备战2023年中考英语阅读话题训练 专题09 文化的保护与继承

Different countries have different languages and cultures. Therefore, in the different cultural background, the meaning that language represents（代表）sometimes also is different. In this article, I'll simply introduce the meaning of two words of color between China and Western countries.

In Chinese culture, red usually represents something good. The bridegroom（新娘和新郎）usually wear red clothes at their wedding, because they believe it will bring happiness to them. But in Western countries, red is the color of force and it usually represents a strong feeling. Wearing red can make it easier to take action. So when you have difficulty making a decision, just wear red.

Another color is green. In China, green usually represents new life, which has the same culture with Western countries. However, green is also the color of envy（嫉妒）） in Western countries. So people may describe someone is "green with envy".

In a word, it can be said that color words carry different cultures. Learning the difference of color meanings between China and Western countries can not only help us to know about our cultures better, but also open our eyes. And it's also interesting to know about the cultural differences between countries.

    Heritage (遗产) is traditional customs, history and beliefs. We use the word “heritage” in many different ways. People talk about their family heritage, city heritage and national heritage.

    Today, heritage is changing. The Internet connects people around the world. In many ways this is a good thing, because we can learn about the heritage of other countries, and we can show our own heritage to the world. However, some people worry that traditional heritage is disappearing. In many ways, countries are becoming more and more alike(相似的).In most countries around the world, you can find KFC. Nike shoes, Starbucks coffee. American movies and so on. Some people think this is a good change, and others don't like it. You can decide whether or not it's a good thing.

    However, everyone wants to protect traditional heritage, and sometimes this is hard. For example, when a new KFC opens in your city, a traditional restaurant might have to close.

    That is why heritage protection is so important. Heritage protection is a simple thought. It means keeping your country's or your city's heritage alive. People do this in many ways. The biggest part of heritage protection is probably preserving (保护)old buildings. Some suggestions of heritage protection are making sure your kids speak your traditional language, and teaching knowledge about heritage to them.

    The world is changing. No matter how it changes, never forget the heritage of our parents and grandparents.

请根据短文内容，选择最佳选项。

The word culture includes not only the customs of our society, its art, music, for many, alarming. Many people believe their traditional ways of life are under threat（威胁）, the losing of culture is a natural result of globalization（全球化）and progress. So is the globalization of culture a threat or a chance?

Those who see globalization as a threat think that societies are losing special parts of their cultures. For example, Omotik, a language spoken in East Africa, so they often refuse or even give up the traditions their parents grew up with.

Others focus on the advantages of globalization. They accept thawt Western culture is spreading, but they also point to how Western countries and many other parts of the world are being shown to world cultures. Young Americans enjoy Japanese comic magazines and watch Korean movies. Thai teenagers enjoy pop music from Hong Kong. Many argue that there are advantages to these corss—cultural exchanges and that they leads to better understandings between cultures. They say world traditions are celebrated more widely because of these. Chinese New Year, now celebrated in most big cities around the world, is just one of the many festivals that are accepted internationally.

   Anyway, many organizations and governments are making efforts（努力）to protect their cultures. One successful example is Wales. There was a time when social pressures were killing off the Welsh language, it is now an active part of Welsh life again. Around the world, similar efforts are going on.

    THE YEAR OF 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Italy （中意建交五十周年）. To celebrate the China﹣Italy friendship, 2020 was set to be the China﹣Italy Year of Culture and Tourism.

    The opening ceremony （开幕式） of the event was held in Rome on January 21. During the year﹣long event, nearly one hundred cultural and tourism activities will be held in both countries.

    Some big Chinese museums, such as the Palace Museum and the National Museum, are working on swapping exhibitions （互换展览） with Italian museums. Chinese artworks will also be displayed at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition （国际建筑双年展） in Venice in the upcoming months.

Italy is a popular tourist destination among Chinese tourists. The country attracts people with its rich history of art and culture. Today, a large number of Italian tourists travel to China for its beautiful landscapes and cultural heritage （文化遗产）.

    Let's wish the China﹣Italy Year of Culture and Tourism a great success!

China has accepted western fashion and technology as it has developed these years, but a lot of young people are turning to the past for their clothes choices and putting on traditional "hanfu". 

As the government encourages the renaissance(复兴) of traditional culture，hanfu is getting more and more popular with the teenagers. Every year, we can enjoy different hanfu shows around the cities. These shows bring us back to Han dynasty. We learn more about the history, culture and beauty from them. 

Hanfu hasn't been in the same style since Han dynasty. However, this kind of clothes has something in common. They all have large soft robes(袍子), with sleeves that hang down to the knees, so the hands can't be seen. 

In modern China, the hanfu lovers are from history fans, cartoon fans to clothes fans. 

"Clothes are the basic part of culture, so both the traditional clothes and modern clothes play the same role in culture，" said Zhang Jun, a famous reporter. "If the people and the country do not even understand our traditional clothes or don't wear them, how can we talk about other important parts of our culture？"

On the night of January 14, Tongliang Chinese Dragon Dance & Lantern Art Festival started at Tongliang Qicai Dream Garden. Every year, as a part of traditional Chinese culture, the dragon dance is used to pray for peace and good luck for the new year. Tongliang Dragon Dance appeared in the Ming Dynasty and became extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty.

Among all the dragon dances in Tongliang, Fire Dragon Dance is the best-known.

According to local beliefs, the Tongliang Fire Dragon Dance has the power of driving away disasters, and offering wishes for the local community.

The iron is heated to 1,600℃ in eight ovens which are placed in a circle. Sixteen shirtless men spray( 喷洒) the liquid( 液体) iron into the air, creating flower-like flames( 火焰). Fireworks hidden in the bodies of two gold dragons are lighted. Then you can see fireworks fly from the bodies of two golden dragons held by 20 shirtless men as the dragons fly up and down and back and forth through seas of fire. Along with the iron fireworks and music, the two fire dragons dance around to offer New Year wishes.

The Fire Dragon Dance in Tongliang was listed in the national intangible cultural heritages in 2006 and one of the city's cultural symbols. It is known as China's No.1 Dragon Dance.

Tongliang Fire Dragon Dance has shone both at home and abroad. It has taken part in major national events such as 1984, 1999 and 2009 National Day celebrations, as well as the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Moreover, Tongliang Fire Dragon Dance has visited Britain, France, and Japan, South Korea and more than 20 countries to spread Chinese culture.

Nowadays, both dragon-making and dragon dances have changed in recent years. They have created income for local people. There are 35 dance teams, 10 dragon-making teams and tourism, which make about 1 billion yuan ($154.6 million) a year.

And this ancient tradition, Tongliang Fire Dragon Dance, seems set to continue to fly into the future!

A lost Buddha(佛像) head statue, which recently made the journey back to China, appeared during the Spring Festival Party of China Central Television. It was its first public show after being successfully sent back from Japan on the second Saturday of December, 2020.

The head, dating back to the Sui Dynasty (581-618), was originally placed on the northern wall in the No.8 Tianlong Shan Grottoes on the suburbs of Taiyuan,

capital of Shanxi Province, according to a statement from the National Cultural Heritage Administration (国家文物局).

It was believed to be stolen and lost overseas around 1924, along with about 240 Buddha images that were robbed in the 1920s.This 44.5-cm-high Buddha head is the first among these stolen items to be returned from Japan.

The National Cultural Heritage Administration learned in September a Chinese Buddha head statue labeled as from Tang Dynasty (618-90I) was about to be sold in Tokyo, and was thought to be a stolen piece from Tianlong Shan.

The administration soon began the process of returning it home. In October, the auction house in Tokyo, whose board chairman Zhang Kong Is a Chinese from Fangzhou, agreed to stop the auction.

After discussions between the National Cultural Heritage Administration, Zhang, and the local holder of the relic in Japan, the Buddha head was bought by Zhang and finally gave away to the administration.

The transfer ceremony(交接仪式) for the statue was held in the Chinese Embassy(大使馆) in Tokyo in November, and it arrived in Beijing in December.

After being shown on the Spring Festival Party, the Buddha head statue will be displayed in Beijing Lu Xun Museum from the first day of the first day of the Lunar New Year to March 14.

    Heritage (遗产) is traditional customs, history and beliefs. We use the word "heritage" in many different ways. People talk about their family heritage, city heritage and national heritage.

    Today, heritage is changing. The Internet connects people around the world. In many ways this is a good thing, because we can learn about the heritage of other countries, and we can show our own heritage to the world. However, some people worry that traditional heritage is disappearing. In many ways, countries are becoming more and more alike(相似的). In most countries around the world, you can find KFC. Nike shoes, Starbucks coffee. American movies and so on. Some people think this is a good change, and others don't like it. You can decide whether or not it's a good thing.

    However, everyone wants to protect traditional heritage, and sometimes this is hard. For example, when a new KFC opens in your city, a traditional restaurant might have to close.

    That is why heritage protection is so important. Heritage protection is a simple thought. It means keeping your country's or your city's heritage alive. People do this in many ways. The biggest part of heritage protection is probably preserving (保护) old buildings. Some suggestions of heritage protection are making sure your kids speak your traditional language, and teaching knowledge about heritage to them.

    The world is changing. No matter how it changes, never forget the heritage of our parents and grandparents.

    Heritage(遗产) is traditional customs, history and beliefs. We use the word "heritage" in many different ways. People talk about their family heritage, city heritage and national heritage.

    Today, heritage is changing. The Internet connects people around the world. In many ways this is a good thing, because we can learn about the heritage of other countries，and we can show our own heritage to the world. However, some people worry that traditional heritage is disappearing. In many ways, countries are becoming more and more alike(相似的). In most countries around the world, you can find KFC, Nike shoes, Starbucks coffee, American movies and so on. Some people think this is a good change, and others don't like it. You can decide whether or not it's a good thing.

    However, everyone wants to protect traditional heritage, and sometimes this is hard. For example , when a new KFC opens in your city， a traditional restaurant might have to close.

    That is why heritage protection is so important. Heritage protection is a simple thought. It means keeping your country's or your city's heritage alive. People do this in many ways. The biggest part of heritage protection is probably preserving (保护) buildings. Some suggestions of heritage protection are making sure your kids speak your traditional language, and teaching knowledge about heritage to them.

    The world is changing. No matter how it changes, never forget the heritage of our parents and grandparents.

When Xiong Chuanfa, 34, blows a lifelike tiger out of sugar in just minutes, kids look at him in surprise thinking he is a magician.

Xiong has been blowing sugar figurines(吹糖人) for over twenty years. Blowing sugar figurines is a Chinese traditional folk(民间) art with a history of over 600 years and has been listed as a state-level intangible cultural heritage.

Every morning. Xiong prepares the sugar and drives to different markets in Nanchang to start his magic show.

He heats(加热) the sugar, pulls off a little to make a ball and blows it into different shapes —a rabbit, a monkey, and even Bing Dwen Dwen, the mascot of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

People, especially little kids, are interested in his skills.      ▲      he also stops by colleges.

Many college students have been drawn to the art, waiting in line for hands-on experience. Among them, Simon, a foreign student, couldn't help having a try. Though it looked easy, he found it difficult to make it. Thanks to Xiong's help, Simon finally saw a horse slowly taking shape.

Simon was deeply moved after learning about the art. "I just can't believe the traditional folk art can be kept so well here. I love it. Chinese culture should be spread around the world," he said.

This art has been passed down for four generations(代) in Xiong's family. His 6-year-old son often blows sugar balloons, just like what he used to do as a child.

"We will pass on the intangible heritage," said Xiong.