In many – even most – space-themed films, whenever Earth faces a disaster, the solution is always fleeing the planet in spaceships. But the latest Chinese sci-fi movie, The Wandering Earth, offers a different and more ambitious idea.

In the film, based on a short story by Chinese sci-fi writer Liu Cixin, Earth is in danger of being destroyed by the dying sun. In response, humans around the world work together to build a giant engine system that will push Earth away from the sun. Instead of abandoning Earth again – this time we’re taking it with us.

This “ambition” didn’t come from nowhere. For thousands of years, “homeland” has had a soft spot in the hearts and minds of Chinese people. One old idiom is luoyeguigen, which means returning to one’s homeland in old age, like fallen leaves returning to the roots of their tree. Or look to an ancient verse: “The season called the White Dew begins tonight/Nowhere as in our native place is the moon so bright”. These both show the tight bond that Chinese people have had with their homeland.This special cultural background is probably what sets The Wandering Earth apart from Hollywood-style space films.

“What is Chinese sci-fi?” Guo Fan, the film’s director, said in an interview. “A vehicle that can really express our cultural and spiritual core can be called Chinese sci-fi. Otherwise, we’re just imitating others and telling the same American stories.”

And the makers of The Wandering Earth may have chosen the best time to tell its Chinese sci-fi story. The film was released on Feb 5, the first day of Chinese New Year. It was a time when many people had just made the hard journey back to their hometowns.

So to them, there is only one possible way to tell the story: Earth goes wherever humans go, because it’s our home.

1.What is the difference between The Wandering Earth and Hollywood-style space films?

A. A different and more ambitious idea. B. Its Chinese makers.

C. The story with great imagination. D. The specical cultural background.

2.What does the underlined word ‘abandoning’ mean in Chinese?

A. 抛弃 B. 毁灭 C. 依赖 D. 索取

3.The makers of this film choose Feb 5 to put on it probably because ________.

A. it was the Spring Festival and many people have time to watch it

B. many old people want to return to their hometown then

C. it can cause many people’s common feeling at this time

D. Chinese people usually celebrate together on that day

4.What can we learn from the passage?

A. This film was based on a short story by Chinese sci-fi writer Guo Fan.

B. This film tells us each of us should return to our hometown when we grow old.

C. We should protect the Earth because it is in danger of being destroyed by the dying sun.

D. The director of this film thinks Chinese sci-fi should have our cultural and spiritual core.

Many people think the dinosaurs(恐龙) were the biggest animals that ever lived. They are wrong. The world’s biggest animal is still living and it lives in the ocean(海洋). It is the blue whale(鲸鱼). Blue whales can be as long as 30 meters and weigh as much as 1,000 kilos. The largest dinosaurs weighed only 500 kilos.

The whale is not only the world’s biggest animal, it is also one of the cleverest. We know that whales can talk with each other, but we do not know what they are saying. Maybe one day we will learn how to talk with whales, and then they will be able to tell us about themselves.

Whales live in the ocean, but they don’t lay eggs like fish do. They are mammals(哺乳动物). They give birth to babies and have milk inside their own bodies to feed them. Humans are also mammals.

Sadly, there are not many kinds of whales left. People have killed them for food and other things for a long time. Now there are laws to stop people killing most kinds of whales. So maybe there will be more of them in years to come.

1.Which picture show the correct size of the largest whale?

A.  B.  C.  D.

2.The underlined word “lay” in the Paragraph 3 means _______ .

A. 放置 B. 躺下 C. 打赌 D. 产卵

3.There are not many kinds of whales left because ___________ .

A. they don’t lay eggs B. people have killed them

C. they live in the ocean D. there are laws against them

4.The article mainly talks about ______.

A. the world’s biggest animal

B. lots of stories about whales

C. laws to stop people killing whales

D. the differences between dinosaurs and whales

As we know, there are differences between western culture and Chinese culture. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. Let’s look at the words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, “a homeless dog”, “a mad dog”, “a running dog” and “a dog catching a mouse”, have negative meanings. But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of humans. In English, people use the dog to describe positive actions. For example, “you are a lucky dog” means you are a lucky person. And “every dog has its day” means each person has good luck sometimes. To describe a person’s serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”. The word “dog-tired” means very tired. However, Chinese love cats very much. But in western culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is cruel(无情的、令人痛苦的).

The rose is a symbol(标志)of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose means love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.

The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.

1.“Every dog has its day.” means “

A. Everybody in the world is lucky.

B. Each person lives his own way of life.

C. If one works hard, he’s sure to succeed.

D. Everybody has a time in life to be lucky.

2.The underlined word “negative” means in Chinese.

A. 正面的 B. 负面的 C. 中性的 D. 有趣的

3.From the passage, we can infer(推断)that the word “copycat” is most likely to describe a person who in western countries.

A. likes following(效仿)others B. enjoys writing books

C. is good at copying notes D. loves drawing cats

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Words show differences in culture.

B. Chinese people prefer dogs to cats.

C. Western people think cats to be good friends.

D. Rose is the national flower of all western countries.

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

A. Negative or Positive.

B. Different Countries Have Different Culture.

C. Rose Means the Same in Chinese and English.

D. What Dog and Cat Mean in English and Chinese.

It is not easy for people to sail(航海) around the world in quite small boats. Sometimes the weather gets bad. Accidents(事故) can happen easily and quickly.

One family once has an accident. A big fish swims under their boat and bites(咬) holes in it. Sea water comes in and the boat soon goes down. Luckily these people have another small boat--- a lifeboat, so they all get into the lifeboat. They live in the boat for many days. They eat and sleep, and always hope--- At last a ship saves them.

How do people live in a very small lifeboat for a long time? They must be strong in every way. They must have hope, and they must have a strong desire(愿望) to live. People cannot drink sea water. If they drink a lot of sea water, they will quickly die. They must catch rainwater and drink it. They must also catch fish and birds for food. Lifeboats do not often carry cookers. So people cannot cook their food in the lifeboats. Raw(生) fish and birds are not very nice but they are their only food. They must eat raw food, or they will die.

1.When the boat goes down, the lifeboat gives the people _________.

A. food B. beds C. rainwater D. hope

2.One family once has an accident at sea because _________.

A. their boat meets bad weather

B. their boat hits a big rock and it is broken

C. a fish bites holes in their boat

D. none of them know how to sail

3.People can have _________ for food and drink in a lifeboat.

A. fish and birds B. rainwater

C. both sea water and rainwater D. both A and B

4.Lifeboats do not often carry cookers. The word ”cookers” here means _________.

A. 厨师 B. 食物 C. 炊具 D. 大盒子

5.How is their food when they are on the lifeboat?

A. Nice. B. Fresh. C. Salty.(咸的) D. Bad.

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