1 . Labor Day in America began more than 100 years ago to honor low-paid factory workers.
Labor Day also informally marks the end of summer. Many students return to school after Labor Day. The hot days of summer turn cooler. Many Americans celebrate the holiday with an outdoor family picnic.
But Labor Day started with a struggle. On May 1, 1889, workers demonstrated on the streets of Paris, France. International Labor Day was born. Most industrialized countries in the world—except the United States and Canada—celebrate Labor Day on the first of May.
On September 5, 1882, in New York City. About 10,000 workers walked through the streets to show the strength of organized labor. For many years after that, American workers used the first Monday in September to ask for better working conditions and pay. Music was a part of many of those marches.
Labor songs traditionally tell stories of conflict (冲突) and hopes for a better life. Many traditional American labor songs came from workers in the coal mines of the South. Mine owners were bitterly against workers’ unions (工会). In Kentucky, company police searched for union leaders. They waited outside a worker’s home for several days to stop him from organizing.
The coal miner’s wife, Florence Reece, stayed inside with her children. She wrote this song, “Which Side Are You On?” Another American labor song is called “Bread and Roses.” It is based on a poem by James Oppenheim, published in December of 1911.
The poem speaks about the women’s labor movement. At that time, conditions in factories, where many women worked, were horrible. A fire at a clothing factory in New York killed 146 people.
A month after Oppenheim’s poem was published, textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts went on strike, which won them higher pay and better working conditions. Oppenheim’s poem gained more attention.
1. What does Labor Day mean to students in the United States?A.It’s a time to eat in the wild. | B.Their summer vacation is over. |
C.It teaches them to respect labor. | D.They learn much about history. |
A.Fought. | B.United. | C.Marched. | D.Quarreled. |
A.To force him to stay at home. | B.To prevent his wife writing the song. |
C.To try to communicate with him. | D.To stop marches being organized. |
A.He cared for working women’s rights. | B.He created the song “Bread and Roses”. |
C.He reported the fire at a clothing factory. | D.He led the labor movement in Lawrence. |
2 . Almost everyone who has studied English has been warned about the way Brits love their manners. It is part of our national identity, as much as fish and chips or complaining about the weather. Recently I have been wondering where this comes from and I read online that we say sorry up to eight times a day. Probably the same amount of times that any other person says “hello” or “how are you”. It is almost like greetings to us! It was only when I was explaining how there are five steps of saying thank you when you buy something from a shop to a Mexican friend of mine that I realised how mad it sounded.
After some research online I have not been able to find any specific reasons why we are the way we are. I suppose for centuries manners and how we eat at the table and talk to other people have been the barriers between the lower and upper classes and represent your social status. Britain has traditionally been a quite conservative country. There are many articles suggesting that this seemingly polite attitude of always saying please and thank you is quite false because it is impossible to always feel that you want to thank someone or say please.
Maybe it is for this reason that people are going one of two ways: they are incredibly polite and hold back on their feelings or not polite at all, and express their true feelings. Some Brits are fed up of pretending that they are always content and having to please people. Sometimes because we feel we have to be polite, we are prevented from saying what we truly think. Do you think it is better to not hurt people’s feelings and be polite or to let people know the truth? In your country what is the custom? I know in some countries if someone is considered to be doing their job, the clients think that they do not need to be thanked.
1. What does the author think of the British way of saying “Thank you”?A.Normal. | B.Surprising. | C.Exciting. | D.Pleasing. |
A.Why the British like to complain about the weather. |
B.Why the British love their way of showing manners. |
C.Why the British are fond of fish and chips so much. |
D.Why the British have five steps of saying thank you. |
A.Wealth and health. | B.Social status. | C.Politeness. | D.Attitudes. |
A.They want to express their true feelings. |
B.They want to let people know the truth. |
C.They are kept from saying what they think. |
D.They want to represent their social status. |
3 . Day of the Dead
Here’s one thing we know: Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is not a Mexican version of Halloween.
Day of the Dead originated several thousand years ago with the Aztec, Toltec, and other Nahua people, who considered mourning the dead disrespectful.
Today’s Día de los Muertos celebration is a mash-up(混聚) of pre-Hispanic religious rites and Christian feasts. It takes place on November 1 and 2—All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day on the Catholic calendar—around the time of the fall maize harvest.
Cultural heritage is not just monuments and collections of objects. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) says that cultural heritage also includes living expressions of culture—traditions—passed down from generation to generation.
Day of the Dead is an extremely social holiday that spills into streets and public squares at all hours of the day and night. Dressing up as skeletons is part of the fun. People of all ages have their faces artfully painted to resemble skulls, and, mimicking the Calavera Catrina, they don suits and fancy dresses.
A.In 2008, UNESCO recognized the importance of Día de los Muertos by adding the holiday to its list of Intangible(无形的) Cultural Heritage of Humanity. |
B.Some families place their dead loved one’s favorite meal on the altar(祭坛). |
C.Though related, the two annual events differ greatly in traditions and tone. |
D.Many revelers wear shells or other noisemakers to fuel the excitement—and also possibly to rouse the dead and keep them close during the fun. |
E.Today, the calavera Catrina, or elegant skull, is the Day of the Dead’s most ubiquitous symbol. |
F.For these pre-Hispanic(前西班牙时期的) cultures, death was a natural phase in life’s long continuum. |
BEAUTIFUL IRELAND AND ITS TRADITIONS
Ireland’s beautiful countryside has always had a great influence on its people and traditions. The country has a long history of producing great writers and poets. Its beautiful countryside excites and inspires all, offering something for each of the senses. The peaceful landscape of the “Emerald Isle” and its many green counties is a true feast for the eyes, with its rolling green hills dotted with sheep and cattle. And down by the sea, the roar of the ocean waves and cries of the seabirds make up the music of the coast. On a quiet morning in the mountains, feel the sun on your skin, and breathe in the sweet scent of fresh flowers while birds greet the new day with their morning song. With all this beauty, it is not surprising that Ireland has developed strong traditions that include music, dancing, and dining. To have a chance of experiencing this, stop by a village pub and relax with a glass of wine or a local beer. Better yet, enjoy a delicious traditional Irish Beef Stew. If you’re lucky, you might be able to enjoy some traditional music and dancing, too. And if you introduce yourself to a friendly face, you are more than likely to experience local culture and customs first-hand.
1. What makes the Irish countryside exciting and inspiring?2. What are the best ways to experience some Irish traditions and culture?
3. What is the meaning of “breathe in the sweet scent of fresh flowers while birds greet the new day with their morning song”?
4. What are the best ways to experience Chinese traditions and customs?
5 . 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. |
6 . Kwanzaa may be a festival celebrated by millions of African Americans and pan-Africans, but it has only been around for a few decades (十年). Introduced to the United States in 1966 as a ceremony to welcome the first harvest to the home, the festival, which takes place from December 26 to January 1, is a celebration of life, unity, family, and culture.
Featuring feasts, music and dance, and a devotion and recommitment to different principles (信条), the festival was created in the middle of the Black Freedom Movement, at a time when it was felt that cultural grounding was needed.
Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University in Long Beach, is responsible for bringing the festival to life. After the Watts violence in L.A., Dr. Karenga searched for ways to strengthen the African-American community. He paired the practices with traditions of several different harvest celebrations on the African continent, and although it is celebrated around the Christmas period, it perhaps has more similarities to Thanksgiving or the Yam Festival in Ghana and Nigeria.
There are five common sets of values that are central to the week-long activities: ingathering, reverence, commemoration, recommitment, and celebration. There are seven principles of Kwanzaa, meaning first fruits in Kiswahili, a language spoken in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The first fruit celebrations appear in ancient and modern times in classical African civilizations.
These seven principles are known as Umoja, meaning unity; kujichagulia, self-determination; ujima, collective work, and responsibility; ujamaa, cooperative economics; nia, purpose; kuumba, creativity; and Imani, faith. There are seven candles used during the festival, and like, the Jewish Hanukkah, these candles are used to represent the principles.
On December 31, participants celebrate with a plentiful meal, often featuring good meals from various African countries.
The number of Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa has changed greatly over the years, and with as many as six million getting involved in the 1980s, Kwanzaa became a mainstream holiday. Now, however, numbers have paled, but it still remains an important cultural touchstone (试金石) for many African American communities.
1. What activity can be included during the celebration of Kwanzaa?A.Creating a piece of music. | B.Having a plentiful meal. |
C.Giving and receiving gifts. | D.Enjoying an art exhibition. |
A.He started the Watts violence in Los Angeles. |
B.He created five common sets of values. |
C.He found ways to practice African traditions. |
D.He strengthened the unity of neighbors. |
A.Kwanzaa is a festival across the world. |
B.Africans are considered important in the U.S.. |
C.Kwanzaa is an important cultural symbol. |
D.Kwanzaa is less popular among young Africans. |
A.A festival: The Culture Cross the World |
B.African Americans: An Important Part of Americans |
C.Principles: The Focus of a Festival |
D.Kwanzaa: The African Celebration of Unity and Culture |
7 . As the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Therefore, when you intend to run your business in France, you may as well get to know French culture, make marketing plans, and do business by local laws.
Use first names only after being invited to.
Dress well. The French draw information about people based on their appearance. Your business clothing is a reflection of your success and social status.
The French are passionate about food, so lunches are common in doing business in France, which usually consist of an appetizer, a main meal with wine, cheese, dessert and coffee, and normally take up to two hours.
Do not begin eating until the host says “bon appetite”. Pass dishes to the left, keep wrists above the table and try to eat everything on the plate.
A.Always try to be tasteful and stylish. |
B.Remember to be as polite as possible. |
C.This is a time for relationship building. |
D.Use Monsieur or Madame before the surname. |
E.Be careful with adding salt, pepper or sauces to your food. |
F.Make an appointment with your business partner in advance. |
G.Language should be the focus of anyone planning to do business in France |
Festivals are celebrated all around the world. They have a wide range of origins, such as the seasons of the year, famous figures, and important events. Every festival has its different customs and unique charms. However, no matter how different they may seem, all over the world, the spirit of sharing joy, gratitude, love, or peace is common in all festivals.
Of all the traditional festivals, the harvest festival can be found in almost every culture. This important agricultural festival takes place after all the crops have been gathered in. People celebrate to show that they are grateful for the year’s supply of food. In ancient Egypt, the harvest festival was celebrated during the springtime — the Egyptian harvest season. It featured a parade and a great feast with music, dancing, and sports. Today, in some European countries, people decorate churches and town halls with flowers and fruit, and get together to celebrate over a meal. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, families gather to admire the shining moon and enjoy delicious mooncakes.
Customs play a significant role in festivals, but sometimes they can change over time. With the development of modern society and the spread of new ideas, some traditions may fade away and others may be established. One example is the typical Chinese Spring Festival custom of lighting firecrackers to drive away the evil spirits and celebrate the new year. Nowadays, many big cities have given up this custom in order to avoid air pollution. Another example is Halloween, which slowly became an exciting festival for children, in spite of its origins.
Festivals are becoming more and more commercial (商业化的), with business taking advantage of the celebrations. Online shopping websites and social media apps have made it much easier for the public to spend more on gifts for their loved ones. Although some believe festivals should not be commercialised, others believe the increase in spending is good for the economy and public happiness.
Festivals are an important part of society. They reflect people’s wishes, beliefs, faiths, and attitudes towards life. They are occasions that allow us to relax and enjoy life, and forget about our work for a little while. They help us understand where we came from, who we are, and what to appreciate. And if you study festivals carefully, you may be surprised to find that different cultures actually have a lot in common after all.
1. Why do people celebrate the harvest festival?2. How did some traditions change over time according to the passage?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
Festivals are becoming more and more commercial. The festivals should not be commercialised because commercialisation is a totally negative development.
4. What festivals do you celebrate with your family each year? Why do you celebrate them? (In about 40 words)
9 . Did you know that creating a product that fails terribly could get you featured in a museum? Hundreds of failed products and inventions are getting attention and appreciation in the Museum of Failure in Hollywood.
It is the brainchild of Samuel West, a Swedish psychologist who created it to change the way people think about failure. “Failure is necessary for any kind of progress,” West said. It had a traveling exhibition in Shanghai in 2019 with over 100 “failed” products from big-name companies such as Nokia, Apple and Coca-Cola. “I really hope you see that these well-known brands that everybody respects screw up too,” West told the New York Times.
West's opinion isn't new. The famed physicist Albert Einstein once said, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” This idea has even been embraced by big companies in Silicon Valley. A common slogan is “Fail fast, fail often.” “The best companies are those that encourage failure, embrace out-of-the-box thinking, and allow employees to make mistakes and see what happens,” wrote Simon Custo of Forbes.
But some people are skeptical of this so-called “culture of failure”. They are worried that if failure becomes “a badge (徽章) of honor”, it may even be seen as “uncool” when someone tries to reduce the risk of failure. This may lead to carelessness and lack of effort. “Sometimes people hide behind failure, when they could have prevented,” wrote Anna Issac of The Telegraph.
So it's important that people set apart the 2 kinds of failure: the kind that shows laziness or incompetence and the kind that takes you forward. The key is whether you've learned something from your mistakes.
1. Why did Samuel West found the Museum of Failure?A.To get himself famous all over the world. |
B.To practice Albert Einstein's view on mistakes. |
C.To draw people's attention to the value of failure. |
D.To exhibit the failed products from big companies. |
A.Make a mess. |
B.Bring much damage. |
C.Contribute little. |
D.Break the rules. |
A.Acknowledgement of failure is glorious. |
B.Carelessness and laziness lead to failure. |
C.Learning from mistakes is the key to progress. |
D.Risk of failure should be reduced with efforts. |
A.Failure is a badge of honor. |
B.Don't come home as a failure. |
C.Face failure and find the reasons. |
D.Better to fail early than to fail late. |
10 . In early November of 1503, during Christopher Columbus's fourth and final trip to America, his ship was seriously damaged in a storm. Columbus and his men had to live on a small island for several months while they tried to repair their ship and return to Spain.
At first, the local people on the island were very kind to the European visitors, giving them all the food and clothes they needed to survive. However, as months passed, the local people became more and more unhappy with their guests, who were tricking and stealing from them. Finally the locals decided to stop helping. Without food or any way to leave the island, Columbus's group was soon in serious trouble.
Luckily for Columbus, he had a book about the stars and planets on his ship. It described the movements of all the objects in the night sky. The book, written by a well-known German scientist, said there would be a total lunar eclipse(月全食) on the evening of February 29,1504 and how long it would last.
Columbus worked out the difference in time between Germany and North America. He then had a meeting with the local leaders just before the eclipse would take place. In this meeting, Columbus told them his god was angry because the local people were no longer giving food. So his god would take away the moon to punish them. The moment Columbus finished talking, just as he had planned, the moon began disappearing.
The local leaders grew panicked and quickly agreed to provide Columbus with food and anything else he wanted. But first, Columbus's god had to return the moon. Columbus told them he would have to discuss the idea with his god on his ship. Knowing the moon would stay completely hidden for about 48minutes, Columbus returned just before the moon began to reappear. From that day on, until they finally left, Columbus and his men no longer had any trouble getting the food they needed.
1. The local people became angry because the Europeans ________.A.looked very different | B.had nothing to trade |
C.were cheats and thieves | D.wanted to take their land |
A.From a book. | B.From the moon. |
C.From his group. | D.From the locals. |
A.He discussed the problem with his god. |
B.He waited for the total lunar eclipse to finish. |
C.He read about the stars and planets. |
D.He told his men what happened. |
A.They all believed in God. | B.They never returned to Spain. |
C.They admired the local people. | D.They caused their own problems. |