Any introduction to Peking Opera would not be complete without telling of Mei Lanfang. During his stage life, he combined the traditions of the past with his own creations, shaping a style of his own and giving birth to "The Mei Lanfang School". He was also the first artist to introduce Peking Opera to an overseas audience, making it popular to the world. Mei Lanfang began his stage life at the age of 8. His teacher said he showed little hope because of his boring eyes. To improve this, he exercised them day after day. Thanks to his efforts, he managed to change his dull eyes into a pair of bright and expressive eyes and win national fame before the age of 20. In over 50 years on the stage, Mei Lanfang played no less than 100 different characters in the performance. He also wrote many new plays, designing the dances himself. The many dances he created form part of the great treasure that he left to Peking Opera. In 1930, Mei Lanfang started on a successful US tour. There his brilliant performances impressed the audience, making them realize that Peking Opera was a theatrical form of great value. What is the main idea of the passage? A) The history of Peking Opera. B) Mei Lanfang's early stage life. C) The performance of Peking Opera by Mei Lanfang. D) Mei Lanfang's great contributions to Peking Opera.
D
(Question)
Outline programme for the State Visit of the President of The People's Republic of China, Mr XiJinping, accompanied by Madame Peng Liyuan, 20 to 23 October 2015. MONDAY 19 OCTOBER The President of The People's Republic of China will arrive privately in the UK on Monday evening, 19th October, at Heathrow Airport. They will be greeted by The Viscount Hood, Lord-in-Waiting. TUESDAY 20TH OCTOBER The Queen will formally welcome the President at the Royal Pavilion on Horse Guards Parade. The President will inspect the Guard of Honour. Following a private lunch at Buckingham Palace, given by The Queen, Her Majesty will invite the President to view an exhibition in the Picture Gallery of items from the Royal Collection relating to China. In the evening The Queen will give a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace for the President. Her Majesty and the President will both make speeches at the start of the banquet. WEDNESDAY 21 OCTOBER President Xi will meet with the Prime Minister, David Cameron, at No.10 Downing Street for a bilateral meeting. They will visit the UK-China Business Summit at Mansion House, which will focus on investment, infrastructure and innovation. Then, the President will visit Huawei Technologies, where he will receive presentations looking at Huawei's 14 years in the UK, its innovation work with UK partners and the latest technology trends. In the evening, the President will attend a banquet at Guildhall given by the Lord Mayor and City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor and the President will both make speeches at the end of the banquet. THURSDAY 22 OCTOBER The President will formally bid farewell to The Queen at Buckingham Palace in the morning. Afterwards, he will join a Confucius Institute conference. Later he will fly up to Manchester ahead of the final day of the State Visit. FRIDAY 23 OCTOBER In the morning, the President will visit the National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester. Later he will visit the Manchester City Football Group. The Lord Chamberlain will bid farewell... How many cities will President Xi visit in the UK according to the passage? A) 1. B) 2. C) 3. D) 4.
(Answer)
B
Ques: If you like texting and are trying to lose weight, a new study found that using texting to track diet and exercise habits may help you lose weight. Previous research has shown that keeping food and exercise diaries improves the likelihood of success when you are trying to lose weight. Using a computer or a pen and paper to record information, however, can be a burden and cause some people to give up. Duke University researchers said using text messages to track eating and exercise habits can save time, and increase the chances that people will stick with their weight-loss rules. The study included 26 obese women with an average age of 38. The women used daily texting as part of their weight-loss program. The text messages focused on tracking personalized goals, such as avoiding sugary drinks or walking 10,000 steps a day. Messages also provided brief feedback and tips. Every morning, the women received a text from an automated system that said, "Please text yesterday's personal information of steps you walked and how many sugary drinks you had." Based on the women's responses to the text message, the system sent another text with personalized feedback and tips. After six months, the women who used daily texting lost an average of nearly 3 pounds, while another group of women who used traditional methods to keep food and exercise diaries gained an average of 2.5 pounds, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. "Text messaging has become popular and may be an effective method to simplify tracking of diet and exercise behavior," Dori Steinberg, who was responsible for this research, said. Steinberg said, "Text messaging offers several advantages compared to other self-monitoring methods. Unlike web-based diet and exercise diaries, data in a text message can be entered quickly on nearly all cellphone platforms so it is very convenient to receive feedback. Besides, because of the limited number of words used in text messages, it saves time." What's Dori Steinberg's attitude towards text messaging? A) Unknown. B) Negative. C) Positive. D) Unconcerned.
Ans: C
HONG KONG -- Hong Kong Disneyland is too crowded, a senior Chinese tourism official said today, hinting that another Disney Park is necessary to accommodate demand from China's huge population. The comments by Shao Qiwei, director of China's State Administration of Tourism, came a day after Shanghai's mayor Han Zheng said the city was preparing to build China's second Disney theme park. "China has a very large population. We now have 1.3 billion people. The market is very large. As far as I know, Hong Kong Disneyland is now very crowded," said Shao, whose comments were broadcast on Hong Kong's Cable TV. The Hong Kong theme park, which opened in September, was widely criticized in January when it turned away hundreds of Lunar New Year holiday makers from mainland China because the park was full. Chaos erupted when angry crowds tried to force their way into the park. The embarrassing incident prompted a public apology from Hong Kong Disneyland Managing Director Bill Ernest and a dressing down from Hong Kong's leader Donald Tsang. Authorities are carefully studying the issue of overcrowding in preparation for the possible building of the Disney park in Shanghai, Shao said. The official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday that no agreement has been reached on the park in Shanghai, quoting senior vice president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Leslie Goodman. Hong Kong Disneyland is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Co. and the local government, which shouldered the bulk of the park's construction fees. Hundreds of visitors from Mainland China got angry because _ . A) the services in the park were not as good as expected B) they were not allowed to go into the park C) the park was too crowded D) chaos happened at the entrance to the park
B