The spring festival is celebrated not only in China but also in other parts of the world. The traditional holiday is the most important to Chinese both home and abroad.

United Kingdom      Celebrations for Spring Festival in the UK started in 1980, with the first evening party held in 2002. Every new year, people get together and have a lot of activities. They sing songs, dance to music, share photos with friends or enjoy films in a cinema.

United States Spring Festival has become a key time for Chinese living or working in the US. They join in a large evening party to welcome the traditional new year. It is a good chance for I people to build a circle of friends and feel that they are not alone because they share the I same culture and values.

Australia The Chinese new year will be welcomed with three weeks of celebrations across Australia. Many people come to Sydney's Chinatown or Little Bourke in Melbourne.They enjoy fireworks, lion dances, dragon boat races and many other traditional activities. The celebrations are also a bridge towards better understanding between Chinese and non-Chinese.

Singapore The family dinner on new year's eve is an important tradition for Chinese whether they were born in Singapore or moved there from China. They place traditional food on a table as an act of remembering their past. Then the whole family enjoy their dinner together. They usually hold it at home because having it in a restaurant takes away the meaning of the tradition.

                                                            

1 Celebrations for Spring Festival in the UK started in ___________ .

   A. 1890        B. 1980          C. 2000          D. 2002

2  At Spring Festival, American Chinese join in a large evening party to ___________ .

   A. say hello to the new year          B. refuse a good chance

   C,. tell others they are alone            D. share different cultures

3 Chinese in Australia enjoy the following activities except ___________ .

   A. fireworks  B. lion dances    C. bridges   D. dragon boat races

4  In Singapore, Chinese families don’t hold the new year dinner at a restaurant but at home because ___________ .

   A. they were born in Singapore       B. they moved there from other places

   C. the restaurant is far away          D. they want to keep Chinese tradition

Now more and more people like talking about something that they are interested in. Here is a page from an Internet Forum (论坛). Some people are discussing who is a better singer.

Internet Forum

Writer	Time	Topic: Who’s a better singer, Andy Lau or Jacky Cheung?
Lucy	1-17-2012 2:45 p.m.	Some people say Jacky Cheung is the best Chinese singer. I don’t think so! Andy Lau is the best. I went to his concert last year. It was so hard to believe, I almost cried! OK, I did cry. That’s because Andy Lau is so handsome!
Anita	1-17-2012 4:38 p.m.	I don’t agree at all. Andy Lau sounds like every other singer. His voice is nothing special. However, Jacky Cheung’s is different from others’, and his songs are so romantic!
Tom	1-17-2012 8:55 p.m.	I think they are about the same. But Jacky Cheung is really a better actor. I’ve seen almost all of his movies. Remember the one that he played the lead role of an airplane pilot in, and his plane hit a hill. I love that movie!
Peter	1-18-2012 10:17 a.m.	I also think Jacky Cheung is a better singer, I prefer his Cantonese(粤语) songs. Maybe they sound better because Cantonese is his first language.
Anita	1-18-2012 12:47 p.m.	I agree. Jacky Cheung’s Cantonese songs are better than his Mandarin(普通话) songs though I still like all his songs.

 

1.Who likes Andy Lau best?

A．Lucy             B．Anita             C．Tom              D．Peter

2.Who think(s) Jacky Cheung a better singer ?

A．Anita             B．Peter             C．Tom              D．Anita and Peter

3.Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Nobody likes Jacky Cheung’s movies.

B．Jacky Cheung is a good singer and actor.

C．Lucy has never seen an Andy Lau’s concert.

D．Anita thinks Andy Lau’s voice is more special than Jacky Cheung’s.

 

When I was ten, my mother worked all day so I had to take care of my younger brother. At that time my little brother was about four years old and he missed mum all the time.
One day, after I had given him his dinner, he started crying for mum.He was so young and really needed mum. So I dressed him, put on his shoes, carried him on my back and walked out. Soon he fell asleep. About half an hour later, I found that he had lost a shoe while sleeping. I took him off my back and put him down. I knew we needed to find that shoe, for our mother couldn’t afford new shoes. We had to go back to find it, so I told my brother to wait right there. A man heard it and stopped me just before I walked off. He asked me, “You are leaving your brother here to find the shoe? What would you do if he is not here when you return?” I did not know how to answer that question. He continued, “It’s OK if you can’t find the shoe, but it is not OK to lose your brother.” Then he sent us to mum’s workplace by taxi.
My whole life I have depended on the kindness of many strangers, I feel regretful that I cannot find them and say thank you. I do not even remember what the man’s face looked like, but he taught me a lesson—people are more important than things.
【小题1】 Why did the younger brother cry for his mother?

A．Because he was hungry.	B．Because he missed his mother.
C．Because he wanted to sleep.	D．Because he wanted to play outside.

【小题2】What does the underlined word “regretful” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Sorry.

B．Happy.

C．Excited.

D．Angry.

【小题3】What did the man mean by saying “It’s OK if you can’t find the shoe, but it is not OK to lose your brother.”?

A．People are more important than things.

B．Things are more important than people.

C．Both the shoe and your brother are important.

D．The shoe is more important than your brother.

【小题4】According to the passage, which word can best describe the man?

A．Rude.

B．Funny.

C．Silly.

D．Kind.

Making sense of how the US shows humor

Living in a new country gives me many surprises. The first surprise was the way that the US people speak

One day I saw someone was having a public speech in a square. I thought it would be a serious speech. But I soon found it became a kind of entertainment show.

   The speaker told the audience to protect the environment with humorous words. Later he said some people’s behavior didn’t go with their words. He took the example of Taylor Swift’s song We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.[

   He said that since Swift doesn’t want to be with the boy any more, she doesn’t need to speak it aloud, she doesn’t need to sing unless she still keeps in touch with that guy. It sounds like she is a hypocrite.

   Then he sang the song in a funny way. The audience laughed out loudly. I felt a little angry because Swift is my favourite star. I couldn’t understand why they laughed at Swift.

As time goes on, I find many US people make fun of others. But they don’t mean to hurt them. They do that to show closeness and humour. And people who are laughed at seldom get angry. Now I understand the speaker at the square. Now I’ve got used to the way the US people speak.

   It’s easy to find culture shock when you’re in a new place. But everyone should learn to understand different cultures and customs. 

1.The man in the square was _______________.

A. teaching people how to give a speech       

B. calling on people to protect the environment

C. giving a singing show in public            

D. criticizing the US government           

2.What does the underlined word “hypocrite” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. 会唱歌的人      B. 真诚的人       C. 虚伪的人    D. 爱护环境的人

3.From Paragraph 6, we learn that_________________.

A. many US people like to laugh at others  

B. many US people are friendly and humorous

C. the US people get angry at others easily 

D. the writer doesn’t like the way the US people speak          

4.Which is Not suitable for the passage?

A. The writer went to America and protect the environment.

B. Americans show humour in a different way from China.

C. It’s easy to find culture shock when you are in a new place.

D. Tailor Swift is an American famous singer.               

5.What does the article mainly talk about?

A. Differences between the Chinese and the US people.      

B. In what way the US people speak in public.

C. How to get used to life in the US.  

D. A Chinese girl’s culture shock experience in the US.