Christmas in Australia is often very hot. Whereas the northern hemisphere is in the middle of winter, Australians are baking in summer heat. It is not unusual to have Christmas Day well into the mid 30 degrees Celsius, or near 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
A traditional meal includes a turkey dinner, with ham, and pork. A flaming Christmas plum pudding is added for dessert. In the Australian gold rushes, Christmas puddings often contained a gold nugget. Today a small favor is baked inside. Whoever finds this knows s/he will enjoy good luck. Another treat is Mince Pies.
Some Australians and particularly tourists often have their Christmas dinner at midday on a local beach, Bondi Beach in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs attracts thousands of people on Christmas Day. Other families enjoy their day by having a picnic. If they are at home, the day is punctuated(不时中断) by swimming in a pool, playing Cricket out the backyard, and other outdoor activities.
The warm weather allows Australians to enjoy a tradition which started in 1937. Carols by Candlelight is held every year on Christmas Eve, where tens of thousands of people gather in the city of Melbourne to sing their favorite Christmas songs. The evening is lit by as many candles singing under a clean cut night sky. The sky with its Southern Cross stars is like a mirror. Sydney and the other capital cities also enjoy Carols in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Australians surround themselves with Christmas Bush, a native plant which has little red flowered leaves.
1.It is usual to have a hot Christmas in Australia because _________.
A.the country is in the Northern Hemisphere
B.people go shopping in shorts and T-shirts
C.the festival is not in winter but in summer
D.Santa Claus is on a surfboard at many beaches
2.According to the passage, _________ is not included in Christmas meals in Australia.
A. ham B. pork C. turkey D. pumpkin
3.Which of the following statements is Not true according to the passage?
A. Tourists like to have Christmas dinner on a beach
B. People play outdoor activities at home after picnic.
C. Carols by Candlelight is held every year on Christmas Eve
D. Sydney enjoys Carols in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
4.It seems that people can enjoy Carols by Candlelight because of _________.
A. the warm weather
B. the Christmas Bush
C. the activities at daytime
D. the Southern Cross stars
5.The best title of this passage is _________.
A. Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs
B. Christmas meals in Australia
C. Christmas in Australia
D. Christmas shopping in Australia
（1）At 3:42 am everything began to shake. It seemed 1. the world was at an end! Eleven kilometers directly below the city the greatest earthquake of the 20th century 2. . It was felt in Beijing, which is more than two hundred kilometers away. One-third of the nation 3. it. A huge crack that was eight kilometers long and thirty meters wide cut across houses, roads and canals. Steam4. holes in the ground. Hard hills of rock became rivers of dirt. In fifteen terrible seconds a large city lay in ruins. The suffering of the people 5. . Two-thirds of them died or were injured during the earthquake. Thousands of families were killed and many children were left6. . The number of people who were killed or injured 7. more than 400,000.
（2）Since the 1970s many new applications 8. for me. I have become very important in communication, finance and trade. I have also been put into robots and used to make mobile phones9. .
help with medical operations. I have even been put into space rockets and sent to explore the Moon and Mars. Anyhow, my goal is to provide humans with a life of high quality. I am now truly 10. that I am a devoted friend and helper of the human race.
Benjamin Franklin invented a lot of things which made people’s life easier. One of his earlier inventions was paddles for swimming. Ben had if there were some way to help people faster. He thought hard and slowly a picture of swimming paddles grew in his . The paddles must be neither too big nor too small. The wood which the paddles must be neither too heavy nor too .
He began to work on the paddles and a few days later the paddles were finished. And then on the next Saturday afternoon Ben decided to try them out at Green’s pond there were about a hundred boys waiting. All of them had heard of Ben’s idea and wanted to see whether the paddle would . They were talking to each other, “What’s to be done if the paddles don’t work?” “What if he goes down?”
When Ben got into the , he began to paddle. At first the swam , then faster and faster until he was going through the water like a fish. The boys had seen such a fast swimmer. The paddles did work. All of the boys cheered loudly for Ben, jumping up and down with joy.
1.A. doubted B. wondered C. asked D. tried
2.A. travel B. run C. boat D. swim
3.A. heart B. family C. hand D. mind
4.A. was used to B. was used for C. used as D. used with
5.A. light B. small C. big D. slow
6.A. that B. where C. which D. when
7.A. welcome B. act C. work D. do
8.A. water B. river C. sea D. boat
9.A. slowly B. carefully C. easily D. happily
10.A. always B. almost C. never D. seldom
The book, ________ he lost yesterday, ________.
A. that; was found B. which; has found
C. that; has found D. which; was found
She got up ________ late that she missed the first two classes.
A. too B. so C. very D. such
There are two buildings, ________ stands nearly a hundred feet high.
A. the large one that B. the larger of them
C. the larger of which D. the larger of that
