Chinese animal symbols hold amazing power in all cultures. As with all symbols, these can bring about great positive（积极的）parts into our lives. By understanding their meanings, we think about the desired（渴望的）part each symbol represents.

Crane:

The crane is a legend（传说）in China for being, the prince with feathers on earth. Next to（仅次于）the phoenix（凤凰）, the crane is Chinese favourite bird symbol. The crane is the ancient symbol for long life because it can live for a long time. In many legends, the spirit ride on cranes, which are also said to take the souls（灵魂）of the dead people to heaven.

Goldfish:

This symbol means a lot of gold, making the goldfish a popular symbol in the Chinese culture. One of the most popular New Year’s pictures is a child holding a large goldfish and a flower which brings both wealth and harmony. A goldfish embroidered（刺绣）on a bag or a shirt is a sure way to bring enough energy into your life.

Magpie（喜鹊）:

This Chinese animal symbol translates into the bird of joy. It is believed that when the magpie nests in your house, it brings much cause for celebration and many happy occasions（场合）. Those people who wish to live a happy life in a new place will do well to have this symbol in their lives, as it attracts the settling（安居）energies into our lives. What’s more, the magpie is a powerful symbol to attract the happiness with marriage and children.

Rooster:

A picture of a rooster stands for a wish for advancement（晋升）because the rooster’s crest（冠）sounds similar to the word “官” in Chinese. More importantly, legend has it that the Heavenly Rooster of Dusu Mountain was crowing（啼叫）loudly and making all the roosters on earth crow along with it. This crowing would drive away all evil spirits away.

1．What is a fact about the crane?

A．It’s the princess of all animals on earth.

B．The Chinese favourite bird symbol.

C．It will live for quite a long time.

D．It can take people to heaven.

2．Which brings a lot of wealth（财富）and energy?

A．The crane. B．The rooster. C．The goldfish. D．The magpie.

3．The passage is most likely（可能）to be found in _________.

A．a storybook

B．a culture column（专栏）

C．a science report

D．a fashion magazine

Lucky signs(吉兆) is very popular with Chinese. There are many aspects and expressions of good luck in Chinese culture. They are mostly passed from ancient times and still play an important role in people’s daily lives today. The lucky colors, animals or use of language are quite special and interesting, and they make the culture more meaningful.

The color red

Red is deeply rooted in Chinese culture; it represents power, status (身份) and confidence to ancient Chinese royalty, while to common people, red means happiness, wealth, prosperity and good luck.

Benevolent animals(神兽护体)

“In the ancient East there is a dragon, her name is China. In the ancient East there is a group of people, they are all the heirs(后裔) of the dragon.” Dragons in Chinese culture represent the greatest royalty, strength, prosperity. The ancient emperors of China were regarded as the sons of dragons.

Chinese puns(谐音)

In the Chinese language, there are lots of interesting homophonic words(双关语). Chinese people love to use these puns in their daily lives, and it has become an important part of the culture. Especially, people love to take homophonic meanings and connect them as lucky words like “nian nian you yu”, “yu” means “fish” and it also have the similar sound as “surplus(剩余)”.

4．________ kind(s) of lucky signs are mentioned in this passage.

A．One B．Two C．Three D．Four

5．In Chinese culture, ________ can represent(代表) the greatest royalty, strength and prosperity.

A．dragons B．pandas C．birds D．tigers

6．________ means happiness, wealth, prosperity and good luck.

A．Pink B．Yellow C．Purple D．Red

7．The best title of the passage may be “________”.

A．Chinese Traditional Drama

B．Chinese Traditional Culture

C．Chinese Traditional Food

D．Chinese Traditional Festival

Dragons are not real animals, but look like a combination (结合体) of many animals such as snakes, fish and deer. They have two horns (角) and long moustache (胡子).With fantastic powers, they fly in the sky or swim in the sea. They can make rain, too. The Chinese dragon is a symbol of strength and good luck.

We are proud to call ourselves the “descendants (传人) of the dragon”. In Chinese, “excellent” people are often called “dragons”. A number of Chinese sayings and idioms talk about dragons, for example, “Hoping one’s child will become a dragon,” which means hoping he or she will be successful.

There are also some traditional festivals about dragons in China, such as Dragon Head Raising Day and Dragon Boat Festival. We have different kinds of activities to celebrate them. These two festivals come every year, but the Year of the Dragon comes every twelve years.

8．Which of the following is not mentioned as the combination of a dragon?

A．Snakes B．Horses C．Fish D．Deer

9．The year, 2000, is the Year of the Dragon, and which of the following years is the Year of the Dragon again?

A．2012. B．2008. C．2018. D．1987．

10．What does the Chinese dragon symbolize?

A．A combination of many animals.

B．Chinese sayings and idiom.

C．Traditional festivals.

D．Strength and good luck.

11．In the passage, the underlined sentence “Hoping one’s child will become a dragon,” means ________ in Chinese.

A．龙马精神 B．龙飞凤舞 C．望子成龙 D．龙腾虎跃

12．After the ________ was invented, the oceans were open to travel.

A．compass B．printing C．gunpowder D．paper-making

13．At first, gunpowder was used for ________.

A．finding direction B．making fireworks

C．carving characters D．writing characters

14．________ developed paper-making in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

A．Some sailors B．Bi Sheng C．Cai Lun D．People in the Arab world

15．Printing was developed in the ________.

A．Tang Dynasty B．Song Dynasty C．Han Dynasty D．We don’t know.

16．The best title for the reading material is ________.

A．The Four Dynasties of Ancient China

B．The Four Great Inventors of Ancient China

C．The Four Great Inventions of Ancient China

D．The Four Great Inventions of China

Beijing Opera is our national opera. It has a quite long history. It is the soul（灵魂）of Chinese national culture. It came into being（形成）after 1790 when the famous four Anhui opera troupes（戏班）___17___ to Beijing. Beijing Opera is ___18___ of historical stories, beautiful costumes and wonderful performances.

Its music and singing came from Xipi and Erhuang in Anhui and Hubei. There are mainly ___19___kinds of roles in Beijing Opera: Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou. The Sheng is a ___20___ male actor. The Dan is a female role. The Jing is a male role ___21___ a painted face and the Chou is a comedy actor.

Beijing Opera presents plays and characters mainly by four artistic ___22___. They are singing, speaking, acting and martial arts（唱、念、做、打）. These methods make audience（观众）to be encouraged by the performers’ feelings, language, music and action.

Beijing Opera is ___23___ by generations（代）of Chinese people. Today, an increasing number of young people are becoming ___24___ in it. Foreign people are also visiting China to ___25___ Beijing Opera.

Beijing Opera contains the soul of Chinese national culture. Its special charm（魅力）____26____ generations of Chinese people. There is no doubt that it is really the treasure of Chinese culture.

17．A．came B．left C．arrived D．reached

18．A．full B．sure C．proud D．careful

19．A．three B．four C．two D．five

20．A．ugly B．leading C．smart D．strange

21．A．in B．with C．of D．under

22．A．shows B．methods C．scenes D．works

23．A．enjoyed B．written C．called D．made

24．A．experienced B．interested C．weak D．rich

25．A．eat B．drink C．taste D．hurt

26．A．insists B．shows C．tells D．encourages

…………

参考答案

1．C 2．C 3．B

【导语】本文介绍了在中国文化中，鹤、金鱼、喜鹊和公鸡这些中国动物符号所具有的意义。

1．细节理解题。根据“The crane is the ancient symbol for long life because it can live for a long time.”可知，鹤是长寿的古老象征，因为它可以活很长时间。故选C。

2．推理判断题。根据“One of the most popular New Year’s pictures is a child holding a large goldfish and a flower which brings both wealth and harmony. A goldfish embroidered on a bag or a shirt is a sure way to bring enough energy into your life.”可知，金鱼会带来了许多财富和能量，故选C。

3．推理判断题。根据“Chinese animal symbols hold amazing power in all cultures. As with all symbols, these can bring about great positive parts into our lives. By understanding their meanings, we think about the desired part each symbol represents.”可知，本文介绍了中国的动物符号在所有文化中都具有神奇的力量，因此本文可能在文化专栏被看见，故选B。

…………

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