1 . We asked our readers to vote for the top events across six categories: music, general food, specialty food, film, cultural and emerging industries (founded in the past five years). These are some of the winners:
Kutztown Folk Festival
The nine-day Kutztown Folk Festival is the nation’s oldest continuously operated folk life festival, drawing visitors from around the globe. A celebration of Pennsylvania Dutch culture and heritage, the event includes America’s largest quilt sale, 200 craftsmen and folk artists, local food and family-friendly entertainment.
Water Lantern Festival
The Water Lantern Festival is all about connections. Magical nights in cities across the US include food, live music and the beauty of thousands of lanterns decorated with letters of love, hope and dreams floating on the water.
Carnaval of Quebec
The Quebec Carnaval is a 10-day festival of winter, the world’s largest, complete with night parades, ice skating, snow sculptures and a towering ice palace. Other highlight include ice canoe racing, a sugar shack and iconic Caribou drinks.
San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade
San Francisco has celebrated its Chinese heritage during its annual Chinese New Year Festival&Parade since just after the Gold Rush. The parade ranks among the best in the world, with 100 units, fancy costumes, fireworks and a 268-foot Golden Dragon, which takes a team of 100 men and women to march through the streets. It has become one of the largest events of its kind in the world, drawing some three million spectators and television viewers.
1. What can you see during the Kutztown Folk Festival?A.Quilts for sale. | B.Modern arts. |
C.Traditional weddings. | D.Shows on stage. |
A.Carnaval of Quebec. | B.Kutztown Folk Festival. |
C.Water Lantern Festival. | D.San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade. |
A.mention parades | B.include special food |
C.take place only at nights | D.have sculpture exhibitions |
A.In a novel. | B.In a diary. |
C.In a history book. | D.In a travel magazine. |
2 . Known locally as sakura, the cherry blossoms in Japan are popular with both locals and tourists alike. For the Japanese, sakura hold much cultural and historical significance that goes deeper than their obvious beauty.
Sakura are usually only in full bloom(盛开) for about one week.
The specific time of the cherry blossom season varies from region to region each year. Luckily, the Japanese Meteorological Corporation(日本气象厅) has done all the work. Each year it posts forecasts of when the blooming will begin in each region.
A.It’s easy to plan your trip around the sakura. |
B.Most people bring beer or other drinks to mark the occasion. |
C.Many people hold flower-watching parties known as hanami. |
D.The predictions aren’t just looking at the weather months in advance. |
E.The JMC will release updated forecasts with the newest information. |
F.The pink flowers have inspired poets, artists and soldiers for centuries. |
G.If you manage to catch the tail end of the blooming, you’ll see the beautiful event. |