Question

    February 29^th comes up on the calendar only every four years. A year with a February 29^th might be good news if you are paid by the day or the week. But it might be bad news if you were born on a February 29^th. You have to wait three years in between birthdays!

American English has an expression for the unusual situation. February 29^th is called a leap day. And the year with a February 29^th in it is called a leap year. This year, 2020, is such a year.

As a verb, the word “leap” means to jump, or to move quickly. “Leap” can also be a noun, meaning a jump, or a sudden move.

In a leap year, the dates jump over one day of the week. Let me explain. In 2017, the last day of the year, December 31^th, fell on a Sunday. In 2018, it fell on a Monday. In 2019, it fell on a Tuesday. But in 2020, December 31^th will fall on a Thursday. It jumps right over Wednesday.

The reason for a leap day or a leap year is because our calendar does not follow the Earth’s orbit（轨道） around the sun exactly. Each year, we have a little time left over. So every four years, we put all that time together into an extra（额外的）day.

Some people choose to marry on February 29th because it is an unusual date. But some ancient peoples would likely tell couples not to do it. Leap years were believed to be difficult, and leap days were unlucky. To be honest, these have no scientific basis（依据）.

1.A 20-year-old person has __________ birthdays if he/she was born on a February 29th.

A.20 B.15 C.10 D.5

2.A leap year means one more __________ is added in the calendar of the year.

A.month B.year C.day D.week

3.The last day of 2021 will fall on __________ according to this article.

A.Saturday B.Friday C.Sunday D.Monday

4.Some people choose to marry on February 29^th because __________.

A.it’s quite a special date B.it’s quite an unlucky day

C.it can save more money D.it’s a traditional custom

5.Which of the following sentences is not true according to this article?

A.Scientists tell couples not to marry on a leap day.

B.The leap year or leap day comes once every four years.

C.Some ancient peoples believed that leap days were unlucky.

D.We have a little time left each year before a leap year comes.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.A

5.A

【解析】

本文介绍了闰年的情况及闰年形成的原因。

1.

推理判断题。根据But it might be bad news if you were born on a February 29th. You have to wait three years in between birthdays，可知，出生在2月29日的人，生日之间要等三年，这意味着出生在这一天的20岁的人已经过了5个生日。故选D。

2.

推理判断题。根据February 29th comes up on the calendar only every four years 及Each year, we have a little time left over. So every four years, we put all that time together into an extra（额外的）day，可知，每四年是一个闰年，而闰年是将所有的时间都放到了额外的一天里，由此可推断，闰年意味着多了一天。故选C。

3.

推理判断题。根据In a leap year, the dates jump over one day of the week. Let me explain. In 2017, the last day of the year, December 31th, fell on a Sunday. In 2018, it fell on a Monday. In 2019, it fell on a Tuesday. But in 2020, December 31th will fall on a Thursday. It jumps right over Wednesday，可知，2017年的最后一天是星期日，2018年最后一天是星期一，2019年最后一天是星期二，因为闰年多了一天，所以2020这个闰年的最后一天是星期四，那么2021年的最后一天应该是星期五。故选B。

4.

细节理解题。根据Some people choose to marry on February 29th because it is an unusual date，可知，一些人选择在2月29日结婚是因为这一天很特别。故选A。

5.

推理判断题。根据But some ancient peoples would likely tell couples not to do it…To be honest, these have no scientific basis，可知，古人告诉夫妇不要在这一天结婚，这是没有科学依据的，所以A选项错误。根据February 29th comes up on the calendar only every four years，可知，闰年每四年一次，所以B选项正确。根据But some ancient peoples would likely tell couples not to do it. Leap years were believed to be difficult, and leap days were unlucky，可知，一些古人认为闰年不吉利，所以C选项正确。根据Each year, we have a little time left over，可知，在闰年来临前，每年我们都有一些剩余的时间，所以D选项正确。故选A。