March, April and May are months full of festivals and events all over the world. Here are some wonderful festivals around the world that happen in spring.
SongKran--Thailand
Dates: 13th-15th, April
In Thailand, it’s time to celebrate the coming monsoon season, which will bring the rain many people have been looking forward to. They celebrate it with a festival called Songkran，when people head out to the streets with water guns to spray(喷，洒）everyone who walks past. If you walk on the streets where the festival is celebrated, prepare to get soaked!
Naghol--Vanuatu
Dates: Every Saturday from April to May
Every year, villagers come together to celebrate the harvest of yams, an important part in the people’s diet in Vanuatu. The festival is most famous for its “land di ving ceremony”. During the ceremony men and boys dive to the ground from high wooden towers with only two thin vines(藤条) attached(附于)to their ankles(脚踝）. The divers’ heads have to lightly touch the ground when they jump---something very dangerous if the vines are not measured（测量）properly.
Cherry Blossom Viewing ---Japan
Dates: The cherry blossom season is different from year to year depending on the weather forecast.
The cherry blossom season has huge importance to the people of Japan, who celebrate the days when the flowers finally blossom. Only a few days later, the petals(花瓣） fall to the ground, like pink snowflakes. This is one of the most beautiful things to see. In Japan, almost everyone has picnics in the parks to view the flowers.
Sinhalese New Year--Sri Lanka
Dates: 13th or 14th, April
Just like in many other countries in South an South East Asia, this is the time when the Sinhalese celebrate the traditional New Year, an ancient celebration which marks the end of the harvest season and is one of two times of the year when the sun is straight above Sri Lanka. There are a lot of delicious foods during the celebration.What does the underlined word “soaked” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．tired | B．wet | C．crazy | D．interested |
The writer thinks that the “land diving ceremony” can be dangerous for the divers because ___________.
| A．the divers may fall onto the ground if the thin vines break |
| B．the divers may bump into （撞在…上）the wooden tower on the way down |
| C．the divers’ ankles may get injured if the vines are tied too tightly |
| D．the divers may injure their heads if the vines aren’t measured properly |
. We can learn from the passage that__________________.
| A．the Cherry Blossom Celebration usually lasts a long time in Japan |
| B．the Cherry Blossom Celebration is the most important festival in Japan |
| C．the time for the Cherry Blossom Celebration in Japan can be different yearly |
| D．people usually stay at home for celebration during the cherry blossom season |
Young adult filmmakers all hope to show their works in international festivals like Sundance and Toronto. But what about really young filmmakers who aren’t in film school yet and aren’t, strictly speaking, eve adults?
They are at the heart of Wingspan Arts Film Festival tomorrow, in a setting any director might envy: Lincoln center. Complete with “red carpet” interviews and various awards, the festival has much in common with events for more experienced moviemakers, except for the age of the participants: about 8 to 18.
“What’s really exciting is that it’s film for kids by kids,” said Cori Gardner, managing director of Wingspan Arts, a nonprofit organization offering youth arts programs in the New York area. This year the festival will include films not only from Wingspan but also from other city organizations and one from a middle school in Arlington, Virginia. “We want to make this a national event,” Ms. Gardner added.
The nine shorts to b shown range from a Claymation biography of B.B. King to a science fiction adventure set in the year 3005. “Ａlot of the material is really mature,” Ms. Gardner said, talking about films by the New York branch of Global Action Project, a media arts and leadership-training group. “The choice is about the history of a family and Master Anti-Smoker is about the dangers of secondhand smoke.” Dream of the Invisibles describes young immigrants’ (移民) feelings of both belonging and not belonging in their adopted country.
The festival will end with an open reception at which other films will be shown. These include a music video and a full-length film whose title is Pressure.
Wingspan Arts Kids Film Festival _____________.
| A．is organized by a middle school |
| B．is as famous as the Toronto Festival |
| C．shows films made by children |
| D．offers awards to film school students |
Which of the following is true of Wingspan Arts?
| A．It helps young filmmakers to make money. |
| B．It provides arts projects for young people. |
| C．It’s a media arts and leadership-training group. |
| D．It’s a national organization for young people. |
The underlined word “shorts” in Paragraph 4 refers to _________.
| A．short trousers | B．short kids | C．short films | D．short stories |
Movies to be shown in the festival ______________.
A. cover different subjects B. focus on kid’s life
C. are produced by Global Action Project D. are directed by Ms. Gardner
60. At the end of this film festival, there will be __________.
A. various awards B. “red carpet” interviews
C. an open reception D. a concert at Lincoln Center
I began working in journalism(新闻工作) when I was eight.It was my mother’s idea.She wanted me to“make something”of myself,and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue.The crowds were there.There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union.For several hours I made myself highly visible,making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST.When it was suppertime,I walked back home.
“How many did you sell,my boy?”my mother asked.
“None.”
“Where did you go?”
“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“What did you do?”
“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“You just stood there?”
“Didn’t sell a single one.”
“My God,Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in,“Well,I’ve decided to take the Post.”I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币).It was the first nickel I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman.I would have to ring doorbells,address adults with self-confidence(自信),and persuade them by saying that no one,no matter how poor,could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day,I told my mother I’d changed my mind.I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“If you think you can change your mind like this,”she replied,“you’ll become a good-for-nothing.”She insisted that,as soon as school was over,I should start ringing doorbells,selling magazines.Whenever I said no,she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember.My mother,dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life,determined that I would not grow up like him and his people.But never did she expect that,forty years later,such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.Why did the boy start his job young?
| A．He wanted to be famous in the future. |
| B．The job was quite easy for him. |
| C．His mother had high hopes for him. |
| D．The competition for the job was fierce. |
From the dialogue between the boy and his mother,we learn that the mother was _______.
| A．excited | B．interested |
| C．ashamed | D．disappointed |
What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?
| A．She forced him to continue. |
| B．She punished him. |
| C．She gave him some money. |
| D．She changed her plan. |
What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?
| A．The war between the boy’s parents. |
| B．The arguing between the boy and his mother. |
| C．The quarrel between the boy and his customers. |
| D．The fight between the boy and his father. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．The early life of a journalist. |
| B．The early success of a journalist. |
| C．The happy childhood of the writer. |
| D．The important role of the writer in his family. |
Tell a story and tell it well,and you may open wide the eyes of a child,open up lines of communication in a business,or even open people's mind to another culture or race.
People in many places are digging up the old folk stories and the messages in them.For example,most American storytellers get their tales from a wide variety of sources,cultures,and times.They regard storytelling not only as a useful tool in child education,but also as a meaningful activity that helps adults understand themselves as well as those whose culture may be very different from their own.
"Most local stories are based on a larger theme,"American storyteller Opalanga Pugh says,"Cinderella(灰姑娘),or the central idea of a good child protected by her goodness,appears in various forms in almost every culture of the world."
Working with students in schools,Pugh helps them understand their own cultures and the general messages of the stories.She works with prisoners too,helping them know who they are by telling stories that her listeners can write,direct,and act in their own lives.If they don't like the story they are living,they can rewrite the story.Pugh also works to help open up lines of communication between managers and workers."For every advance in business,"she says,"there is a greater need for communication."Storytelling can have a great effect on either side of the manager-worker relationship,she says.
Pugh spent several years in Nigeria,where she learned how closely storytelling was linked to the everyday life of the people there.The benefits of storytelling are found everywhere,she says."I learned how people used stories to spread their culture,"she says."What I do is to focus on the value of stories that people can translate into their own daily world of affairs.We are all storytellers.We all have a story to tell.We tell everybody's story."
| 1． |
What do we learn about American storytellers from Paragraph 2?
|
| 2． |
The underlined sentence(Paragraph 4) suggests that prisoners can.
|
| 3． |
Pugh has practised storytelling withgroups of people.
|
| 4． |
What is the main idea of the text?
|
Below is a web page from Google.
| Olympic—Modern Olympic Games The complete results archive of summer and winter Olympic games,with winners lists,statistics,national anthems and flags of all countries since 1896. www.olympic.it/english/home-16k Environment Beijing steel plants to run at the lowest level of cost during 2008 Olympics［2007-03-11］Beijing able to treat 90 pct of waste water ［2007-02-05］·Air quality in Beijing has improved over the past six years［2007-02-01］·Green Olympics dream coming true... en.beijing2008.com/80/67/column211716780.shtml-52k Beijing announces planned route of Olympic torch relay Beijing announced the 2008 Olympics Games torch relay route and set off the Olympic Games torch on Thursday. ...Green Olympics is one of the three concepts of the Beijing Games,... english.china.com/zh-cn/news/sports/11059227/14069663.html-26k Environmental Symbol of Beijing Olympics—‘Green Olympics’ |
| Environmental Symbol of Beijing Olympics—‘Green Olympics’,officially annouced on Saturday,24 September 2005.The symbol,created using a calligraphic art form,is composed of human and tree-like shapes,... my.opera.com/green_head/blog/show.dml/92155-18k Green Olympics Forum In Beijing 2004 On behalf of BOCOG,Wang Wei,executive vice president of BOCOG,gave a presentation about Green Olympics,introduced the environment protection work of BMG and BOCOG,and answered several questions such as protection of cultural relics... en.beijing2008.com/84/91/article211929184.shtml-36k Olympic Games Quizzes and Olympic Games Trivia Who was the founder of the Modern Olympics?In which cities were the modern Olympic Games due to be held/scheduled during the ‘war years’,i.e.,1916,1940,and 1944?...In which three years of the Modern Olympic Games were...More questions... www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/sports/olympic_games.html-12k OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT ...aimed at young researchers engaged in scholarly research on the Olympic Movement,its history and values,and the impact of the...［Full story］SPORT ACCORD［2005-01-23］... www.olympic.org/ Ancient Olympic Heritage and Modern Olympic Games in Athens 2004 As put forward in the various official texts,the Olympic symbols of ancient Olympia,the Olympic flame and the Marathon race and bridges between the ancient and the modern Olympic Games,... www.c2008.org/rendanews/knowledge_detail.asp?id=911-106k |
When was the environmental symbol of Beijing Olympics made public?
| A．On January 23,2005. |
| B．On September 24,2005. |
| C．On February 5,2007. |
| D．On March 11,2007. |
Which of the following websites is designed for young researchers interested in the Olympics?
| A．Environment |
| B．Green Olympics Forum In Beijing 2004 |
| C．Olympic Games Quizzes and Olympic Games Trivia |
| D．OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT |
Which website provides a complete list of the winners in the Olympic Games?
| A．Olympic—Modern Olympic Games |
| B．Green Olympics Forum In Beijing 2004 |
| C．Environmental Symbol of Beijing Olympics—‘Green Olympics’ |
| D．Ancient Olympic Heritage and Modern Olympic Games in Athens 2004 |
What do we learn from the above web page?
| A．Beijing has made efforts to improve its air quality. |
| B．The Olympic torch relay route has not been planned. |
| C．The Olympic flags will be on display in Athens. |
| D．A quiz on the Olympics will be held in Beijing. |
People who have lost the ability to understand or use words due to brain damage are called aphasics(失语症患者).Such patients can be extremely good at something else.From the changing expressions on speakers’ faces and the tones of their voices,they can tell lies from truths.
Doctors studying the human brain have given a number of examples of this amazing power of aphasics.Some have even compared this power to that of a dog with an ability to find out the drugs hidden in the baggage.
Recently,scientists carried out tests to see if all that was said about aphasics was true.THEY STUDIED A MIXED GROUP OF PEOPLE.Some were normal;others were aphasics.It was proved that the aphasics were far ahead of the normal people in recognizing false speeches—in most cases,the normal people were fooled by words,but the aphasics were not.
Some years ago,Dr.Oliver Sacks wrote in his book about his experiences with aphasics.He mentioned a particular case in a hospital.Some aphasics were watching the president giving a speech on TV.Since the president had been an actor earlier,making a good speech was no problem for him.He was trying to put his feelings into every word of his speech.
But his way of speaking had the opposite effect on the patients.They didn’t seem to believe him.Instead,they burst into laughter.The aphasics knew that the president did not mean a word of what he was saying.He was lying!
Many doctors see aphasics as people who are not completely normal because they lack the ability to understand words.However,according to Dr.Sacks,they are more gifted than normal people.Normal people may get carried away by words.Aphasics seem to understand human expressions better,though they cannot understand words.What is so surprising about aphasics?
| A．They can fool other people. | B．They can find out the hidden drugs. |
| C．They can understand language better. | D．They can tell whether people are lying. |
How did the scientists study aphasics?
| A．By asking them to watch TV together. |
| B．By organizing them into acting groups. |
| C．By comparing them with normal people. |
| D．By giving them chances to speak on TV. |
What do we learn from this text?
| A．What one says reflects how one feels. |
| B．Aphasics have richer feelings than others. |
| C．Normal people often tell lies in their speeches. |
| D．People poor at one thing can be good at another. |
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