1 . With the increasing development of technology, we now have the ability to get much information from foreign media sources (媒体资源). Because we can learn much about events happening in other countries from the media, such as magazines and newspapers, many people may think that reading magazines and newspapers is the best way to learn about a foreign country. However, I believe that only reading magazines and newspapers as a way of learning about a foreign country has several limitations.
We cannot deny that magazines and newspapers actually present some valuable information about foreign countries. However, the information that they present is often one-sided, so that readers can only learn about one opinion on an event happening in a foreign country. Also, the words and pictures in magazines and newspapers may not be true. If a government wants to hide some facts, it may force the media to tell lies to its readers, and thus the information that readers receive may not be true.
I think that the best way to learn about a foreign country is to travel or live there for a while. By traveling or living in a country, you can see things that do not appear in magazines and newspapers, and learn about the local political situation, state of the economy, and the culture. You can get more information about a country by talking directly with local people about the overall situation, and can truly understand the local culture by living with them for a while. But if you are at home reading a newspaper or magazine, you simply get information provided by others passively (被动地) instead of collecting information directly.
So, I believe that the best way to learn about a foreign country is not by reading magazines and newspapers but by placing yourself in that foreign country.
1. What does the text mainly discuss?| A．How people get information in no time. |
| B．Where people can get information they need. |
| C．Why it’s important to learn about a foreign country. |
| D．What the best way to learn about a foreign country is. |
| A．Disagree. | B．Promise. | C．Realize. | D．Accept. |
| A．True but not enough. | B．Correct but not fresh. |
| C．Limited and not always true. | D．Not enough and not valuable. |
| A．You’ll have a quicker mind by learning more. |
| B．You’ll have a chance to read local newspapers. |
| C．You’ll meet people who are different from you. |
| D．You’ll learn truths that the media don’t provide. |
2 . Dragons, a famous imaginary creature born from fantasy, are often present in stories in the west and east. In both cultures, dragons are recognized as massive creatures capable of flight. They have great power and magical abilities. However, due to their different cultural roots and images, there are significant differences in the different dragon elements in the west and east, particularly in China.
Chinese dragons most look like snakes, and have four claws (爪) and no wings. They often have features of other animals, including carp, tigers, and eagles. In the contrast, Western dragons look like huge lizards (蜥蜴) with big claws and large bat-like wings, and are often shown rough scales.
In traditional Chinese culture, a dragon is a symbol of luck, power and high position. They can cause weather changes and bring rainfall to the fields to ensure rich harvests. They are considered sacred creatures, which hold an important position as the head of the four spirits. Therefore, to symbolize their power, ancient Chinese emperors decorated their clothes with dragon patterns. These clothes are known as dragon robes. Many Chinese view the dragon as a national symbol, proudly referring to themselves as “descendants of the dragon”. In the west, however, a dragon symbolizes an evil creature that spreads violence and terror throughout the land. They are believed to be transformed by the devil (魔鬼), with the ability to breathe fire or spit poison. Many western tales show dragons being defeated and killed to protect people from danger.
Today, dragons continue to change, finding new significance in global culture. They are no longer connected with evil or good, but with their own unique personalities and motivations. For example, Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon begins as a dangerous dragon but changes into a misunderstood creature with love and kindness. This changes the idea of dragons as naturally evil, showing their both emotions and motivations.
1. What do western dragons and eastern dragons have in common?| A．They have rough skin. | B．They have big claws and wings. |
| C．They are in the shape of snakes. | D．They are huge and powerful. |
| A．Dragons are believed to make trouble in western culture. |
| B．Dragons in China can protect people from danger. |
| C．Chinese dragons can control rainfall and breathe fire. |
| D．Western dragons are a symbol of authority. |
| A．They are regarded as adventurous creatures. |
| B．They are closely linked with evil or good. |
| C．They have more various emotions and personalities. |
| D．They represent human spirits facing challenges. |
| A．The Origin of Dragons in Chinese History | B．The Dragon Elements in World Culture |
| C．The Magical Animals in Different Countries | D．The Images of Dragons in Western Traditions |
3 . In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.
At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a rival to the official festival. Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947, in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform, and they did so in a public house disused for years.
Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.
Today the “Fringe”, once less recognized, has far outgrow n the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And years early as 1959, with only 19 theatre groups performing, some said it was getting too big.
A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. Last year there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1.25 million tickets were sold.
1. What was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at the beginning?| A．To bring Europe together again. | B．To honor heroes of World War II. |
| C．To introduce young theatre groups. | D．To attract great artists from Europe. |
| A．Requirement. | B．Chance. | C．Plan. | D．Challenge. |
| A．Popular writers. | B．University students. |
| C．Artists from around the world. | D．Performers of music and dance. |
| A．It has gone beyond an art festival. | B．It has become a non-official event. |
| C．It keeps growing rapidly. | D．It gives shows all year round. |
1. How long did Reading and Leeds Festival last?
| A．Three days. | B．Four days. | C．Five days. |
| A．To enjoy some live bands. |
| B．To avoid being caught in the rain. |
| C．To find a good place in the campsite. |
| A．Disappointing. | B．Enjoyable. | C．Average. |
5 . What are pillows really stuffed with? Not physically, but symbolically? The question occurred to me with the photos of the international pillow fight in the news and social media from the 50 cities around the world. Armed with nothing more than bring-our-own pillows, strangers struck heavily each other from Amsterdam to Atlanta, Warsaw to Washington DC. But why? Is there anything more to this delightful celebration?
Actually, since at least the 16th century, the soft pillow has been given symbolic meanings. The Chinese playwright, Tang Xianzu, told a famous story in his work, Handan Notes. It was about a wise man who met a depressed young scholar at an inn and offered him a magic pillow. The scholar had a sweet afternoon nap on this pillow, dreaming that he had a more fulfilling life. When the young man awakened to discover that all was just a dream. The magic pillow’s power shifts from wonder to terror. What’s more, the 19th-century English novelist, Charlotte Bronte, poetically observed “a ruffled mind makes a restless pillow”. Perhaps Bronte learned this from the philosopher, Montaigne, who once insisted that “lack of thoughts in mind is the softest pillow on which a man can have a good rest”. On Montaigne’s thinking, intelligence and happiness compete against each other forever in a pillow fight that only one can win.
With the above information, we can perhaps more easily measure the attraction of the global pillow fight. Just like a ceremony of release, the annual international pillow fight amounts to a kind of cleansing, a brushing off of daily worries: an emptying of the world’s restless mind.
1. How did the writer lead into the topic of the passage?| A．By giving reasons. | B．By telling stories. |
| C．By using sayings. | D．By raising questions. |
| A．To state how pillows help people take a good rest. |
| B．To explain why pillows connect with people’s minds. |
| C．To claim that pillows can symbolically convey the meaning. |
| D．To describe that pillows always symbolize the good dreams. |
| A．A mind without any thoughts. | B．A mind with messy thoughts. |
| C．A mind that is peaceful. | D．A mind that is simple. |
| A．It mainly celebrates daily worries. |
| B．It contains a profound meaning of history. |
| C．People will feel relieved during the fight. |
| D．People will lose their inner peace during the fight. |
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established 23 April
Setting aside a day to celebrate books traces its beginnings to Spanish writer Vicente Clavel Andrés. In 1922 he proposed
In 1995, the UNESCO
The initiative was put forward by Spain in 2001, and Madrid was designated the first capital,
7 . Teenagers across the world eagerly await the day they become legal adults, to be free from the dependence of their parents and to practice the full rights of their citizenship. The situation is no different in South Korea. Here, the legal age of adulthood is 19. Ten years ago, the legal age was 20, but this was lowered by a year in 2013 based on recognition of the early maturity of modern teenagers. Now, from their 19th birthday onwards, South Korean teenagers can vote, get married and work full-time.
Unlike most other countries, the South Korean government celebrates this transformation into adulthood with an official “Coming-of-Age Day”, which falls on every third Monday of May. Its first written record of celebrating adulthood dates back to the Goryeo Dynasty, where King Gwangjong gifted Prince Wang Juan outfit (服装) reserved for male adults in 965.
By the late Jose on Dynasty, the ceremony marking adulthood developed into a full-grown event for the middle and upper classes, celebrated by their 15-year-olds. In this period, one of the most symbolic changes that adults-to-be went through was that boys would tie their long flowing (飘逸的) hair into a topknot (结) and cover it with at all black hat made of horsehair; likewise, girls put their hair, which they let fall as single braids (辫子) in youth, up into a knot and set it with a long hairpin (发簪).
Today, the traditional coming-of-age ceremonies still live on, supported largely by government and public interests. But a set of very different customs has also been added. Unless they apply to participate in publicly-held ceremonies or attend schools that provide these series, 19-year-olds celebrate the third Monday of May the modern way, by having a nice meal with family or drinking with their friends.
1. What led to the legal age of adulthood being lowered by a year in South Korea?| A．The realization of youth’s earlier maturity. |
| B．The plan to reduce economic pressure on families. |
| C．The determination to satisfy teenagers’ expectations. |
| D．The requirement for youth’s earlier practice of voting rights. |
| A．Prince Wang Juan in the Goryeo Dynasty. |
| B．King Gwangjong in the Goryeo Dynasty. |
| C．An upper-class 15-year-old in the Jose on Dynasty. |
| D．A middle-class 15-year-old in the Jose on Dynasty. |
| A．A new type of hairstyle. | B．A specific birthday outfit. |
| C．Making one’s own hat with horsehair. | D．Replacing short hairpins with long ones. |
| A．Publicly-held ceremonies require group application. |
| B．Traditional ceremonies should be more widely practiced. |
| C．Teenagers nowadays prefer to celebrate adulthood at home. |
| D．Society has seen a wider range of adulthood celebrations. |
Festivals hold a special place in our hearts and they
Firstly, festivals provide an opportunity for people to come together and strengthen social bonds. Whether they are family gatherings during Thanksgiving
Secondly, festivals offer a break from the routine of daily life, allowing us to relax. They provide an escape
Additionally, festivals serve as a platform for
Furthermore, festivals often carry symbolic meanings. For example, the rebirth symbolized by festivals like Easter
In conclusion, festivals play a vital role in our lives. So, let’s continue to cherish and celebrate these special
World Olive Tree Day takes place on 26 November every year. It
The olive tree, especially the olive branch, holds an important place
World Olive Tree Day is set up
10 . Different countries celebrate festivals in their own unique ways. The same goes for the New Year. Let’s take a look at some unique New Year traditions from around the world.
Smashing (打碎) platesIf you walked out of your front door to find a load of smashed plates, you might be a bit confused. But that’s exactly what people in Denmark hope to find after midnight, as it represents good luck. Danish people go and smash a plate in front of a friend’s door on New Year’s Eve to bring good luck over the next 12 months.
Dropping thingsIn New York City, Times Square is the centre of the countdown to midnight. But the thing that everyone is looking forward to is called the “ball drop”, which is when a glowing (发光的) ball is lowered down a big flag pole (旗杆), marking the start of the New Year. Other cities in America now have their own traditions of dropping things on New Year’s Eve. For example, in Vincennes, Indiana, people drop watermelons from high places.
Eating grapesWhen the clocks hit midnight in Spain, you’ll find people reaching for grapes. This is because there is a tradition of eating one grape each time the clock strikes midnight. The idea is that this will bring people 12 lucky months in the year ahead.
Walking with an empty suitcaseIn some South American countries like Colombia, you might see some people on New Year’s Eve walking around with an empty suitcase. Some hold the belief that taking a “suitcase walk” means they will have a year full of adventures.
1. Why do Danish smash plates on New Year’s Eve?| A．To have fun. | B．To honor a poet. |
| C．To celebrate the harvest. | D．To bring good luck. |
| A．They exchange gifts. | B．They eat grapes. |
| C．They dress up as bears. | D．They drop halls from high places. |
| A．Denmark. | B．USA. | C．Colombia. | D．Spain. |
