Imagine a world 400 years ago where children were used as chimney sweeps．The pay was low, it was a dirty trade and there was little reward for the men who did the job and even less for children．
Medway’s annual Sweeps Festival recreates the joy and laughter enjoyed by the chimney sweeps at their traditional holiday: the one time of the year the sweeps could leave the soot（烟灰） behind and have some fun．The sweeps’ holiday was traditionally held on 1 May each year．Locally, they used to mark the occasion by staging a procession through the streets of Rochester．
Their fun continued with the Jack-in-the-Green ceremony, a seven-foot character that they used to waken at dawn on Blue Bell Hill, Chatham．The Jack-in-the-Green would walk with the chimney sweeps in their parade．When the Climbing Boys’ Act 1868 made it illegal to employ young boys to carry out the trade, the traditional procession gradually began to fade．The final May celebration was held in the early 1900s．
The modern day Rochester Sweeps Festival is a colorful mix of music, dancing and entertainment with more than 60 Morris sides and entertainers celebrating throughout the three-day festival．The festival was revived in 1981 by local businessman Gordon Newton, a keen historian．He decided it was time to bring it back and over the years he has helped develop the festival into what it is today — an excellent performance of traditional Britain．
Gordon researched the Sweeps’ tradition and organized a small parade, involving local Morris teams．In time, Medway Council took over organization of the festival but Gordon remained actively involved．Today he is festival producer and plays melodeon（簧风琴） for several Morris teams．Doug Hudson is the festival’s music director, a role he has held for many years．Through Gordon’s vision and hard work, Doug’s musical ability and the council’s help, the Rochester Sweeps Festival has become the largest May Day celebration of its kind in the country．
1.According to the writer, chimney sweeps ____________．
A．were highly respected B．were well rewarded
C．led a hard life in the past D．worked in good conditions
2.Medway’s Sweeps Festival ____________．
A．has been organized by the Jack-in-the-Green
B．dated back to the May celebration in the early 1900s
C．is held to honor those chimney sweeps every other year
D．has become a time for chimney sweeps to enjoy themselves
3.The underlined word “revive” in the 4th paragraph most probably means ___________．
A．realize B．review
C．recreate D．recognize
4.It can be inferred from the passage that ____________．
A．the festival has never been supported by the local government
B．The festival is a good way to see British folk customs in action
C．youngsters has been forbidden to be chimney sweeps since 1981
D．the modern festival lasts five days celebrating the coming of spring
5.What is the passage mainly concerned about?
A．Sweeps Festival history B．Medway’s traditional holidays
C．Climbing Boys’ Act 1868 D．a procession in Rochester
Laws that would have ensured pupils from five to 16 received a full financial education got lost in the ‘wash up’．An application is calling on the next government to bring it back．
At school the children are taught to add up and subtract（减法） but, extraordinarily, are not routinely shown how to open a bank account — let alone how to manage their finances in an increasingly complex and demanding world．
Today the parenting website Mumsnet and the consumer campaigner Martin Lewis have joined forces to launch an online application to make financial education a compulsory element of the school curriculum in England．Children from five to 16 should be taught about everything from pocket money to pensions, they say．And that was exactly the plan preserved in the Children, Schools and Families bill that was shelved by the government in the so-called “wash-up” earlier this month — the rush to legislation before parliament was dismissed．Consumer and parent groups believe financial education has always been one of the most frustrating omissions of the curriculum．
As the Personal Finance Education Group （Pfeg） points out, the good habits of young children do not last long．Over 75% of seven- to 11-year-olds are savers but by the time they get to 17, over half of them are in debt to family and friends．By this age, 26% see a credit card or overdraft（透支） as a way of extending their spending power．Pfeg predicts that these young people will “find it much harder to avoid the serious unexpected dangers that have befallen many of their parents' generation unless they receive good quality financial education while at school．”
The UK has been in the worst financial recession（衰退）for generations．It does seem odd that — unless parents step in — young people are left in the dark until they are cruelly introduced to the world of debt when they turn up at university．In a recent poll of over 8,000 people, 97% supported financial education in schools, while 3% said it was a job for parents．
1.The passage is mainly about _____________．
A．how to manage school lessons
B．how to deal with the financial crisis
C．teaching young people about money
D．teaching students how to study effectively
2.It can be inferred from the first two paragraphs that __________．
A．the author complains about the school education
B．pupils should not be taught to add up and subtract
C．students have been taught to manage their finances
D．laws on financial education have been effectively carried out
3.The website and the consumer campaigner joined to _________．
A．instruct the pupils to donate their pocket money
B．promote the connection of schools and families
C．ask the government to dismiss the parliament
D．appeal for the curriculum of financial education
4.According to Pfeg, ___________．
A．it is easy to keep good habits long
B．teenagers spend their money as planned
C．parents are willing to pay the debt for their kids
D．it will be in trouble if the teenagers are left alone
5.A poll is mentioned to ___________．
A．stress the necessity of the curriculum reform
B．show the seriousness of the financial recession
C．make the readers aware of burden of the parents
D．illustrate some people are strongly against the proposal
Knowing how much her own children loved presents at Christmas, Ann Sutton always tried to seek help for one or two poor families．With a social worker mother, the Sutton children had inherited her commitment to service, and knew never to take their good fortune at Christmas for granted． This year, Kinzie, her seven-year-old daughter was thrilled that Santa Claus would make a special visit to a 22-year-old mother named Ashley who worked in a factory raising her 12-month-old son by herself．
The phone rang on Sunday．A representative from a local organization was calling to say that the aid Ann had requested for Ashley had fallen through．No Santa Claus, no presents, nothing．
Ann saw the cheer vanish from her children’s faces at the news．Without a word, Kinzie ran into her bedroom．She returned, her face set with determination．Opening up her piggy bank, she put all the coins onto the table: $3．30．Everything she had．
“Mom,” she told Ann, “I know it’s not much．But maybe this will buy a present for the baby．”
At a breakfast meeting the next day, Ann told her coworkers about her daughter’s story．To her surprise, staff members began to open their purses and empty their pockets to help Kinzie．By day’s end, the story of Kinzie’s gift had spread beyond Ann’s office．She received a call from an unknown donor．If a seven-year-old could give everything she had, he said, he should at least match her gift 100 to 1．He contributed $300．
On Christmas Eve, Ann drove through the pouring rain to the small trailer where the Ashleys lived．Then she began to unload the gifts from the car, handing them to Ashley one by one．
Ashley was very moved．Reflecting on a little girl’s generosity, Ashley says she’ll one day be able to do something similar for someone else in need．“Kinzie could have used that money for herself, but she gave it away,” Ashley says．“She’s the type of kid I’d like my son to grow up to be．”
1.According to the text, Ann Sutton ______________．
A．is making lots of money
B．is ready to help others
C．is only caring about herself
D．is a hard-working mother
2.Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?
A．Ashley lived a hard life with her little son．
B．The Sutton children took Anne as an example to follow．
C．The coworkers of Ann helped Kinzie to realize her wish．
D．Ann Sutton tried to ask for help for her own children．
3.What can we learn about Kinzie?
A．She was afraid that Santa Claus would visit the Ashleys．
B．She should get some presents from her mother at Christmas．
C．She devoted all her coins to buying a present for the baby．
D．She was cheerful when hearing the aid had fallen through．
4.Which of the following can be inferred from the text?
A．It rained heavily on Christmas Eve．
B．Ann handed gifts to Ashley one by one．
C．Ashley hoped she would help someone else in need．
D．A good deed can influence many people’s behavior．
5.What would be the best title for the text?
A．A Young Girl’s Gift
B．A Mother’s Love
C．A Story of Young Girl
D．An Unknown Donor
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It' s six o' clock on a cold Saturday morning．Liu Zifan reluctantly gets out of the warm bed．
"I wish I could sleep 1more," says Liu．
The 12-year-old seventh grader from Beijing Guangqumen 2School must take an - hour - ride to get to the school for the 3curriculums that occupy her whole Saturday morning． 4Sunday afternoon, she has music lessons from 3 p．m．to 7 p．m．．
During weekdays, Liu has to get up around five in the morning, and 5home by six．
" My teacher 6us to eat an apple in the morning so that we won' t feel 7" , she says．
In primary school, Liu 8taking the New Concept English class every Saturday morning, and Chinese, English and Olympic maths classes in the afternoon．On Sunday morning, she had to do 9at home．In the afternoon, she took Cambridge English class．
"I didn't have time to rest, 10on Friday night," Liu recalls．
The family has a monthly 11of about 1,700 yuan．Liu Zifan' s 12classes cost 2, 000 yuan each term．
" I think it' s 13the money," Liu' s father says．" We do everything we can to provide her with good education, 14she will get a good job in the future．"
Chinese children face 15pressures on study．Some parents make their children study 16First graders start to take classes for second graders, and so on, therefore they can get an 17in exams．Most Chinese 18believe high academic credentials （成绩） mean a better school, a brighter future．So they 19their children to extracurricular classes like music, English and maths to develop a special 20, which later might be a stepping stone to a good school．
1.A．any B．some C．even D．far
2.A．Secondary B．Training C．Language D．Primary
3.A．super B．extra C．huge D．usual
4.A．In B．For C．At D．On
5.A．get B．stay C．leave D．drive
6.A．orders B．recommends C．persuades D．suggests
7.A．sleepy B．tired C．cold D．thirsty
8.A．stopped B．finished C．enjoyed D．started
9.A．housework B．washing C．homework D．writing
10.A．besides B．including C．since D．except
11.A．pay B．cost C．income D． money
12.A．weekend B．Sunday C．everyday D．Saturday
13.A．wasteful B．worth C．valuable D．worthy
14.A．so that B．since C．now that D．while
15.A．challenging B．increasing C．developing D．changing
16.A．ahead B．hard C．late D．away
17.A．average B．achievement C．advance D．advantage
18.A．teachers B．students C．friends D．parents
19.A．send B．hope C．take D．wish
20.A．strength B．interest C．talent D．skill
Suddenly the idea came to me ____ I might turn to Mr．Smith for help．
A．what B．that C．which D．whom
I don' t want to be a person that always cries, but today apparently ____．
A．I am B．I will C．I have D．I did
