The official mascots (吉祥物) of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 — three sporty robots
The robot Congcong represents the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City. Its name comes from the Cong jade pendant (玉琮) — a classic relic unearthed from the Ruins
Raja Randhir Singh, the acting president of the Olympic Council of Asia, said
The beans cry in the pot
We grow from the same root (根)
Why should we boil each other with such impatience?
The poem is thought to be written by Cao Zhi, one of Cao Cao’s sons, Cao, who lived between 192 and 232 during the Three Kingdoms period.
It is said that after Cao Cao’s death, his oldest son Cao Pi became the emperor. Cao Pi was jealous (嫉妒的) of his younger brother Cao Zhi’s talent, so he wanted to find an excuse to kill him. One day, Cao Pi ordered Cao Zhi to make a poem about their relationship within seven steps, and was determined (决定) to have the younger brother killed if he failed. Cao Zhi then made the poem in front of him, which showed Cao Pi’s cruel idea to kill his own brother. Cao Pi, feeling ashamed, let Cao Zhi go in the end.
In China, the poem is taught to primary school students and is often used by people to describe unnecessary competitions or fighting between people, businesses, or organizations who are in the same area or want the same things.
The poem was posted on Tweeter by the CEO of Tesla and Space X Elon Musk, and it was given a title Humankind on purpose by Musk. The post drew tons of attention on both Western and Chinese social media, and internet users have been guessing what it was used for. People thought it could be an answer to the director of UN food organization, who mentioned that world hunger could be stopped if Elon Musk could give away 2% of his wealth.
1. The poem is said to be written by ________.| A．Cao Cao | B．Cao Zhi | C．Cao Pi | D．Elon Musk |
| A．Cao Zhi was one of his brothers |
| B．Cao Pi was jealous of Cao Zhi’s talent |
| C．Cao Zhi refused to follow Cao Pi’s orders |
| D．Cao Pi wanted to become the only son of Cao Cao |
| A．his brother was cruel to him | B．he was not afraid of his brother |
| C．the beans were close to its stalks | D．the beanstalk should die for its beans |
| A．Elon Musk posted the poem on Tweeter for fun. |
| B．Only Western internet users noticed the poem. |
| C．The purpose of the poem became a hot topic. |
| D．Elon Musk is mean and doesn’t care about others. |
3 . Why is the Mona Lisa the most famous painting in the world? Her mysterious smile? The mystery surrounding her identity? The fact she was painted by Renaissance charming boy Leonardo da Vinci? Sure, all of these things helped increase the popularity of the 16th century masterpiece. But what really threw the small, unassuming portrait to international stardom was a daring burglary over 100 years ago.
When Italian handyman Vincenzo Peruggia stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911, he never could have guessed her absence would be the very thing that made her the most recognizable painting on the planet. Suddenly images of the artwork were seen across international newspapers, as the two-year police hunt hit dead-end after dead-end. It wasn’t until December 1913 that Peruggia was finally caught and the Mona Lisa recovered, becoming the best known painting in a time before we shared images on TV, internet, and phones.
So how did Peruggia carry out one of the greatest art robberies of all time? The handyman had been hired by the Louvre to make protective glass cases for some of its famous works—including the Mona Lisa. After hiding in a closet overnight, he simply removed the painting, hid it under his smock (罩衣), and was about to waltz out of the building when he discovered the door was locked. Desperate Peruggia removed the doorknob, but still it wouldn’t open—until a helpful plumber passing by opened the door with his key. It was 24 hours before anyone even noticed the Mona Lisa was missing, with artworks often removed to be photographed or cleaned.
Over the next two years, the careless police investigation dragged on, with Pablo Picasso a suspect at one point. The force even interviewed Peruggia twice, before concluding he couldn’t possibly be the man behind the shameless burglary. The head of the Paris police retired in shame.
And then two years later, an art dealer in Florence received a letter from a man saying he had the Mona Lisa. It was signed ”Leonardo.” The man was of course Peruggia. After setting up a meeting with the dealer and the director of the Uffizi gallery in Florence, Peruggia turned up with the painting which had spent years hidden in a trunk in his apartment.
Peruggia, then 32 years old, claimed to have stolen the artwork to return her to her native Italy. He was arrested and eventually sentenced to seven months in jail. He seemed to have genuinely been convinced he would be praised as a national hero and genuinely dismayed to discover he wasn’t.
1. According to the passage, what contributed to the tremendous popularity of the Mona Lisa?| A．The mysterious smile of Mona Lisa. |
| B．People’s desire to figure out the identity of Mona Lisa. |
| C．The theft of the painting in 1911. |
| D．The fact that it was painted by Leonardo da Vinci. |
| A．Humble. | B．Realistic. | C．Magnificent. | D．Objective. |
| A．Peruggia slipped into the Louvre from the outside after it was closed. |
| B．It took Peruggia a lot of time to take the painting from the gallery wall. |
| C．Peruggia’s stealing of the painting would have failed but for the appearance of a plumber. |
| D．The theft of the painting was immediately discovered by the staff of the Louvre. |
| A．was defending the honour of his native country | B．wanted to show his appreciation of great art |
| C．dreamed of making a great fortune by selling it | D．was worried about the fate of the painting |
