Have you ever seen a Kunqu Opera, or heard the beautiful sound of a Guqin? These two traditional Chinese art forms are both included in UNESCO's list of "oral and intangible heritage of humanity" (人类口头和非物质文化遗产). This year, China has selected another art form to compete to join this special group. Muqam (木卡姆), the traditional folk music of Xinjiang's Uygure people will be considered alongside other countries' entries. "The intangible cultural heritage of different countries and different people should be treasured by the world," said Wang Wenzhang, president of the Chinese Academy of Arts.
Known as the "mother of Uygur music", Muqam has a long history. Some scholars believe that its origins can be traced back to the "Great Western Region Melody". This developed during the Han (206 BC—220 AD) and Tang (618 AD—907) dynasties and enjoyed great popularity in central China. In the mid-16th century, the Silk Road connected China and Europe. Xinjiang was at the center of the cultural exchange between east and west. Muqam music was spread across Uygur-populated areas during that time. The queen of Yarkant Kingdom (叶尔羌汗国), whose name was Amannisahan, was a poet and musician. She devoted all her efforts to collecting and sorting Muqam music. With the help of other experts she finally worked out 12 pieces of music, which became the famous Twelve Muqam. When Amannisahan was doing her work, she did not seek materials from the fully developed Arabian and Persian music. Instead, she exploited the rich resources of Uygur folk music that spread across the north and the south of the Tianshan Mountains. As a result, the Twelve Muqam has a strong Uygur flavour.
The Twelve Muqam includes more than 340 classical songs, folk songs, love songs and pieces of dance music and instrumental music. The whole set takes 24 hours to play. Ever since it spread among the Uygurs, the Twelve Muqam has played an important part in their lives. They sing songs and dance to the music. Kurban Mamut, editor-in-chief of a Uygur language magazine, says that he often listened to the Twelve Muqam when he was a child. "The Twelve Muqam helps bring moral ideas to the Uygur children, and gives them a noble and strong personality," he said. After New China was founded, the local government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region made every effort to preserve the Twelve Muqam. In 1960, two volumes of the Twelve Muqam were published. This finally protected this oral cultural heritage. Over the past two decades, local Xinjinang cultural institutions have supported research projects. A number of books about the Twelve Muqam have been published. CDs, VCDs, and DVDs of the Twelve Muqam have also been made. How many traditional Chinese art forms have been included in UNESCO's list of "oral and intangible heritage of humanity" by now?
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |
According to the article, Muqam dates back to __________.
| A．Great Western Region Melody | B．Arabian and Persian music |
| C．the Twelve Muqam | D．kunqu Opera |
Who do you think it was that made the greatest contribution to the spread of Muqam?
| A．The king of Yarkant kingdom | B．The emperors of Tang dynasty |
| C．Kurban Mamut | D．Amannisahan |
What does the underlined word "This" in the last paragraph refer to?
| A．The Twelve Muqam. | B．Two Volumes of the Twelve Muqam. |
| C．A Uygur magazine. | D．the publishing of the Twelve Muqam. |
What is the best title of this article?
| A．Muqam, an art form of Xinjiang. | B．Please listen to Muqam. |
| C．The Twelve Muqam. | D．An introduction of Uygur folk music. |
Louis Armstrong had two famous nicknames. Some people called him Bagamo. They said his mouth looked like a large bag. Musicians often called him Pops, as a sign of respect for his influence on the world of music.
Born in 1901 in New Orleans, he grew up poor, but lived among great musicians. Jazz was invented in the city a few years before his birth. Armstrong often said, “Jazz and I grew up together.”
Armstrong showed a great talent for music when he was taught to play the cornet (短号) at a boy's home. In his late teens, Armstrong began to live the life of a musician. He played in parades, clubs and on the steamboats that traveled on the Mississippi River. At that time, New Orleans was famous for the new music of jazz and was home to many great musicians. Armstrong learned from the older musicians and soon became respected as their equal.
In 1992 he went to Chicago. There, the tale of Louis Armstrong begins. From then until the end of his life, Armstrong was celebrated and loved wherever he went. Armstrong had no equal when it came to playing the American popular song.
His cornet playing had a deep humanity (仁爱) and warmth that caused many listeners to say, “Listening to Pops just makes you feel good all over.”
He was the father of the jazz style and also one of the best-known and most admired people in the world. His death, on July 6, 1971, was headline news around the world.Armstrong was called Pops because he ________.
| A．looked like a musician | B．had great effect on the world of music |
| C．showed great interest in music | D．traveled to play modern music |
What is the third paragraph mainly about?
| A．Armstrong loved traveling on the Mississippi River. |
| B．New Orleans was famous for the new music of jazz. |
| C．Armstrong showed great talent for music in his youth. |
| D．Many great musicians were born in New Orleans. |
Which statement about Armstrong is true?
| A．His tale begins in New Orleans. | B．He was born before jazz was invented. |
| C．He learned popular music at a boy's home. | D．His music was popular with many people. |
So many people loved and respected Armstrong because ____________.
| A．his music had a deep humanity and warmth | B．he had two famous nicknames |
| C．he and Jazz grew up together | D．his mouth looked like a large bag |
Which would be the best title for the text?
| A．The Invention of the Jazz Music | B．The Father of the Jazz Style |
| C．The Making of a Musician | D．The Spread of Popular Music |
Plants are very important living things. Life could not go on if there were no plants. This is because plants can make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals and man cannot make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals. Therefore animals and man need plants in order to live. This is why we find that there are so many plants around us.
If you look carefully at the plants around you, you will find that there are two kinds of plants: flowering plants and non-flowering plants.
Flowering plants can make seeds. The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed, some have two, three or four, and some have many seeds. But a few fruits have no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit.
Most non-flowering plants do not grow from seeds. They grow from spores(胚芽). Spores are very small. Some spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as seeds. When these spores are all on wet and shady places, they usually grow into new plants. The main idea of the first paragraph is that ______.
| A．plants are important for life | B．plants cannot grow without air |
| C．there are many plants in the world | D．we can not live without water |
Plants can make food from______.
| A．flower, water and air | B．water, sunlight and air |
| C．air, water and soil | D．air, sun and light |
What can we infer(推断) from the passage ?
| A．Of all living things animals are most important | B．Spores are seeds |
| C．All fruits of flowering plants have seeds | D．Without plants, man will die out |
This passage may be taken from______.
| A．a medicine book | B．a novel |
| C．a science magazine | D．an experiment report |
The underlined word “protected” in the third paragraph can be replaced by ______.
| A．damaged | B．polluted | C．prevented | D．guarded |
They leap from helicopters or speeding boats, bringing aid to swimmers who get into trouble off Italy’s popular beaches.
Hundreds of specially trained dogs from Italy’s corps of canine(犬类的) lifeguards set out each summer to help swimmers in need of rescue.
These "life dogs" wear a harness that victims can grab to be dragged back to shore, and unlike human lifeguards, they can easily jump from helicopters and speeding boats to reach swimmers in trouble.
With millions flocking to Italy’s crowded beaches each summer, the Italian Coast Guard says it rescues about 3,000 people every year —and their canine helpers have saved several lives.
It takes three years for the canines to reach expert rescue status, and currently 300 dogs are fully trained for duty, said Roberto Gasbarri, who directs the Italian School of Canine Lifeguards program.
"Dogs are of good physical strength. They can increase the speed at which victims are rescued," Gasbarri said.
"The dog becomes a sort of intelligent lifebuoy(救生圈). It is a buoy that goes by itself to a person in need of help, and comes back to the shore also by himself, choosing the best landing point and swimming through the safest currents," he said.
The school will train any breed, as long as they weigh at least 30 kilograms, but New found lands and golden retrievers are most commonly used because they are good at swimming. Each dog works together with a human lifeguard, who also acts as the animal’s trainer.
"Being retrievers, they set out to pick up anything we tell them, be it a human being, an object, or a fish, and they bring it back to the shore," said lifeguard Monia Luciani. "They do not associate it with a physical activity, but it is rather a game for them."The dogs wear a harness so that __________.
The dogs are helpful to _________.
Why does the school usually choose to train the New found lands and golden retrievers?
___________________________________.How do the dogs regard the pickup training?
____________________________________.
It seems hard to watch someone yawn and not to yawn ourselves. Even reading about yawning can make you do it. Now, a new study has found why yawning has such a powerful force.
Yawning when others yawn, the study suggests, is a sign of pity and a form of social connection. Kids don’t develop this deeply rooted behavior until around age four, the study found. Kids with autism (自闭症) are less likely to catch yawns. In the most serious cases, they never do. Yawning might help doctors to see whether the children are developing rightly. The work could also lead to a better understanding of the ways that people communicate and connect.
"Emotional infection seems to be a born thing that connects us together," said Molly Helt, a graduate student in psychology at the University of Connecticut. "Yawning may be part of that." Inspiration for her study came when she tried to get her own autistic son to clear his ears on an airplane. She repeatedly yawned at him, hoping he would yawn back. He never did.
"The fact that autistic kids don’t do it might mean they’re really missing out on that emotional connection with people around them," she said. "The biggest thing people try to figure out after birth is how we become humans and understand that humans have minds that are different from others’," she added. "Autistic people never seem to understand that."
Like infectious laughter and crying, scientists have found that yawning is a shared experience that promotes social connection. Helt said it could fight stress after a period of being nervous and spread a feeling of calm through a group.What does the new study suggest, according to the first two paragraphs?
| A．It is easy to stop yawning when you see others yawn. |
| B．Yawning has some mysterious force which is related to God. |
| C．Children follow others in yawning just after they are born. |
| D．Yawning is a form of communication. |
According to Molly Helt, _________________.
| A．emotions are infectious, but yawning is not |
| B．yawning helps clear ears on planes |
| C．humans differ from animals because they communicate with others |
| D．yawning is a kind of emotional connection among humans |
Which of the following is NOT true about yawning?
| A．It is natural to yawn back if people around you yawn. |
| B．Some kids are too young to yawn after others. |
| C．Yawning can be used to test children’s development. |
| D．Kids with autism yawn easily when others yawn. |
The author implies in the last paragraph that ________.
| A．it is bad manners to yawn on some social occasions |
| B．yawning can make people feel relaxed |
| C．yawning is different from infectious laughter and crying in theory |
| D．the more you yawn, the happier you will be |
How difficult change is depends a lot on your attitude towards it and your resistance to it. Your attitude to change can make the whole transformation process much easier.
Imagine change as a pair of shoes and this will help you understand change and how it works. I am sure that you have ever had a comfortable pair of shoes in your life. A pair of shoes is so comfortable that you really don’t want to get rid of them.
You know you need a new pair, and may even have them, but you don’t want to wear them because you are comfortable with your current pair. Besides, the new pair may hurt your feet, give you blisters(水疱) or be awkward to wear to start with. So, you resist the new shoes. However, you know that this new pair would be much better for your feet, and after the initial discomfort they would probably be even more comfortable, yet you still resist.
Do you know I’m doing this now? I’m wearing my comfortable shoes and they feel good. They have a hole in each heel, and the sole is starting to fall off, but I’m persisting in wearing them.
This describes change exactly; change of our habits, change of our thought patterns. We stick with the old patterns because they are comfortable. Yet once we get over the initial pain of the transformation, the new pattern will be comfortable and feel good until the time comes when we need another new pair of shoes.Why do people prefer old shoes to new ones?
| A．They have much emotion in the old ones. |
| B．They are more comfortable. |
| C．New shoes always harm the feet. |
| D．They look better than the new ones. |
According to the passage, we know that people ______.
| A．don’t realize the benefit of the new shoes very well |
| B．are positive and open-minded to accept new things |
| C．actually know the change will finally be good for them |
| D．don’t accept new patterns because they are not good |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Once we form a habit, it’s difficult to change it. |
| B．Most people pay more attention to the future life. |
| C．One’s attitude towards something is usually traditional. |
| D．The more often we change, the better our life will be. |