Two Christmas traditions have come under attack in recent years from environmentalists: Christmas cards and Christmas trees.
Paper cards are seen as wasteful and, for some people, going card-free is another way of going green. They also argue that in a world of e-mail, Skype, Facebook and Twitter, people are in touch all the time anyway; they no longer need the yearly card that connects them with long lost friends. If you want to send Christmas greetings, there are free e-cards, which get the job done with no postage or wasted paper.
However, especially for people who didn’t grow up with e-mail, there is something missing from a Christmas e-mail. The first Christmas cards appeared in London in 1843 and were designed by the same man who had introduced the world’s first postage stamp three years earlier. His name was Sir Henry Cole.
They rose in popularity throughout the 20th century. Many people sent cards that were sold for charity. The most famous of these are the ones sold for UNICEF. In the UK this year, in the three weeks before Christmas, the post office expects to handle 100 million cards every day. Environmental awareness also means that nowadays many people recycle their cards; this helps raise money to plant more trees, as well as recreating more paper.
When we think of trees at Christmas, there is one that immediately springs(跃入)mind---the evergreen tree that people decorate with ornaments and place their presents under. The custom dates back almost a thousand years to Germany. Nowadays 33 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced in America and 50 to 60 million in Europe each year. Some trees are sold live with roots and soil so people can plant them later and reuse them next year.
Some people prefer artificial trees as they are reusable and much cheaper than their natural alternative. However, environmentalists point out that they are made from petroleum (石油) products and so have many pollution issues.
1.What is the main idea of the article?
A．To introduce the history of two typical Christmas traditions.
B．To explain the debate about some Christmas traditions.
C．To analyze how two Christmas traditions grew in popularity.
D．To point out the problems caused by celebrating Christmas.
2.What does the underlined word “They” in the fourth paragraph probably mean?
A．Many people B．Christmas e-mails C．Postage stamps D．Christmas cards
3.Some people suggest getting rid of paper cards because .
a. they cannot be recycled b. they are not environmentally friendly
c. they are mostly sold for charity d. the e-cards have many advantages over them
e. they are not as necessary as they used to be for people
A．a, b, d B．a, c, d C．b, d, e D．b, c, e
4.What can we conclude from the article?
A．The first Christmas cards were designed earlier than the world’s first stamps.
B．This year has seen a dramatic drop in Christmas card sales.
C．Environmentalists advise people to buy cards that are sold for charity.
D．Growing environmental awareness is encouraging people to recycle their cards.
5.Which of the following statements in TRUE according to the article?
A．There is always a wider Christmas tree market in America than in Europe.
B．The custom of decorating Christmas trees first appeared in Britain.
C．Some people prefer to buy live trees that can be reused next year.
D．Artificial trees are better than natural ones in all aspects.
Greg Woodburn, a student at the University of Southern California, spends a lot of time cleaning sneakers he collected. But soon the shoes will be sent to poor children in the United States and 20 other countries, thanks to Woodburn’s Share our soles (S.O.S) charity.
A high school track star in the town of Ventura, California, Woodburn was treated in hospital for months with foot injuries.
“I started thinking about the health benefits, the friendship and the confidence I got from running,” he says, “And I realized there are children who don’t even have shoes”.
Woodburn gathered up his old sneakers, and then asked his friends to donate. His goal was to have 100 pairs by Christmas 2006. When he collected more than 500 pairs, he decided to turn the shoe drive into a year-round effort.
Back then, the sneakers came from donation boxes and the local sporting goods store and from door-to-door pickups. Woodburn has now set up collection boxes at two high schools, city gym and recreation center. So far, S.O.S has collected and donated more than 3,000 pairs.
Woodburn has cleaned all the shoes. After sorting the shoes by size, Woodburn selects the good shoes for the washing machine and the worn-out ones for recycling.
For many recipients, the shoes represent opportunity. Two young boys in Southern California attended school every other day because they shared a pair of shoes. They were too big for one boy and too small for the other. Thanks to S.O.S, each brother received his own pair of shoes. The boys now attend school daily and enjoy their learning. When they graduate, they say, they will help a stranger, just as Woodburn helped them.
1.The text is mainly about .
A．the attempts to collect sneakers B．the school track star, Woodburn
C．Woodburn and his Share Our Soles D．the recycling of the worn sneakers
2.What caused Greg Woodburn to donate old shoes for poor children?
A．News about some poor children. B．The benefits from playing sports.
C．His memory of school life. D．The medical treatment he received.
3.When collecting more sneakers than expected. Woodburn decided to .
A．collect shoes throughout the year B．set up branches in different cities
C．put out a call to his friends D．make his effort in the whole city
4.From the fifth paragraph we can learn that .
A．Woodburn has changed his business
B．Few students are interested in his suggestion
C．Few people supported his career
D．Woodburn succeeded in this charity
5.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．The two brothers would like to share a pair of shoes.
B．The shoes will protect poor children from injuries.
C．Woodburn gets tired of cleaning the old sneakers.
D．The shoes from S.O.S make a big difference to the two brothers.
My father never wanted his children to know what he did for a living. Dad worked in Plant C. Lying beside Lake Erie, it saw him in at sunrise and out at nightfall. Sometimes my mother would take my siblings (兄弟姐妹) and me to the public beach in our hometown of Ashtabula. She’d gather us round and point to the smokestacks, coughing clouds into the sky.
“Wave to daddy!” she’d shout. Four little hands would shoot into the air. I never knew what Dad did in Plant C, but during 34 years of hard work, he had surgery (手术) on his shoulder and hand. At 48, he had his first heart attack. He retired in 1993, right after the last kid graduated from college. But the damage was done. A few years later, the next heart attack killed him.
I saw my dad in plant C only once, when I took dinner to him. That night, I looked at my father, covered in sweat and coal, and for the first time I knew why he was so often angry for no reason.
Recently my father’s friend, Toby Workman, walked me there. I knew my father never wanted me to see it. At every station, he described the job and the danger. It was like listening to a foreign language. I walked past many DANGER signs. Toby put his hand on my shoulder. “Look”, he said, “you need to understand something. Your dad was a maintenance mechanic. He worked the most dangerous job. If something broke, he fixed it. ”
A few days later, my daughter graduated from college. I gave her the hard hat Toby handed to me as I left, and this note: “Whenever you feel something difficult, put this on, look in the mirror, and remember your roots.”
1.What is the purpose of the passage?
A．In memory of the author’s mother B．to know about what the father did.
C．In memory of the author’s father. D．to remind the family to live well.
2.Which of the following is TRUE of the facts about the author’s father?
A．He didn’t suffer a heart attack until he retired.
B．He always faced danger while working.
C．He was satisfied with his job.
D．He worked in Plant C for 48 years in all.
3.When the author saw her father in Plant C, ___.
A．her father was fixing a broken machine.
B．she didn’t recognize her father.
C．she understood him about his bad temper.
D．her father was angry about her coming.
4.When Toby Workman described the author’s father’s job, the author ____ .
A．felt familiar with the job B．decided to do the same work.
C．wanted to learn a foreign language D．felt much puzzled
5.The author gave her daughter the hat to hope that her daughter could _______ .
A．get encouraged by her grandfather B．overcome all difficulties by wearing it
C．remember her grandfather D．follow her grandfather’s work
I grew up in a small town and the main entertainment was Friday night high school football. It was just a sleepy little town where parents wanted to raise their children away from 36_ and danger of a big city, and where teenagers like me _37_ leaving to find something bigger and better.
All that 38 _ one summer night. My friend Lisa, Kim and Tyler held a party for my eighteenth birthday at Lisa’s house. As they kept _39_ alcohol to me, I was pretty drunk. I asked Tyler to take me home. With some 40 _ , we made it out to his car and drove home. News came next morning. Kim, my friend 41__ we were five years old, was killed in a car accident. That night after Tyler and I left, Kim, who was _42__ more drunk than me, got into her car and 43_ towards the highway to go home, She was driving on the wrong side of the road and never saw the truck coming. The driver didn’t see her _44_ to avoid the car. They hit head on. Kim died immediately, and the driver was thrown 45_ the truck windshield(挡风玻璃)and died a week later.
Whenever I 46_ back on that day, I can’t help thinking that it was my 47 to drink so much that night, otherwise things would be different. I know Kim 48_ the choice to drink and drive that night , but a part of me will always feel 49 _for what happened.
I may not change the 50_ with my story, but I do hope that I can make people 51 the responsibility that they have to themselves and others by 52 it. Don’t ever think that your choices are yours __53 .Every choice is like a stone dropped into 54 water-each ripple(波纹)represents someone who your choice 55 . That’s quite an influence, isn’t it?
1. A．death B．fashion C．crime D．challenge
2. A．succeeded in B．dreamed of C．applied for D．approved of
3. A．happened B．continued C．changed D．remained
4. A．sending B．delivering C．taking D．handing
5. A．pleasure B．difficulty C．hope D．method
6. A．before B．until C．when D．since
7. A．constantly B．frequently C．clearly D．equally
8. A．headed B．walked C．pushed D．fled
9. A．in trouble B．in time C．in danger D．in place
10. A．above B．below C．into D．through
11. A．turn B．hold C．right D．get
12. A．desire B．fault C．right D．chance
13. A．faced B．avoided C．regretted D．made
14. A．responsible B．disappointed C．embarrassed D．sensitive
15. A．town B．party C．world D．environment
16. A．explain B．escape C．limit D．realize
17. A．remembering B．sharing C．declaring D．stopping
18. A．alone B．finally C．apart D．perhaps
19.A clean B. deep C. still D. fresh
20. A．affects B．inspires C．attracts D．benefits
---Have you got used to the Chinese food, Robert?
----Yes, but I don’t like ______ when a Chinese host keeps serving me the food I don’t like.
A．this B．that C．those D．it
My money was beginning to ______and there was no jobs to be found.
A．give up B．give out C．give in D．give away
