附教学内容：
Passage 1
Welcome to Chinatown!
The Chinatown in San Francisco is the biggest in America, and also the oldest. It is a very popular tourist draw that receives more visitors each year than even the Golden Gate Bridge. The climate is mild all year round, meaning it is always a good time to visit.
Historically, Chinese immigrants settled in the area during the railroad construction and the gold rush period. What started as a residential area for Chinese immigrants then turned into a center for Chinese culture. The majority of residents in Chinatown are still ethnic Chinese, many of whom do not speak English fluently. This allows visitors to experience a real taste of China.
Most of Chinatown was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, but the city and residents rebuilt it, taking care to include lots of Chinese architecture. Traditionally, visitors enter Chinatown through the legendary Dragon Gate, which was built using materials donated from China. Other famous sites include the Tin How Temple and Bank of Canton, to name but a few. Visitors can also spend hours just exploring the interesting sights, smells, and sounds of China. Portsmouth Square is also a key site, being the center of Chinatown. It has a long and famous history, with the author Robert Louis Stevenson having spent much time writing there. These days, the square is a great place to see traditional Chinese culture in real life, such as games of Chinese chess, and people practising tai chi.
The stores in the Chinatown offer a unique range of souvenirs, goods and clothing. All kinds of traditional Chinese herbal medicine can be found, too, and there are Chinese tea stores, where visitors can taste and buy varieties of Chinese tea.
But perhaps what many tourists and San Franciscans treasure most about Chinatown is its food. There is Chinese food to suit everyone's taste, with traditional dishes from all over China.
Chinatowns are an important part of the diverse culture of the USA. They allow visitors who have never been to China to experience traditional Chinese culture first hand.
Passage 2
Symbols of American Culture
Each country has its own unique culture, often represented by symbols, such as foods, sports, music and clothes, which tell us something about it. When you think of America, what symbols come to your mind first?
Perhaps one of the most famous symbols of the US is fast food. Fast-food restaurants became popular when people began driving cars around the country. Many of the earliest fast-food restaurants were drive-ins where people ate in their cars while they were parked. However, now drive-throughs have become popular because people need to keep up with the speed of modern life. With a drive-through, you can just drive up to a window, pick up the food, and then drive away. About 20% of all American meals are eaten in the car. And Americans spend about 10% of their income on fast food. No wonder America is called the “Fast-Food Nation”!
When it comes to seeing a game in person, baseball is by far the most popular sport in America. In a typical year, more people attend the baseball games than football and basketball games combined. And for most people, baseball is “America's game” in a way that football and basketball are not, because it is a special symbol of the American spirit. For one thing, while baseball is a team sport, every player can be a hero or star. For another, almost anyone can play baseball, even if you do not have great skills or ability. Finally, there is nothing more American than eating a hot dog while watching the baseball game on a hot summer afternoon. Baseball still is the “national pastime”.
Jazz is often called “America's music”. It is a music style completely created in the United States by African American musicians. Jazz music broke through the color barriers, and has become a key part of American culture. One early Jazz pioneer was the trumpet player Louis Armstrong (1901-1971). Perhaps more than any other person, Armstrong helped spread jazz beyond its home in New Orleans to the rest of the United States, and to the world. Jazz musicians freely make up their own music to express their own feelings, even while playing in a group. This freedom and individuality make jazz a popular symbol of America.
There are many other symbols of America, such as the Statue of Liberty, Hollywood, and Broadway. These are but a few symbols that show something of American culture.
Passage 3
New Zealand and Maori Culture
— The Land of the Long White Cloud
Due to its remote location in the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand was one of the last countries to be discovered by humans. Although the majority of the current population is of European descent, it was the ethnic minority group known as the Maori who were the first to settle there. They named the country “Aotearoa”— the “Land of the Long White Cloud”. Today, both past and present Maori culture can be found all over the country for all welcomed visitors to appreciate.
Maori arts and crafts are world-renowned and very popular with tourists. The Waka is a traditional canoe that has been skillfully carved out of a tree trunk, with beautiful carvings added to show tribal history and culture. A large war canoe could be up to 40 metres long and hold up to 80 people. Visitors to Maori historic buildings, such as tribal meeting halls, can see beautifully carved wooden architecture. In addition, there are countless smaller objects and masks that were made to honor ancestors or legends, or to preserve a story for future generations.
Another well-known part of Maori culture is the traditional kapa haka dance — made famous by New Zealand's national rugby union team, who often perform it before games. The kapa haka is a traditional dance performed for celebrations, special guests and battle ceremonies. The performance includes different dances and songs that make up a whole. A common dance sequence could be waiata tira (warm-up song), whakaeke (entrance song), waiata-a-ringa (action song), haka (challenge), pou ( old-style singing), poi (ball- swinging), and whakawatea (closing song).
Traditional tattoos, known as “moko”, are also a strong visual part of Maori culture. They are most often done in spiral forms across the man's face and on the chin and lips of a woman. They represent a person's statue, and are also believed to increase attractiveness. Receiving moko is seen as a great honor, and it is often part of a ritual to signal a person has passed an important milestone. As such, it is usually added in stages as a person grows older and achieves more, in a sense telling a unique story of a person's life.
There is so much more for visitors to discover about Maori culture. It is an essential part of what makes New Zealand the modern country that it is: a multicultural country that is forever evolving in new and interesting ways.
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