Celebrating New Year’s Day is one of the oldest and most exciting traditions around the world. Since this festival marks the beginning of the year, New Year’s Day is thought of as a perfect time for a “clean start”. People in the world decide to act better in the year just beginning than the year just ended.
No day has ever been celebrated in so many different ways. All over the world, countries have their own special beliefs about what the New Year means to them.
In Scotland, the New Year is called Hogmanay. In the villages of Scotland, barrels of tar (沥青) are set on fire. It represents that the old year is burned up and the new one is allowed to enter.
New Year’s Day is also the Festival of Saint Basil in Canada. Children leave their shoes by the fireside on New Year’s Day with the hope that Saint Basil, who is famous for his kindness, will come and fill their shoes with gifts.
The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. It is an important time when Jews promise to do better in the future. Special services are held in the church, children are given new clothes and New Year bread is cooked to remind people of harvest time.
On New Year’s Day in Japan, everyone gets dressed in their new clothes and homes are decorated with bamboos—symbols of long life.
In European countries such as Germany, France and Belgium, families start the New Year by first attending church services. Afterwards, they visit friends and relatives. In France, boys and girls receive gifts of money on New Year’s Day.
New Year Celebrations Around the 1.__________ | ||
Country/people | Celebration activities | Special beliefs |
Scotland | People2.______ barrels of tar. | The old year is burned up and the new one is allowed to enter. |
Canada | Children leave their3. _______by the fireside. | Their shoes will be filled with 4._____ by Saint Basil. |
Jews | It is a time for people to5.____to do better in the future. People6.______ New Year Bread to remind of harvest time. |
|
Japan | People 7._____their new clothes. Homes are decorated with bamboos. | Symbols of 8._______life |
European 9._________ | People attend church services 10.__visiting friends and relatives. |
|
Look carefully at the back of a California state quarter．A man with a walking stick is pictured there．A bird called a California condor(大秃鹫)is flying overhead. Who is this man，and why is he so important that he is featured(处于显著地位)on the back of a coin?
The man on this quarter is John Muir．Even as a child, Muir loved watching nature. As a young man，he spent much of his life exploring the beauty of the wilderness．He walked more than a thousand miles across the country，through fields and woods．John Muir liked writing about the places he visited，describing their beauty.
Muir also wrote about problems．In order to create more farmland for sheep and cattle, many trees were being cut down．This made Muir unhappy and worried，because he knew that trees were important to forests and to the animals that lived in them．Muir believed that nature should be conserved(保护)instead of being changed by human beings．He wrote articles in magazines and newspapers to spread the word about conserving forests．Soon，others began to listen．
Muir wrote letters to important people，such as President Theodore Roosevelt．The president admired Muir’s love for nature．When Roosevelt came to visit Muir in California. Muir convinced(说服)the president to go camping with him for three nights under the trees so they could talk about conservation．Later，President Roosevelt set aside 148 million acres of land for national forests and established(建立)five national parks．National parks are large areas of land that are protected from development. This means that people cannot build homes or businesses there. One of these parks is Yosemite National Park，the area that is featured on the back of the California quarter．
Though it has been almost one hundred years since John Muir died，people continue his work today．His work as a conservationist helped us to see the beauty of our natural world．John Muir made us understand the importance of protecting our earth and our resources---then，now，and for the future．
1.What did John Muir spend much of his life doing when he was a young man?
A．Watching natural views．
B．Writing about the places he visited．
C．Exploring the beauty of the wilderness．
D．Creating farmland for sheep and cattle．
2.Why did President Theodore Roosevelt visit John Muir?
A．Because Roosevelt loved watching nature．
B．Because Roosevelt received letters from John Muir．
C．Because Roosevelt admired John Muir’s love for nature.
D．Because Roosevelt was sad about the problems with farmland．
3.What happened after President Roosevelt went camping with John Muir?
A．Many trees were cut down．
B．Five national parks were established．
C．More homes and businesses were built.
D．More farmland was used for sheep and cattle.
4.Why is John Muir featured on the back of a California state quarter?
A．Because he walked over a thousand miles across the country．
B．Because he helped people understand the importance of protecting the natural world.
C．Because he wrote articles to spread the word about conserving forests．
D．Because he once wrote several letters to President Theodore Roosevelt．
5.What is the writer’s purpose of writing this article?
A．To advise readers to become active conservationists.
B．To make us interested in the story about a great man．
C．To tell us something about an important person in history．
D．To give information about how to conserve the environment．
Smoking in indoor public places including public working places, public transport vehicles and some other special outdoor working places has been banned(禁止)in China since January 2011.Let’s look at the following advantages of banning smoking.
First, banning smoking will not only help in saving smokers from health problems and diseases, but will also be good for passive(被动)smokers. When the smoker is smoking in a restaurant, the people around him are sure to breathe in the smoke and suffer from the diseases an active smoker gets. If smoking is banned, spread of these diseases can be controlled.
Next, banning smoking will put stress on smokers to give up. Since a smoker is prevented from smoking, he will learn how to live without smoking for long hours. When a smoker doesn’t smell or see anybody around him smoking, it might reduce his wish to smoke too. As a result, people have to give up smoking.
Smoking in public places influences non-smokers to start smoking, especially adolescents. When teens see people around them smoking, they will follow them easily. Thus the number of teen smokers will increase. Also asthma(哮喘)and other problems are often seen in children living around smokers. So if it is banned, these places will become safe for children and teenagers.
Looking from the economic point of view, smoking should be banned to increase work productivity(生产率).Employees(雇员)who smoke usually take breaks to smoke while working. So the number of hours they put in their work is smaller.
If you see from the environment point of view, smoking should be banned. Smoking causes air pollution. If it is banned, it will help keep the environment from getting worse.
1. ________doesn’t belong to a non-smoking place.
A.A field B.A hospital
C.A library D.A restaurant
2.The second paragraph mainly wants to tell us ______.
A. banning smoking is good for restaurants
B. banning smoking is good for non-smokers
C. banning smoking is good for spread of diseases
D. banning smoking is good for active smokers and passive smokers
3. How many advantages of banning smoking are mentioned in this passage?
A. Two. B. Four. C. Five. D. Six.
4.According to the text, the underlined word “adolescents” means ______.
A. men B. women
C. adults D. teenagers
5. Which of the following statements in NOT true?
A. If smoking is banned, work productivity will increase.
B. If smoking is banned, the number of teen smokers will be larger.
C. If smoking is banned, it will make the environment become better.
D. If smoking is banned, smokers will learn how to live without smoking.
阅读理解
A
Welcome to this short tour of London. In this square we are standing in the middle of London. Opposite 对面) is the National Gallery, a museum with lots of famous paintings. Go along the red street to Buckingham Palace. The queen (后) lives here.
Turn left and go to the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Opposite you can see the London Eye. It takes you 135 meters above the River Thames. You can see most of London on a clear day.
When you are tired, the best way to see London is by boat. You can get the boat near Big Ben. As you go along the river, the London Eye is on your right, near the Railway Bridge.
Get off the boat at Tower Bridge. Then you can see the Tower of London next to the bridge. The Tower of London is the city’s oldest palace. It is nine hundred years old.
Take the boat back along the river. Get off the boat and go past the station and walk along the street. Opposite is the old fruit and vegetable market. They don’t sell fruit and vegetables now. There are stores and restaurants, and lots of street musicians. Turn left into King’s Street, and go past the church. You’re now back where you started, at the square. Now you finish your tour.
1.If you go to visit the National Gallery, what will you find?
A. lots of lovely animals B. lots of valuable plants
C. lots of famous paintings D. lots of interesting books
2. Where can you get the boat?
A. Near Buckingham Palace. B. Near Big Ben.
C. Near Tower Bridge. D. Near King’s Street.
3.______ is London’s oldest palace.
A. The Tower of London B. The National Gallery
C. Buckingham Palace D. The Houses of Parliament
4. ______ is the London Eye.
5. You will not go past ______ on your way back.
A. the station B. the square
C. the park D. the church
完形填空
Amy was a little girl. She lived near a fruit shop in the village. The shop was ________ by Mr. Smith.
One day Mr. Smith said to Amy, “Would you like to earn (赚) some money? ”
“Oh, yes,” replied she, “for I want some new shoes, and dad has no ________ to buy them with.”
“Well, Amy,” said Mr. Smith, “there are some fine ________ in Mr. Green’s garden, and he said that anybody was welcome to them. I will ________you thirteen cents (美分) a kilogram for all you will pick for me.”
Amy was so________ that she decided to go to pick the grapes as soon as possible. She ran home to get a ________ at once.
Then she thought she would like to know how much money she would get ________she picked five kilograms. ________ the help of her pencil, she found out that she would get sixty-five cents.
“But supposing I should pick twelve kilograms,” thought she, “________should I earn then?” “Dear me,” she said, after figuring (计算) a while, “I should earn one dollar and ________ cents.”
Amy then found out what Mr. Smith would pay her for fifty, a hundred, and two hundred kilograms. It took ________ some time to do this, and then it was so near lunch time that she had to ________ at home until afternoon.
As soon as lunch was ________ , she took her basket and ________ to the garden. Some boys had been there before lunch, and all the fine grapes were picked.
As she went home, she ________ what her teacher had often told her—“Do your task at once; then think about it,” for “one doer is worth a hundred dreamers.”
1.A. kept B. found C. made D. sold
2.A. idea B. use C. money D. place
3.A. apples B. bananas C. grapes D. pears
4.A. cost B. pay C. spend D. take
5.A. sad B. worried C. interesting D. happy
6.A. box B. basket C. bag D. bottle
7.A. until B. although C. if D. whether
8.A. With B. Under C. In D. On
9.A. how long B. how often C. how many D. how much
10.A. fifty-six B. sixty-five C. thirteen D. thirty
11.A. him B. her C. me D. us
12.A. pick B. cry C. make D. stay
13.A. over B. away C. up D. off
14.A. returned B. hurried C. sent D. belonged
15.A. talked about B. talked with C. thought of D. thought over
— I hope that I will have millions of dollars and I can buy my private (私人的) plane.
— ________.
A. You are welcome B. That’s very kind of you
C. In your dreams D. Thank you all the same
