What if we don’t have the power of electricity? You may think you couldn’t live through the toughest summer time without air conditioning. But in ancient China, hand fans were almost the only way to drive the heat away, though I really sympathize with the ancients.
Chinese people started to use hand fans over 2,000 years ago. The fans came in different shapes and were made from all kinds of materials. Palm leaf fans were cheap and easy to make. Feather fans marked the owner’s high status. Sandalwood fans could send out a sweet smell. Later, hand fans became far more than just something that could cool you down. They developed into works of art, in which Tuanshan—round fans, and Zheshan—folded fans, were the most common. In the shape of a full moon, Tuanshan were usually made of silk. They had beautiful embroidery（刺绣）featuring birds and flowers on them. Women, especially those in the royal palace, liked to use them. Poets in ancient China often compared a woman’s abandoned face to Tuanshan. A poet in the Qing Dynasty, Nalan Xingde was a typical example. He wrote, “If only life were as beautiful as when we first met, why should the autumn wind bother to pity deserted painted fans?”  Meanwhile, men, especially the literati（文人）, used Zheshan. The literati liked them because Zheshan were usually made of paper and they could paint and write poems on them. It was a, way for them to show off their skills in literature, painting and calligraphy（书法）. Many things were painted on Zheshan, but the most popular choice was usually beautiful scenery.[来源:Z.xx.k.Com]
Today, Chinese people still use these fans, though not many people write or paint on them any more. This summer, why not paint one of your own?
28. Which fans could show a person’s social position?
A. Hand fans. B. Feather fans C. Palm leaf fans. D. Sandalwood fans.
29. Who did Nalan Xingde refer to by mentioning fans?
A. An abandoned woman. B. A woman with a Tuanshan.
C. A woman with a Zheshan D. A woman in the royal palace.
30. Why did the literati like Zheshan?
A. They were folded fans. B. They came in different shapes.
C. They had birds and flowers on them. D. They gave them chances to show the talents.
31. What’s the writer’s main purpose of writing the passage?
A. To tell us how to make hand fans.            B. To explain why people used hand fans.
C. To introduce several kinds of hand fans.       D. To encourage people to make hand fans.
 
 28-31 BADC