1 . Accompanied by the rhythmic sound of bamboo strips (竹板), Yang Ziqi, 17, from Xi’an Qujiang No l High School, listens to interesting stories in the Shaanxi dialect. The stories range in subject greatly from the story of the Monkey King to instructions on garbage sorting.
“Shaanxi kuaiban is amazing. It can not only bring you great joy, but also broaden your horizons” said Yang. Shaanxi kuaiban is a traditional Chinese form of storytelling in the Shaanxi dialect to the rhythm of bamboo clappers. In June, it was recognized as an intangible cultural heritage at the national level. It can be performed by a group or solo. The art form can be traced back to the late Qing Dynasty (1644 — 1911). According to its performers, the art was originally used by farmers to share their knowledge and earn money. But now, more people perform Shaanxi kuaiban on different occasions-for example, at festival celebrations, parties and art shows.
Yang Jinlong, 45, is an experienced Shaanxi kuaiban artist. He first learned the art at the age of 9. Before that, he often went with his father, an amateur performer, to watch kuaiban performances.
“As a young boy, I was attracted to the art form because many of the stories are about heroes. The performer tells stories while playing kuaiban, and it’s easy for the audience to remember the stories since all the lines rhyme,” Yang said. He has practiced Shaanxi kuaiban for more than 30 years. Since 2003, he has been teaching the art form to young people. At 9 am on weekdays, he drives to primary and middle schools in Xi’an and teaches students about Shaanxi kuaiban until about 6 pm. Then, he returns home to prepare classes for the next day. On the weekends, he teaches for six hours each day at art education institutions in Xi’an.
Yang has made some adaptations to the art form to relate more to students. When he tells modern stories, Yang abandons the traditional gown and wears a suit. He also integrates many pop elements like tap dance, ballet, jazz dance and the rhythm of popular music into kuaiban performances. His stories focus on more trendy topics, like stories of heroes who have worked to alleviate poverty (扶贫), as well as the Chinese Olympic team.
“Art education is important for students in China. Just as many students learn to play Western musical instruments like the piano and violin, there are many people learning traditional Chinese folk arts, including Shaanxi kuaiban. They are committed and passionate,” Yang said.
1. What do we know about Shaanxi kuaiban?| A．It dates back to the late Ming Dynasty. |
| B．People perform it in Shaanxi dialect. |
| C．It was originally used by teachers for teaching. |
| D．It focuses on Chinese ancient literature. |
| A．Because all the lines rhyme. | B．Because he liked stories about heroes. |
| C．Because it was away to earn money. | D．Because he wanted to be like his father. |
| A．He wore local clothes of Shaanxi. |
| B．He told stories about superheroes. |
| C．He added pop elements to performances. |
| D．He performed Shaanxi kuaiban in We stem countries. |
| A．Talented and modest. | B．Patient and capable. |
| C．Determined and creative. | D．Humorous and responsible. |
2 . An 80-foot floating library, built in 1963 and called Bokbaten in Norway, visited around 250 small communes along the west coast of Norway twice every year before 2020. Many of the villages along the west coast of Norway are most easily accessible by boat rather than car, so in 1959, a group of librarians got government funding to s art a waterborne library service with special on stress on children’s literature.
Large enough to hold around 6, 000 books, the boat also hosted readings, children’s pays, and other cultural events onboard. It traveled along the coast on 64-day tours during the fall and winter months, welcoming up to 150 children at a time and unloading books for each community to keep until the boat made it swayback the next time around. In summer, the library was repurposed as a tourist boat.
But in 2020, it looked like it might be the end for the library. After nearly 60 years in action, the popular boat had its funding cut by the government, which ended the floating library program. “The book boat is a floating house of culture, which means a lot to thousands of children in the communities that don’t have a good library offering,” Norwegian librarian and author Stig Holmas wrote on Facebook at the time. “It has large numbers of visits,” he went on, adding: “What a shame!”
Luckily, 28 local municipalities (市政当局) banded together in support of the beloved library, helping organize 88 cultural events to make people realize the importance of the boat between August and November 2021. Then, in February 2022, the Fritt Ord Foundation, a private Norwegian nonprofit, provided the library with nearly $300, 000 to keep the program running. Later that year, journalist Maria PileS vas and, whose grandfather built the library, was employed as manager for Bokbaten.
The boat is now a traveling bookstore, and it continues to carry on the tradition of inviting authors, actors and musicians to come aboard and perform live readings for children.
1. What do we know about Bokbaten?| A．It also held a variety of activities. |
| B．It was not that popular in the summer. |
| C．It was suggested by the 250 communities. |
| D．It allowed people to keep the book for 64 days. |
| A．Relieved. | B．Shocked. | C．Puzzled. | D．Angry. |
| A．They provided enough funds for the library. |
| B．They helped to promote the value of the library. |
| C．They invited Maria Pile Svasand to manage Bokbaten. |
| D．They set up the Fritt Ord Foundation to raise funds for Bokbaten. |
| A．Why the floating library in Norway is so popular |
| B．The establishment of a floating library in Norway |
| C．How a floating library in Norway was saved |
| D．The influence of a floating library in Norway |
1. How will the woman keep Chinese traditions alive while in America?
| A．By eating Chinese food. |
| B．By watching Chinese movies. |
| C．By talking to others about China. |
| A．Follow her own custom. |
| B．Respect other cultures. |
| C．Follow other countries’ fashions. |
| A．Only Chinese. | B．Only Americans. | C．People from everywhere. |
Patrick Sommier, a French theater director, is dovoted to passing on the true meaning of Chinese operas to the French public.
On the occasion of the
Recalling his first cooperation with the Chinese team, Sommier says he was impressed by the actors’ makeups, costumes,
Sommier began exploring into different performance forms and suggested introducing Chinese operas
Nausicaa Giavarra, a drama teacher from Italy, moved to Ningbo with her husband in 2009 and is teaching drama lessons at a local international school.
Tianyi Pavilion, the oldest existing private library,
Giavarra says she loves the classical architectural style of Tianyi Pavilion, adding that walking in the courtyard and the bamboo grove (竹林)
“I am very pleased that Ningbo has such a deep cultural connection with Italy. I hope and believe that China and Italy will have more
Pan Yuzhen, a master of embroidery (刺绣), was embroidering flying butterflies and flowers with her back
“As you can see, Miao embroidery is not only the
Zhang Yanmei, Pan’s daughter, having difficulty
7 . Once a year in a small mountain village, the Mande people gather to hear the folk stories of their traditions. The man playing an instrument called Sosso-Bala while singing is the storyteller. He holds all the folk knowledge of the Mande people.
Most of us don’t have a musical instrument that ties us together, but we have someone in our lives who’s the keeper of our folk knowledge. Often it’s a grandmother, who keeps all our stories of wisdom ready to tell upon request.
Traditionally, we share it in small units—families sharing around a dinner table.
But we don’t gather once a year to reality check our “folk stories” as the Mande people do; nor do we center our folk traditions around a musical instrument. The internet has no reality except its own and, left unchecked, its wisdom has no rhythm(节奏).
| A．It’s just chaos. |
| B．This is why we do it. |
| C．Human wisdom has been passed down through generations. |
| D．The stories can be useful for dealing with all sorts of doubts. |
| E．Nowadays, folk knowledge has expanded to digital networks. |
| F．Now the internet has made valuable folk wisdom at your fingertips. |
| G．Recently, we discovered that this very human practice isn’t limited to humans. |
A stuffed toy named “Happy Loong” from Gansu Provincial Museum has recently distinguished
Modeled
Besides “Happy Loong”, the museum sells stuffed toys
This innovative approach to museum souvenirs reflects
The success of these innovative souvenirs lies in the ability
Looking ahead, the museum souvenir market in China is expected to continue growing, presenting abundant
Shijing, also The Book of Songs or Shih Ching, is the
Shijing is rich in content,
Poems included in Shijing fall into three sections-poems that come from villages belong to Feng; those written to persuade or praise the rulers belong to Ya; those used at religious
The opening poem of Shijing, “Cooing and Wooing” (《关雌》), is about love,
By riverside are cooing, a pair of turtledoves;
A good young man is wooing, a fair maiden he loves.
It is vivid that the man is longing
Shijing enables people to have a better understanding of Chinese civilization and is also
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