Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way.Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.
Chinese New Year is an important traditional Chinese holiday celebrated at the turn of the Chinese calendar. It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly clean the house, in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red color paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of “good fortune”or “happiness”, “wealth”, and “longevity”. Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red paper envelopes.
In Western countries, people usually celebrate New Year at midnight on December 31st or January 1st. People may go to parties, sometimes dressed in form alclothes like tuxedos and evening gowns, and they may drink champagne（香槟）at midnight. During the first minutes of the New Year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead. But some cultures prefer to celebrate the New Year by waking up early to watch the sun rise.
It is also a common Western custom to make a New Year’s promise, called a resolution. New Year’s resolutions usually include promises to try something new or change a bad habit in the New Year.
Many cultures also do special things to get rid of bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, in Ecuador, families make a big doll from old clothes. The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the New Year can start afresh. Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a New Year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the New Year.
Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the New Year. One widespread Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year’s Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the new coming year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck at New Year. In the United States, some people eat black-eyed peas for good luck—but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them!
1.The passage is mainly about_____.
A．the meaning of “Happy New Year!”
B．several different New Year traditions
C．traditional activities for the New Year
D．interesting traditions on New Year’s Day
2. We can learn from the passage that_____.
A．some cultures celebrate New Year in the morning
B．4 cultures do special things to celebrate New Year
C．people in Ecuador go to parties on December 31stor January 1st
D．the Western people celebrate New Year only on New Year’s Day
3.To have a happy new year,_____.
A．friendssing to each other in special ways
B．families make big dolls filled with new clothes
C．some people get up early to watch the sunrise
D．Europeans eat 365 grapes on New Year’s Day
4.When eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day, people think_____.
A．one pea brings one day of good luck
B．black-eyed peas are the best medicine
C．the peas are very black and taste bad
D．the peas are helpful to count numbers
What might the future be like? Here are some predictions: things to come, things to go.
The last few days of every year in big cities in China, when everyone returns home, have been the worst headaches for millions of Chinese. More than 2 billion people travel at the same time, making getting travel tickets and the journey difficult. But in 28 years, Spring Festival travel may not be a problem at all. China plans to build more than 120,000 kilometers of railway and a fast transportation network that will serve 90% of the population by 2020. And because most of China will be cities, people will not have to go to other places to find a job, so it will no longer be a problem.
Newspaper will come to an end in 2043. There will be less and less people reading news on paper and the cost of making and buying newspaper will be reduced. In the future, digital (数字的) newspapers will be sent to personal web tools through Internet. Readers can discuss topics with journalists and editors. Information will move faster.
Oil is running out faster than expected. But scientists have found something else for oil as fuel (燃料). Coal,natural gas, solar power, nuclear power and even water can take the place of oil as sources of energy (能源). And the alternative ways of energy will help reduce the cost and pollution, too.
Schools will go electronic (电子化). Computers will be important and popular among the students. Everything will be in the computer and students will not need to bring books to school. They will find information on the Internet. A computer will be the students’ library, schoolbag and connection to the outside world. There will be robot teachers, they will check homework on computers and communicate with the students’ parents through e-mail.Students will find their personal teachers to ask for special help for those the robot teachers cannot do. And school buses will be like spaceships, comfortable and safe.
1. The newspapers will disappear __________.
A. in 28 years B. by 2020
C. by 2053 D. in 38 years
2.The underlined the alternative ways in the 4th paragraph means _________.
A. modern ideas B. other choices
C. wise methods D. natural means
3.From the passage we can know _______ in the future.
A. the Spring Festival travel may still be a problem
B. 90percent of the population will live in the city
C. robot teachers will check homework on computers
D. readers can discuss with each other through Internet
4.The passage mainly tells us ______________.
A. future changes in many ways
B. computers will be important
C. new things will be
D. old things will be gone
Some popular places to visit are built by people. Other famous places are created by nature. For example, in the northeast of the United States, there was a famous rock on a high mountain that looked just like an old man. He had lots of hair, a big nose and a beard．People called him“The Old Man of the Mountain” and every year more than a million people came to look at him. “The Old Man of the Mountain”, also known as the Great Stone Face or the Profile, was 1,200 feet (370 meters) above Profile Lake, and measured 40 feet (12 meters) tall and 25 feet (7.6 meters) wide. The site is located in the town of Franconia, New Hampshire, USA.Scientists think that the stone face had been there for about 17,000 years.
In May 2003, there was very bad weather near the Old Man of the Mountain.There were very high winds and the temperature was very cold. The sky was so cloudy that people couldn’t see the stone face for many days. As soon as the storm was over, people looked for the Old Man and they couldn’t see him. They discovered that he had fallen apart. The stones that made his face sank down the mountain. A number of scientists climbed up to see if they could repair the stone face, but they had to give up. They figured out（断定）that the damage from the weather was just too bad.
1.Where’s “The Old Man of the Mountain”?
A．In the northeast of the US.
B．In the northwest of the US.
C．In the southeast ofthe US.
D．In the southwest of the US.
2. What’s “The Old Man of the Mountain” also known as?
A．The Great Stone． B．The Profile．
C．The Stone Face． D．The Rock．
3.How long had the stone face been there?
A．About 12,000 years. B．About 370 years.
C．About 17,000 years. D．About 25 years.
4. What’s the reason for the loss of the stone face?
A．Low winds. B．Hot temperature.
C．Heavy rain. D．Bad storm.
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Friendship Restaurant We have different kinds of Japanese food here. The food menu is in Japanese and Chinese. All the waiters or waitresses can speak at least one foreign language. Tel: 312 – 9997 Time: 11:30 am – 10:00 pm | Volunteer Project Maybe you want to help others but don’t know how to do it. Then Volunteer Project will help you. Here you will get the best idea of volunteering. Call 822 – 5566 to join it. E-mail: lisa@hotmail.com | Dream Corner
Do you want to improve your English? Do you want to practice your English with native speakers? If yes, why not join the Dream corner? Come here on Friday afternoon every week. |
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The Underwater World Here you will find different kinds of fishes and even some kinds of sharks. You will feel you are in the sea but of course this is not true. If you like fishes, I suggest that you pay a visit to it. Time: 9:30 am – 5:30 pm | Red Bird Club Do you like dancing? Do you want to show off your cool dance at parties? Join us and make your dream come true. Closed on Tuesday. Call 822 – 3331 for more information. | |
1.Sarah wants to do some volunteer work. She can call _____ to get some ideas.
A. 846-3809 B. 312-9997
C. 822-3331 D. 822-5566
2. Red Bird Club is closed on _____.
A. Tuesday B. Monday
C. Saturday D. Thursday
3.If you want to practice English with native speakers, you can join _____.
A. the Red Bird Club B. the Volunteer Project
C. the Dream Corner D. the Underwater World
完形填空,
阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。
It’s not easy to be an astronaut’s son. Everybody expects you to be perfect, but I’m just a fourteen-year-old kid, and I’m not a special__ _, too, when it comes to math, geography, music, and baseball.
Well, to be honest, I often dream about being some kind of or doing something special—like saving a child from a burning building. I was daydreaming at school one morning when my teacher said there would be a Father’s Day writing competition for the whole school. “I we have a winner right here in my class.”
After school I walked home, thinking about the essay I would write. My father is an astronaut, I would start out. No, I decided. I wouldn’t do that. The whole country and maybe even the whole world saw my father as an astronaut, but that wasn’t I saw him.
How did I see my father? Hmm.
I saw him sitting with me in the dark when I had a terrible dream. I how he hugged me for hours when my dog Spotty was ____ by a car. Yes, to me, he wasn’t just a world-famous astronaut. He was my dad.
My parents and I went to school Thursday night. There were so many people in the big hall! The third prize was announced and it was not me. I was relieved and disappointed. The second prize was announced. It was me .
I went up to the stage and read what I had written, “My father’s son”. When I finished, the people ____ and cheered. I saw my father blowing his nose. Dad cleared his throat and put his hand on my shoulder. “Son, this is the _____ moment of my life.”
It was the proudest moment of my life, too. Maybe I’ll never be a great hero or win a Nobel Prize, but it was ____ just to be my father’s son.
1.A．one B．Son C．student D．person
2.A．astronaut B．Hero C．dad D．man
3.A．think B．Guess C．know D．hope
4.A．the way B．the truth C．the father D．the face
5.A．felt B．thanked C.remembered D．noticed
6.A．killed B．stopped C. thrown D．carried
7.A．seriously B．surprisingly C．exactly D．excellently
8.A．stood up B．sat up C．calmed down D．walked down
9.A．best B．luckiest C．happiest D．proudest
10.A．right B．Special C．enough D．Different
It’s a good habit of doing your homework _________ you come home from school.
A．if B．when
C．as soon as D. the same as
