Paper cutting is one of the traditional folk arts in China． It is a kind of popular folk arts and has been popular for about 1， 500 years．Let's learn about paper cutting．
Wonderful meanings
Paper cutting has some wonderful meanings， In our mind， paper cuttings can always bring us happiness and good luck． At the Spring Festival， people put up "Fu "on doors or windows．At a wedding， people also put up "Xi"．
The largest paper cutting in the world
The largest paper cutting was made by Guo Xiaodong． It has an area of about 456 square meters． It is as large as a basketball court．
Why are most paper cuttings red？
In old times， people respected the sun． Red is the color of the sun． We always regardred as the symbol of hope and good luck． Now， we can still see red everywhere in China．The walls of old palaces are red． Lanterns are red． Weddings are always full of red things，too．
Black paper cutting in Shanzhou
It's true that most paper cuttings are red． But paper cuttings in Shanzhou， Henan Province are black． Black is the best color there． Shanzhou is a dry place． The local people make black paper cuttings to wish for rain．
（1）What can paper cuttings always bring us in our mind？
（2）Who made the largest paper cutting？
（3）How do the local people in Shanzhou wish for rain？
（4）请把文中划线句子翻译成汉语．
（5）请给短文拟一个恰当的标题．
Tide is the regular rise and fall of the ocean level caused by the movement of the sun， the earth and the moon． It is considered a promising source of green energy to produce electricity in coastal areas．
To make use of tidal energy， we need to build tidal power stations． The bays and the river mouths where the tide is high（the tidal range is more than 10 metres） are usually perfect sites to build tidal power stations． There are many such places in the world． According to the IRENA （ the International Renewable Energy Agency）， by just using 2% of our coastlines， we can produce 4，383TWh of ocean power each year， enough to meet 16.4% of the world's electricity needs．
To build a tidal power station， we need to build a dam． In the dam are many turbines and on each turbine there is an electric generator'． When the tide rises，water comes through the dam，the turbines turn and the electric generators work， producing electricity．When the tide falls，water goes out through the dam， the turbines turn again．The electric generators continue to work．
Tidal energy has its advantages．Using tidal energy to produce electricity is much cheaper than using the traditional energy， like coal or gas． For example， the Rance Tidal Power Station in France has been there for over 50 years， producing around 5.000.000TWh of electricity each year． The cost is only 1.3 cents/TWh．
Tidal energy can be used nearly 24 hours a day． As long as the sun， the earth and the moon exist，we can use it to produce electricity． But without sunshine， there is no solar energy． When there is no wind，electric generators will not work． In addition， with the development of modern technology， tidal energy can be stored and used to produce electricity continuously．
However， we still have some problems to solve． It is difficult to build a dam in the sea， and the cost is very high．Moreover it's expensive to keep a tidal power station in its best condition．Scientists are working on them．
（1）A tidal power station is best built ．
A．at a river mouth with wind
B． along the coast with waves
C． In a bay with tide high enough
D．in coastal areas with sunshine
（2）The underlined word "turbine" in Paragraph Three is a machine to ．
A． make the tide rise and fall
B． make an electric generator work
C． let water go through the dam
D．keep the dam in good condition
（3）What advantage does tidal energy have？
A． We can use it to get useful tide．
B． It can improve the ocean environment．
C． We can use it nearly all the time．
D． It meets 16． 4% of the electricity needs．
（4）How can we make better use of tidal energy？
A． By digging more bays and river mouths．
B． By building cheaper tidal power stations．
C． By closing traditional electric power plants．
D． By using tidal energy to replace other energy．
The balalaika， also called "Russian guitar"，is a traditional Russian musical instrument．It has a long neck，a wooden triangle shaped body and strings．It is usually used to play Russian music by plucking the strings with fingers or a pick．
Russians like the balalaika．The music played with it can be cheerful，as if the farmers were dancing happily to celebrate their harvest． It can also be energetic，as if the workers were working hard to make their country richer and stronger．If a Russian moves to live or work abroad， he will probably take a balalaika with him． When he feels lonely and sad， he will play it to cheer himself up．
The balalaika was originally played by the poor in Russia． At that time， balalaikas were made by the players themselves． They were rough， simple and cheap with different numbers of strings， from two to even six．Later a Russian musician Vasily Vasil'yevich Andreev（1861 ﹣ 1918）improved the balalaika． He created a whole family of balalaikas of different sizes，all with three strings．The smallest balalaika is called Prima．It is 60﹣70cm long． The biggest， Contrabass， is almost 2 metres high with a leg to sit on the floor． Andreev founded the first balalaika orchestra" in the world， mainly using balalaikas to perform． He gave concerts at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1889， which was a great success．
Today，there are balalaika groups performing around the world．More and more people get to know the balalaika and are attracted by its Russian style music．
（1）The balalaika is a musical instrument ．
A． without strings
B． with a long neck
C． of a round shape
D． with a metal body
（2）The music played with a balalaika is usually ．
A． slow and sad
B． strong and serious
C．soft and modern
D． cheerful and energetic
（3）Andreev is mentioned in Paragraph Three to introduce ．
A． the success of balalaika concerts
B． the history of balalaika orchestras
C． his． talent for playing the balalaika
D． his contributions to the balalaika
（4）Which of the following can be the best title for the passage？
A． Balalaika： The "Russian Guitar" for the Poor
B．Russia： The Home of Famous Balalaika Musicians
C．Balalaika： A Traditional Russian Musical Instrument
D． Russia： The International Hand﹣ made Balalaika Factory
Do you want to have fun in Oxford？ Take a bus tour!
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City Sightseeing Bus Tour in oxford Timetable Stop Name First tour Last tour Oxford Railway Station 09:30 18:00 Gloucester Green Bus Station 09:35 18:05 Christ Church 09:50 18:20 Queen's College 09:55 18:25 Trinity College 10:00 18:40 Tour Prices 24hrs Valid Ticket Adult（16+） £16.50 Student £14.00 Child（5﹣15）£10.00 Family £40.00 48hrs Valid Ticket Adult（16+） £19.00 Student £16.00 Child（5﹣15）£11.00 Family £45.00 See．． ★Christ Church College The college hall is used in the Harry Potter films． ★Magdalen College Its bell tower and gardens are famous sights in Oxford， ★Corpus Christi College It is one of the smallest colleges in Oxford but with the best library ★Exeter College You can find most of the book shops in Oxford around the college． |
（1）The first bus tour begins at 9:35 from ．
A． Trinity College
B． Oxford Railway Station
C． Queen's College
D． Gloucester Green Bus Station
（2）How much is a 24﹣hour family ticket？
A．£16.50．
B．£19.00．
C．£40.00．
D．£45.00．
（3）In Magdalen College， tourists can ．
A． visit the bell tower
B．read in the best library in Oxford
C． find many book shops
D． see the hall in the Harry Potter films
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（1） Leo enjoys travelling and wants to learn how to make different typical dishes． |
A． Night Light The writer talks about his hard life as a blind person，and describes the challenges on his way to success． |
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（2） Jeff loves the countryside and enjoys writing．He wants to develop his writing skills． |
B． Action Plan It's all about famous sportspeople and includes lots of interviews about what they've done to succeed． |
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（3） Chloe loves doing sports and would like to learn how top sportspeople succeed． |
C． Days in the Sun The writer describes his happy early life on a small farm，and how travelling around the countryside helped him to become a writer． |
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（4） Mia likes books about exciting experiences happening in the past． |
D． Endless Days It's about a true story of the first pilots．With plenty of photos，the book brings history to life for readers． |
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（5） Dan wants to read books about someone who's brave enough to face his challenges． |
E． Our Lives This is the perfect book if you're interested in cultures．It introduces recipes（菜谱） for traditional dishes from different places． |
Living on an island might sound wonderful． But what if you left for a trip and found you could never return？ What if your home， and even the land it stood on， was gone forever？For people living in the Pacific Islands，this is really possible．
Why？ Climate（气候） change． Climate change is causing the sea to rise． That's bad news for the Pacific Islands． Young people on the islands are even starting to wonder：Will they be the last generation（一代人）？
Not if the islanders have anything to do about it．These people are deeply connected to their homelands． The Pacific Islands are made up of 11 different countries： the Marshall Islands， Fiji， Samoa，and others． But now， those countries are working together． They're joining forces to fight climate change．
Why is climate change such a huge threat to this part of the world？Islands have low elevations（海拔）．So they are among the first places influenced by rising sea levels． That's why countries of the Pacific Islands are working together to do their part．
But these are small countries． When it comes to climate change， can they make a big difference？ They can， because most of the things that people on islands buy are brought by ships．This is very harmful to the environment． After all， ships put out almost 3 percent of the world's carbon emissions（碳排放）．That makes climate change worse．
Pacific Islanders realize the problem． So， in 2019，six countries got together：Fiji，the Marshall Islands， Samoa，Vanuatu， the Solomon Islands， and Tuvalu． They came up with a plan． They agreed to cut carbon emissions from shipping by 40 percent by 2030．And by 2050，they expect zero﹣carbon shipping．
How will they pull this off？ They plan to use some really cool carbon﹣free technologies．They'll make use of solar and wind energy．
Sea levels are rising， but hopes aren't sinking in the Pacific Islands．
（1）What is the bad news for the Pacific Islands according to the passage？
A． Some Pacific Island countries have disappeared．
B． The sea level is going up because of climate change．
C． All the sipping to the Pacific Islands has been stopped．
D． The Pacific Islands have nothing to do about the climate change．
（2）The underlined word "threat" in Paragraph 4 probably means" "．
A． risk
B． step
C． project
D． development
（3）It can be inferred from the passage that ．
A． there will never be zero carbon emissions from sipping
B． solar and wind energy will make climate change worse
C． all the Pacific Islanders may leave their homelands by 2050
D． some Pacific Island countries may have hopes to make a difference
（4）The passage mainly talks about ．
A． why other countries are helping the Pacific Islanders fight climate change
B． how some countries are working hard to develop carbon﹣free technologies
C． how Pacific Island countries are working together to fight shipping pollution
D． why Pacific Island countries put out so much of the world's carbon emissions
