1 . Many of China’s ancient architectural treasures crumbled into dust before Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng began documenting them in the 1930s. The husband and wife team were among the first preservationists to operate in China, and by far the best known. Their efforts have since inspired generations of people to speak out for architecture threatened by the rapid development.

Becoming China’s best architectural historians was no easy accomplishment. The buildings they wanted to save were centuries old, often located in distant parts of the country. In many cases, they had to journey through dangerous conditions in the Chinese countryside to reach them. Exploring China’s remote areas during the 1930s meant traveling muddy, poorly maintained (养护) roads by mule (骡子), or on foot. Inns (客栈) were often dirty, food could be polluted, and there was always risk of violence from rebels, soldiers and robbers.

Their greatest discovery was the Temple of Buddha’s Light, in Wutai County, Shanxi Province. The breathtaking wooden temple was rebuilt in 857 A.D., making it the oldest building known in China at the time.

Liang and Lin crawled into the temple’s most forbidding, forgotten areas to determine its age, including one hideaway inhabited by thousands of bats and millions of bedbugs, covered in dust and littered with dead bats. “In complete darkness and among awful smell, hardly breathing, with thick masks covering our noses and mouths, we measured, drew, and photographed with flashlights for several hours. When at last we came out to take a breath of fresh air, we found hundreds of bedbugs in our bag. We ourselves had been badly bitten. Yet the importance and unexpectedness of our find made those the happiest hours of my years hunting for ancient architecture.” Liang wrote of the experience in an account included in the book “Liang and Lin: Partners in Exploring China’s Architectural Past”.

1. What does the underlined word “crumbled” mean in Paragraph 1?

A．Were stolen.	B．Fell down.
C．Looked old.	D．Closed up.

2. On their way to the ancient buildings in the 1930s, what risks did Liang and Lin mainly face?

A．Transport and accommodations.

B．Personal safety and weather.

C．Communication with locals and food.

D．Road conditions and funds.

3. What can we infer from Liang’s words in the text?

A．They considered their work was the most important.

B．They were well-equipped before entering the temple.

C．They found some surprising things in the temple.

D．The conditions inside the temple were common to them.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．Tough Conditions in China’s Remote Areas

B．Partners in Documenting China’s Architectural Treasures

C．The Reason for Liang and Lin’s Exploration

D．The Difficulties China’s Architectural Historians Are Facing

2 . Using Google’s unique digital technology, the stories of some English Heritage Sites around the country — from Tintagel Castle in Cornwall to Chesters Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall — are brought to life and shared by way of the Google Arts & Culture platform.

Stonehenge Skyscape	The English Heritage’s Stonehenge Skyscape enables people around the world to experience the skies above the stone circle, and learn about movements of the sun, moon and planets. Experience live and special sunrise over Stonehenge, see the journey of the stars and the moon from within the stone circle and learn more about the design of Stonehenge and how its builders may have understood their place in the universe.
Osborne House, the Isle of Wight	Take a 360⁃degree video tour of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s palatial (富丽堂皇的) holiday home on the Isle of Wight in the company of English Heritage director Michael Hunter, including the Italian terraces (露台) with views over the Solent, which reminded Prince Albert of the Bay of Naples, and the Indian-inspired Durbar Room, designed to show Queen Victoria’s position as Empress of India.
Audley End House and Gardens, Essex	Explore the story of one of the greatest houses of early 17th-century England deep in the heart of the Essex countryside, and fly over the great formal gardens designed by Capability Brown.
Tintagel Castle, Cornwall	Explore this medieval (中世纪的) castle set high on Cornwall’s north coast. Linked with the legend of King Arthur, for centuries this impressive castle has inspired the imaginations of writers and artists. Discover the early medieval history of a distant outpost (偏远村镇) trading objects from Spain, North Africa and Turkey.

1. Which heritage can you choose if you are interested in unique sunrise?

A．Stonehenge Skyscape.

B．Osborne House, the Isle of Wight.

C．Audley End House and Gardens, Essex.

D．Tintagel Castle, Cornwall.

2. What do Osborne House and Tintagel Castle have in common?

A．Both were built for their kings.

B．Both were built in the same age.

C．Both are related to previous rulers.

D．Both were palatial holiday homes for the rulers.

3. In which part of a website can you read the text?

A．Language.

B．Education.

C．Geography.

D．Culture.

4 . In the long history of about 5,000 years, numerous Chinese traditional festivals were celebrated in honour of gods or some significant days, some of which are passed down from generation to generation and people always practice special traditional activities in each festival.

The Qingming Festival

The Qingming Festival is on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox (春分), around April 4 or April 5 every year.     1    . They remove the weeds growing on their ancestors’ tombs to make them clean, so this festival is also called Tomb-Sweeping Day. In some areas, people are forbidden to use the fire to cook food, so they only eat the cool food. Thus, it is also named the Hanshi Festival.

The Double Ninth Festival

    2    . The Chinese character of September is the same as 9, so we get this special name. Chinese people, especially in the northern region, climb up the mountains to enjoy the wonderful view, and admire the beauty of chrysanthemums (菊花).

The Winter Solstice (冬至)

The winter solstice is on around December 22 or 23 of the solar calendar each year. From that day on, the daytime will be longer and longer.     3    . Chinese people in the northern region eat dumplings and wontons (馄饨), while in the southern region rice balls.

    4    

In China, this festival is in late January or early February, the last day of the lunar year. People celebrate it by having a family reunion dinner, setting off fireworks and staying up late. Breaking the dishes and bowls is a thing all the people are afraid of, but if you did it, you should say “Sui sui ping an!”     5    .

A．The Spring Festival

B．New Year’s Eve

C．People will go to commemorate (纪念) their ancestors

D．People always visit their friends and relatives

E．It is celebrated on Sep. 9th of the lunar calendar, around in October of the solar calendar

F．It’s a holiday which is regarded as important as the Spring Festival

G．It is a double-meaning word, meaning you will be safe during the new year

5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

We all know the Olympic Games.     1     do you know the Mud Olympic Games which are sports games in the mud?

Every year, about 400 people from all over Europe meet in a small town in northern Germany     2    (take) part in the Mud Olympics — the     3    (muddy) sports meeting in the world. It is held     4     the beach when the tide (潮水) is out, so it is very muddy. The sports meeting     5    (have) many traditional sports like football, volleyball and bicycle races, as well as some special and new activities     6    (do) in the mud. It raises money for a local charity.

The ads for the sports meeting are     7    (extreme) interesting. One of the     8    (advertisement) says, “If you want to play, just put on the clothes that you don’t mind     9    (get) covered in mud and join us!” Viewers are more than welcome. So if you don’t care about the mud     10     can get you dirty, come and enjoy yourself!

7 . Craziest Food Festivals sounds like a joke topic, but once you start looking into it, you’ll realize they’re everywhere — the crazier, the better.

Bibimbap Festival

In a Korean town in Jeonju, their “mixed rice” dish is a hearty serve of rice topped with raw beef, a rainbow of vegetables, a raw egg and gochujang sauce (韩国的辣椒酱) so much. They take four days out of October to celebrate it.

Like any festival there’s music, entertainment and magic, but making it that little bit different is the bibimbap that’s whipped (搅拌) up in a big bowl by dozens of chefs and served to over 400 people.

Waikiki Spam Jam (怀基基午餐肉节)

Who knew this canned meat had so much love?   Well, it turns out that a can of Spam is the go-to item in Hawaii, along with a grass skirt and garland (花环). The people of Hawaii love Spam so much that they even spend a day in May serving out the best Spam, a type of cheap canned meat made mainly from pork.

Bessieres Easter Egg Festival

At Easter time, for those in the French town of Bessieres it’s all about an egg far less sweet.

Here they celebrate the holiday by getting dozens of chefs to make one large omelette (煎蛋卷) — 15, 000 eggs strong — for the townsfolk (市民).

Potato Days Festival

This festival actually takes place in Barnesville, Minnesota (明尼苏达州), the US. Over the last Friday and Saturday in August the town celebrates its potato-growing skills by hosting potato picking and peeling contests, as well as a Miss Tater Tot pageant (盛典) for five- and six-year-old girls.

1. Bibimbap is 　　　.

A．a kind of egg cake far less sweet

B．a can of meat made mainly from pork

C．a fried potato ball covered with sauce

D．a rice dish mixed up with vegetables, etc

2. Waikiki Spam Jam takes place 　　　.

A．from 22 to 25 October

B．in May in Hawaii

C．in Barnesville, Minnesota

D．in a French town

3. If Jim wants to learn Asian food culture, he’d better go to 　　　.

A．Bibimbap Festival

B．Waikiki Spam Jam

C．Bessieres Easter Egg Festival

D．Potato Days Festival

8 . Over 40 years ago, a country music DJ convention (大会) was held every year in Nashville. Many country performers used to attend the convention to give their performances. Fans would go to Nashville hoping to see their favorite performers. In the end, so many fans began showing up in Nashville that a festival named Fan Fair was born.

The first Fan Fair was held in April 1972, in Nashville for four days. Some of country music's biggest stars attended. There were about fifty thousand fans. The first Fan Fair was so successful that planning began almost immediately for 1973. The date was changed to June, when the weather would be better. Over one hundred thousand fans attended the second Fan Fair.

Every year brought so many performers and fans to Fan Fair that, in 1982, it was moved to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. Fan Fair stayed at the fair grounds for another nineteen years.

There was always the unexpected during the festival. In 1974, former Beatle Paul McCartney attended. In 1992, more than six hundred reporters from Europe, Asia, and South America went to cover the appearance of a popular star, Billy Ray Cyrus, who had introduced a new country line dance. In 1996, Garth Brooks, who made a surprise appearance, signed autographs (签名) for 23 hours.

In 2001, Fan Fair returned to downtown Nashville as the world's biggest country music festival. Now, over one hundred and twenty-five thousand country music fans go to Nashville every June. As you can imagine, those who want to attend Fan Fair must plan ahead. For example, they need to buy a ticket several months ahead of time. Of course, there's much more to prepare.

1. What is paragraph 1 mainly talk about?

A．The love for music.

B．The birth of Fan Fair.

C．The importance of DJ convention.

D．The benefits of watching performances.

2. What do we know about the second Fan Fair?

A．It was held in the spring of 1972.

B．It was more popular than the first one.

C．It was moved from Nashville to the fairgrounds.

D．It was attended by former Beatle Paul McCartney.

3. Which of the following word best describes Fan Fair?

A．Romantic.

B．Traditional.

C．Attractive.

D．Failed.

4. What will the author probably talk about next？

A．Advice for fans.	B．Music in America.
C．Education in Nashville.	D．The future of country music.

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Why do different people like different colors? The answer depends largely     1    cultural values. To the Egyptians, green is a colour     2     stands for the hope and joy of spring. Red is a symbol of good luck in many cultures. During the Spring Festival in China, children     3     (give) money in a red envelope to welcome good fortune in the New Year. For many nations, blue is a symbol of protection and religious beliefs. Greek people often wear a blue necklace, hoping to protect     4     (they) against evils.

People’s     5     (choose) of colors is also affected by their bodies’ reactions to the colors. Green is said to be the most restful colour. It has     6     ability to reduce pain and relax people both mentally and physically. When     7     (work) in a green environment, people have fewer stomachaches. Red     8     (make) a person’s blood pressure rise and increases people’s appetite. Many decorators will include different shades of red in the restaurant. And many commercial websites will have a red “Buy Now” button because red is a colour that     9     (easy) catches a person’s eye. Unlike red, blue is believed to cause people     10     (lose) appetite. Therefore, if you want to eat less, eating from blue plates can help.

10 . “I like pop songs better before I actually got a chance to sing hua’er at the age of 19,” said Sa Lina,36, who has since become a famous singer, devoting herself to this traditional art form for almost two decades

Hua’er, which means flower in Chinese, is a Chinese folk song style. It is popular and shared by people of nine ethnic groups in Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia and Xinjiangfor hundreds of years. Also known as a type of “mountain songs”, it was inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity(人类非物质文化遗产)in 2009.

After graduating in 2005, Sa returned to her hometown in Ningxia, and soon got a chance to sing with Ma Handong, a famous singer of hua’er. “I had never sung hua’er before, so I practiced a lot, To my surprise, I soon fell in love with its beautiful melodies,” said Sa.

Since then, Sa has devoted herself to mastering the folk art, and further bringing this traditional local folk art to the national stage. In 2010, she sang a hua’er song at a gala on Chinese New Year’s Eve, winning nationwide attention. At the age of 27, she was named an inheritor(传承者)of hua’er, becoming the youngest inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage at the time.

“Art should not only be inherited(传承), but also improved. I don’t only want to be a hua’er singer, but also a promoter of this folk music,” she said. In 2014 Sa set up an art school, which offers hua’er training courses free of charge. She also regularly gives singing lectures in public schools and communities, benefiting tens of thousands of people.

1. What can we learn about Hua’er from the text?

A．It is a kind of flower.

B．It is a local folk art

C．It is a classic song.

D．It is a new art form.

2. Which of the following best explains“inscribed” underlined in paragraph 2?

A．Updated.

B．Studied.

C．Awarded.

D．Included

3. What’s the fourth paragraph mainly about?

A．Sa’s skills in singing Hua’er

B．Sa’s performance at a gala.

C．Sa’s contributions about Hua’er

D．Sa’s understanding about Hua’er.

4. Why did Sa set up an art school?

A．To offer different art courses

B．To help people live more happily.

C．To inherit and promote the folk art

D．To open more social media accounts