Based on cultural traditions and the changing face of contemporary British communities, the Festival of Muslim Cultures joins young people from Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds together through the creation of innovative(创新的), high quality cultural activities.

We have been working with arts and educational institutions across the UK to promote the mainstreaming of Muslim cultures within UK everyday life. The Festival was created out of the need to encourage a better understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims, to promote respect for Muslim cultures and to show how culture creates the pathways that connect us all together.

The program launched with a visit by the Festival’s patron(赞助人), the Prince of Wales, to the exhibition “Palace and Mosque” in Sheffield and since then there have been more than 100 events that have ranged from a Somali community day in Cardiff at the National Museum of Wales to a late-night Dance with Radio Tarifa (from Spain) and Dimi Mint Abba (form Mauritania) in the Royal Albert Hall and from a home-grown play in Nottingham about the Kashmir earthquake to the exhibition“Beyond the Palace Walls” at the Royal Museum Edinburgh of Islamic art from the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.

We are now working on a number of long-term projects which stay true to our commitment to promoting Muslim cultures through arts collaborations(协作) and build on the extensive network of local, national and international partners that Festival has created. These include a three-year national program that connects young Muslims to their local cultural institutions; a UK Muslim cookbook; an exhibition of the Ottoman architect Sinan; and a project for schools around the 1000-year old story “The Animals’ Lawsuit against Humanity”.

For more information about the Festival, please click on another page: Who’s Who.

1.The best title of this passage would be _______.

A．Welcome to the Celebration of Muslim Cultures

B．The History and Development of Muslim Cultures

C．The Exhibition of “Beyond the Palace Walls”

D．New Ways to Connect Muslims to Local Cultures

2.Which is NOT the purpose of holding the Festival of Muslim Cultures?

A．To promote people’s respect for Muslim cultures.

B．To show to people how cultures join the people together.

C．To try to change the beliefs of various religions.

D．To make Muslims and non-Muslims understand each other better.

3.This passage was probably taken from _________.

A．a website

B．a newspaper

C．a book

D．a magazine

 

 

In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh（法老） treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace, if he brought good news. However, if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news, his head was cut off.

Shades of that spirit spread over today’s conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out the door, picnic basket in hand, a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said, “Oh boy, bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it’s going to rain.” I wanted to strike him on the race with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report, for his smile.

Several months ago I was racing to catch a bus. As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Greyhound counter, the sales agent said with a broad smile, “Oh that bus left rive minutes ago.” Dreams of head-cutting!

It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s delivered. Everyone must give bad mews from time to time, and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A. doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation dose it in a caring way A. boss informing an employee he didn’t get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know, when delivering any bad news, they should share the feeling of the receiver.

Unfortunately, many people are not aware of this. When you’re tired from a long flight, has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn’t ready ye? When you had your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter merrily told you that he just served the last piece? It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.

Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy, I would have appreciated his warning. Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left, I probably would have said, “Oh, that’s all right. I’ll catch the next one.” Big winners, when they bear bad news, deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded （被轰炸的） person is sure to have .

1.In Paragraph 1, the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to    .

A. make a comparison B. introduce a topic  C. describe a scene  D. offer an argument

2.In the writer’s opinion, his neighbor was _____________.

A. friendly  B. warm-hearted  C. not considerate   D. not helpful

3.From “Dreams of head-cutting!”（Paragraph 3）, we learn that the writer    .

A. was mad at the sales agent.

B. was reminded of the cruel pharaoh

C. wished that the sales agent would have had dreams.

D. dreamed of cutting the sales agent’s head that night.

4.What is the main idea of the text?

A. Delivering bad news properly is important in communication.

B. Helping others sincerely is the key to business success.

C. Receiving bad news requires great courage.

D. Learning ancient traditions can be useful.

 

Today, we complete our story about the influential English writer William Shakespeare. He wrote plays and poems during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, which remain very popular today.

During earlier times, people would probably have learned several ancient Roman and Greek plays. It was not unusual for writers to produce more current versions of these works. For example, in Shakespeare's play "The Comedy of Errors" Shakespeare borrowed certain details from the ancient Roman writer Plautus. For his play "Macbeth", Shakespeare most likely used a work on Scottish history by Raphael Holinshed for information. Shakespeare might have borrowed from other writers, but the intensity（强度）of his imagination and language made the plays his own. While many plays by other writers of his time have been forgotten, Shakespeare and his art live on.

Shakespeare was also influenced by the world around him. He described the sights and sounds of London in his plays. His works include observations about political struggles, the fear of diseases, and the popular language of the city’s tradesmen. Shakespeare's knowledge of the English countryside is also clear. His works include descriptions of deep forests, local flowers, and the ancient popular traditions of rural people.

It would be impossible to list all of the ways in which Shakespeare’s works have influenced the world culture. But the first and greatest example would be his great influence on the English language. During his time, the English language was changing. Many new words from other languages were being added. Shakespeare used his sharp mind and poetic inventiveness to create hundreds of new words and rework old ones. For example, he created the noun forms of "critic", "mountaineer” and "eyeball". Many common expressions in English come from his plays, including "pomp and circumstance（装腔作势）"from "Othello", "full circle（绕圈子地）" from "King Lear", etc. The list of cultural creations influenced by Shakespeare is almost endless. From paintings to television to music and dance, Shakespeare was well represented. Shakespeare's plays have been translated into every major language in the world.

Shakespeare became a well­known writer during a golden age of theater. His years of hard work paid off.

1.What can we infer from the passage？

    A.Many of Shakespeare's works were influenced by earlier writings.

    B.Shakespeare was hard­working when he was a student.

    C.The experience of living in London helped a lot with Shakespeare's works.

    D.Shakespeare became rich later because of the popularity of his works.

2.Shakespeare might have learnt some information from ancient Roman works in　　　　.

    A."King Lear"     B."The Comedy of Errors"   C. "Macbeth"    D."Othello"

3.Why could Shakespeare's works survive his time？

    A.Because there were so few people writing plays in his time.

    B.Because he produced too many works that nobody else could do.

    C.Because he was a rich and influential person of his time.

    D.Because his works were rich in imagination and language.

4.Shakespeare's greatest influence should be on　　　　.

    A.the English language  B.paintings       C.television    D.music and dance

5.The passage is mainly about 　　　　.

    A.an introduction to Shakespeare’s life and his works

    B.the main features and styles of Shakespeare's plays

    C.how culture influenced Shakespeare and he influenced culture.

    D.Shakespeare’s greatest influence on the world culture.

 

 

Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Frequently it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habitsdied hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.

Many roads and places in Singapore(新加坡) are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries ---- in both the West and the East.

Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus ----obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.

Sine places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, “Base Basah” means “wet rice” in Malay(马来语). Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.

A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is “Circular Road” for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called a crescent(月牙) because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.

1.We learn from Paragraph 1 that _____.

A．the government is usually the first to name a place

B．many places tend to have more than one name

C．a ceremony will be held when a place is named

D．people prefer the place names given by the government

2.What does the underlined phrase “die hard” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Change suddenly.	B．Change significantly.
C．Disappear mysteriously.	D．Disappear very slowly.

3.Which of the following places is named after a person?

A．Raffles Place.	B．Selector Airbase.
C．Piccadilly Circus.	D．Paya Lebar Crescent.

4. Bras Basah Road is named _______.

A．after a person

B．after a place

C．after an activity

D．by its shape

5.What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Some place names in Singapore are the same as in Britain.

B．Some places in Singapore are named for military purposes.

C．The way Singaporeans name their places is unique.

D．Young Singaporeans have forgotten the pioneers.

 

 

第二节  信息匹配 （共5小题，每小题2分，满分10分）

下面是一篇应用文及其应用场合的信息，请阅读下列应用文和相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。选项中有一项是多余选项。

首先，请阅读下列书讯：

A．British Life by Anne Collins

What’s everyday life for people in Britain? Why do they talk about the weather so much? This book will tell you everything you want to know about the interesting and traditional country.

B．Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

A sad story of two lovers. The two lovers began their secret love, but their families didn’t know. It’s one of the famous plays written by Shakespeare in the literature history.

C．Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

Robert Langdon, the hero of Da Vinci Code, which is another history thriller, tried to solve the mystery of a century-old underground organization and save the Vatican from a tomb. If you are not brave enough, don’t read it alone at night. This is the ancient mystery.

D．Happy Christmas by John Escott

This is a book, but looks like a magazine. It is made up of different sections. You can learn about the history and traditions of the western-style holidays and something else like the way of making traditional food and games.

E．The Beatles by Paul Shipton

John, Paul, George and Ringo: four young men from England were the most well-known and some of the best musicians of the 1960s. They formed the Beatles, and their music is still popular today.

F．Silver Bells by Luanne Rice

A sweet love story happening on Christmas. Chris Byne, a farmer who sold his Christmas trees on the streets on New York, one day he met Cathy Tierney, a librarian who lost her husband on Christmas Eve three years before. So a new love and a new hop started lasting a lifetime.

以下是购书者的信息，请匹配购书者的信息与它们所对应的书本：

46．Randy: Christmas is coming. Randy wants to know all information about it, such as the games, the food, the stories, the music and the movies.                                                （   ）

47．Amy: Amy has many romantic dreams. She always believes she can find her Mr. Right like the girls in the fairy stories. So she is crazy about the books with good endings only. Now she begins to bury herself in the book like that.                                         （   ）

48．Vince: Vince, as the head of his own band, is able to play all kinds of musical instruments. But he dreams of becoming musician like John Lennon, a famous singer from a rock band. Therefore, he wants to search for a book on him.                   （   ）

49．Alan: Mystery and adventure are always boys’ dreams. Alan, one of the boys, especially prefers the ancient ones because he always regards himself as a big man with super power, but not a small boy.（   ）

50．Lin Jie: Lin Jie, a student studying English in a university, will go to England to continue his further education. So he wants to find more information about the country he will study in.    （   ）