Chinese people take their food and eat it extremely seriously .Eating is a communal (公共的),social, human experience in China .Sharing a meal is a sign of friendship，and trust , Eating plays a central role in friendship ,business ,medicine ,family and love. In short, food is life.

When eating, the rice is separated into your own personal bowl, but the dishes are placed in communal bowls in the center of the table and everybody help themselves with chopsticks .It's considered polite, and sign of respect and friendship, to encourage other people to eat plenty of the good bits, even to pick up food with your chopsticks and drop it into their rice bowls for them.

Food is an important component of weddings, funerals and almost all Chinese festivals. New Year is the time for dumplings, the Dragon Boat Festival is the time for sticky rice Zongzi wrapped in leaves, and Mid -Autumn Day is the time for Moon Cakes. The dinner table is the best for forum(公共讨论场所) to close business deals ,and it's the number one thing to do with friends.

Chinese women express their admiration for the opposite sex by cooking delicious meals of many courses, and these days it's the other way round too.

In short, if you want to get to know Chinese people, understand Chinese culture and thinking and get into Chinese life, you have to eat and appreciate Chinese food.

1. What is the best title of this passage?

A. Eating Food in China

B. How Do Chinese People Eat Food

C. The Importance of Chinese Food

D. Different Foods for Different Chinese Food

2.In the first paragraph, what does the author mean by saying "food is life"?

A. Without food, there will be no life

B. food is as important as life

C. we must take food seriously

D. we must eat food every day

3.What is the representative food for the Dragon Boat Festival in China?

A. Dumplings   B. Moon Cakes    C. Jiaozi     D. Zongzi

阅读下列回函:
Reply letter A
Thank you for your valuable suggestions. We have decided to show the Chinese character along with the Hanyu Pinyin for names of Chinese personages, places and specific things as from the next issue.
Reply letter B
Thank you for your suggestions. Next year will be the 50^th anniversary of the establishment of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. One of our staff reporters has just returned from Xinjiang and written a long article about her trip. Next year, we will have even more coverage of Xinjiang.
Reply letter C
Other readers have asked us for similar information and we have so far answered them individually. In this issue, we will print an open reply. We discovered after making a survey that there are few books to be found on China printed in English. Most are published by the Foreign Languages Press and China International press, from where it is possible to buy books directly.
Reply letter D
A majority of Chinese tourists travel abroad in order to see different landscapes and various cultures, to appreciate an exotic atmosphere and to get to know local customs. Some Chinese tourists nevertheless go to China towns, because they can eat Chinese food there. For those who don’t know English or the native language of the country they visit, it is convenient to go shopping or find entertainment in a Chinatown.
Reply letter E
We have taken on your suggestions to start a column on personalities. There are kinds of reports, such as movie stars, directors, businessmen, singers and so on. Our reports not only introduce their achievements, but also report their inner world. We hope you will enjoy it.
Reply letter F
Thanks for your appreciation of our magazine. We have mailed your letter and your e-mail address to Tingting. Since both of her two letters were sent by ordinary mail and did not give her e-mail address or telephone number. We could not get in touch with her any other way.
阅读下列信函,然后匹配相关信息:
Letter A
I have just started reading your magazine regularly and enjoy the articles very much. I have one comment to make. Can you include the Chinese characters for the names of people, places, etc that you mention with the Hanyu Pinyin of Romanized phonetic system that you use? For example, what is “Emei” or “Qitaihe”or “Shaoxing” in Chinese? It’s also helpful for those of us who are learning Chinese.
Letter B.
It was interesting to read the magazine. I wonder if you could start a column which introduces the Chinese elites of art, business, sports, politics, especially directors, actors, anchors(主持人)and singers. I believe readers will also appreciate a livelier style.
Letter C
I am a civil servant in Xinjiang, a region relatively underdeveloped in comparison with other provinces. But this does not mean it belong to another world. Xinjiang could benefit from overseas exchanges as well as contact with people living in other regions. Could you include articles about Xinjiang and its people? I suggest magazines report more about the western regions, especially exotic and charming Xinjiang.
Letter D
I am an avid(热衷的)reader of your magazine and it has helped me to introduce China to foreign friends. Thank you for great efforts to bring New China to the world. Next month, I may get the opportunity to go to Nigeria, so I must learn more about China’s history and culture. Could you kindly recommend a suitable book in English?
Letter E
It was interesting to read “Chinese Travelers Step out”. It seems a large percentage of Chinese tourists visit the West. In Indonesia, Chinese New Year is an official holiday. How would you assess the level of interest Chinese tourists have in Indonesia? Would they like to visit Chinatowns or other unique attractions in Indonesia?
信函                                         回函
【小题1】LetterA                                  A. Reply letter A
【小题2】LetterB                                  B. Reply letter B
【小题3】LetterC                                  C. reply letter C
【小题4】LetterD                                   D. Reply letter D
【小题5】LetterE                                  E. Reply letter E

Nowroz: Iranian New Year or Nowroz is celebrated on the first day of spring sometime in March. People sing, dance and parade as in a carnival through the streets with drums and trumpets to spread the news of the coming new year.
Rosh Hashanah: The Jewish New Year is called “Rosh Hashanah”, and is celebrated in the month of September. It is a holy (神圣的) time when people think of the things they have done wrong in the past, and promise to do better in the future. Special prayers are held, and an instrument called a Shofar is played. Children are given new clothes, and New Year loaves are baked and fruits are served to remind people of harvest time.
Shogatsu: In Japan, the New Year (Shogatsu) celebrations are from January 1 to January 3 and most Japanese don’t work during these days. In Japan, the New Year is a fresh start. This means that in December all duties should be completed. Parties are held to forget the worries and troubles of the old year. Homes and cars are decorated. On New Year’s Eve, most people spend their time with their families.
Bahai New Year: The Bahai people have their own calendar consisting of nineteen months of nineteen days plus a couple of extra days between the eighteenth and nineteenth months. They have, however, adopted the Iranian custom of beginning the New Year in the spring equinox (春分). The New Year celebrations are held on the evening of March 20th.
【小题1】During the Jewish New Year,        .

The Chinese New Year is a great holiday to choose to celebrate Chinese culture with your child. Here are few fun ways to bring a bit of fun and   1   into your home through the festivities of the Chinese New Year.

1.Add a lucky red door. Red is a traditional color of   2  . It's an important part of the Chinese New Year to   3  on doing what one can to bring about good luck for the New Year. If you don't want to  4   the door red, how about wrapping it up like a present with red wrapping paper. If changing your front door's color is not workable, how about the door to your child's bedroom?

2.Eat. A huge part of most cultures is that of food and the Chinese New Year is not   5  , it's eating jiaozi at midnight on New Year's Eve, or longevity noodles on day seven of the festivities to    6  long life. The Chinese New Year celebrations mean many fancy meals that your child will   7  .

3.Create a lantern. Sara Naumann, the Guide to China Travel, shares a bit about the legend of the Lantern Festival or Yuanxiao, which occurs on the   8  day of the Chinese New Year festivities. It's a   9  that includes an emperor, a young woman who misses her family, and tricking the God of Fire. Your kids should love this story. After   10  it with them, or while reading the story, enjoy making your own paper lantern to display.

4.Give lucky money. The Guide to Mandarin Language shares that another very popular   11  during the Chinese New Year is that of the gift of red envelopes with   12  in them. These gifts are given to children and usually follow a bit of superstition（迷信） in that the money needs to be given in even amounts and never contain   13  numbers, such as four. Therefore, four dollars is not a good gift. The envelopes are also decorated with lucky symbols and New Year   14  .

5.Give a small gift. The giving of simple gifts is also an appropriate way to   15  the Chinese New Year. What better gift than that of a children's book about the Chinese New Year or the Chinese Culture.

6.Make some noise. Just like in America, the Chinese use   16  in ringing in their New Year. In the Chinese culture it began as a way to   17   away any demons（鬼） that threaten to bring a profitable and lucky New Year, but today it's also about excitement and   18  . Consider setting off a few firecrackers of your own, if allowed in your area. If not, make a cute firework picture with a bit of glitter and glue. A pretend firecracker is another great craft that could also be considered a festive way to decorate your New Year table.

7.Sing Happy Birthday to your dog. The second day of the Chinese New Year is   19  the birthday of all dogs. Why not   20  your child to throw Fido a birthday celebration? Perhaps an extra ride in the car or new chew toy is in order? I know my dog would appreciate a few extra belly rubs too.

(    ) 1. A. tradition           B. culture             C. civilization       D. habit

(    ) 2. A. wealth              B. disaster             C. belief                      D. luck

(    ) 3. A. focus                      B. accuse              C. adapt               D. mind

(    ) 4. A. boil                 B. paint               C. wash               D. purchase

(    ) 5. A. same               B. similar             C. common           D. different

(    ) 6. A. come about       B. take about        C. bring about       D. get out

(    ) 7. A. bore                 B. destroy             C. enjoy                      D. absorb

(    ) 8. A. last                  B. first                 C. second              D. next

(    ) 9. A. play                 B. story               C. novel                      D. history

(    ) 10. A. sharing           B. listening           C. reading             D. making

(    ) 11. A. invention               B. story               C. race                 D. tradition

(    ) 12. A. food                      B. clothes             C. money              D. jewels

(    ) 13. A. unclear           B. unlucky            C. unfair                   D. uncertain

(    ) 14. A. wishes            B. signs               C. presents            D. happiness

(    ) 15. A. spend             B. envy               C. buy                  D. celebrate

(    ) 16. A. firecrackers     B. songs                      C. dances              D. goods

(    ) 17. A. take                      B. scare               C. get                   D. burn

(    ) 18. A. fun               B. relax               C. sleep               D. travel

(    ) 19. A. fixed                  B. named              C. considered               D. marked

(    ) 20. A. order              B. accompany       C. tease               D. Allow

Directions：Read the following passage．Fill in the numbered blanks by using the information from the passage．Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer．

New Year traditions all around the world

    “Happy New Year!” Everyone will greet each other with these words as they meet each other over the next couple of weeks. But it wasn’t always January 1 that marked the New Year.

    At least 4,000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians marked the changing of the year. In Egypt, the year started when the Nile River flooded, enriching farmers’ fields. This happened at the end of September.

    The Babylonians held a festival in the spring, on March 23, to kick off the next farming cycle. The Babylonian celebration lasted for 11 days.

    The date January 1 was picked by the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar as the change of the year when he established his own calendar in 46 BC. The month of January originates from the Roman god, Janus. He is pictured with two heads. One head looks forward and the other back. They represent a break between the old and new. The new calendar was in time with the sun and it has been used until the present day.

    In Vietnam, the New Year holiday happens in February. They buy fresh flowers and a peach blossom to put in their house, following the Vietnamese custom.

    Thailand has its specific New Year’s date; it’s different from the normal calendar. The Thai New Year is celebrated on April 13. On this day, Thai people play with water, throwing it on each other. It is intended to bring good luck during the New Year ahead.

    In China, the more favorable New Year is usually celebrated in February according to lunar calendar (阴历). On New Year’s Eve, all family members sit together at table, enjoying lots of auspicious foods such as dumplings, chicken to bring good luck.

New Year traditions all around the world