The people of Reykjavik are used to lying down for the winter, when each day brings with it only a few hours of sunlight. February coming, they’re more than ready to wake up from hibernation（冬眠）and welcome the first signs of spring. The local authorities decided this was a good time of a year to try to raise people’s spirits, and in 2002 they set up the Winter Lights Festival（February 7 to 10）. Starting out as Museum Night, when museums waived their fees and stayed open until midnight, the festival has grown to an event that marks the coming return of daylight. For a few days, the city comes alive with bright lights, street performances, theater, dances, and live music. Shops, cafés, outdoor hot pools and the museums stay open until 12:00 pm and they’re all free of charge, with free bus services provided. Here are another two things about Reykjavik that will help you celebrate the coming end of winter.

The Blue Lagoon is Iceland’s most famous tourist attraction. Being an amazing place at any time of day, it is magical at dusk, when the steamy, ice blue waters shine in color. Little wooden bridges and walkways connect smaller pools with a larger pool, which contains geothermal（地热的）seawater heated from 37℃ to 39℃. The Lava Restaurant has great views over the waters. Basic entrance to the lagoon costs $ 44.

The Imagine Peace Tower, Yoko Ono’s memorial to John Lennon, was first lit by Ono on October 9, 2007, Lennon’s birthday, and shone until December 8, the date he was killed in 1980. It’s lit on the same date every year, as well as New Year’s Eve and spring equinox, which in 2013 is on March 20. The tower contains 15 searchlights that send a column of lights 4,000m up into the night sky. Guided tours are available（可获得的）with pick-up from your hotel for $ 39.

【小题1】The Winter Lights Festival was set up to _______________.

A．attract tourists	B．light the city up
C．cheer people up	D．wake people up

【小题2】The underlined word “waived” in the first paragraph probably means “_________________”.

A．kept	B．gave up
C．raised	D．cut off

【小题3】According to the Paragraph 2, what can we know?

A．You can only visit the Blue Lagoon at dusk.

B．The water of the Blue Lagoon is beautiful.

C．The Lava Restaurant is Iceland’s most famous restaurant.

D．$ 44 can cover all the costs when you visit the Blue Lagoon.

【小题4】When did John Lennon pass away?

A．On October 9, 2007.	B．On March 20, 2013.
C．On December 8, 1980.	D．On New Year’s Eve in 1980.

短文改错
Last year, I went to Australia for a short-term study like an international student. One of my classmates suggested we shared our favorite foods from our own countries during New Year’s party. We all agreed to this wonderful idea and cooked my unique dishes for the party. Hariyati from Indonesia shared a kind of cookie what was shaped like elephant ears. Susan from South Africa prepared some sweet dumplings packed in several banana leaf. Chiemi from Japan cooked special rice balls mixing with fish. And I was served sliced noodles, my hometown — Shanxi’s local food. These variously foods were all delicious. Therefore, my favorite was still Chinese food.

   When HarmonyOS, the Chinese self-developed operating system for Huawei mobile devices, was released on Aug 9, it quickly became a hot topic on social media. Many believe it not only represents the rise of the country as a tech power, but also pays tribute (致敬) to classical Chinese culture by naming the system “Hongmeng” in Chinese. “Hongmong” is a classical word from the Taoist (道家) text Zhuangzi. In the ancient times of Chinese myths and legends, “Hongmeng” was used to describe the original state of the universe before matter existed.

For HarmonyOS, “Hongmeng” indicates the developers’ aim to make an innovative operating system, unlike any other. Besides “Hongmeng”, Huawei has also registered many of its products under the names of legendary creatures from Chinese mythology, such as “Qilin”for the Kin mobile chip, and “Kunpeng” for the server chip. Many Chinese internet users and media have praised Huawei’s use of these names, “as they stand for Chinese wisdom and ancient people’s imagination and spirit of exploration”, Global Times noted.

In fact, Huawei is not alone in using traditional culture for modern ventures. Ne Zha, the new film, also portrays traditional culture in a modern context. Earlier this month it became the biggest animated movie in China and was called “the glorious light of domestic anime”. The movie is loosely based on the well-known work of classical Chinese mythology The Investiture of the Gods. Unlike his attractive heroic character in previous cinematic works, Ne Zha is shown as a rebellious underdog, who has to overcome hardship and his dark fate to become a hero. Many young Chinese people can relate to Ne Zha, who encourages them to become dream-chasers and fate-changers. As Global Times put it, today by revisiting and incorporating a modern context, “ancient mythology has the power to stir up contemporary imagination in young people”. After all, imagination is the beginning of creation.

【小题1】Why did Huawei name the new system “Hongmeng” in Chinese?

A．Huawei was interested in describing the original state of the universe.

B．Huawei targeted at designing a unique operating system in the world.

C．Huawei aimed to develop classical culture.

D．Huawei was fond of Chinese myths and legends.

【小题2】What was Global Times’ tone about Huawei’s use of the names from ancient cultures?

A．Admirable.	B．Indifferent.
C．Neutral.	D．Critical.

【小题3】Which statement about the new movie Ne Zha is NOT true?

A．Not all the plot is based on the popular Chinese mythology.

B．The new film Ne Zha means a lot to domestic anime in China.

C．The character of Ne Zha is a failure at first in previous works.

D．The film Ne Zha encourages many youth to achieve dreams.

【小题4】What’s the passage mainly about?

A．Huawei’s new names for its products and their influence.

B．A brief introduction of a new successful movie Ne Zha.

C．Imagination is important and the beginning of creation.

D．Ancient cultures come into new life and inspire imagination.

People smile at times. However, the meaning of a smile in different cultures may be different. Depending on different cultures, smiling can express joy and amusement, but it can also indicate embarrassment. The following examples show this point of view:
In an attempt to be open and friendly, people in the United States smile a lot. Every one smiles at each other, this nonverbal communication shows being friendly in the United States. However，in China, smiling is not only an expression of happiness, but also a way to avoid being embarrassed. Chinese people like smiling when they are embarrassed in order to avoid embarrassment. Smiling is a kind of good will but not sneer（嘲笑）. For example: When a child falls off from a bike, the adults in China may smile, which is a kind of gentle encouragement and may not be a kind of impolite laugh.
When a person from the United States might blush（脸红）with embarrassment or become offensive, a Chinese might blush with smile. To avoid serious misunderstanding, people who engage in intercultural communication should be able to understand the meaning of smiling appropriately. Related to the smile is the laugh. Also, different cultures have different meanings about laugh. For example, Americans can enjoy a very heartfelt belly (腹部) laugh that comes from the deepest emotions. However, most Chinese seldom laugh that way because they are thought to be silly except among close friends.
【小题1】We can use smile to express all of the following feelings except _________,

A．joy and happiness	B．amusement
C．embarrassment	D．fear

【小题2】People often smile at each other in the United States because _________.

A．they are very happy

B．they want to show they are friendly

C．they want to hide their true feelings

D．they want to avoid embarrassment

【小题3】In China, seeing a child falls off a bike, an adult will smile in order to _______.

A．laugh at him

B．avoid his own embarrassment

C．avoid embarrassment and encourage the boy

D．show his politeness

【小题4】We can infer from the last paragraph that_______.

A．people in China seldom laugh.

B．Smiling is related to laugh.

C．Americans seldom hide their true feelings.

D．The Chinese will blush when they are embarrassed.

【小题5】What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A．People smile at times.

B．Smiling can express different feelings depending on different cultures.

C．Americans are more open and friendly than Chinese people.

D．The Chinese people often hide their true feelings.

语法填空

A hutong is an ancient city alley or lane typically in Beijing.【小题1】（ surround） the Forbidden City, many were built during the Yuan , Ming and Qing dynasties【小题2】the government planned the city and arranged the【小题3】（resident） areas according to the etiquette（礼仪） systems.【小题4】center of the city of Beijing was the royal palace——the Forbidden City.

At the end of the Qing dynasty, China【小题5】（come） under the influence from abroad , and many old hutongs lost【小题6】（they） former neat arrangement.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, hutongs' conditions were improved. But in recent years, the houses in many hutongs【小题7】（pull）down and replaced by modern【小题8】  （building）. The hutong today is fading into the shade for both tourists and inhabitants.

However, in the urban district, hutongs still occupy one【小题9】（three） of the total area , providing housing for half the population , so many hutongs have survived. In this respect, we see Beijing【小题10】an ancient yet modern city.