from the Mogao Caves, which were a key stop along the Silk Road throughout China’s ancient history. Nearly 500,000 highquality digital photographs have been produced since the international project started in 1994.
The Mogao Caves have long been a meeting point for different cultures and are part of the history of many countries. Today, the caves are just as international as they were at the time when people travelled the Silk Road. Tourists from all over the world visit Dunhuang to see the caves, and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles has even reproduced a copy of the caves and paintings for people to admire in America.
By sharing so many digital photos over the Internet, the group hopes to promote even wider interest around the world in China’s ancient history, culture, and traditions. They also hope to further educate people about the importance of safeguarding historic and cultural relics for future generations to understand and appreciate. As one researcher who is working on the project explains, “Appreciating one’s own cultural heritage is very important for understanding oneself. Appreciating the cultural heritage of other countries is very important for international communication and understanding.”
1. What are the researchers and scientists trying to do?A.To help people understand and appreciate China’s Mogao Caves. |
B.To work together to find more information about the Silk Road. |
C.To raise money to rebuild the Mogao Caves of China. |
D.To start an international project to protect the Mogao Caves. |
A.The computer. |
B.The Internet. |
C.A copy of caves. |
D.Highquality digital images. |
A.Because it can be appreciated in America. |
B.Because its caves are as international as before. |
C.Because they want to travel the Silk Road. |
D.Because they want to admire its paintings. |
A.It’s right. | B.It’s wrong. |
C.It’s puzzling. | D.It’s foolish. |
A.Chinese researchers’ contributions. |
B.The Mogao Caves of China. |
C.High-quality digital photos. |
D.International communication. |
2 . The Yamuna River flows around the Taj Mahal, and the river is heavily polluted. Large numbers of insects are breeding (繁殖) in the polluted waterway. During the evening time, the insects get attracted to stone walls and during the night they stay over there. The insects’ droppings are beginning to turn the walls green.
Workers first discovered the problem last year. But they have found out the cause of the problem only recently. A fly known as the genus Geoldichironomus is responsible for all the waste. Those insects survive best in the hot weather. Workers try to remove the insects’ waste. But experts fear cleaning could damage the artwork of the Taj Mahal.
Environmentalist D. K. Joshi says, “The way to stop this new threat is to save the dying river. There are many coalbased power stations along the river. The Taj Mahal’s white stone has turned yellow because of air pollution. Besides, waste from industries is polluting the river. Millions of dollars from the government has been spent on the river, but nothing has happened.”
Experts say ashes (骨灰) from burnt human dead bodies are part of the problem. For 200 years, people have set fire to dead bodies near the Taj Mahal. Smoke from the fires was greatly influencing the color of the white stone. So city officials should force people to try more environmentally friendly customs.
D. K. Joshi believes cleaning the Yamuna River is possible with a shortterm program. The insects have got the attention of city officials. But he is also concerned about the pressure that tourism puts on the Taj Mahal. About six million people visit the Taj Mahal every year and they like to touch the white stone.
1. What’s the new threat to the Taj Mahal?A.Water around it is dirty. |
B.Some stone walls get broken. |
C.Many insects live in the Taj Mahal. |
D.Insects leave waste on stone walls. |
A.Useless. | B.Creative. | C.Challenging. | D.Interesting. |
A.It’s necessary to deal with polluters. |
B.All the power stations should be closed. |
C.It’s a waste of money to clean the Yamuna River. |
D.The government pays no attention to the Yamuna River. |
A.City officials should ignore the insects. |
B.Tourists should help clean the Taj Mahal. |
C.Fires should be used to kill some insects. |
D.People should give up the tradition of burning the dead near the Taj Mahal. |
3 . The Sanxingdui Museum in southwest China’s Sichuan Province enjoyed huge popularity during the threeday Qingming Festival holidays by receiving nearly 20, 000 visitors on the peak day, after the new archaeological discoveries brought international attention.
According to media reports, the museum saw over 15, 000 visitors on Saturday, the first day of the Qingming Festival, breaking its record for daily visitors. And on the next day, more visitors swarmed into the museum to exceed (超过) 19, 800. To cope with the large flow of people, on Sunday afternoon, the official Weibo account of the Sanxingdui Museum released the message to remind visitors of avoiding rush hours or rescheduling their visiting time.
The Sanxingdui Museum showcases various kinds of precious cultural relics unearthed at the site, such as the 2. 62metertall standing statue, 1. 38meterwide bronze mask, 3. 95meterhigh bronze tree. Earlier on March 20, Chinese archaeologists announced some new major discoveries made during the 37th excavation (挖掘) since its last excavation 35 years ago. The ruins were first discovered in the late 1920s and first excavated in 1934. More than 500 important cultural relics have been unearthed in the six newlyfound pits. Since the new discoveries were known to the public, the number of people visiting the Sanxingdui Museum has increased sharply.
The museum said although they are open as usual, the newlyfound pits have not opened to the public yet and the newlyexcavated cultural relics are still under restoration and cannot meet the public currently. But a hall for cultural relic conservation and restoration will be in pilot operation in April and officially open on May 18. Visitors to it can see how the relics are restored, according to Zhu Yarong, vice director of the Sanxingdui Museum.
Dating back about 3, 000 years, the Sanxingdui Ruins have shed light on the ancient Shu civilization and cultural origins of the Chinese nation, and have been regarded as one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the 20th century.
1. What mainly brought about a surge in tourists visiting the Sanxingdui Museum?A.Tourists’ enthusiasm. |
B.Sichuan Province’s policy. |
C.Qingming Festival holidays. |
D.New archaeological discoveries. |
A.The official Weibo account linked the museum with the public. |
B.Newlyexcavated cultural relics on display attracted tourists very much. |
C.The Sanxingdui Museum reacted immediately to the large flow of tourists. |
D.Tourist numbers reached the peak on the first day of the Qingming Festival. |
A.Trial. | B.Private. | C.Official. | D.Personal. |
In the 1950s, the Egyptian government wanted
A committee
Over the next 20 years, thousands of engineers and workers rescued 22 temples and
5 . What do the following places have in common: the Serengeti Desert, Edinburgh’s Old Town and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve?
The Serengeti Desert is in Tanzania and Kenya, Africa. It contains (包含) thousands of kilometers of dry grasslands and many rare kinds of animals.
Edinburgh’s Old Town is in the capital city of Scotland. It has many old buildings and streets.There are very few new buildings in Edinburgh’s Old Town.
The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve is near Mexico City in Mexico. It has beautiful flowers and forests. It is also the home of millions of butterflies in the winter.
There three places are very different. But they are all under special protection by UNESCO (联合国教科文组织). They are World Heritage Sites.
The story of World Heritage Sites begins more than 3, 000 years ago. At that time, the great king of Egypt built many temples. But after thousands of years, sand covered them.
Stories tell of a young boy named Abu Simbel who found the temples. One day, Abu Simbel saw something under the sand. Soon, the ancient temples of Ramses Ⅱ were officially rediscovered. But they were not safe. The government of Egypt planned to build a dam on the Nile River. It would create a large lake, which would cover the temples in water.
Many people did not want the temples destroyed. UNESCO agreed and raised 40 million dollars from around the world to save the temples. From 1964 to 1968, engineers took the temples apart in many pieces and rebuilt them hundreds of meters back from the Nile River. Today, they are called the Abu Simbel Temples, in memory of the young boy who first found them.
The effort to save the Abu Simbel Temples was a success. So in 1972, UNESCO formed the World Heritage Committee, which protects places on the earth that are of great cultural or natural value.
Any country in the world can ask for protection from UNESCO.The countries send a list of places to the World Heritage Committee. Once a year, the World Heritage Committee meets and votes on which places to protect. When they choose a place, it officially becomes a World Heritage Site.
1. What’s special about Edinburgh’s Old Town?A.It has no new buildings. |
B.It’s a World Heritage Site. |
C.It’s in the capital city of Scotland. |
D.It has the oldest streets in the world. |
A.grew up to be a great engineer |
B.took part in building the temples |
C.lived in Egypt about 3, 000 years ago |
D.was the first to discover the hidden temples |
A.By storing their pieces away. |
B.By keeping them under the sand. |
C.By moving them to a much safer place. |
D.By preventing the government building the dam. |
A.how a World Heritage Site is chosen |
B.why the World Heritage Committee was formed |
C.how often the World Heritage Committee works |
D.why countries ask for protection from UNESCO |
A great many researchers and
(Situation: Danny and May are high school students. Danny is an exchange student from the United States. He wants to learn more about traditional Chinese culture, so May brings him to the Hall of Ancient China.)
Danny: May, is this the Hall of Ancient China?
May: Yes.
Danny: Why are they all in glass boxes?
May: For protection. Some relics will turn to dust
Danny: So there isn’t air in the glass boxes?
May:
Danny: I wonder how old these things are, thousands of years?
May: Yeah,
Danny: Hey, look at the threeleg cup. I’ve seen it on TV.
May: The bronze cup was made 4,000 years ago.
Danny: Yeah, it has no value at all. Who will use this cup today?
May: Danny, priceless means so valuable that you can’t put a price on it.
Danny: Oh, it does?
8 . Once a year in the town of Wuzhen all the tourists can be audience members.
Picture an entire town turned into one grand immersive (沉浸式)
No matter where you go in the town of Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, during its
Even tourists
They can, for example, step into the “home” of the Italian director Eugenio Barba as he throws a ”dinner party”. “This is a very
But those who wanted to watch The Tree were
What gradually
A.platform | B.theater | C.gallery | D.passage |
A.deliberately | B.slowly | C.swiftly | D.lazily |
A.stations | B.parks | C.floats | D.walks |
A.lit | B.burned | C.stuck | D.set |
A.annual | B.monthly | C.weekly | D.daily |
A.look into | B.come up with | C.run into | D.put up with |
A.center | B.comer | C.point | D.spot |
A.tired | B.fond | C.unconscious | D.convinced |
A.approved | B.affected | C.accused | D.absorbed |
A.arranged | B.praised | C.invited | D.supported |
A.creative | B.obvious | C.reasonable | D.abrupt |
A.colleagues | B.guests | C.fans | D.hosts |
A.studios | B.paintings | C.images | D.cartoons |
A.suggested | B.required | C.appreciated | D.referred |
A.meeting | B.comforting | C.recognizing | D.facing |
A.clerks | B.amateurs | C.experts | D.reporters |
A.presented | B.changed | C.held | D.mattered |
A.hearing | B.smelling | C.visual | D.facial |
A.as | B.when | C.since | D.if |
A.introduction | B.interview | C.debate | D.review |
9 . “The grass looks greener on the other side of the fence (篱笆).” That’s an old saying in English. It means that other places often look better, more interesting than the place where you live. “Let’s go to KFC for dinner and then watch some Japanese cartoons!” We all know it: more and more Chinese kids love American and Japanese food and movies. Some people worry that young Chinese are beginning to feel that way. They see young Chinese ignoring Chinese culture and, instead, buying Japanese cartoon books, watching Korean soap operas and even celebrating western holidays.
Foreign books and soap operas are good, but Chinese writers and actors are just as good. As for holidays, Christmas is nice, but it can never have the meaning for Chinese that the Spring Festival has, and the West has nothing to compare with the Mid-Autumn Festival. China has lots of cool things in its culture: calligraphy, Beijing Opera, kung fu, and even Jay Chou! And let’s not forget the part of Chinese culture I like best: its friendliness. Not all countries are as warm as China.
It’s good to enjoy other cultures and to learn from them, but they can never replace your own culture. It’s good to look on the other side of the fence, but make sure you take a good long look. You will find that the grass isn’t always greener.
Although some people become worried about that, I don’t think they should. Will we get more powerful without learning from other countries? Will Chinese people live more happily without American fast food? Besides, it’s fun to learn about different cultures. Chinese kids can learn about other cultures and have fun, but they also need to learn more about their own culture. Be proud of Chinese culture and of being Chinese!
1. The author thinks young Chinese .A.are ignoring our own culture |
B.are foolish in learning our own culture |
C.are interested in our own culture |
D.are hating our own culture |
A.Japanese cartoon books. |
B.Korean soap operas. |
C.The Mid-Autumn Festival. |
D.Christmas. |
A.Working hard. | B.Friendliness. |
C.Bravery. | D.Honesty. |
A.Chinese culture and western culture |
B.Simple young Chinese |
C.Interesting western culture |
D.That grass is not always greener |
10 . In India, one of the most significant festivals is Diwali, which falls between October and November. It’s a five-day celebration that includes good food, fireworks, colored sand, and special candles and lamps.
In honor of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, people make special prayers on the first day to obtain blessings for welfare, success, and well-being. People welcome the goddess into their homes by decorating entrances with colorful lanterns and traditional designs. In addition, many people treat themselves to fine jewellery, praying for good fortune. Those who cannot afford so much, seek out cheaper items such as clothes or household goods.
The second day of the festival is called Kali Chaudas. For some, the day provides an opportunity to drive away misfortune from homes and businesses. They decorate their homes with clay lamps and create design patterns called Rangoli on the floor using colored powder or sand.
The third day is when the biggest celebrations occur, which begin early in the morning with a visit to a temple to seek the blessing of the goddess. As the sun sets, festival observers light up their homes with small lamps and enjoy delicious traditional foods with their loved ones.
The festival’s fourth day is celebrated in many different ways. Friends and relatives visit with gifts, sweets and best wishes for the season.
And the final day of the festival is called Bhai Dooj. It honors the close bond between brothers and sisters and is observed with traditional ceremonies and more delicious foods.
For children in India, Diwali is similar to Christmas. They get an entire week off from school and are treated to gifts, new clothes, amazing food, and, in the past at least, a large number of fireworks. It is no wonder that the festival ranks high among the country’s favorite celebrations.
1. People celebrate the first day of Diwali mainly for _________.A.good fortune |
B.colorful lanterns |
C.expensive jewellery |
D.traditional designs |
A.To design traditional patterns. |
B.To produce colored powder or sand. |
C.To help get rid of bad luck. |
D.To produce an opportunity in business. |
A.Exchange gifts and best wishes with his loved ones. |
B.Be busy decorating his home during the day. |
C.Get together with his sisters and brothers. |
D.Light up his home with small lamps. |
A.Having a week off. |
B.Getting Christmas gifts. |
C.Enjoying amazing food. |
D.Setting off fireworks. |