Festivals are celebrated all around the world. They have
Customs play a significant role in festivals,
With businesses taking advantage of the
Festivals are an important part of society,
2 . Over 40 years ago, a country music DJ convention was held every year in Nashville, Tennessee. 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 the biggest country music stars attended. There were about fifty thousand fans. The first Fan Fair was so successful that the second one in 1973 was planned almost immediately. 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 Fairgrounds for another nineteen years.
There was always the unexpected during the festival. In 1974, former Beatles 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 for 23 hours.
In 2001, Fan Fair returned to downtown Nashville as the world’s biggest country music festival. Nowadays, 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 can we learn about Fan Fair according to the text?| A．It has a history of more than 50 years. |
| B．It lasts almost half a month every year. |
| C．It’s a time when country music lovers get together. |
| D．It is the most important music festival in America. |
| A．was held in the spring of 1972 |
| B．was more popular than the first one |
| C．was attended by former Beatles Paul McCartney |
| D．was moved from Nashville to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds |
| A．To explain how Fan Fair started. |
| B．To ask people to attend Fan Fair. |
| C．To introduce three famous musicians. |
| D．To show why Fan Fair has been popular. |
| A．Advice for fans. | B．Music in America. |
| C．Education in Nashville. | D．The future of country music. |
3 . “I left Carrara when I was 26, and I was the youngest stone-cutter on the Abu Simbel worksite,” says Luciano Paoli. Aged 78, he is one of the workers with first-hand experience of this international adventure: the rescue of the Ramesses II temples in Egypt from the rising waters of the Aswan High Dam.
A green hand from the marble (大理石) caves of Carrara who helped cut the temples of Abu Simbel into blocks, Paoli attended the event celebrating the 50th anniversary (周年纪念) of the adventure, hosted by Salini Impregilo and the Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum) in Turin, Italy.
On February 4, 2019, the rescue of the world heritage site was celebrated at an event held at the museum with Chief Executive Pietro Salini, Museo Egizio Director Christian Greco and UNESCO Regional Director Ana Luiza Thompson-Flores attending.
“Taking down two temples piece by piece, putting them back together elsewhere and perfectly rebuilding the landforms (地貌) around them was a great idea and showed us a new frontier (领域) for cultural protection,” said Salini. “It also showed the world that progress did not have to come at the expense of a world heritage site. Today, 50 years after this fantastic project, we remember with great admiration all those people from different countries and cultures, who, with their unique skills, achieved this impressive achievement for future generations.”
The work of moving the temples, in which Impregilo took part, was done with the support of 50 countries and some 2, 000 people in little more than 1,100 days.
This unique project is also being celebrated with the publication of “Nubiana”, a multimedia tome (多媒体巨著) that tells the story of the temples built more than 3,000 years ago in honour of the great Pharaoh Ramesses II. It also describes the engineering challenges of their rescue by international teamwork.
1. Why did Paoli leave Carrara at age 26?| A．To learn stone-cutting skills. |
| B．To work on an international team. |
| C．To attend a 50th anniversary event. |
| D．To fight against a rising flood in Egypt. |
| A．He thought highly of the great project. |
| B．He had a long wait for the anniversary. |
| C．He called on us to protect cultural heritage. |
| D．He expected future generations to work together. |
| A．It is the fruit of international effort. |
| B．It is part of the anniversary celebration. |
| C．It is in honour of the Pharaoh Ramesses II. |
| D．It shows the engineering of building temples. |
| A．Impregilo’s huge success as an organiser. |
| B．Paoli’s great achievement as a stone-cutter. |
| C．Two processes in the rescue of Abu Simbel. |
| D．The celebration of the Abu Simbel rescue. |
1. What does the man offer to do for the woman?
| A．Book her a ticket. | B．Give her a ride. | C．Check the flight schedule. |
| A．Thanksgiving. | B．Spring Festival. | C．Christmas. |
| A．Having a feast. |
| B．Opening gift boxes. |
| C．Chatting with the family. |
| A．To the holiday ceremony. | B．To the restaurant. | C．To the family party. |
| A．Buy a cake for him. | B．Make a pie for him. | C．Give some fruit to him. |
1. When will the party be held?
| A．This Friday afternoon. | B．Next Friday night. | C．Next Friday afternoon. |
| A．A fancy-dress party. | B．A relaxing lunch party. | C．A formal dinner party. |
| A．Four. | B．Five. | C．Ten. |
| A．A sports event. | B．A conference. | C．A party. |
| A．At 11:00 pm. | B．At 10:30 pm. | C．At 10:00 pm. |
1. Where did the woman stay at night during the holiday?
| A．In a tent. | B．In a hotel. | C．In a farmhouse. |
| A．They were interesting. | B．They were friendly. | C．They were honest. |
