1 . What My Year Abroad Taught Me About Cultural Differences

Imagine going to study abroad. You walk into the local shop and bam!, Golliwogs (黑面木偶) everywhere. I’m talking salespeople dressed as Golliwogs. Surprised, you go to the junk food section as that’s the only thing that will give your body the sugar rush it needs to shock your body out of the state of bewilderment (困惑). And there they were: Golliwog cookies.

I’m using the word “Golliwogs” because to a British person abroad that’s what they are. But in the Netherlands and Belgium the image is known as Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). There has been much discussion about whether or not it’s racist.     1     Zwarte Piet is understood by most in the Netherlands to be Santa’s helper whose black face was due to his delivering presents through the chimney.

Working as a trainee with the European Commission, I met people from all over the world, not just Europe. Working alongside my German, Spanish and Italian colleagues, I learned some valuable lessons.     2     You shouldn’t wait to say “excuse me,” or wait for a gap in the conversation to give your opinion, because you’ll walk out at the end of the meeting wondering how three hours have passed without you managing to say anything. I learned how to stop my colleagues and interject (插话) my thoughts.

Another lesson was the value of the coffee break. Coffee breaks in Brussels were not just time to get coffee. It was a chance to develop new ideas with colleagues in a more informal setting. At first I declined the invitation to attend, but after a while I began to notice that almost everyone went on these trips to the coffee machine and decided to join them.     3    

Graduates and students who have worked abroad gain an understanding of what it means to be truly European and how this can benefit you at work. Not only do you bring home experiences, skills and practices from other countries, but you also seek to take your work further afield (向远方).

    4     Remember the Golliwog cookies? All I really wanted were some Mr. Kipling’s cakes but they’re nearly impossible to find abroad. When I finished my trainee ship with the Commission, I came home and started a business called Packed Munches, a service sending boxes of British snacks to Britons all over the world. And to think, it all started with Zwarte Pict.

A．You might be amazed by the quantity of work and innovative concepts that can emerge during informal coffee breaks.

B．This marked my initial experience in comprehending diverse cultures.

C．As British people, we need to stay low-profile in what we do.

D．So, how did I apply these acquired abilities?

E．As individuals from Britain, we must produce more influence in our pursuits.

F．This was my first lesson in understanding British cultures.

2 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。1.

A．Open.

B．Selfish.

C．Friendly.

D．Reserved.

2.

A．They stay quiet.

B．They read a book.

C．They talk about the weather.

D．They chat with fellow passengers.

3.

A．She was always treated as a foreigner.

B．She was eager to visit an English castle.

C．She was never invited to a colleague’s home.

D．She was unwilling to make friends with workmates.

4.

A．Houses are much quieter.

B．Houses provide more privacy.

C．They want to have more space.

D．They want a garden of their own.

3 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. disapproved        B. negative        C. national        D. appreciation        E. socially F. tendency        G. approach        H. fitted        I. enhanced        J. unpopular K. namely

What are the things that first come to your mind when you think of the UK? Are they nonstop rain, polite manners, boring food and tea drinking?

Some of the UK’s     1     stereotypes are true, a new survey has found. For example, British people do have a (n)     2     to drink lots of tea.

The research polled 1, 402 foreigners living in the UK on their opinions about the British way of life. Unsurprisingly, the majority of them, almost 70 percent, said they enjoyed living in the country—good manners, especially UK people’s extraordinary ability to queue, are the main reasons for foreigners’     3    . More than one-third said they liked British people’s restrained     4     to emotion.

However, there are aspects of British culture that are     5     of. The heavy alcohol drinking culture ranked as the least favorite trait, followed by the British sense of humor and the country’s bad weather.

It may not be too hard to understand why heavy drinking and bad weather are     6    , but what’s wrong with the British sense of humor?

British humor is known for being dry and satirical (讽刺的), so it is generally more     7    . When it comes to making the British laugh, there is nothing more effective than a     8     inappropriate joke, noted the BBC. “Britons are more comfortable with life’s losers,” wrote English actor Ricky Gervais in an article published in Time magazine.

“The majority of nationalities have stereotypes     9     around them and Britons don’t escape this,” said Liam Clifford, the founder of Global Visas, the website that conducted the research. “People probably come here with a stereotype-based preconception of what to expect. It’s good to see from our survey, though, that, in the majority of cases, this reputation is actually     10     upon living here.”

5 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one more word than you need.

A. established       B. cultural       C. freely       D. introduce       E. official F. release       G. extremely       H. attraction       I. drew       J. unexpectedly K. mystery

A large-scale cultural exploration program National Treasure made its first show on CCTV on Sunday night. In the first episode, the Palace Museum in Beijing showcased three treasures.

As a     1     variety show, the National Treasure aims to showcase the background stories of national treasures and     2     various art forms. In the show, “national treasure keepers” acted by famous and common people will present treasures, telling their stories with the collections and interpreting the historical     3    . The show aims to inspire the ancient Chinese civilization and make the national treasures “come alive”.

This is not the first time for the Palace Museum in Beijing to be     4     welcomed online in China, thanks to its efforts in cultural products and self-promotion in recent years.

Last year, the museum     5     so much attention because of the huge success of the three-episode TV documentary, Masters in the Forbidden City and a movie with the same name. Over the last few years, the museum has     6     495 signposts and 1,400 new chairs have been provided. In addition, the Palace Museum opened a (an)     7     online store on e-commerce platform Taobao, selling related products. It also started their self-promotion through new media, publishing articles to promote the culture of the museum. It     8     swept the Internet by its humorous style and interesting content. At the same time, the Palace Museum has published several mobile apps, one of which saw over 200,000 downloads just two weeks after its     9     in 2013. Its self-promotion has achieved great results. In 2012, the museum saw 15 million visitors. And it received 16 million visitors last year.

The museum is also a popular     10     among foreign leaders. For example, US President Donald Trump and his wife visited the Palace Museum on Nov 8.

6 . Sundays are for sewing. That much, at least, has not changed for Bo Dollis Jr.

During Memorial Day weekend, after New Orleans officials relaxed social distancing rules, the Big Chief of the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians got his tribe together for the first time since everything came unglued. About 15 people came, and they sat together on folding chairs, laughing, joking, and sewing. Each had an open toolbox stuffed with small plastic bags of beads (珠子) at their feet and a stretched canvas across their laps. They shared advice and suggestions as easily as they passed around needles, with which they attached beads to the canvas in the shape of bears, horses, and native people.

For Dollis, the sewing session marked a return to normalcy and an opportunity to continue sharing this New Orleans tradition he learned from his father. It ends each spring when tribes across the city unveil their year’s work: A hand- beaded masterpiece of color and feathers—a new suit—that shines in the southern sunlight as the tribes sing, dance, and show off how pretty they are.

Traditionally, Mardi Gras Indians have but a few days to wear their suits, including Mardi Gras Day and St. Joseph’s Day in March. The coronavirus, however, interrupted this tradition. New Orleans officials shut down public events and began enforcing social distancing just days before St. Joseph’s.

Instead of parading on the streets with his tribe, Dollis sat at home that night and cried. “That was a heartbreaker.” he said.

For many of New Orleans’ chefs, musicians, dancers, Mardi Gras Indians, singers, and street performers, the coronavirus has meant a loss of income, opportunity, and stability. For some, it’s brought sickness and grief. And for all, it has challenged how they identify and express themselves. But this city has been forged by challenge for hundreds of years. Over its history, one thing has proven true: New Orleans can not be infected, flooded, burned, or defeated.

“A disaster is a disaster. Hard times are hard times,” said Dollis. “We know every year we should expect a hurricane, so we’re psychologically prepared to handle it. ... Every year, we make a new suit. It’s in the genes.”

1. Which one of the following can be inferred from the description of the sewing Sunday in Paragraph 2?

A．Sewing is a yearly collective activity among the tribe.

B．The tribe members are enjoying continuing their routine.

C．Nothing can change the rule the chief sets about the get-together.

D．A few more tribe people have been scared away by social distancing rules.

2. Dollis cried on the night of the St. Joseph’s Day because ________.

A．social distancing rules were just relaxed.	B．how to recover economy was a headache.
C．a chance to identify the tribe slipped away.	D．parading without a fine suit was heartbreaking.

3. The underlined word “forged” in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to ________.

A．conquered

B．replaced

C．faked

D．formed

4. Why did Dollis mention “a hurricane” at the end of the passage?

A．To offer support for the attack of hurricanes to New Orleans.

B．To propose a way to keep natural disasters under control.

C．To recommend the need to accept the fall of tradition.

D．To present the determination to preserve the city.

7 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. live B. adapted C. perspective D. maximize E. costumes F. inject G. credited H. directorial I. publicity J. prospect K. integrated

Young Chinese opera director broadens traditional art form

“Chinese opera art is like a huge sponge, constantly absorbing, transforming, merging and flourishing,” says traditional Chinese opera director Li Zhuoqun, who is     1    with creating a market for traditional opera shows in small theaters across China.

Performed in 2013, Li Zhuoqun’s first     2    work “Death Do Us Part” is a story     3    from the 14th-century Chinese classic novel “Water Margin”. Li, a graduate of the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts, says that performing this classic piece for today’s audience is an experiment and a challenge.

“We decided to shorten the divorce scene that lasted four or five days in order to     4     the effect of our vocals and dramatic performances. We also invited modern dancers to work with us. We     5    the performance methods of traditional opera with the rhythm of modern dance.”

Li defines her team as “small, deep, refined and broad”. She explained, “‘Small’ in its size, volume and     6    . ‘Deep’ refers to our performance and the depth of the script. ‘Refined’ refers to the production of the     7     makeup, props, sound and light. ‘Broad’ refers to its     8     and operation.”

“We target all ages and a wider audience.” To Li, traditional opera is “the art of regret” due to the unique charm of     9     performances. She aims to allow the audience to enjoy every minute of the show and draw more people to the theater. Li said, “We hope to find a possibility for small theater opera to make a breakthrough in terms of the market and target audience. With the development of aesthetics (审美) and society, our generation needs to     10    a wider and more varied artistic vocabulary into traditional opera. Yet it should still develop on the basis of maintaining the characteristics of traditional opera.”

8 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize in no more than 60 words the main idea of the passage and how it is illustrated. Use your own words as far as possible.

Long Journey

The majority of the world’s clothes, bags and shoes are manufactured in Asia. But the region’s brands have made little headway in the West. Of the ten most valuable global apparel (服装) labels ranked by Millward Brown, a market-research firm, only Uniqlo is Asian. Li-Ning, one of China’s best-selling sportswear brands, tried to enter America in 2010. It opened a flagship store in Portland, Oregon and later launched an English-language online store. Both failed.

What makes the journey so hard? Adjusting to Western tastes takes time. Although Uniqlo became the largest Japanese apparel brand by selling US-style clothing, it still encountered cultural barriers in America itself. For example, vests (背心) are one of Uniqlo’s most popular products at home, but relatively few Americans and Europeans wear an additional layer beneath their shirts, says Dairo Murata, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase, a bank. It was only two years ago the firm also realized that XL was not big enough in America; it now duly provides XXXL.

Another problem, at least outside the big cities, is price. Uniqlo takes pride in the use of high-tech, comfortable fabrics (布料)，an attempt to differentiate itself from other basic clothing brands like Gap and Old Navy. But at Danbury Fair, a Connecticut shopping mall that is a barometer for retail trends in the suburbs, people prefer Primark, a super-cheap Irish retailer (零售商) which recently opened, to Uniqlo, which shut up shop in June. Mall visitors are conservative about fashion and about spending, explains F.K. Grunert, its manager.

What still seems to work better is concentrating on urban centres, even though that means a smaller potential market. This month Uniqlo opened a stand-alone store in Manhattan’s Soho; such shops tend to do well. In 2002 it had 21 stores in Britain, dotted around the north-west, Midlands and south-east; now eight of the ten it still has are in London.

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9 . Lily

Studying abroad is an area that is becoming increasingly interesting for researchers, as more students are choosing to do a semester, a year or even a degree in another country. In my research, I set out to establish whether young people attending a course abroad acquire more global awareness than students enrolled on similar courses in their home country, Using a comparative study of 50 Canadian undergraduates, half of whom studied abroad for varying lengths of time, there were shown to be considering gains in global awareness and these were not only noted by the students themselves but also their tutors.

Thomas

My research project asked ten students starting a year of study abroad to keep a daily record of their experiences. Having begun the diary a month before leaving home they continued it for a month after they returned. The primary reason for studying abroad in all cases was to polish their language skill. The students were allowed to write as freely as they wished by were asked to include comments on their language learning experience as well as on the strategies they used to cope with living in a new culture. Analysing the diaries, we found remarkably similar patterns. All the participants demonstrate a gradual recognition and acceptance of difference in other cultures and a new objectivity about their own culture as a result of their experience.

Jasmine

This paper reports on some research carried out last year into why students choose a period of study abroad, their reasons for selecting a specific destination, their behaviour when abroad and the extent to which the experience matches their expectations. Having administered a questionnaire to 1,000 international students studying at a number of universities in Australia, we got 696 responses. An initial analysis of the responses has revealed some interesting data suggesting that the key factor affecting all the areas we were investigating was the individual's personality and study interests. Country of origin and 'gender proved less significant than expected.

Jimmy

This research looked at the career paths of 35 young business people who had spent part of their university course at a foreign educational institution in order to ascertain whether those people had acquired greater cross-cultural perspectives through their experience of study abroad. Concerned about the lack of cultural awareness of their staff, a group of US business corporations proposed the research. The results are less conclusive than expected, but they do suggest that a period of study in a foreign country may help students to develop the cross-cultural awareness that US employers currently seek.

1. The passage is mainly about four researchers' findings on ________.

A．the reasons for young students to study abroad

B．the impact and effects of studying in another country

C．the trend of more students furthering their study abroad

D．the interest of students who once studied in another country

2. ________used the subjects' personal account as the research material.

A．Lily

B．Thomas

C．Jasmine

D．Jimmy

3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A．Most of the researchers found the students global awareness increased.

B．All of the researchers took a reserved attitude towards studying abroad.

C．None of the researchers thought gender played a role in students' choice.

D．Only one of the researchers did research on the subjects' career development.