A. Tips on playing tricks on April Fool’s Day
B. How France celebrate April Fool’s Day
C. An example of April Fool’s Day tricks
D. At what time Brits and the Danish celebrate April Fool’s Day
E. How Brits and the Danish celebrste April Fool’s Day
F. How April Fool’s Day began
Just joking around
April Fool’s Day has just gone. Maybe you have played tricks on your family and friends. Read on. You might be able to surprise them with some history and fun facts about the holidays as well.
1.___________
Imagine that a friend of yours calls you or sends a short message to you. “ Did you hear? Scientists have discovered a panda that can talk. I saw it on the news!” If you hear a crazy story like this, make sure to check the date. If it’s April 1, it might be an April Fool’s Day trick!
2.___________
April Fool’s Day is also known in some places as All Fool’s Day. No one knows for sure how it started. Some believe the history of April Fool’s Day goes back to the 16th century when Europeans made January the start of the new year insead of April. Those who still celebrated the New Year on April 1 became known as “April fools ”. People began playing tricks on them.
3.__________
Today, almost 500 years later, April 1 is still a day when tricks are played on people in a spirit of fun. France calls this day Poisson d’Avril,which means “ April fish”. Children tape a picture of a fish onto their friends’back and shout “ Poisson d’Avril”.
4.___________
The UK only celebrates April Fool’s Day in the morning, as Brits believe it is bad luck to play jokes in the afternoon. In Denmark, people play tricks on April 1 and celebrate again on May 1.
5.___________
Remember, no matter what trick you play, be sure that it’s safe and not mean. April Fool’s Day isn’t fun if someone’s crying.
Many people cannot forget the beautiful thousand hand dance performed by disabled people during the 2005 CCTV Spring Festival Gala(晚会). Many of these dancers cannot hear or speak, but their performances are wonderful.
The leading dancer is a beautiful young woman, Tai Lihua, who was born healthy but lost her hearing when she was two years old because of a fever. Not long after that, she also became mute and, from then on, her world was silent. She did not realize this at first, but when she was five, she played a game about sounds with her school friends and discovered she was different. She felt very sad. Her father went to many places looking for treatments for her disabilities, but nothing worked.
When she was seven years old, Tai Lihua went to a school for deaf and mute
children, where she did very well in her studies. Her teacher said she used her
brain more than other children and was very good at expressing her feelings
through movements.
Then when she was fifteen, she started learning to dance. At first, she found it difficult but she didn’t give up. She spent a lot of time practicing and became a brilliant dancer. In the last few years, she has performed in many countries and is much admired by foreign audience. Dancing has changed her life and brought her world wide success and fame.
1.Which of the following is expressed in the passage?
A．Where there is life, there is hope.
B．No one is too old to learn.
C．Where there is a will, there is a way.
D．The early bird catches the worm.
2.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “ brilliant”?
A．very gentle B．very beautiful C．very talkative D．very successful
3.We can learn from the passage that ________.
A．Tai Lihua was born healthy.
B．Tai Lihua isn't successful now.
C．Tai Lihua’s parents didn’t take good care of her.
D．Tai Lihua had a natural ability to dance very well.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A．A disabled girl.
B．A dancer in a silent world.
C．A beautiful dancer.
D．Dance performance in the CCTV Spring Festival Gala.
Flags have existed for over 3000 years. The earliest flags were wooden or metal poles topped with a carving. About 2000 years ago pies of fabric were added to some poles for decoration. Over the next 500 years the free-flying part of the flag became more important.
Every country today has its own flag. Many groups and organizations also have a flag which stands for, or symbolizes, the aims of the group.
The flag depicts (描绘) a world map, centered on the north pole. The map is surrounded by an olive (橄榄) wreath (花环) symbolizing peace and co-operation. The flag is blue and white.
1.Flags have been in existence for _________.
A．500 years B．more than 3000 years
C．about 2000 years D．between 500 and 2000 years
2.A very old flag is likely to _________.
A．be made of fabric B．have a map on it
C．have white shapes on it D．be made of carved wood
3.An olive wreath is used to stand for _________.
A．peace B．purity C．justice D．equality
Most American children eat potatoes every day, but they don't know which part of potato is most nourishing(有营养的).Take a sharp knife and cut a very thin slice(薄片) from it and hold it to the light, and you will see that the potato has skin, an outside rim(边缘) and the inner part. The outside rim which is right under the skin is most nutritious.But this part is often thrown away with the skin. Even the skin itself is better for food than the inside. When eating a cooked potato, if you choose the inside and leave the outside, you are wasting the best part of it. If you can’t eat the whole potato, it is better to eat the outside rim and leave the inner part.
1.A potato has _________.
A．one part only B．two parts C．three parts D．four parts
2.The best part of the potato is the _________.
A．middle B．skin C．outside rim D．inside
3.What does this reading tell about potatoes? It tells us _________.
A．how to cook them B．how to cut potatoes
C．what is a potato made up of D．how to eat them
One day a mother rat and her babies were out in an open field. They were playing and having a good time when 26 a hungry cat came on the scene! It hid 27 a big tree and then 28 forward through the tall grass 29 it could almost hear them talk. 30 the mother rat and her babies knew 31 had happened, the cat 32 from its hiding place and started to run 33 them.
The mother rat and her babies all 34 at once. They hurried towards 35 home, which was under a pile of large stones. 36 the baby rats were 37 frightened that they could not run very 38 . Closer and closer the cat came. In no time the cat would be upon 39 . What was to be done?
The mother rat stopped running, 40 round and faced the cat, 41，"Bow Wow! Bow Wow! "just like 42 angry dog. The cat was so surprised and 43 that it ran away.
The mother rat turned to the babies, "Now you see 44 important it is to learn 45 second language!"
1. A．naturally B．suddenly C．nearly D．certainly
2. A．on B．between C．by D．behind
3. A．crawled(爬) B．jumped C．looked D．put
4. A．before B．when C．until D．while
5. A．Before B．After C．Unless D．Otherwise
6. A．where B．what C．which D．when
7. A．jumped B．started C．jumping D．starting
8. A．over B．through C．after D．against
9. A．runing away B．ran away C．run away D．to run away
10. A．to B．for C．its D．their
11. A．Because B．But C．Thus D．Although
12. A．as B．very C．so D．much
13. A．freely B．hardly C．soon D．quickly
14. A．ahead B．down C．that D．them
15. A．turned B．walked C．jumped D．ran
16. A．saying B．said C．shouting D．shouted
17. A．a B．an C．their D．that
18. A．pleased B．excited C．frightened D．worried
19. A．so B．why C．what D．how
20. A．\ B．the C．a D．an
_______ made the school proud was______ more than 90% of the students had
been admitted to key universities.
A．What; because B．What; that C．That; what D．That; because
