Question

When you are about to do something brave, a cheerful wish of “Good luck!” from a friend can be helpful. But if you think you need lots of luck, what else might you do?

In the UK and US there are some strange traditions for bringing yourself a little more good luck. Some are hundreds of years old and some are much newer.

Have you heard the saying “When you wish upon a star”? If you are looking up at the sky on a clear night and you see a sudden flash of light, it is probably a shooting star! Seeing one doesn’t happen very often. The saying goes that you have been very lucky if you see one, and so if you make a wish, it will come true.

Maybe you have heard of the lucky rabbit’s foot. Some people believe that rabbits are lucky animals, so they carry a part of the rabbit, its foot, for good luck. There are all kinds of strange, unclear rules about which of the rabbit’s feet is the luckiest. It is said that this good luck tradition is the oldest one of all. However, as the funny saying goes, “Depend on the rabbit’s foot if you will, but remember it didn’t work for the rabbit!”

People in Britain love trees. If it is autumn and leaves are falling from the trees, some people try to catch the leaves as they fall because they think each leaf they catch will bring them a lucky month in the following year—they will need to catch 12 falling leaves to have a whole of good luck!

1.  Which thing is said to be the oldest good luck tradition?

A. A falling leaf.                                 B.  A foot of a rabbit.

C. A shooting star.                                D. A wish from friends.

2.  According to Paragraph 3, we know that ______.

A. people can see a shooting star on a rainy night.

B. shooting stars can often be seen by people

C. people believe that it’s unlucky to see a shooting star.

D. your wish may come true if you see a shooting star.

3.   British people try to catch 12 falling leaves because ______.

A. the leaves fall in autumn.

B. there are so many leaves to catch.

C. they want to have a whole year of good luck.

D. the leaves can bring them a lucky month.

4. In Paragraph 5, the underlined word “them” refers to (指) ______.

A. leaves                B. people

C. trees                 D. years

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文介绍了英美国家有关好运的一些传统说法。兔子脚据说是最古老的好运传统，如果你看到一颗流星，你的愿望可以实现。英国人试图抓住12片飘落的树叶，因为他想有一整年的好运等。

1.B细节理解题。哪一件事据说是最古老的好运传统？兔子脚。据There are all kinds of strange, unclear rules about which of the rabbit’s feet is the luckiest. It is said that this good luck tradition is the oldest one of all. 故正确答案为B.

2.D细节理解题。根据第三段我们知道，如果你看到一颗流星，你的愿望可以实现。根据The saying goes that you have been very lucky if you see one, and so if you make a wish, it will come true. 故该题正确答案为D.

3.C细节理解题。英国人试图抓住12片飘落的树叶，因为他想有一整年的好运。据they will need to catch 12 falling leaves to have a whole of good luck! 故正确答案为C.

4.猜测词义题。在第五段划线单词“them”指“人们”。根据If it is autumn and leaves are falling from the trees, some people try to catch the leaves as they fall because they think each leaf they catch will bring them a lucky month in the following year. 故该题正确答案为B.

考点：社会文化类短文阅读。