Question

China has more than 30 intangible cultural heritage(非物质文化遗产) recognized by the UNESCO, including paper-cutting, the Dragon Boat Festival, Peking Opera, acupuncture(针灸) and so on. The organization adopted a decision that China’s “The Twenty-Four Solar Terms”(二十四节气) should be put on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016 in Ethiopia.

The Twenty-Four Solar Terms, knowledge of time and practices in agriculture, starts from the beginning of Spring and ends with the Greater Cold, moving in cycles. It developed through thee observation of the sun’s annual movement in China. In ancient time, the method of tugui, earth sundial(日暑), was used to measure the shadow of the sun for determining the solar terms.

The Twenty-Four Solar Terms came into being and developed in close relationship with Chinese agricultural production. At the initial（最初的） stage of agricultural development, people began to explore the seasonal rules in the agricultural production to meet the needs in seeding, harvesting and other activities. Gradually, they formed the concept of “seed in spring, grow in summer, harvest in autumn and store in winter”. During the spring and autumn periods, the agricultural production was highly influenced by the seasonal changes, thus forming the concept of Solar Terms.

As a traditional Chinese knowledge system of time with a history of thousands of years, the Twenty-Four Solar Terms clearly expresses the concepts of respect for nature, and harmony between man and nature. Created by Chinese ancestors, it has functioned as a complete set of weather calendar(日历) to guide the agricultural production in China. It has also been introduced into North Korea, Japan and other neighboring countries and still used in Japan. The Chinese heritage has provably influenced the people’s way of thinking and behaving and will continue to be an important carrier of Chinese cultural identity.

1.According to the first two paragraphs, the Twenty-Four Solar Terms______.

A. was used to measure the shadow of the sun

B. has not been listed as one intangible cultural heritage of humanity

C. repeats from the Beginning of Spring to the Greater Cold every year

D. is the best intangible cultural heritage recognized by the UNESCO

2.We can learn from the text that _______ in China in the past.

A. the Twenty-Four Solar Terms only influenced spring and autumn

B. the Twenty-Four Solar Terms had something to do with agriculture

C. people cared about the changes of weather just for fun

D. agricultural production highly influenced the seasonal changes

3.We can infer from the text that the Twenty-Four Solar Terms _______.

A. is an agricultural calendar merely used in China

B. is strongly influenced by North Korea and Japan

C. is scarcely connected with natural rules

D. is part of traditional Chinese culture

Answer 1