Americans celebrate Valentine’s Day each year on February 14th. So do candy companies, jewelry stores and people selling flowers. Valentine’s Day is for lovers. It is a good day to ask your boyfriend or girlfriend to marry you. It is also a popular day for marriage. But other couples might celebrate with a dinner at a nice restaurant.
The holiday is named for Saint Valentine. He was an early Christian churchman who was said to have helped young lovers. Valentine was executed for his Christian beliefs on February 14th, more than one thousand seven hundred years ago. But the day is even older than that.
The ancient Romans celebrated a holiday for lovers more than two thousand years ago. As part of the celebration, each girl wrote her name on a piece of paper and put it in a large box. Each boy reached into the box and pulled out the name of a girl. That girl became his girlfriend for a year.
Lovers still put their names on pieces of paper on Valentine’s Day. They send each other cards that express their love. Sometimes they send other gifts, too, like jewelry, flowers, candy, or all three!
It was reported that the average American spent about $134 for Valentine’s Day in 2014. That was up about three dollars from 2013. Men spent about twice as much on their partners as women did. And it is said the total spending for Valentine’s Day in the United States reached about $17.3 billion.
1.Valentine’s Day is named for Saint Valentine mainly because Valentine_____.
A.came up with the idea for Valentine’s Day
B.lost his life because of his Christian beliefs
C.once helped young lovers as a churchman
2.At the ceremony for lovers in ancient Rome, _______.
A.a boy got his girlfriend quite by luck
B.boys and girls exchanged cards to show love
C.a girl had the freedom to choose her boyfriend
3.Which of the following traditions on Valentine’s Day is kept alive from ancient days?
A.Writing lovers’ names on pieces of paper.
B.Sending gifts like candies, flowers and jewelry.
C.Asking your boyfriend or girlfriend to marry you.
4.When was the passage probably written?
A.After Valentine’s Day in 2013.
B.Before Valentine’s Day in 2013.
C.After Valentine’s Day in 2014.
One day last summer, I was waiting for my ride to pick me up at the station. Suddenly I felt the desire to write _______. I opened my bag and found a pen, _______no paper. I sat there helplessly, _______with the sudden desire. Then I went through the bag a little more_______. It_______that I had a dollar bill in my wallet. After I looked at it for a moment, it became_______that there was very little writing surface on the bill. But I could_______write something.
So I took my pen and wrote something like this, “This is a very_______dollar -given to you with love. Do not keep it or_______it. Give it to someone else with love, and watch it________. I then________the bill with hearts, trying to make it________as many good wishes as I could.
Sitting near me was a woman who was also waiting for a________. She seemed a little________. I said to her, “Hi, this is for you. She got a________by my action. But after she took a second________at it, her mood________from worried to warm, and she gave me a big hug and accepted it.
I realized that________this was the reaction from just one stranger, then without doubt this________of warmth would continue on.
My ride came, and we drove off. But I thought this was not the________of the story and that this love wouldn’t stop.
1.A.anything B.nothing C.something
2.A.and B.but C.or
3.A.alone B.busy C.calm
4.A.fluently B.carefully C.sincerely
5.A.took off B.paid off C.turned out
6.A.doubtful B.clear C.uncertain
7.A.as usual B.at most C.at least
8.A.special B.practical C.powerful
9.A.spend B.pay C.take
10.A.cover B.spread C.build
11.A.measured B.repaired C.beautified
12.A.prove B.develop C.show
13.A.performance B.ride C.train
14.A.worried B.sick C.serious
15.A.lesson B.surprise C.touch
16.A.thought B.picture C.look
17.A.traded B.guided C.changed
18.A.because B.for C.if
19.A.wave B.sign C.method
20.A.beginning B.end C.clue
—Could you show me_____?
—Sure.
A.where is the library B.where the library is C.how can I go to the library
—I called you yesterday, but you didn’t answer the phone.
—Oh, maybe I _____ in the kitchen. So I didn’t hear it.
A.have cooked B.cooked C.was cooking
—How many_____ are there in your school?
—124.
A.woman teacher B.women teachers C.women teacher
I bought a new shirt for John, _____ he didn’t like it.
A.becuase B.and C.but
