The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms (节气). Start of Summer (立夏), the 7th term of the year, begins on May 6 and ends on May 21 this year. Start of Summer signals the change of seasons. On this day, the sun’s rays reach an angle of 45 degrees to the earth. The temperature will rise quickly during this period.
Here are four traditions to learn about the Start of Summer.
Greeting Start of Summer
The term Start of Summer was originated at the end of the Warring States Period (239BC). Since it is a key time for the harvest of summer crops, ancient Chinese emperors in different dynasties attached great importance to the Start of Summer. They encouraged people to seize the key time to do farm work. It’s said that most of the decorations were arranged in the color red in order to show respect for the god of summer and pray for a good harvest.
Checking one’s weight
The custom of weighing people at the Start of Summer originated from the Three Kingdoms Period (220-180) and is still popular in South China today. It was believed this practice would bring health and good luck to the people weighted.
After lunch on this day, people would hang a basket from a beam (房梁). The young and old took turns to get weighed while the person calculating the weight would offer good wishes. It is said that those who were weighed would stay healthy in the hot summer and those who weren’t would suffer illness.
Eating eggs
In ancient China, people believed a round egg symbolized a happy life and eating eggs on the day of Start of Summer was a prayer for good health. They put leftover tea into boiled water together with eggs and the original “tea egg” was created. Later people improved cooking methods and added spices (香料) to the eggs to make them taste delicious. Today tea egg has become a traditional snack in China.
Egg Competitions
As an old Chinese saying goes “hanging an egg on children’s chest can prevent them from getting summer diseases”, parents will prepare boiled eggs and put them in a bag before hanging them on their child’s chest. When at school, children gather together to play egg competitions by hitting each other’s eggs in pairs and the one whose egg is not broken wins.
1.People believe that if one is weighed on Start of Summer, he or she will ________.
A.have a good harvest B.have respect for god
C.be fortunate D.suffer illness
2.Which tradition is particularly designed for children?
A.Greeting Start of Summer B.Checking one’s weight
C.Eating eggs D.Egg Competitions
3.What is the difference between the tradition “Greeting Start of Summer” and the other three?
A.It is very old. B.It has nothing to do with health.
C.It was only popular in Zhou Dynasty. D.It is organized by the emperor.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题
The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms (节气). Start of Summer (立夏), the 7th term of the year, begins on May 6 and ends on May 21 this year. Start of Summer signals the change of seasons. On this day, the sun’s rays reach an angle of 45 degrees to the earth. The temperature will rise quickly during this period.
Here are four traditions to learn about the Start of Summer.
Greeting Start of Summer
The term Start of Summer was originated at the end of the Warring States Period (239BC). Since it is a key time for the harvest of summer crops, ancient Chinese emperors in different dynasties attached great importance to the Start of Summer. They encouraged people to seize the key time to do farm work. It’s said that most of the decorations were arranged in the color red in order to show respect for the god of summer and pray for a good harvest.
Checking one’s weight
The custom of weighing people at the Start of Summer originated from the Three Kingdoms Period (220-180) and is still popular in South China today. It was believed this practice would bring health and good luck to the people weighted.
After lunch on this day, people would hang a basket from a beam (房梁). The young and old took turns to get weighed while the person calculating the weight would offer good wishes. It is said that those who were weighed would stay healthy in the hot summer and those who weren’t would suffer illness.
Eating eggs
In ancient China, people believed a round egg symbolized a happy life and eating eggs on the day of Start of Summer was a prayer for good health. They put leftover tea into boiled water together with eggs and the original “tea egg” was created. Later people improved cooking methods and added spices (香料) to the eggs to make them taste delicious. Today tea egg has become a traditional snack in China.
Egg Competitions
As an old Chinese saying goes “hanging an egg on children’s chest can prevent them from getting summer diseases”, parents will prepare boiled eggs and put them in a bag before hanging them on their child’s chest. When at school, children gather together to play egg competitions by hitting each other’s eggs in pairs and the one whose egg is not broken wins.
1.People believe that if one is weighed on Start of Summer, he or she will ________.
A.have a good harvest B.have respect for god
C.be fortunate D.suffer illness
2.Which tradition is particularly designed for children?
A.Greeting Start of Summer B.Checking one’s weight
C.Eating eggs D.Egg Competitions
3.What is the difference between the tradition “Greeting Start of Summer” and the other three?
A.It is very old. B.It has nothing to do with health.
C.It was only popular in Zhou Dynasty. D.It is organized by the emperor.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
阅读下面材料,在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
In the Chinese lunar calendar a year 1. (divide) into 24 solar terms. Lichun, the first solar term, usually lasts from around February 4 to February 18. It is time to actively develop agriculture. Lichun 2. (tradition) represents the beginning of spring in East Asian cultures. Farmers often celebrate it with special village events and 3. (ceremony) for a prosperous new year. In the lunar calendar, New Year’s Day might be before 4.after Lichun.
In northern China, people ate spring pancakes on this day. The spring pancake took 5. (it) rise from the Jin dynasty and 6. (become) popular in the Tang dynasty. Lichun was valued by both Chinese ancient kings and civilians. In celebration of Lichun, civilians ate spring pancakes 7. (wrap) around fresh vegetables and meat, 8. was called bite-the-spring. Bite-the-spring implied that civilians were praying for 9. good harvest year.
Now, people also go outside to show their passion for the spring. Villagers usually whip their cattle and on their way, they bang drums and sing songs 10. (celebrate) the coming spring.
高二英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Winter solstice(冬至), an important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar, as the name implies, means the coming of winter. It generally occurs between December 21st and 23rd. According to the traditional Chinese calendar, one year is divided into twenty-four solar terms. On this day, in the Northern Hemisphere the period of daytime is the shortest of the year and the period of night is the longest.
In Northern China there is a custom of eating dumplings during winter solstice. The tradition of eating dumplings during winter solstice has its origin in early times. It is said that dumplings were invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a well-known doctor from the Eastern-Han Dynasty.
One winter, he noticed that many people’s ears were frozen, which made him sad. In order to prevent and cure the freezing injury caused by the cold, he asked his followers to boil mutton, chilies and other ingredients with medicinal properties in a pot for fending off cold. After these were boiled, they ladled(舀取) the mutton and other ingredients out of the pot, cut them into pieces, and then wrapped them with dough skins in the shape of ears. Afterward, they put these into pots to boil again.
On the day of the winter solstice, the people whose ears were frozen were sent to eat the dumplings. People who ate it felt warm from head to toe and had their cold injury healed. Thereafter, every winter solstice people ate dumplings. Then there became a saying that if you eat dumplings during the winter solstice, then you won’t freeze your ears off.
Afterwards, Zhang Zhongjing died on the day of winter solstice. In order to honor him, every year on the day of the winter solstice every household makes dumplings.
1.Which of the following should be the best title of the passage?
A. The Custom Of Eating Dumplings B. The Inventor Of Dumplings
C. The Importance Of Eating Dumplings D. The Origin Of Winter Solstice
2.According to the passage, people make dumplings to eat every winter solstice because __________.
A. they want to honor Zhang Zhongjing, who invented dumplings to cure peoples freezing injury
B. they want to celebrate the important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar
C. dumplings boiled with mutton, chilies and other ingredients with medicinal properties taste delicious
D. they can feel warm from head to toe and have their freezing injury healed
3.What does the underlined phrase “fending off” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. Put off. B. Put out.
C. Keep up. D. Keep out.
4.According to the passage, which is TRUE about the following description?
A. Winter solstice is the most important among twenty-four solar terms.
B. Australia in the Southern Hemisphere has the longest period of daytime on Winter Solstice.
C. If people don’t eat dumplings, they will have their ears frozen off.
D. China has the longest period of daytime on Winter Solstice.
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
阅读下列短文,根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写 1 个适当的词, 在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。
The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Grain Buds (小满 ), the 8th solar term of a year, 1. (last) half a month from May 20 this year to June 4.
It means 2. the seeds from the grain are becoming full but are not ripe. In China, the 24 solar terms 3. (create) thousands of years ago to guide agricultural production. But the solar term culture is still useful today to guide people’s lives through special foods, cultural ceremonies, gardening and even healthy living tips that correspond with each solar term.
高二英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Every time the last month of Chinese lunar year nears the end, Chinese communities around the globe are preparing to launch next New Year celebrations. 1. Here’s something you need to know about Chinese New Year:
2.
Chinese New Year is the longest national holiday in China and New Year’s day is the most important date in the Chinese calendar. Chinese New Year is based on the ancient Chinese lunar calendar, falling on the second new moon after winter solstice(冬至)--meaning it changes each year.
Roughly a sixth of the world will observe Chinese New Year, with celebrations in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, along with other countries with significant Chinese populations. 3.
How is Chinese New Year celebrated?
Many celebrations take place, including parades(旅行), dragon dances, reunions and wonderful dinners. Red clothing is considered essential, as it is said to scare off the mythical monster Nian. Children are traditionally given red envelopes with money inside which they sleep with under their pillows, which is said to bring them good fortune and happiness.
4. On Day 2 it is traditional to visit friends and relatives; on Day 3 people tend to stay at home as it is not seen as fortunate to socialize. The final day, Day 15, sees the Lantern Festival, where red Chinese lanterns are released into the sky.
What does the year of the rooster mean?
2017 is the year of the tenth Chinese zodiac(十二生肖), the rooster. 5. Those born in 1957 or 2017 are fire roosters, and are considered trustworthy, with a strong sense of timekeeping and responsibility at work. They are also thought to be talkative, popular among a crowd and loyal.
A. What is Chinese New Year?
B. When is Chinese New Year coming?
C. Each day has its own celebration
D. However, this is the year of the fire rooster
E. It is pronounced “Gong Xi Fa Cai” in Mandarin
F. It is the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar
G. London and San Francisco both claim to host the largest celebrations outside of Asia
高二英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
For more and more young Chinese professionals, the first day back at work after the Lunar New Year holiday is the day they quit.
The period after the Lunar New Year holiday, also known as Spring Festival, often sees Chinese workers on the move. This year, the number looking for new opportunities is supposed to be especially high.
Mr. Zhu, a 27-year-old Beijing native, is one of the young workers looking for a better deal. “Salary is a big concern for me and I need a job that pays more, and my department can’t provide good career development for me,” he said.
An online survey by Zhaopin.com, a leading job-hunting website, provides further details on why China’s young white-collar workers are so keen to move on.
Low salaries are the biggest concern for 62% of the job-hunters, and overtime and a wide mismatch between low salaries and high housing costs are also the complaints. Two-thirds of them said they had to work at home after office hours, and a full 95% said they felt they were under heavy pressure because of the housing payment or rent.
The survey also found that what was seen as a “good job” has changed. For the generation born in the 1970s, high salary and status is the key. For the generation born after 1980, work-life balance and respect in the office are also important.
Zhao Bin, a 28-year-old woman who earns over 7,000 yuan a month working at a public relations company in Shanghai, said she would wait until the Lunar New Year to change her job. “My salary is OK for me, but I am working like crazy. So I want to find something comfortable, like being an English teacher in training schools.”
1.Mr. Zhu is looking for a new job because ________.
A. he was fired before the Lunar New Year holiday
B. he was promised a better job
C. he wants a job better in salary and in development
D. he was advised to do so
2.Which of the following can best take the place of the underlined words “a wide mismatch”?
A. a big gap B. a lost game
C. a hot debate D. a failed marriage
3.The writer uses the example of Zhao Bin to prove that ________.
A. salary is the first concern for people who change jobs
B. young people are under pressure of high housing prices
C. young people tend to value work-life balance
D. teacher has become a good job for Chinese youth
4.The article is intended to ________.
A. encourage Chinese white-collar workers to change jobs
B. present a social phenomenon and explain its causes
C. carry out an online survey to readers
D. compare different reasons why people quit jobs
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The Chinese lunar New Year usually ______ two records: the world’s most watched television gala show and its busiest telecommunications network.
A.develops B.conducts C.witnesses D.launches
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Shakespeare's life can be divided into three periods: the first 20 years in Stratford, which includes his schooling,early marriage, and fatherhood;the next 25 years as an actor and playwright (剧作家) in London; and the last five in retirement back in Stratford where he enjoyed the wealth gained from his theatrical (戏剧的) successes. The years linking the first two periods are marked by a lack of information about Shakespeare, and are often referred to as the “dark years”.
Shakespeare probably left school at 15, and took some sorts of jobs, especially since this was the period of his father’s financial difficulty. A great number of references in his plays suggest that William may have in fact worked for his father, thus gaining specialized knowledge.
At some point during the “dark years”, Shakespeare began his career with a London theatrical company — perhaps in 1589 — for he was already an actor and playwright in 1592. Shakespeare apparently wrote and acted for Pembroke’s Men, as well as a lot of others, in particular Strange’s Men, which later became the Chamberlain’s Men.
When, in 1592, the theaters were closed for about two years, due to a terrible disease. Shakespeare turned to writing book-length poetry. Most notable were Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both of which have been translated into many languages and even been included in students’ textbooks. During this same period, Shakespeare was writing his sonnets (十四行诗), which are more likely signs of the time’s fashion rather than actual love poems detailing any particular relationship. He returned to play writing when theater reopened in 1594, and published no more poetry. His sonnets were published without his permission in 1609, shortly before his retirement. His final play was Henry VIII, two years before his death in 1616.
1.Why did Shakespeare take some sorts of jobs at the age of 15 and didn’t go on studying?
A. Because his family was badly off at that time.
B. Because he liked his job more than studying.
C. Because he wanted to be an actor in London.
D. Because he wanted to open his own company.
2.Which of the following words can take the place of the underlined word “notable” in the last paragraph?
A. long B. fashionable C. famous D. educational
3.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Shakespeare didn’t write any plays between 1592 and 1594.
B. Shakespeare’s sonnets were written between 1592 and 1594.
C. After writing Henry VIII, Shakespeare wrote nothing.
D. Shakespeare published his sonnets in 1609.
高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Shakespeare's life can be divided into three periods: the first 20 years in Stratford, which includes his schooling,early marriage, and fatherhood;the next 25 years as an actor and playwright (剧作家) in London; and the last five in retirement back in Stratford where he enjoyed the wealth gained from his theatrical (戏剧的) successes. The years linking the first two periods are marked by a lack of information about Shakespeare, and are often referred to as the “dark years”.
Shakespeare probably left school at 15, and took some sorts of jobs, especially since this was the period of his father’s financial difficulty. A great number of references in his plays suggest that William may have in fact worked for his father, thus gaining specialized knowledge.
At some point during the “dark years”, Shakespeare began his career with a London theatrical company — perhaps in 1589 — for he was already an actor and playwright in 1592. Shakespeare apparently wrote and acted for Pembroke’s Men, as well as a lot of others, in particular Strange’s Men, which later became the Chamberlain’s Men.
When, in 1592, the theaters were closed for about two years, due to a terrible disease. Shakespeare turned to writing book-length poetry. Most notable were Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both of which have been translated into many languages and even been included in students’ textbooks. During this same period, Shakespeare was writing his sonnets (十四行诗), which are more likely signs of the time’s fashion rather than actual love poems detailing any particular relationship. He returned to play writing when theater reopened in 1594, and published no more poetry. His sonnets were published without his permission in 1609, shortly before his retirement. His final play was Henry VIII, two years before his death in 1616.
1.Why did Shakespeare take some sorts of jobs at the age of 15 and didn’t go on studying?
A. Because his family was badly off at that time.
B. Because he liked his job more than studying.
C. Because he wanted to be an actor in London.
D. Because he wanted to open his own company.
2.Which of the following words can take the place of the underlined word “notable” in the last paragraph?
A. long B. fashionable C. famous D. educational
3.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Shakespeare didn’t write any plays between 1592 and 1594.
B. Shakespeare’s sonnets were written between 1592 and 1594.
C. After writing Henry VIII, Shakespeare wrote nothing.
D. Shakespeare published his sonnets in 1609.
高二英语阅读理解极难题查看答案及解析
阅读下面材料,在空白处填入适当的内容或括号内单词的正确形式。
Chinese New Year, also 1. (know) as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is the grandest festival in China. As the most colorful annual event, the 2.tradition) Chinese New Year celebration lasts longer, up to two weeks, and the highlight3. (arrive) around the Lunar New Year's Eve.
In 2020, the Chinese Spring Festival falls 4.Jan. 25th. Like Christmas in Western countries, Chinese Lunar New Year is 5. time to be home with family, chatting, drinking, cooking, and enjoying a hearty meal together. Home isthe focus of the Spring Festival; All Chinese people manage 6.(make) their way home by New Year's Eve, for a reunion dinner with the whole family and 7.(vary) kinds of meat, vegetable, and seafood are made into dishes with auspicious(吉祥的) meanings. 8. (definite), the CCTV Spring Festival Gala is China's most watched television special, 9. delightful songs and words act as a habitual background to a reunion dinner. Although the audience becomes more and more critical of the 10. (program) in the Gala, it never stops people turning on the TV on time.
高二英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析