While famous foreign architects are invited to lead the designs of landmark buildings in China such as the new CCTV tower and the National Center for the Performing Arts, many excellent Chinese architects are making great efforts to take the center stage.
Their efforts have been proven fruitful. Wang Shu a 49﹣year﹣old Chinese architect, won the 2012 Pritzker Architecture prize ﹣which is often referred to as the Nobel Prize in architecture﹣on February 28. He is the first Chinese citizen to win this award.
Wang serves as head of the Architecture Department at the China Department at the China Academy of Art(CAA). His office is located at the Xiangshan campus (校园)of the university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Many buildings on the campus are his original creations.
The style of the campus is quite different from that of most Chinese universities. Many visitors were amazed by the complex architectural space and abundant building types.The curves(曲线) of the buildings perfectly match the rise and fall of hills, forming a unique view.
Wang collected more than 7 million abandoned bricks of different ages. He asked the workers to use traditional techniques to make the bricks into walls, roofs and corridors. This creation attracted a lot of attention thanks to its mixture of modern and traditional Chinese elements.
Wang's works show a deep understanding of modern architecture and a good knowledge of traditions. Through such a balance, he had created a new type of Chinese architecture, said Tadao Ando, the winner of the 1995 Pritzker Prize.
Wang believes traditions should not be sealed in glass boxes at museums. "That is only evidence that traditions once existed," he said.
"Many Chinese people have a misunderstanding of traditions. They think tradition means old things from the past. In fact, tradition also refers to the things that have been developing and that are still being created ,"he said.
"Today, many Chinese people are learning Western styles and theories rather than focusing on Chinese traditions. Many people tend to talk about traditions without knowing what they really are," said Wang.
The study of traditions should be combined with practice. Otherwise, the recreation of traditions would be artificial and empty, he said.
(1)Wang's winning of the prize means that Chinese architects are .
A. |
following the latest world trend |
B. |
getting international recognition |
C. |
working harder than ever before |
D. |
relying on foreign architects |
(2)What impressed visitors to the CAA Xiangshan campus most?
A. |
Its hilly environment. |
B. |
Its large size. |
C. |
Its unique style. |
D. |
Its diverse functions. |
(3)What made Wang's architectural design a success?
A. |
The mixture of different shapes. |
B. |
The balance of East and West. |
C. |
The use of popular techniques. |
D. |
The harmony of old and new. |
(4)What should we do about Chinese traditions according to Wang?
A. |
Spread them to the world. |
B. |
Preserve them at museums. |
C. |
Teach them in universities. |
D. |
Recreate them in practice. |
If I were writing a history of my family, some of the darkest moments recorded would be those surrounding Christmas trees. One would certainly think otherwise; selecting and putting up our trees have always been filled with risk. For example, one afternoon dangerously close to Christmas Eve my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain, a glorious tree that was so full and tall that we could hardly get it into the house. Once we did, my father immediately realized that we would have to hire a carpenter to build a stand for it. Another December, perhaps the very next one, we bought a tree earlier than we ever had before. We were happy with its shape and delighted that its size was manageable. We easily placed it in a stand, decorated it from top to bottom, and then self-satisfiedly sat back by the fire in its soft light. Two or three days passed and the truth could not be hidden; we had bought a tree cut so long ago that its needles were coming off. There was nothing to do but undecorate it, take it down, and begin tree shopping again. Our most recent Christmas tree offered still another difficult task. When we brought it home, once again it seemed larger than it was in the great outdoors. To complicate matters, we had bought a new stand, one whose nuts (螺帽) and bolts (闩子) worked more mysteriously than those of our old stands. I persuaded two young neighbors to stop playing basketball and to help us get the tree into the house and set it correctly in the stand. Unfortunately, no one noticed the mud on our helpers' shoes, so only after removing several reddish brown spots from the carpet were we able to discuss the question of where the lights and ornaments (装饰)were stored. Perhaps those who cut their own trees have tales more painful than these. I don't care to hear them, as my family's experiences are enough to cause me to make the following suggestion:" Let's forget the tree next Christmas. Let's simply hang some flowers on the front door and over the mirror in the hall. "The darkest moments in the writer's family were with the fact that _____.
A.the family bought big Christmas trees |
B.they had problems decorating their Christmas trees |
C.they had problems picking suitable Christmas trees |
D.they had problems finding carpenters for putting up Christmas trees |
We can learn from the passage that the writer would like to _____.
A.forget about Christmas stories |
B.get the neighbors to put up their trees |
C.buy a better tree to celebrate Christmas |
D.make other decorations rather than Christmas trees |
When the writer said " my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain", he means ____.
A.she bought the tree at a cheap price |
B.she didn't really want to buy it |
C.she had to bargain hard with the salesman |
D.she couldn't afford a more expensive one |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A.How to Select a Christmas Tree |
B.No More Christmas Tree for Us |
C.Dark Moments of Life |
D.Christmas Without Trees |
In a room at Texas Children Cancer Center in Houston, eight-year-old Simran Jatar lay in bed with a drip (点滴) above her to fight her bone cancer. Over her bald (秃的) head, she wore a pink hat that matched her clothes. But the third grader’s cheery dressing didn’t mask her pain and weary eyes.
Then a visitor showed up. “Do you want to write a song?” asked Anita Kruse, 49, rolling a cart equipped with an electronic keyboard, a microphone and speakers. Simran stared. “Have you ever written a poem?” Anita Kruse continued. “Well, yes,” Simran said.
Within minutes, Simran was reading her poem into the microphone. “Some bird soaring through the sky,” she said softly. “Imagination in its head…” Anita Kruse added piano music, a few warbling (鸣, 唱) birds, and finally the girl’s voice. Thirty minutes later, she presented Simran with a CD of her first recorded song.
That was the beginning of Anita Kruse’s project, Purple Songs Can Fly, one that has helped more than 125 young patients write and record songs. As a composer and pianist who had performed at the hospital, Kruse said that the idea of how she could help “came in one flash”.
The effect on the kids has been great. One teenage girl, curling (蜷缩) in pain in her wheelchair, stood unaided to dance to a hip-hop song she had written. A 12-year-old boy with Hodgkin’s disease who rarely spoke surprised his doctors with a song he called I Can Make It.
“My time with the kids is heartbreaking because of the severity of their illnesses,” says Anita Kruse. “But they also make you happy, when the children are smiling, excited to share their CD with their families.”
Simran is now an active sixth grader and cancer-free. From time to time, she and her mother listen to her song, Always Remembering, and they always remember the “really sweet and nice and loving” lady who gave them a shining moment in the dark hour. Simran Jatar lay in bed in hospital because ______.
A.most of her hair had fallen out |
B.she was receiving treatment for cancer |
C.she felt depressed and quit from school |
D.she was suffering from a pain in her back |
What do we know about Anita Kruse’s project?
A.It helps young patients record songs. |
B.It is supported by singers and patients. |
C.It aims to replace the medical treatment. |
D.It offers patients chances to realize their dreams. |
What does the case of a 12-year-old boy suggest?
A.Most children are naturally fond of music. |
B.He was brave enough to put up performance. |
C.The project has positive effect on young patients. |
D.Singing is the best way to treat some illnesses. |
What is probably the best title for the passage?
A.Purple Songs Can Fly |
B.Singing Can Improve Health |
C.A Shining Moment in Life |
D.A Kind Woman—Anita Kruse |
FreeRice.com is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Program (UNWFP). It aims to provide education to everyone for free and help end world hunger. Join us and have fun with our vocabulary game. For each vocabulary word you get right, we donate free rice through UNWFP to those hungry people.
How do you play the vocabulary game?
Click on the answer that is closest in meaning to the word. If you get it right, you get a harder word. If wrong, you get an easier word. For each word you get right, we donate 20 grains of rice to UNWFP.
How does the vocabulary game help you?
This game may make you smarter. While learning new vocabulary, it can help you:
★Present your ideas better
★Write better papers, e-mails and business letters
★Speak more accurately and influentially
★Read faster because you understand better
★Get better grades in high school and college
★Perform better at job interviews
★Be more effective and successful at your job
After you have done FreeRice for a couple of days, you may notice a phenomenon. Words that you have never consciously used before will begin to pop into your head while you are speaking or writing. You will feel yourself using and knowing more words.
How does the FreeRice vocabulary program work?
FreeRice has a database containing thousands of words at different levels of difficulty. There are words proper for people just learning English and words that will challenge the most learned professors. In between are thousands of words for students, business people, doctors, truck drivers… everyone!
FreeRice adjusts to your level of vocabulary. It starts by giving you words at different levels of difficulty and then, based on how you do, designs a proper starting level for you. When you get a word wrong, you go to an easier level. When you get three words in a row right, you go to a harder level. There are 60 levels in all, but it is rare for people to get above Level 50.
Sign up now and you will have fun as well as help end world hunger. According to the passage, the purpose of the vocabulary game is to ______.
A.combine English learning with helping hungry people |
B.make it popular in English-speaking countries |
C.encourage people to produce more rice |
D.provide English learning for poor areas |
Playing the vocabulary game enables you to ______.
A.develop some new ideas |
B.increase chances of job interview |
C.be admitted to a university |
D.perform better in a speech competition |
People of different vocabulary levels can play the game because ______.
A.it is free of charge |
B.it offers fair chances to everyone |
C.it changes levels with their performance |
D.it meets the needs of people in different fields |
It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.
My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I’m so glad I did.
On the road to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape. After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big humps(脊背) in the distance.
On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn’t believe it ——there aren’t any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.
The little baby whale——actually as big as our boat——was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools(漩涡) and waves. ”She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side, ”my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, some-times rising from the water right beside us to breathe——and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.
In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day, Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.The author says “I’m so glad I did ” (in Para. 2)because ______.
A.he witnessed the whole process of fishing |
B.he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea |
C.he experienced the rescue of the whales |
D.he spent the weekend with his family |
The harbour survived the storm owing to____________.
A.the shape of the harbour | B.the arms of the bay |
C.the still water in the channel | D.the long coast line |
The mother whale failed to help her baby because__________.
A.she had stayed in the polluted water for too long |
B.the whirlpools she had made were not big enough |
C.she had no other whales around to turn to for help |
D.the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction |
what is the theme of the story?
A.Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness |
B.Fishing provides excitement for children |
C.It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals |
D.It’s vital to protect the environment |
As prices and building costs keep rising, the do-it-yourself (DIY) trend (趋势) in the U.S. continues to grow.
“We needed furniture (家具) for our living room,” says John Ross, “And we just didn't have enough money to buy it. So we decide to try making a few tables and chairs.” John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Rosses took a 2-week course for $280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.
Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died. He has a full-time job at home as well as in a shoe making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for $420. “I was deeply upset about it. Now I've finished a car repair course, I should be able to fix the car by myself.”
John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a “do-it -yourselfer”, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don't have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.We can learn from the text that many newly married people _______.
A.find it hard to pay for what they need |
B.have to learn to make their own furniture |
C.take DIY courses run by the government |
D.seldom go to a department store to buy things |
John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to _______.
A.run a DIY shop |
B.make it repair things |
C.save time and money |
D.improve the quality of life |
When the writer says that Jim has a full-time at home, he means Jim _______.
A.makes shoes in his home |
B.does extra work at night |
C.does his own car and home repairs |
D.keeps house and looks after his children |
Jim Hatfield decided to become a do-it-yourselfer when _______.
A.his car repairs cost too much |
B.the car repair class was not helpful |
C.he could not possibly do two jobs |
D.he had to raise the children all by himself |
What would be the best title for the text?
A.The Joy of DIY. |
B.You Can Do It too! |
C.Welcome to Our DIY course! |
D.Ross and Hatfield: Believe in DIY. |