题型：阅读选择 题类： 难易度：容易
江苏省泰州中学附属初级中学2024年中考三模英语试题
Have you ever wondered why we say maidongxi（卖东西）instead of mainanbei, shangcesuo（上厕所）instead of xiacesuo, and yijianxiangzuo（意见相左）instead of yijianxiangyou? Many Chinese words have directions in them, and there is lots of history and culture hidden behind.
East or West
When going shopping, Chinese people say maidongxiinstead of mainanbei. A theory says that in the Tang Dynasty, there were two popular markets in Chang'an, the national capital at the time. One was called the East Market, and the other was called the West Market. When shopping, people usually went to the East Market first, and then went to the West Market. As time went by, people started to describe shopping as maidongxi.
Up or down
We use shangcesuoto mean "go to the bathroom" and xiachufangto mean "go to the kitchen". Why? In ancient times, houses were laid out （布局）in a certain way. The gate of the house would face south, with the bathroom in the northeastern part of the house and the kitchen in the southeastern part. On maps, north is usually at the top while south is at the bottom. In Chinese, we talk about the north as shangand the south as xia. So people would say they're going up to the bathroom and down to the kitchen.
Ancient Chinese not only used shangand xiato refer to （指代）directions but also social positions. For example, people used huangshangto refer to the emperor and dianxiato refer to princes who had a lower position than the emperor.
Left or right
Most people today are right-handed. They feel uncomfortable if they try to use their left hand to write or use chopsticks. This was true in old times as well. So in ancient China, "left" was related to （与……有关联）being different, such as in yijianxiangzuo. If people don't accept common beliefs （信念）, we still say they are following ____.
When shaking hands, it's important to know which hand to use. In most cultures, the right hand is generally used for a handshake. For example, in some countries, such as India and Nepal, the left hand is considered unclean. However, if you are in a culture where the left hand is used, you'd better do as the locals do.
"Left" and "right" also have something to do with people's social position. For a long time in ancient China, "right" stood for higher position than "left". For example, the character "佑", developed from "右", means a person in a higher position would protect someone in a lower position.
gate 
; bathroom 
; kitchen 
B、
C、
D、
|
注意：（1）包含所有内容要点，可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯； （2）文中不得透露个人信息； （3）词数80左右（短文首尾句已给出，不计入总词数）。
参考词汇：places of interest（名胜），delicious food（美食），the best time to（……的最佳时间）
Hello，I'm Zhang Lei. I'd like to say something about my hometown.
Welcome to my hometown. I'm sure you will like it.
together special become even music stand after they well show with before |
Gezai Opera(歌仔戏) started in Taiwan, China. It{#blank#}1{#/blank#} popular in the south of Fujian later. Watching Gezai Opera is wonderful. When the performers(表演者) tell a story, the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} play different kinds of music at the same time. Performers use different things to help tell the story. For example, colored flags can{#blank#}3{#/blank#} different feelings. Costumes(服装) also help tell the story. From the costumes, the audience(观众) knows if a character is a man or a woman and many other things.
The costumes are important and there are so many the characters' movements(动作). Each character has a way of {#blank#}4{#/blank#} and moving. The characters' movements tell the story just as much as {#blank#}5{#/blank#}voices. In Gezai Opera, there is an important character called the Wu Sheng. He does a lot of different kinds of movements, like jumping and kicking.
In Gezai Opera, Singing is a big part of the opera. The performers sing {#blank#}6{#/blank#}more than they speak. So singing is very important to a performer. The way performers sing Gezai Opera is {#blank#}7{#/blank#}. It takes many years for a performer to sing {#blank#}8{#/blank#}.
When singing, costumes, movements and other things come {#blank#}9{#/blank#} they make a great performance. The audience might enjoy and remember it for years {#blank#}10{#/blank#} watching it.
Here is some cool information about the world's population.
| It took 12 years for the world's population to grow from 7 billion to 2022's 8 billion. But it will take about 15 years for the population to reach 9 billion. That's because fewer babies are born now. In 50 years, this can slow the growth of the world's population. |
| The day on which the world's population grows by one billion is important. The United Nations chooses a baby born on that day as the symbolic (象征的) baby. For example, the world's population reached 8 billion on November 15, 2022. Vinice Mabansag was born on that day and she became the symbolic 8 billionth baby. |
| More boys than girls are born around the world. There are 106 baby boys born for every 100 baby girls. There are 1.8 billion people between the ages of 10 and 24. That's the largest number ever. |
试题篮
Birthrate
