There are hundreds of types of birthday cake in the world. You are likely to enjoy one during at least one of your birthday parties. But have you ever stopped and wondered, “Why am I eating this? What makes this dessert fit to celebrate the day of my birth?”
It’s because you are as important and beloved as the gods.
The ancient Egyptians are thought to have “invented” the celebration of birthdays. They believed when pharaohs (法老) were crowned, they became gods, so their coronation (加冕) day was their “birth” as a god.
Ancient Greeks borrowed the tradition, but realized that a dessert would make the celebration more meaningful. So they baked moon-shaped cakes to offer up to the goddess of the moon. They decorated them with lighted candles to make the cakes shine like the moon. It is the reason why we light our birthday cakes on fire.
Modern birthday parties are said to get their roots from an 18th century German celebration. On the morning of a child’s birthday, he or she would receive a cake with lighted candles that added up to the kid’s age, plus one. This extra candle was called the “light of life,” representing the hope of another full year lived.
And then, torture — because no one could eat the cake until after dinner. The family replaced the candles as they burned out throughout the day. Finally, when the moment came, the birthday child would make a wish, try to blow out all the candles in one breath, and dig in.
Since the ingredients (原料) to make cakes were pretty expensive, this birthday custom didn’t become popular until the Industrial Revolution. More ingredients were available, which made them cheaper, and bakeries even started selling pre-baked cakes.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A.The origin of birthday cakes. B.The significance of birthday cakes.
C.The history of birthday parties. D.The introduction of cake production.
2.Who established the tradition of celebrating birthdays with cakes according to the passage?
A.Germans. B.Pharaohs.
C.Ancient Greeks. D.Ancient Egyptians.
3.The underlined word “torture” in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to ________.
A.pleasure B.replacement
C.sharing D.suffering
4.Why was the birthday cake custom unpopular before the Industrial Revolution?
A.The transport was inconvenient.
B.The ingredients of cakes were expensive.
C.The cake could not be eaten before dinner.
D.The bakeries would not sell pre-baked cakes.
Jeremy Locke, 25, has his own roofing company in Bridgeport, Nova Scotia. For a couple of years before he began his_________, he would drive past the home of Jeanette MacDonald, noticing the_________state of her roof. He was_________—not just for the elderly woman but also for the children living with her. So Locke_________to lend a helping hand.
The young man knocked on MacDonald's door and_________to fix her roof for nothing, "I didn't know who the woman was, but I wanted to_________this for her and her grandchildren," he explained to The Chronicle Herald. However, despite his kind_________, the woman politely turned him down.
MacDonald and her_________left an impression on Locke. He saw_________between the woman and his own grandmother, and couldn't bear to see her in this__________. He had also grown up without much and felt that he should use his skills to__________.
A year after Locke set up his own roofing company, seeing that the roof was__________in a state of disrepair, Locke returned to MacDonald's home and asked MacDonald if she wanted to enter a raffle (抽奖) his company was doing for a__________roof. The 70-year-old woman__________the chance, but little did she know that there was no__________.
MacDonald's relief__________Locke's kindness is immeasurable, "I could win $1 million but it wouldn't make me as__________as knowing I'm getting a new roof on. Jeremy is__________something. He's a guardian angel (守护天使) sent from God."
The__________should cost about $ 9,000 in terms of materials and manpower. However, the only thing Locke wants in return is a home-cooked meal for his staff from the woman who__________him of his grandmother.
1.A.journey B.business C.research D.life
2.A.average B.unexpected C.special D.terrible
3.A.frightened B.embarrassed C.concerned D.disappointed
4.A.decided B.appeared C.agreed D.happened
5.A.declined B.offered C.managed D.pretended
6.A.catch up with B.take care of C.get rid of D.put up with
7.A.application B.reaction C.theory D.intention
8.A.hesitation B.shame C.regret D.difficulty
9.A.symbols B.conditions C.similarities D.beliefs
10.A.situation B.occupation C.incident D.direction
11.A.respond B.give C.help D.develop
12.A.still B.even C.already D.just
13.A.temporary B.delicate C.random D.free
14.A.went over B.jumped at C.laughed off D.looked into
15.A.competition B.cheating C.dilemma D.chance
16.A.comparing B.withdrawing C.following D.contradicting
17.A.strong B.lucky C.happy D.rich
18.A.partly B.possibly C.generally D.really
19.A.room B.job C.meal D.decoration
20.A.reminds B.warns C.convinces D.informs
—May I borrow your book Steve Jobs? —________you return it before Friday.
A.If only B.Unless C.On condition that D.Now that
I missed the last bus and had no money for a taxi，so I could do nothing but ____ home last night.
A.to walking B.walk
C.walking D.walked
________in a story book, the girl didn’t notice the stranger.
A.Burying B.Buried C.To bury D.Having buried
The writer and poet________ to give us a speech on English study next week.
A.are B.is C.was D.will be
