Question

New Yorkers and visitors to the Big Apple will get to ring in the Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year in the U.S., in style with a fireworks display on the Hudson River set to music written by Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun.

The display is part of the second annual “Happy Chinese New Year: Fantastic Art China” festival held in New York on February 5-10, 2016. The China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), the U.S.-China Cultural Institute and the Cultural Associate of the Committee of 100 announced this year’s events on November 18 at a press conference at the Lincoln Center.

The “Fantastic Art China” festival will feature a larger and more diverse series of artistic and cultural events across New York’s top cultural venues (地點) and landmarks, including the Lincoln Center, Empire State Building and Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

This year’s theme focuses on exploring the complicated relationship between sound and image, said Professor Yu Ding from CAFA, who is also president of Fantastic Art China and in charge of the festival’s design. Lunar New Year, which celebrates the “Year of the Monkey” in 2016, is an opportunity to bring China’s modern art to mainstream America, and the festival serves as an innovative approach to establishing cultural exchange between China and New York City, Yu said.

UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun’s music is a new edition that will be featured at several venues, including a major art exhibition at the Javits Center, events at the Lincoln Center and the fireworks display on the Hudson, which will take place on the evening of February 6. Five barges (游艇) on the river will launch the fireworks designed by CAFA that will tell a story about celebration and conservation.

“We Chinese are fond of nature, so the best way to celebrate the Lunar New Year is to salute with the sounds of nature, such as sounds of water, stone and bamboo,” said Tan Dun at the press conference, “And it will be fun to use the music of water during the firework display.”

In addition to the fireworks, a special lighting show at the Empire State Building will illuminate New York City during the holiday.

Chinese New Year is being recognized as a public school holiday for the first time in New York. Children from the National Dance Institute, which represents 75 schools, will perform traditional Chinese dances at the Lincoln Center and the Javits Center. And, in celebration of the “Year of the Monkey” events will feature a conservation message about the endangered golden monkey in China.

1. The theme of this year’s celebration is centered on ________.

A. diversity of Chinese traditional festivals

B. relationship between sound and image of nature

C. endangered species and environment protection

D. cultural exchange between China and America

2.The coming “Year of the Monkey” is to be celebrated in New York by ________.

A. sailing on the Hudson River along with a new-year speech

B. holding a special concert at the Empire State Building

C. setting off fireworks and holding a special lighting show

D. taking a week off and organizing Chinese dance contests

3. What does the underlined word “illuminate” (in Para. 7) most probably mean?

A. Lighten. B. Surround.

C. Decorate. D. Broaden.

4. This passage is written mainly in order to ________.

A. compare some traditional festivals in China and America

B. attract visitors to America for the coming new-year celebration

C. strengthen the cultural co-operation between China and America

D. report celebration activities for the “Year of the Monkey” in New York

Answer 1