Ⅴ. 阅读理解
For c
en
tur
ies, China has been known as "a state of ceremony", which means Liyi Zhibang. There was much greeting eti
quette in ancient China. And the fist-and-palm salute(拱手礼) was quite a classic example. Today, although Chinese people usually shake hands when meeting friends and relatives, people still make fist-and-palm salutes when they are paying a visit to someone during the Spring Festival or attending someone's wedding or birthday party.
The fist-and-palm salute has a history of more than 3,000 years. Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, people had already performed it when meeting peers(同辈). In ancient times, if people met a stranger, they would prepare for a fight if necessary, and their hands were always ready for holding any weapon(武器). Holding hands together pointed towards themselves was a gesture of saying "relax", meaning "I'm not with any weapon and I'm not here to pick a fight". Later, it became the etiquette when people met each other or showed thanks.
So, how should people do the fist-and-palm salute properly? Firstly, stand at attention. If you're a man, make a half fist(拳) with your right hand, then hold the right hand with your left hand in front of your chest, look at the person, raise both hands to the eyebrows(眉毛), bend down and shake hands gently three times. At the same time, you can also say some lucky greeting words. If you're a woman, you should do it the other way which should be the right hand on the top.
People may be more familiar with the hold-fist salute, called bao quan li in Chinese. It is widely used among the kung fu masters and students. This gesture is formed by holding the right fist very tightly closed and covering it with the left hand open, and extending both arms a little forward in front of the chest. Make sure the left thumb(拇指) is close to the index finger(食指) and don't point it at yourself, as it shows impoliteness.
1. What does the underlined word "etiquette" in Paragraph 1 mean?
A. Need.
B. Manners.
C. Dances.
D. Groups.
2. Which picture shows the CORRECT way for women to do the fist-and-palm salute?
A.
B.
C.
D.
3. If Mike wants to do the hold-fist salute, he should
.
A. keep his right hand open
B. put his right hand on his left hand
C. not point his left thumb at himself
D. not hold out his arms
4. What can we learn from the passage?
A. There are no standards for these two salutes.
B. The fist-and-palm salute is more common in kung fu.
C. Now, people celebrate one's birthday with the hold-fist salute.
D. These two salutes seem similar, but they are quite different.
