1 . 选词填空

A. ticks all the right boxes   B. put on   C. lives up to   D. get across   E. make an impact on      F. makes a comment on   G. are not familiar with   H. Dating back to   I. thanks to   J. on the edge of your seat   K. fall in love with

Cantonese opera is one of the oldest forms of traditional Chinese opera, whose art form will keep you     1      with its explosive effects. It certainly     2     its reputation (名声) with appealing performances.     3     the 12th century, Cantonese opera has developed a unique performance style since the Ming Dynasty. Wearing their colorful costumes and makeup, artists effortlessly     4     dramatic stories to the audiences. All too often, it     5     various social aspects. This cultural heritage continues to     6     audiences with its musical and theatrical qualities. All in all, Cantonese Opera     7     for a cultural experience; when it is    8    , its wide range of performance forms, including singing, recitation, acrobatics, fighting, and dancing amaze audiences. With the great interest in traditional art, young audiences who     9     this opera are now showing a strong passion for learning it. Besides, more and more international friends     10     it due to its popularity worldwide.

2 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. noble     B. might     C. distinct     D. splendour     E. significantly     F. integrated        G. predominantly     H. shaped     I. integral     J. generating     K. underlying

Welcoming the Year of the Dragon or the Loong?

As communities worldwide, both within and outside China, participate in diverse festivities to welcome the Year of the Dragon, the mythical creature has become the subject of debate. Some call it a dragon, while others prefer the term “loong”,     1     a discussion about the most accurate translation of this symbol of traditional Chinese culture.

Do dragon and loong convey the same meaning, or do they represent different creatures with     2     connotations? In Western culture,     3     by Greek mythology, the dragon is frequently portrayed as the guardian of treasure, embodying a symbol of greed and destruction. In China, however, the dragon is very positive. It’s an animal that helps humanity and that is     4    , with emperors often referring to themselves as the “true dragon sons of heaven”.

In the Chinese language, more than 100 idioms incorporate the word “dragon”,     5     conveying positive connotations such as excellence, prestige, royalty,     6     and good luck. The term “dragon” remains a pervasive and     7    element in everyday conversations. When people express admiration for a son-in-law, they often refer to him as “a swift son-in-law who rides the dragon”. During weddings, the groom is usually referred to as the dragon and the bride the phoenix.

Why has the loong been translated into English as dragon? In the early 19^th century, British missionary Robert Morrison compiled the first Chinese-English, English-Chinese dictionary in history, in which he translated the Chinese loong as dragon. The impact of this dictionary was profound, leading to the widespread adoption of the term dragon in the West. Language     8     influences human minds, and as a result, Westerners perceive it intriguing that the Chinese associate themselves with the concept of dragons. In their culture, dragons are symbols of malevolence, contributing to a cultural distortion and misinterpretation.

With China becoming more     9     into the global community and the world becoming more familiar with the Chinese zodiac sign, has the time come to translate the Chinese dragon to loong? The issue of translation may seem trivial. What matters more is conveying the true essence of the zodiac dragon. The Chinese people place great importance on welcoming people globally to immerse themselves in the Year of the Dragon’s celebratory spirit and share in the Spring Festival’s joy, warmth and     10    .

3 . 选词填空

A. symbolizing                  B. occasion                  C. entry               D. coming-of-age        E. responsibilities F. adulthood                      G. events                      H. traditional          I. marriage                 J. represented K. ceremony

More than 50 young girls clad in hanfu, or     1     Chinese clothing took part in the    2     ceremony to mark their     3     into adulthood near Hancheng Lake in Xi’an, Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province on April 7.

At the     4    , these hanfu fans performed a series of rites according to the ancient customs,     5     they are to embark on a new journey in life.

Females in ancient China officially became adult at 15. And a big ceremony was held to mark this “passage to     6    ”, with some     7     tracing their roots to over 2,00-year-old history.

Li Ji, or Book of Rites, a collection of texts describing the social norms, administration, and ceremonial rites of the Zhou Dynasty, said the ceremonies     8     the entry of young people into adulthood, their right to get into     9     and their duty to share family     10    . Only after the ceremony, the young people could be called “adult”.

4 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. abandoned                  B. ceremonies                  C. duties                  D. jewelry        E. memorable F. instructions                 G. historical                    H. occasion                 I. predictions        J. supposed K. traditional

One-Month-Old Feast and One-Year-Old Catch (Zhuazhou) of Babies

In China, One-Month-Old Feast and One-Year-Old Catch of a baby are of unique Chinese characteristics. These two     1     are milestone-like significance in the growing process of a baby.

On the day when a baby is a month old, the family of the baby will invite their friends and relatives to a ceremony to celebrate the     2    . In a     3     One-Month-Old Ceremony, there will be a rejoicing and festive atmosphere in the family and the feast is     4     to be lively and joyful. However, in recent years this custom has been gradually     5     among young people. Nevertheless, One-Month-Old Feast still remains a     6     and happy moment for every family.

“Zhou” in the word “zhuazhou” means “a baby is one year old”. The earliest     7    record about “zhuazhou” appeared during the Dynasty of Northern Qi. On the day when a baby is a year old, before the baby eats its longevity noodle, the family will lay out sutras, brush pens, ink sticks paper, ink slabs, abacus, copper coins, account books,     8    , flowers, rouges, food, toys, etc. If it is a girl, scoops, scissors, rulers, thread, scissor-cut will be added. The parents then put the baby in front of these articles and make it sit up. Nobody will give any     9     or cues to the baby so that it is left free to choose by itself. Watching the baby catch the articles it likes, the family can then make     10    about its potential interests, future career and development.

5 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. because of             B. like             C. shared             D. made        E. ingredients          F. result in G. replace               H. with                 I. through             J. used            K. by

Mooncake Bakers Break the Mold This Year

Mooncakes, the seasonal treat    1    by families and friends during the Mid-Autumn Festival, have become a focus of competition among pastry makers with the traditional holiday for family reunions less than a month away.

Longtime mooncake makers and newcomers are coming up    2    new tricks with new ingredients and fancy designs to lure customers. The holiday, on Oct. 1 this time around, is special this year, many think,     3    the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many mooncake advertisements that started to appear in August in supermarkets, convenience stores and online social media have highlighted new flavours, special ingredients, and exquisite packaging.

Traditional fillings such as lotus seed paste with egg yolk for popular Cantonese-style mooncakes and other common fillings    4    sweet bean paste, jujube paste and the "five kernels"（a mix of walnuts, peanuts, sesame seeds,   almonds and sunflower seeds）are not the only game in town.

This year, Xinya Cantonese Restaurant, which is popular in Shanghai for its seasonal pastries, is promoting mooncakes with mustard tuna fish floss filling and green Sichuan pepper basa fish paste.

Plant-based meat substitutes,     5    by extracting protein from plants such as soybeans and other beans, are also being used by mooncake makers. Kam Wah Gift, a bakery company, has joined in a partnership with plant—based "meat" producer Starfield to design two mooncakes—rose black truffle and matsutake mushroom with artificial meat.

Pagoda, a retail fruit chain with 4,000 outlets in China, has also joined the race with its first mooncake products featuring healthy    6    . The company claims its mooncakes have zero artificial fragrances and dyes, and use antioxidant starch to    7    preservatives.

Taste Back, a snack food startup in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, has been promoting a large mooncake inspired    8    the traditional big, thin pancake popular in Fujian Province. Ding Mao, the company's chief operating officer, said the idea is to build on the local thin pancake.

Designs are another major field of competition as mooncakes are traditionally    9    as gifts. Xinghualou, a traditional Shanghai pastry maker, joined with the Palace Museum to launch mooncakes with limited-edition cases featuring an image of a long scroll painting of the Qing Dynasty（1644-1911）.

Haagen—Dazs, which entered the market with its ice—cream mooncake 22 years ago, worked with the Spanish museum Casa Batllo to use modernist designs from mosaics by architect Antoni Gaudi on the boxes for its mooncake sets.

“Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, people didn't have a proper Spring Festival this year, and we want to convey the ideas of love and connection    10    our mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival,” said James Chiu, vice-president and managing director of General Mills China. General Mills is parent company of Haagen-Dazs.

6 . After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. harmony   B. refer   C. accompanied   D. respect   E. formal   F. select G. symbolic   H. youth   I. divided   J. left   K. entire

24 Solar Terms

The 24 Solar Terms are part of the traditional Chinese calendar. It is known as the “fifth great invention” of China, coming after paper-making, printing, gunpowder and compass.

In the ancient days, they were important instructions for the agricultural production as well as people's daily lives. Starting with the “Start of Spring” and ending with “Major Cold”, each season was    1     into six solar terms, each with a time span of 15 days.

The “Start of Spring”, “Start of Summer”, "Start of Autumn" and “Start of Winter” divided a year into four seasons. The “Vernal Equinox” and “Autumn Equinox”    2     to the time when the days and nights are of equal length, while the “Summer Solstice” sees the longest day and the shortest night in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the contrary on the day of the “Winter Solstice”. There are also some other solar terms which marks things like temperature, growth of the crops, and weather conditions.

From generation to generation, the experience in farming and daily life has been passed. Many farmers still rely on the solar terms now to decide what should do in the fields. The influences of the ancient way of dividing time have in fact gone beyond farming into the    3     lives of the Chinese people, even their mindset.

Most of the solar terms bear rich    4    , social and cultural connotations（含义）, such as traditional celebrations, rituals and even festivals. For instance, the “Pure Brightness” is also marked as the tomb-sweeping day, when people pay    5     to the lost ones.

Even today, people still eat dumplings during the “Start of Winter” and porridge when autumn starts. Besides, some rituals were also marked in different areas of China. The Zhuang people in south China hold    6     banquets to celebrate Frost Festival during the “Start of Spring”.

Every time a new term begins in China, the Chinese social media would see a wave of ceremonial posts from the    7    . The ancient calendar has never been    8     behind by the development of information technology.

    9     by the photos, paintings and essays, it is not hard to imagine that the ancient concept of respect for nature, as well as the philosophy of    10     between man and nature would have even longer life and stronger vitality, together with the Chinese history.

7 . 选词填空

A. venturing	B. quoted	C. interview	D. sponsor	E. historical	F. launch
G. relatively	H. professional	I. traced	J. facilities	K. regularly

Jiading--Centuries of History, Decades of Change

A book entitled “Jiading–Centuries of History, Decades of Change” by American writer Kate Baker has recently been published in Shanghai. New book launch was held last week at the Old China Hand Style, a major    1    of a series of walking guide books called “Beyond the Concession: Six Walks in Shanghai’s Other Districts.” And Baker’s “Jiading” runs the fourth among the six.

From a foreign point of view, the book has    2    the history of Jiading District back between the year Tang Dynasty(618-907) and the Song Dynasty(960-1279), when Jiading had been “a leading economic and intellectual influence in the region long before Shanghai became a major trading port,” as Bakeris     3    in her book.

Baker first landed in Shanghai in 2011 with her husband, an engineer with Ford, who was sent to work in Shanghai to prepare for the    4    of the Lincoln brand in China. “I and my husband have been traveling around the world in the past 20 years,” Baker said at a(n)    5    with Shanghai Daily. “Wherever I go, I would jump into the local history and culture quickly and deeply.”

Having taken a 15-month online course of Chinese with Harvard’s “ChinaX”, Baker started    6    out on her own. An occasional excursion into the north west of Shanghai, she “discovered” and fell in love with Jiading. Since then, she has visited Jiading    7    , bringing family, friends, and tour groups. At the end of 2013, the Jiading Tourism Bureau officially invited Baker to write a book on Jiading.

With up-to-date facts, useful information and    8    pictures, Baker’s “Jiading” is a well researched guide about interesting areas less than one hour from Shanghai. There are chapters on celebrating the seasonal and agricultural festivals that are unique to the region; stories of    9    figures living in Jiading; changes to the Nanxiang Old Town; tours to numerous gardens, museums and temples; and the development of outdoor recreational activities in Jiading’s Anting Town, such as the F1 car racing, horse riding and golf.

With good public    10    and enough green space, Baker sees Jiading a high growth district of Shanghai, which offers a quality of lifestyle and tourism. “I see a better-planned and forward-thinking of the district government. And I sincerely thank the people of Jiading who welcomed me to their community and trusted me with their narrative,” Baker says.

8 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. hints       B. dominant       C. oriented       D. duly E. rhyme       F. featuring       G. preservation       H. inheritance I. symbolizes       J. historically       K. morality

Huizhou heritage comes to life

It was a natural choice for veteran Huang Yu, after serving in the army and owning a business in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, for years, to go back to his hometown in Xidi village, Huangshan, Anhui province, in 2016. He took over the homestay his parents opened when he was a middle school student.

In 2000, Xidi and the nearby Hongcun village were declared World Heritage sites by UNESCO for their outstanding     1     of rural architecture dating to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Now, walking along the bluestone streets in Xidi or Hongcun, visitors can appreciate the distinctive Huizhou-style houses,     2     white walls, dark tiles and layered horse-head gables, and feel like they are immersed in a traditional Chinese ink painting.

This level of preservation could not be achieved without the participation of local residents. According to Huang, this awareness is not new - since all streets and alleys in Xidi are paved with bluestone,     3    , street dealers carrying wares on shoulder poles were forbidden from letting their poles touch the ground in order to protect the bluestone.

A local folk     4     says: “One is not lucky to be born in Huizhou. At 13 or 14 he is kicked out of his hometown to make a living.” It     5     at the struggles once endured by the people of Huizhou. Toward the end of the Ming Dynasty, a group of Huizhou merchants became famous, trading in salt, wood and tea, and working as pawnbrokers (当铺老板) with a reputation for     6     and honesty.

“Some folk customs have been retained and newly     7     toward tourism, offering glimpses into the lives of the ancient Huizhou people.”These customs are revived as a demonstration for tourists, and to maintain the     8     of traditional culture. Zhang Wangnan, director of the China Huizhou Culture Museum in Huangshan says “This     9     the combination of intangible with tangible cultural heritage.”

He further suggests that the old Huizhou villages explore and find their own unique, marketable themes. “Each of them should find a     10    local feature, whether it is tea, chrysanthemum or rapeseed flowers, and then make it the theme of the village, so that they can give full play to their distinctive cultural charm.”

9 . 阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从方框中选出能填入文中空白处的最合适的单词。注意，其中有两个多余选项。

A. internet     B. careers     C. popularize     D. invited       E. national       F. introducing G. titles        H. cultural     I. understand     J. attracting     K. platform     L. practising

Zhang Hanliang, a martial arts teacher at Tianshui Normal University in Gansu province, has produced many traditional Chinese martial arts videos in the past years,     1     sixteen million viewers at home and abroad on the online     2     Bilibili.

Zhang, now 35 years old, has been     3     martial arts since she was seven. Thanks to her hard work, Zhang won her first sword (剑) championship in Gansu province at 13. She then got sword and spear titles at a     4     level when she was 17, and at 20, she won a series of championship titles in various categories. In 2007, Zhang began to work as a martial arts teacher at Tianshui Normal University, getting new     5     such as first-class national athlete and first-class national judge of martial arts.

In addition to her daily teaching tasks, Zhang has been     6     to France, Russia, Malaysia and other countries many times to teach martial arts. “Martial arts can be a bridge for     7     exchanges between China and other countries,” said Zhang, adding that she wanted to     8     martial arts to the audience through the     9    . And she hoped more and more foreigners could     10     and love martial arts.

10 . 选词填空

I had always been attracted to ethnic cultures. So I went to Dali, Yunnan province, a district of diverse minorities. A     1    super experience. In fact, at first, I thought there would be a large percentage of     2    made of primitive materials due to financial difficulty. However, it turned out that the downtown area     3    bars in which jazz was played and shops where special clothing, accessories and souvenirs were for sale. Many people are immigrants from other places. Some come to     4    their fortune or (to) earn a living while others     5    down to escape from the cold north of China. Afterwards, we     6     a neighborhood where the Bai ethnic group live. I participated in series of activities, including knowing poisonous mushrooms, learning about herbal medicine, and     7    items unique to the Bai. Apart from this, I tasted really spicy local food. I experienced the culture first hand and (I) wrote journals neatly every day.