New Yorkers and visitors to the Big Apple will get to ring in the Lunar New Year，also known as Chinese New Year in the U．S．，in style with a fireworks display on the Hudson River set to music written by Academy Award﹣winning composer Tan Dun．
The display is part of the second annual"Happy Chinese New Year：Fantastic Art China"festival held in New York on February 5﹣10，2016．The China Central Academy of Fine Arts （CAFA），the U．S．﹣China Cultural Institute and the Cultural Associate of the Committee of 100announced this year's events on November 18at a press conference at the Lincoln Center．
The"Fantastic Art China"festival will feature a larger and more diverse series of artistic and cultural events across New York's top cultural venues （地点） and landmarks，including the Lincoln Center，Empire State Building and Jacob K．Javits Convention Center．
This year's theme focuses on exploring the complicated relationship between sound and image，said Professor Yu Ding from CAFA，who is also president of Fantastic Art China and in charge of the festival's design．Lunar New Year，which celebrates the"Year of the Monkey"in 2016，is an opportunity to bring China's modern art to mainstream America，and the festival serves as an innovative approach to establishing cultural exchange between China and New York City，Yu said．
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun's music is a new edition that will be featured at several venues，including a major art exhibition at the Javits Center，events at the Lincoln Center and the fireworks display on the Hudson，which will take place on the evening of February 6．Five barges （游艇） on the river will launch the fireworks designed by CAFA that will tell a story about celebration and conservation．
"We Chinese are fond of nature，so the best way to celebrate the Lunar New Year is to salute with the sounds of nature，such as sounds of water，stone and bamboo，"said Tan Dun at the press conference，"And it will be fun to use the music of water during the firework display．"
In addition to the fireworks，a special lighting show at the Empire State Building will illuminate New York City during the holiday．
Chinese New Year is being recognized as a public school holiday for the first time in New York．Children from the National Dance Institute，which represents 75schools，will perform traditional Chinese dances at the Lincoln Center and the Javits Center．And，in celebration of the"Year of the Monkey"events will feature a conservation message about the endangered golden monkey in China．
1.The theme of this year's celebration is centered on ．
A. diversity of Chinese traditional festivals
B. relationship between sound and image of nature
C. endangered species and environment protection
D. cultural exchange between China and America
2.The coming"Year of the Monkey"is to be celebrated in New York by ．
A. sailing on the Hudson River along with a new﹣year speech
B. holding a special concert at the Empire State Building
C. setting off fireworks and holding a special lighting show
D. taking a week off and organizing Chinese dance contests
3.What does the underlined word"illuminate"（in Para.7）most probably mean？
A. Lighten． B. Surround．
C. Decorate． D. Broaden．
4.This passage is written mainly in order to ．
A. compare some traditional festivals in China and America
B. attract visitors to America for the coming new﹣year celebration
C. strengthen the cultural co﹣operation between China and America
D. report celebration activities for the"Year of the Monkey"in New York．
In many countries, schools have long summer holidays, with shorter holidays in between. However, a new report suggests shortening school holidays to stop children forgetting what they have learnt during the long summer break. Instead of three school terms, it says, there should be five eight-week terms. And there should be just four weeks off in the summer, with a two-week break between the other terms.
Sonia Montero has two children at primary school and works full-time. She supports the idea. “The kids,” she says, “have much longer holidays than me and I can’t afford to take several weeks off work, so I need someone to take care of them. But nobody wants the work in the summer months — they all have holidays of their own.”
Not surprisingly, some young people disagree. Student Jason Panos says “It’s a stupid idea. I would hate staying at school in the summer. It’s unfair, too. The people who suggest this had long school holidays when they were young, but now they want to stop us enjoying the summer. The kids in Spain and America have much longer holidays than here, but they don’t forget everything they’ve learnt in a few months.”
Nadia Salib agrees. “Sure,” she says, “the first week at school after the summer is never easy, but you soon get back into it. The real problem round here is that kids get bored after so many weeks out of school, and then some of them start causing trouble. But the answer is to give them something to do, not make everyone stay in school longer.”
1.Why is Sonia in support of shorter school holidays?
A. She doesn’t get any summer holidays in her job.
B. She is worried that her children will forget what they’ve learnt.
C. She can’t afford to pay someone to look after her children.
D. She can’t get anyone to look after her children in summer.
2.What does Jason say about long summer holidays?
A. They can help children forget about school.
B. Schools in other countries don’t have them.
C. These days many older people have them too.
D. They have little influence on children’s education.
3.What does Nadia say about young people on summer holidays?
A. They would like to spend more time at school.
B. Long holidays are very bad for their education.
C. They need something to do to enrich themselves.
D. Long holidays should be shortened to stop them causing trouble.
4.Which of the following statements best explains the text?
A. It has been decided that summer holidays should be shortened.
B. Students are angry that school holidays have been changed.
C. Some people want to change school holidays but not everyone agrees.
D. Teenagers are worried that they will be busy during summer holidays.
“Beating is a sign of affection, cursing (骂)is a sign of love.”
Many may not expect to hear the words of the old Chinese saying in these modern times—with parents wealthier and better educated than they have ever been—but experts say they still ring true.
Today, it seems, Chinese parents are more likely to send their children to precollege military academies in the United States in the hope that some tough love will pave the way to success.
“Good education doesn’t mean letting your children enjoy privileges, especially our boys.” said Song Wenming, an entrepreneur (企业家)in Jinhua’ East China’s Zhejiang province. “They should be raised in tough conditions to know what to fight for in the future.”
In August, Song sent his 17yearold son to Valley Forge Military Academy (VFMA) in Pennsylvania. And he is far from alone, even though it takes a lot of money—around $48,000 per year—to send a child to a strict military school.
Statistics show that an increasing number of Chinese students have been registering with such academies.
A few years ago, there were no Chinese students at Valley Forge. Today, there are 28.“All of the Chinese students at Valley Forge came from wealthy families; some of them were spoiled.” said Jennifer Myers, director of marketing and communications at the school.
Song’s only son, Song Siyu, had a rocky start during his first six weeks at the school. The teenager said he went to the school voluntarily but did not expect it to be as difficult.
Now, three months later, he has perfected the art of taking a bath in 35 seconds, finishing a meal without looking at his food, and making his bed with precision. He can even take criticism, no matter how unreasonable.
“The training is hard but I know it is good for selfdevelopment of individuals.” said Song Siyu. “The endless training and scolding are just ways to build up our character; they are not personal.”
But his enthusiasm is not universal. Ten of the 13 Chinese students who joined the academy this year have transferred to other schools.
But for those who stick with it, there is a reward for all the hard work.
1.From the second paragraph, we can know the old Chinese saying ________ .
A. is out of date in modern times
B. is disagreed by rich parents
C. is still worth trusting
D. is deeply believed by better educated parents
2.The underlined sentence means that _________.
A. Song sent his only son to military school，so he feels lonely
B. Song is the only one who sends his child to military school
C. there are other people sending their children to military school besides Song
D. the fee of the military school is so high that only Song can afford it
3.Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A. It's likely that more and more Chinese students will attend VFMA.
B. Most Chinese parents approve of educating their children by beating and cursing nowadays.
C. Song Siyu had no difficulty in adjusting to the life at VFMA.
D. Most Chinese students support the way of education at VFMA.
This year’s winners of the Wenjin Book Award, announced by the National Library of China on April 23, are from three main categories — children’s books, popular science and social science titles.
The annual awards announced on World Book Day are meant to build a bridge between readers, writers and publishers to create a conductive feeling for reading books and fulfill the duty of libraries to promote culture and educate the people.
Started in 2004 and first celebrated in 2005, the award’s group of judges is drawn from a pool of great scholars and journalists.
Zhang He, a senior culture reporter from the People’s Daily, says the awards are considered the most honorable in China’s book world because it fully focuses on the quality of the books.
Every year, the award selects 10 books from those published within the past 12 months, covering three areas: humanities and social science, popular science and children’s book. The judging group also makes dozens of book recommendations for the public.
From 2005 to 2014, with a break in 2012, judging groups selected 99 books and recommended some 421 others from a pool of 6,000 titles.
Critics (评论员) praised the winning books, especially Zhongguo Gudai Wuzi Wenhua, or Tangible Culture in Ancient China, published by the Zhonghua Book Company in July 2014. Based on a series of the writer Sun Ji’s lectures on Chinese culture, the book has 10 chapters that attempt to answer people’s questions about various aspects of ancient Chinese people’s lives. Chen Li, a writer and one of the judges says that the book has the “newest, most comprehensive and systematic description” on Chinese culture.
For more information, please click liuzhihua@chinadaily.com.cn
1.According to the passage, all of the followings are TRUE except ________.
A. There is a competition for the Wenjin Book Award every year.
B. World Book Day dates back to the year 2005.
C. It was because the award focuses on the quality of books that made it the most honorable in China’s book world.
D. The awarded books are about humanities and social sciences, popular science and children’s books.
2.Which of the following about Wenjin Book Award is RIGHT?
A. The books have to be written in the past years.
B. Themes of the books include humanities and social science as well as natural science
C. In the past decade, about one hundred books have won the Wenjin Book Award.
D. The award’s judges are from great scholars and writers.
3.Where can you probably read this passage?
A. On a website. B. In a magazine.
C. In a textbook. D. In a guidebook.
4.What can be the best title for the passage?
A. Winners of Wenjin Book Award. B. World Book Day.
C. Work on Wenjin Book Award. D. Best-sellers on World Book Day.
假设你是王明，近日，英语协会与校学生会联合发起了“强健身体，从我做起”的活动，作为学生会主席，请你就此写一封英文倡议书发表在校报上，号召大家锻炼身体，保持健康。
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。作文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏子符号（∧）并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Be abroad, you may find many things are different—the food, the customs, and the language. The last of these are the most important, as you need to be able to communicate in order to make the most of your stay. So I advise you to find the good school, and the school good academic atmosphere will help you improve your language skill. I found things got a lot of better for me once I’d joined a local tennis club. I really enjoyed it, and I made plenty of friends here. I am not homesick any more but I began to find my way around. All to all, I’d say it’s essential to maintain a positive attitude, and you’ll certainly enjoy yourself.
