1 . What are pillows really stuffed with? Not physically, but symbolically? The question occurred to me with the photos in the news and social media from the 50 cities around the world that staged public celebrations for International Pillow Fight Day. Armed with nothing more than bring-our-own sacrificial cushions, strangers struck heavily each other in playful feather from Amsterdam to Atlanta, Warsaw to Washington DC. But why? Is there anything more to this delightful celebration?
As a cultural sign, the pillow is deceptively soft. Since at least the 16th Century, the humble pillow has been given unexpected meanings. The Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu tells a famous story about a wise man who meets a depressed young scholar at an inn and offers him a magic pillow filled with the most vivid dreams of a seemingly more fulfilling life. When the young man awakens to discover that his happy 50-year dream has in fact come and gone in the short space of an afternoon’s nap, our impression of the pillow’s power shifts from wonder to terror.
Subsequent writers have likewise seized upon the pillow. When the 19th-Century English novelist Charlotte Bronte poetically observed “a ruffled (不平的) mind makes a restless pillow”, she didn’t just change the expected order of the adjectives and nouns, but instead she made unclear the boundaries between mind and matter — the thing resting and the thing rested upon.
It’s a trick perhaps Bronte learned from the Renaissance philosopher Montaigne, who once insisted that “ignorance is the softest pillow on which a man can rest his head”. On Montaigne’s thinking, intelligence and happiness confront each other forever in a pillow fight that only one can win.
With the words of Tang. Bronte, and Montaigne, we can perhaps more easily measure the attraction of the global pillow fight. Like a ritual 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 collective mind. Rather than a launch-pad for weightless rest, the pillow is a symbol of heavy thought: an anchor that drags the world’s soul down — one that must be lightened.
1. The example of Tang Xianzu is used to illustrate that ________.| A．pillows give people satisfactory dreams |
| B．dreams are always wonderful while the real world is cruel |
| C．people’s impression of pillows changes from wonder to terror |
| D．pillows symbolically convey the meaning in contrast to their soft appearance |
| A．wrote poems about pillows |
| B．regarded pillows as reflections of our minds |
| C．shared the same viewpoint as Tang Xianzu on pillows |
| D．was likely to have been influenced by the thoughts of the Renaissance |
| A．pillows give us comfort |
| B．pillows make people more intelligent |
| C．people with too many thoughts have less inner peace |
| D．people can easily fall asleep when they know nothing |
| A．Because it is a ritual release. |
| B．Because it makes life delightful. |
| C．Because it comforts restless minds. |
| D．Because it contains a profound meaning of life. |
Sharing the sweetness
On the 25th of December, my mother expects her children to be present, exchanging gifts and eating turkey. When she pulls on that holiday sweater, everybody better gets festive. Of course, I would be the first Jones sibling
No one took my new idea seriously. From the way my mother carried on, you would think I was divorcing the family. Still I held my ground and made plans for my winter adventure in New Hampshire. The MacoDowell Colony was
By Christmas Eve, I had been at the colony for more than a week. The novelty of snowy New England was wearing off, but I would never admit
Finally, I called home on the pay phone. My dad answered, but I
Despite a heavy snowstorm, a large package showed up near my door at the artist colony on Christmas morning. Tayari Jones was written in my mother’s beautiful handwriting. I rushed to that parcel
As I sliced the cake, everyone gathered around. Mother had sent a genuine homemade gift. It was a minor Christmas miracle that one cake managed to feed so many. We ate it from paper towels with our bare hands,
1. Why does the man want to get a summer job?
| A．To save for a trip. | B．To pay his brother back. | C．To save money for a course. |
| A．By asking her parents. |
| B．By doing a part-time job. |
| C．By borrowing from her brother. |
| A．Study in Spain. |
| B．Get a job in Portugal. |
| C．Go to Latin America with the woman. |
1. Where does the woman’s mother live?
| A．In Spain. | B．In Mexico. | C．In America. |
| A．Travel to Madrid. | B．Visit some friends. | C．Attend a holiday event. |
| A．On October 22nd. | B．On October 28th. | C．On November 22nd. |
1. What would Joe probably do during the Thanksgiving holiday?
| A．Go to a play. | B．Stay at home. | C．Visit Kingston. |
| A．Attend a party. | B．Meet her aunt. | C．See a car show. |
| A．To call up Betty. | B．To buy some DVDs. | C．To pick up Daniel. |
| A．Classmates. | B．Fellow workers. | C．Guide and tourist. |
1. What is the probable relationship between the speakers?
| A．Fellow workers. | B．Classmates. | C．Brother and sister. |
| A．Go sightseeing. | B．Have a barbecue. | C．Stay at home. |
| A．The birth of a baby. | B．A wedding. | C．A birthday. |
7 . RED lanterns adorn(点缀) the aisles of a small supermarket. There are stacks of red envelopes on sale, for stuffing cash in and handing out as gifts. A sign offers seasonal discounts. Such festive trappings are quite common in China in the build-up to the lunar New Year, which this year starts on January 28th. But this is Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, where Han Chinese are a mere 2.5% of the country’s population. They are a sign that Chinese New Year is becoming a global holiday.
Several countries in Asia celebrate the lunar New Year in their own way. But dragon and lion dances in Chinatowns the world over have helped to make China’s the most famous. These days growing numbers of people who are not of Chinese descent are joining in. In Tokyo window cleaners dress up as the animals of the Chinese zodiac(十二生肖). Barcelona’s Chinese parade includes dracs (a Catalan species of dragon). America, Canada and New Zealand have issued commemorative stamps for the year of the chicken. Last year New York City made the lunar New Year a school holiday for the first time.
The spread of the spring festival, as China calls it, is partly due to recent emigration from China: 9.5 million Chinese people have moved abroad since 1978, many of them far richer than earlier waves of migrants. It also reflects the wealth and globe-trotting ambitions of China’s new middle class: festivities in other countries are partly aimed at the 6 million Chinese who are expected to spend their weeklong holiday abroad this year. International brands are trying to lure these big spenders with chicken-themed items.
Conscious of China’s growing economic and political clout, foreign leaders have taken to noting the occasion. Britain’s Prime Minister, Theresa May, has given a video address, a tradition started in 2014 by her predecessor, David Cameron. Last year the country’s royal family tweeted a picture of Queen Elizabeth dotting the eye of a Chinese lion-dancer’s costume. Also in 2016, Venezuela’s culture minister admitted that his country was celebrating Chinese new year for the first time—with six weeks of festivities—in a bid to improve economic ties with China. It is rumored that this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos was held a week earlier than usual to avoid clashing with Chinese New Year.
China also sponsors related events, such as a display this year of martial arts in Cyprus and a traditional Chinese temple—fair in Harare, Zimbabwe. It may give Chinese officials satisfaction to see foreigners enjoy such festivities. They lament the growing enthusiasm among Chinese for Western celebrations such as Christmas—in December cities across China are bedecked with Santas and snowflake decorations. Chinese New Year is a welcome chance to reverse the cultural flow.
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?| A．Many countries in Asia are similar to each other in celebrating the Chinese lunar New Year. |
| B．This year’s World Economic Forum in Davos was held a week earlier than usual to avoid clashing with Chinese New Year. |
| C．Venezuela is the first country in South America to celebrate the Chinese spring festival. |
| D．Partly owing to recent emigration from China, the Chinese spring festival could be spread worldwide. |
| A．analyzing reasons | B．giving examples |
| C．listing arguments | D．comparing facts |
| A．hook | B．attack |
| C．interfere | D．exclude |
| A．Two | B．Three |
| C．Four | D．Five |
| A．Because these activities are beneficial to improving economic ties with foreign countries. |
| B．Because these activities can bring about large amounts of money. |
| C．Because these activities offer a chance to promote Chinese culture. |
| D．Because these activities would bring forth peace and harmony of the world. |
