The Dong People(侗族人) and Their Indigo cloth(靛蓝色布)

Yang Xiuying, 74, sits at wooden loom (织布机). As her fingers pass the shuttle (梭子) back and forth through the cotton threads, the old machine comes to life.

Ever since she was a young girl, Yang has been making indigo cloth. “This type of handmade cloth is extremely rare. You h1. buy it at the market,” she said.

For the Dong people in Guizhou, making indigo cloth has a long tradition. The s2. has been passed down from mother to daughter over generations. Nearly every family makes its own cloth.

This traditional way of making indigo cloth, unfortunately, is now in danger. It will disappear slowly in the modern industry society. Young people show little interest in it. Some of them have m3. to big cities to find better jobs.

Local officials want to save the tradition. They are trying to change young people’s a4. towards it. One program has set up several cloth-making factories in Guizhou. After learning how to make indigo cloth, young Dong people can find jobs easily. They can also work closer to home.

The Dong people consider indigo cloth as i5. as rice. Many Dong women spend countless hours making the cloth. They rise and start working very early in the morning. To make the cloth shiny, it must be rubbed (搓) and beaten hard. The noise of cloth being beaten often w6. the whole village up.

Almost every Dong women over 40 has a tub for indigo dye (染料). The cloth has to be put in the dye for many rounds to gain the rich color. The p7. of coloring usually takes two weeks.

Yang holds out her purple and wrinkled (有皱纹的) hands. “They say she who has the darkest hands makes the best cloth,” she says proudly.

Chongqing, a beautiful municipality(直辖市) in Southwest China, is attracting more and more visitors to come. The city is very hot in summer, so the best 1.to visit it are spring and autumn. Chongqing Daily offered a guide for the visitors. Here is a part of it.

Delicious Food to Eat

Have you ever watched Hey Xiaomian—a food documentary of Chongqing noodles? As the documentary shows, there are lots of local people who are noodle fans eating Xiaomian at street-side restaurants. Xiao doesn’t mean it’s very small. It shows how simply to cook it, how much to 2. for it and how deeply people love it. If you want to try, you can search the Internet for Top 50.

For lunch, street snacks can be 3.found on Haochi Street, which is filled with tasty food. Mouthwatering choices include barbecue and spicy-sour rice noodles.

4.than just a popular food, hotpot is a symbol of local culture for Chongqing. If you can stand the spicy(辣的) taste, go to Nanshan Mountain and try an open-air hotpot.

Interesting Places to Visit

Chaotianmen, the biggest port(码头) in Chongqing, is the place where the Jialing River and Yangtze River meets. In the morning, it’s fun to watch boats 5. from it and moving down along the river.

There is a saying that 6. you visit Jiefangbei, your trip to Chongqing is not complete. The landmark(地标) records the history of Chongqing and is also business center of the city.

In the afternoon, you can visit Ciqikou. There you can see many traditional art forms, small shops, local snacks and restaurants on boats. When the night falls, you can relax 7. a cup of tea by the river, quietly and peacefully.

Possible Transportations to Take

The subway in Chongqing is quite different from 8.in other big cities. If you want to experience it, you can take Line 2. At Liziba station, the train runs through a building!

The Yangtze River Cable Car is also a must-go if you want to have a perfect city view from above.

When I was a teenager, I got lost in a foreign country. I was in Berlin (柏林), Germany, on my month-long mission trip in Europe. My team and I had one night there to spend however we pleased. Most of my teammates decided to stay indoors and relax. But I did not want to pass up the chance to explore Berlin.

I visited a lot of major attractions around the city that night. When I got tired off, I checked the time on my watch. I was surprised to see that it was two o’clock in the morning! As I walked to a subway station, I realized that it was my dad’s birthday. This would be the first birthday I couldn’t celebrate with him because he passed away a few months earlier. Before I could begin reminiscing (回忆) about my dad, the train was about to leave. I dashed onto the train. At first, I was thankful to have made it onto the train. But it quickly turned to panic (恐慌) when I noticed that the train was headed in the wrong direction!

I looked around the nearly empty train. I saw a young woman sitting quietly by the window and came up to her "Hi. Do you speak English? I’m lost. Can you help me?" I asked.

The woman understood. She told me how to return to where I had first gotten on the train. But I was too nervous to follow her instructions. Without thinking, I asked. Can you come with me? Her face froze at my sudden request (要求). After a long second of hesitation, she agreed to help me.

On the journey back to my train station, she and I chatted. We shared our life stories, our sadness and our hopes for the future. At my stop, she thanked me for sharing so much with her. She also told me how I had encouraged her. I couldn’t believe this stranger with the big heart was thanking me! I gave her a hug and thanked her for her incredible (难以置信的) kindness.

1.Why didn’t the writer stay indoors and relax like most of her teammates?

A.Because one of her teammates encouraged her to explore Berlin.

B.Because she didn’t get along with her teammates very well.

C.Because she had nothing to do and felt pretty bored at that time.

D.Because she thought it would be a pity not to go around the city.

2.Why couldn’t the writer celebrate her dad’s birthday?

A.Because it was two o’clock in the morning.

B.Because she was in a foreign country.

C.Because her dad died a few months ago.

D.Because she forgot her dad’s birthday.

3.Which of the following isn’t true when the writer was in trouble?

A.It was early in the morning and there were few people on the train.

B.The writer didn’t know how to get back to the original (原来的) train station.

C.The young woman on the train didn’t know how to speak English.

D.The writer got on a wrong train and it was headed in the wrong direction.

4.From the sentence "Her face froze at my sudden request." we can know that ________.

A.The woman couldn’t understand the writer very well.

B.The woman felt as cold as the writer at that time.

C.The woman was pleased to come with the writer immediately.

D.The woman was surprised at what the writer had just asked.

5.On the journey back to the train station, the writer probably didn’t share ________ with the young woman.

A.her dream job in the future B.her dads passing

C.her teammates’ secrets D.her mission trip

6.What’s the best title for the passage?

A.Making friends on a mission trip B.Lost in a foreign country

C.Travelling around Berlin by train D.Kindness from a stranger

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