UNIQUE AND WEIRD NEW YEAR EVE TRADITIONS
Germany
In some parts of Germany, they do bleigiessen, or lead （铅）pouring. Pour a dollop（团）of molten lead in cold water and whatever shape forms may be telling about the year to come. A heart shape, naturally, means love will come your way. A crown predicts wealth and fortune. A star indicates happiness. But if you see a cross in the lead? You're as good as dead!
Latin America
If you're in Latin America, make sure you have some colorful underpants to ring in the new year. End — of — the — year partiers put on colorful underwear to ensure certain types of outcomes for the following year. Red for love and yellow for success.
Naples, Italy
Neapolitans like throwing things out of windows, at least on New Year's Eve. Furniture, kitchen machines, grandma. Well, maybe not the last one. Let's hope not, anyway. This tradition is meant to symbolize an out — with — the — old gesture and getting a brand new beginning for the new year. These days people are a bit more mindful about what they toss down to the street below.
Spain
In 1909, winegrowers in the Alicante region of Spain had a brilliant idea: start and promote an annual tradition that would involve people having to buy and eat more grapes. One must cat 12 grapes on New Year's Eve to encourage prosperity for the coining year. Now, it's u popular custom in Iberia. But the problem is that one has to cat a grape for each bell strike at midnight.
1.What does a cross shape mean?
A.Love. B.Wealth.
C.Happiness. D.Misfortune.
2.What's new about Neapolitans' tradition?
A.They hate using furniture.
B.They throw their grandma out of windows.
C.They are more careful about what to throw.
D.They like making gestures in front of the window.
3.Which country has the tradition of eating grapes?
A.Germany. B.Brazil.
C.Italy. D.Spain.
假设你是晨光中学的学生李津。你所喜爱的英语杂志 Teens’ Spacec 创刊五周年，在此之际, 该杂志向读者征集对杂志的意见或给出建议，请你根据以下内容给杂志主编写一封信。
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Dear Editor-in-chief,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Jin
阅读短文，按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
In June 2011, my life changed and so did my family’s. I remember the day like it was yesterday. I came downstairs all ready for the family swim. Right before I got into the pool, my mom called me inside. She sat me down and waited for my dad and brothers to come to join us. Then, our parents told us the worst news imaginable-- my dad had been diagnosed with Stage III Colon Cancer(结肠癌).
The news hit hard of course. However, in my head, my dad was a superman. As his daughter, I knew that cancer wasn’t going to beat him. I just went out and swam.
As weeks went on, life didn’t change much within our house. My mom still went to work; my brothers and I still went to school; and my dad still worked while also meeting his doctor. However, I didn’t realized how much this new diagnosis was going to change my life.
As treatment progressed with my dad’s cancer, I couldn’t depend on him for things he usually did. And with my brothers being away at college, I had to take on a lot more responsibility. But that was not the hardest part of this new journey. It was the fear. The fear that I could lose my Dad. The fear that I could get a call saying that he was in bad condition. The fear that I could never talk to him again. Yet with all these fears, there was never a doubt in my mind that my dad would beat this cancer. He was a superman.
The day of my dad’s surgery finally came. It was Father’s Day and I had my soccer game that day. I won my battle on the field and my dad won his in the hospital.
May 2013, my dad was completely cancer free. Though this journey proved to be a few of the hardest years of my life, it also proved to me how wonderful my dad really is.
1.What happened to the author’s family in June 2011? (no more than 10 words)
2.How did the author behave after hearing the news from her mother? (no more than 10 words)
3.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “surgery” in Paragraph 6? (no more than 5 words)
4.When did the author’s father completely recover from cancer? (no more than 5 words)
5.What’s your father like? Please explain. (no more than 25 words)
Jennifer Udler was in the middle of a 50-minute session with a patient when it started to rain. Walking and talking about anxiety and stress, she and her teenage patient got wet. But when they made it back indoors, Jennifer said, “ Hey, look at us! We’re wet, but we got through it! Now you can use that next time you have anxiety before and during an event. ” This kind of insight is key to her practice.
Jennifer, a social worker whose practice focuses on adolescents, has been a therapist （治疗师 ）for 20 years. For most of that time, she practiced in a traditional office, but she noticed how easy it was for her running partners to open up about their problems. After doing some research, in 2013, Jennifer founded Positive Strides Therapy, where she conducts sessions while walking outdoors. She conducts all of her sessions outdoors and in all kinds of weather.
“When somebody asks me if I specialize in walking therapy, I say, ‘No, that’s how I practice,’ ” Udler said. “I specialize in family systems theory. Walking in the park is just where I practice. ”
Despite the lack of formal research, Jennifer believes strongly in the benefits, saying that it can be helpful. “We’ll be talking about ‘moving forward’ as we are actually moving forward on the path, building muscle memory of how they can move forward and leave the anxiety behind. ”
And outdoor walking therapy doesn’t just benefit teens. Jennifer says the adults in her practice welcome the humanizing effect of taking therapy outdoors.
1.What lesson did Jennifer teach her teenage patient through the rain?
A.Rain and suffering are a part of life.
B.She is ready to help the young man.
C.We can beat our difficulty after all.
D.Rain can help us deal with our trouble.
2.The underlined word “insight” in Paragraph 1 probably means .
A.qualification B.foresight
C.awareness D.prediction
3.How does Jennifer feel her therapy in her reply to people’s question?
A.Doubtful. B.Confident.
C.Unconcerned. D.Disappointed.
4.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A.The lack of formal research about the therapy.
B.Building physical memory of past experience.
C.Treating her teen patients in a traditional office.
D.Conducting walk — and — talk therapy for teens.
5.Why does Jennifer think her therapy will help her patients?
A.Walking outdoors is similar to managing worries.
B.Moving in the rain is a bit too difficult to tolerate.
C.The rain can make one excited and face the trouble.
D.Running in the rain or storm will make one healthy.
In an attempt to win back old customers, restaurants and companies often introduce new menu items or new flavors. Most of these are successful with customers because they have always been researched and tested by companies before they meet the public. However, there are still some that are so unpopular with customers and they fail so badly as a product that they become infamous.
One of the most well-known marketing failures happened in 1985 with New Coke, a soft drink created to replace the original Coca-Cola flavor. The Coca-Cola Company tested several new flavors and found that people always preferred a sweeter soda. As a result, the CEO decided that the sweeter soda would replace the original Coca-Cola drink.
Many customers, however, soon started to express their dissatisfaction with the new drink. The Coca-Cola Company received over 1,500 angry telephone calls every day. The Coca-Cola Company actually employed special experts to talk to customers because they were so angry and sad about the change. Some Americans were buying old Coca-Cola drinks from overseas where the new drink had not yet been introduced. And in some parts of America people were so angry that they emptied bottles of New Coke into the street.
So many people were unhappy with Coca-Cola’s new drink that the company decided only three months later to return to the old Coca-Cola drink. On July 10,1985, the Coca-Cola Company said that it would bring back the old Coke and rename the drink “Coca-Cola Classic” or “Coke Classic”. Thousands of customers phoned the company to express their support.
Even today, business experts are interested in this case. Even though the Coca-Cola Company had carefully tested and experimented with New Coke before introducing it to customers, the New drink was still very unpopular. So, what did Coca-Cola do wrong? It seems the company simply did not understand customers’ deep historical and emotional attachment to the drink.
1.Why do companies usually introduce new menu items?
A.To attract past customers.
B.To attract new customers.
C.To attract elderly customers.
D.To attract customers with special needs.
2.What is the difference between New Coke and the original one?
A.New Coke is sweeter.
B.New Coke is more acidic.
C.New Coke’s color is lighter.
D.New Coke’s bottle is bigger.
3.What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?
A.Why New Coke failed in America.
B.The harm New Coke did to people’ s health.
C.How customers acted in answer to the introduction of New Coke.
D.The comparison between sales of New Coke and the original one.
4.When was New Coke put on the market?
A.In May 1985. B.In April 1985.
C.In June 1985. D.In July 1985.
5.What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?
A.The reasons why New Coke succeeded overseas.
B.The history of the Coca-Cola Company in the 1990s.
C.The difference between New Coke and Coke Classic.
D.The importance of people’s feelings about old products.
Matilda
By Roald Dahl
Price: $ 10.25
Gifted and sweet, Matilda White goes largely unnoticed by her less-than-loving parents. Things only get worse when she goes to school. Luckily, her teacher, Miss Honey, helps Matilda discover how special she is and encourages her to create the life she dreams about.
Ivy & Bean
By Annie Barrows
Price: $4.59
When Ivy moves in across the street, Bean is sure they won’t be friends. They are just too different. However, when Ivy helps Bean get away from her sister, who is trying to get Bean in trouble, a friendship blossoms between the unlikely pair. Kids who enjoy this book can read the whole series over the summer.
Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed
By Emily Pearson
Price: $ 7.99
When Mary decides to give some fresh-picked wild blueberries to a neighbor, she starts a chain reaction of kindness. After Mrs. Bishop makes and shares newly-made cake, her recipients go on to spread kindness to others they meet. Mary might be a common little girl, but she learns that even children can help make the world a better place.
Frederick
By Leo Lionni
Price: $ 14.39
Frederick is a mouse who lives with his family in a large field. During the summer, all of the mice begin to store food to prepare for the cold winter months. All of the mice except Frederick, that is. Instead, Frederick collects things such as rays of sun, rainbows and words. Although the others think he is stupid, they come to learn that everyone’s contribution counts.
1.Who helps Matilda discover how special she is?
A.Her friend, Annie. B.Her neighbor, Mary.
C.Her father, Mr. White. D.Her teacher, Miss Honey.
2.Whose book is mainly about friendship?
A.Roald Dahl’s. B.Leo Lionni’s.
C.Emily Pearson’s. D.Annie Barrows’s.
3.What does Mary decide to give to her neighbor ?
A.Cakes. B.Blueberries.
C.Books. D.Flowers.
4.How much should you pay for a book of animals?
A.$4.59. B.$7.99.
C.$14.39. D.$10.25.
5.Where is the text most likely to have been taken from?
A.A story book. B.A lesson plan.
C.A book review. D.A kid’s magazine.
