In America，we have a thing called stand-up comedy. This popular form of entertainment consists of a comedian standing up at the front of a club，holding a microphone，and telling jokes. Of course，comedy is popular in Chinese culture as well，but the performances are quite different from the style in the US. In China，it's called cross-talk，which usually involves two guys engaging in an entertaining dialogue.
It's believed that cross-talk came into being in the Qing Dynasty as a bit of a by-product of the imitation shows that were a popular form of entertainment in the Song Dynasty. After the PRC was established in 1949，this comedic art became more and more popular. Today，it's still heavily featured in the CCTV New Year's Gala programmes in China. The 1990s was the golden age of cross-talk；even foreigners studied the art of cross- talk. Mark Roswell，a Canadian named Da Shan in Chinese was relatively unknown in his native land but was a superstar in China. At the turn of the century，cross-talk began to decline，and many well-known actors left the stage.
There are four skills that are essential in cross-talk：speaking，imitating，teasing，and singing. Most of the time，it is performed with two actors—one serves as the lead actor while the other plays a support role. However，sometimes it is performed simply as a one-man show，and at other times there are several actors. In order to criticize something，the humor involved in cross-talk is satirical.
Disease, poverty, hate, love — Charles Dickens' stories opened his readers' eyes to the most important themes of his age. Two hundred years later, his stories still speak volumes across the world, proving that Dickens' legacy (遗产) was far greater than just "greatliterature".
February 7 marks the 200th anniversary of the writer's birthday. To mark this date, BBC writer Alex Hudson listed six things Dickens gave the modern world. Let's take a look at two of them.
A White Christmas
Dickens is described as "the man who invented Christmas" — not the religious festival, but the cultural aspects that we associate with the festive season today.
In the early 19th century, Christmas was barely worth mentioning, according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt. The committee which ran the Conservative Party even held ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day — unthinkable in the West nowadays, when everyone but the most necessary workers takes at least three days off.
Many people believe that Dickens' popular descriptions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come. In his classic novel, A Christmas Carol, he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing warmth — "home enjoyments, affections and hopes".
In his biography of Dickens, Peter Ackroyd wrote: "Dickens can be said to have almost singlehandedly created the modern idea of Christmas."
"Dickensian" poverty
Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian London.
He helped popularize the term "red tape" to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy (官僚作风) in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.
"Dickensian" has now become a powerful word for describing an unacceptable level of poverty. In 2009, when the president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK wanted to talk about poverty in some areas of Britain, she did not use words like "terrible" or "horrific"， but rather described it as "life mirroring the times of Dickens".
Every culture has set rules about how people should act. Patterns of good behavior，or manners，show respect and care for others.
Greeting people cheerfully is almost always considered polite. For example，when you enter a store in France，you should always greet the person working there. Other cultures also value greeting people. But of course the greetings vary as people speak different languages.
It creates and keeps the harmony（和谐）of human relationships and is used as greetings，encouragement and so on. In American society，people usually widely use praise and compliments，which plays an important role in communication. The right answer to others' praise and compliments is "thank you". However，refusing a compliment is accepted and even approved of in China.
Some of the biggest cultural differences have to do with table manners.That means chewing with your mouth closed and not slurping （出声地喝）your soup. The same goes for burping （打嗝）. But in parts of Asia，slurping shows that you are enjoying your meal. And burping is a sign of being full and content.
Saying "please" and "thank you"，for example，is almost always polite. If you show appreciation and try to follow local customs，people will generally respond well. Showing kindness can bring people together，no matter what culture they come from.
A. Yet the details of how to express respect vary. B. Yet there are also similar points across cultures. C. Diversity exists when it comes to the choice of food. D. Attitudes to praise and compliments can be different. E. But it's more important in some cultures than others. F. It's polite to eat as quietly as possible in North America. G. Praise and compliments is a kind of communicative action. |
The Art of Chinese Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam is a ( represent ) name of various kinds of Muqam in Northwest China' s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,was declared one of the UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005.
Muqam ,( recognise ) as the mother of Uyghur music , is not onlyartistic creation with a long history, but also a record of ( communicate ) between China and the regions to the west of it in history . It can be found in 19 countries and regions in Central , South , and West Asia , and North Africa , which is ( particular ) due to Xinjiang' s central location along the Silk Road.
In Muqam ensembles（乐团）, the lead instruments, called satar, are made from local materials and vary in form. The dancing skills involve unique steps, rhythms, and formations as well as( figure ) such as flower-picking-by-mouth, bowl-carrying-on-head, and imitation of animals in solo dances.
Since the 1950s, every possible means( use ) to preserve the Twelve Muqam by the Chinese government. About 20 study centres have been set up ( train ) professional researchers on Muqam. Moreover, the government has introduced Muqam the national artistic education system.
