Spring Festival is the most important festival in China. It lies on the first day of the first lunar month（农历）in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar .On the evening before the Spring Festival ,families get together and have a big meal .In many places people like to set off firecrackers .Dumplings are the most traditional food .Children like the festival very much ,because they can have delicious food and wear new clothes .They can also get some money from their parents. This money is given to children for good luck . People put New Year scrolls on the wall for good fortune .
Chinese people held the first New Year Festival more than 3,000 years ago. Farmers gave thanks for the harvest and prayed. They asked the gods for good crops in the coming year.
But there is a story behind all the celebration.According to legend, there was a man-eating wild monster（怪兽） "Nian" with an extremely large mouth, capable of swallowing several people in a single bite. The monster seemed too strong to be defeated. So all the villagers would take their old and young deep into the mountains to hide from Nian.One day, a wise old man passed through the village and told the villagers that "nian" was afraid of loud noises and the color red, The villagers came together and agreed that when it was time for Nian's annual visit towards the end of winter they would start a fire in front of every door and not go to sleep but rather make noise. Nian had not come down the mountain to cause any trouble thereafter. This eventually become a tradition of China and leads to the celebration for another year of safe life. Chinese people celebrate in remembrance of this legend and still continues till today! This custom has spread, became the most solemn of traditional Chinese folk festivals "have the spring festival".
Information Card
What is the name of the festival? | 1. |
When is it? | 2. |
What do people do? | 3. |
How did the villagers feel about the monster”NIAN”? | 4. |
Why do young kids like it so much? | 5. |
Last year, I did not like my English class. Every class was like a bad dream. The teacher spoke so quickly that I did not understand her most of the time. I was afraid __1._____ (ask) questions because of my poor _______2._______(pronounce). I just ___3.____(hide) behind my textbook and never said anything.
Then one day I watched an English movie ____4.____(call) Toy Story. I ____5.___(fall) in love with this __6._____(excite) and funny movie! So I began to watch other English movies, too. Although I could not understand everything the characters said, their body language and the expressions on their faces helped me to get the meaning. I also realized I could get the meaning by ____7._____(listen) for just the key words. My pronunciation ____8.__(improve) as well by listening to the conversations in English movies. I discovered that __9.__(listen) to something interesting in is the secret to language learning. I also learned useful sentences like “It’s a piece of cake” or “It serves you right.” I did not understand these sentences at first. But because I wanted to understand the story, I looked them up in a dictionary.
Now I really ___10.____(enjoy) my English class. I want to learn new words and more grammar so that I can have a better understanding of English movies.
1.我认为装扮成人物很有趣。
I think it is fun to______ ___________ _________ cartoon characters.
2.去年我胖了五磅。
I____________ __________ five pounds last year.
3. 优秀的初学者经常把他们需要学的东西与有趣的事物联系起来。
Good learners often __________ what they need to learn __________ something interesting.
4. 你读的越多，你的阅读速度就越快。
__________ __________ you read, _________ __________ you will be.
5. 打扰一下，你能告诉我去银行的路吗？
__________ __________, Could you please tell me how _________ ________get to the bank?
1.You should be _____________(耐心) to guess a word’s meaning by reading the sentences..
2.We need to pay more _________（注意）to the traffic rules when driving.
3.Chinese people have been_______________（庆祝）the Mid-Autumn Festival for centuries.
4.---What do you usually do on Mid-Autumn Day?
---We usually admire the moon and share ________（月饼）with families.
5.Can you buy me a_____________（邮票）when you walk past the post office?
Most dictionaries will tell you a number of things about a language. There are three important things. These three things are spelling, pronunciation and meanings.
First, a dictionary will tell you the spelling of a world. If you are not sure about the spelling of a word, you can try to find the correct spelling in a dictionary. Words are listed in alphabetical order—a,b,c and so on. For example, on a dictionary page the word “poor”—p,o,o,r – comes before “poverty”—p,o,v,e,r,t,y—and the word “poverty” comes before “ power”—p,o,w,e,r. The words are always given in an alphabtical order.
The second thing, a dictionary will tell you pronunciation. Most give phonetic, or sound, alphabet. The phonetic spelling will tell you how a word is pronounced. There are a few different phonetic alphabets. Many dictionaries use the International Phonetic Alphabet to show pronunciation.
The third thing, a dictionary will tell you the meaning of words. You can look up a word and find out what it means. Many words have more than one meaning, and a good dictionary will tell you all of the word’s meaning. For example, in English the common word “get” has over 20 different meanings.
1.In the passage, which of the following is among the three important things?
A. How to write a word well.
B. How to use a word.
C. How to make a sentence.
D. How to read a word correctly.
2.Of the three words: “remove”, “ remote” and “ remount”, _____ in a dictionary.
A. “remote” comes first and “remove” comes last.
B. “remove” comes first and “ remote” comes last.
C. “remote” comes first and “remount” comes last.
D, “remove” comes first and “remount” comes last.
3.Many words have_______.
A. several meanings
B. few meanings
C. one meaning
D. no meaning
4.A better dictionary can tell you _______.
A. more of the word’s pronunciation.
B. More of the word’s meaning.
C. More of the word’s spelling.
D. More of grammar.
5..Phonetic alphabets are used to show _______.
A. spelling B. handwriting
C. meanings D. pronunciation
Three students are talking about the New Year tradition of their own country.
A．Christina from Spain
On the last day of the year, the 31st of December, people wait till 12 p．m.Everybody must have 12 grapes to eat at midnight.At each sound of the clock, we must eat a grape.But we can't ever finish eating the grapes on time! Usually when people still have some grapes in their mouths, they look at each other and start to laugh.This tradition started in Spain long ago.One year, when there were a lot of grapes, the king of Spain decided to give grapes to everybody to eat on New Year's Eve.
B．Cordon from Britain
On New Year's Day in Britain, people have parties.At 12 o'clock, the music stops, and we listen to the radio.On the radio we hear Big Ben, the famous clock in London.Then everybody sings a song about friendship and kisses their friends.We say “Happy New Year” to each other.It's lucky if a tall man with dark hair is the first person to come to the house in the New Year.So I go and visit as many friends as I can.They all give me a drink.
C．Angela from Brazil
In all cities in Brazil, we have a big party on New Year's Eve, especially in Rio de Janeiro.People in this city go to the beaches to watch fireworks (焰火)．We put flowers in the sea and think about things we want for ourselves or others.We usually wear white clothes for good luck during the New Year.
1.Which is NOT mentioned (被提到) in the passage?
A．Have 12 grapes to eat.
B．Give flowers to others.
C．Have parties.
D．Watch fireworks.
2.Who have parties during the New Year?
A．People in Spain.
B．People in Britain.
C．People in Brazil
D．Both B and C.
3..From the paragraph of “Cordon from Britain”， we know that ________.
A．Cordon can't drink much
B．people sing a song about good luck
C．people hear Big Ben on the radio
D．everybody in Britain goes to watch fireworks
4..On New Year's Day, Brazilians usually wear white clothes because ________.
A．they think that they look beautiful in white
B．that reminds them of their happy life
C．they hope that can bring them good luck
D．that's what they have to do during the New Year
5.This article mainly tells us________.
A．what people in different countries do on New Year's Day
B．when and where people have New Year parties
C．what people in Britain do on New Year's Day
D．why people around the world like the New Year
