The tradition of birthday parties started in Europe a long time ago. It was feared that evil spirits were particularly attracted to people on their birthdays. 1. Giving gifts brought even more good cheer to keep away from the evil spirits. This is how birthday parties began.
The following are some countries’ birthday traditions:
Canada —Greasing the nose with butter. In Atlantic Canada, the birthday child’s nose is greased for good luck.
China — 2. .The birthday child pays respect to his/her parents and receives a gift of money. Friends and relatives are invited to lunch and noodles are served to wish the birthday child a long life.
England —Fortune telling cakes. Certain symbolic objects are mixed into the birthday cake as it is being prepared. 3.
Italy —Pulling ears. The child’s ears are pulled as many times as how old they are turning.
Japan —New clothes. The birthday child wears entirely new clothes mark the occasion.
New Zealand— 4. .After the birthday cake is lit, the happy birthday song is sung loudly and often out of tune and then the birthday person receives a clap for each year they have been alive and then one for good luck．
The United States —Cake, candles and song. 5.
A. A cake is made, and candles are put on top based on how old the person is.
B. In China, on a child’s second birthday, family members put many things on the floor around the child.
C. If your piece of cake has a coin in it, then you will be rich.
D. To protect them from harm, friends and family would come to stay with the birthday person and bring good thoughts and wishes.
E. Noodles for lunch.
F. The tradition of birthday parties started a long time ago.
G. Birthday claps.
Many songs, poems, and books have been written on love’s strong effect on people. The state of being in love has even been compared to being sick or mad. A study by Professor Semir Zeki of University College London has found that love does affect people’s brains by making them feel great.
Zeki studied young men and women who had recently fallen in love. He found that, when they were looking at photos of their loved ones, there was heightened activity in four areas of their brains. These areas deal with emotions, and one of them, in particular, is known to respond to drugs that cause feelings of great joy and excitement.
Interestingly, the study also found a lack of activity in two other areas of the brain when the volunteers looked at their lovers’ photographs. One of these areas is linked to feelings of sadness, while the other is often active in people suffering from depression. It seems love really can be uplifting.
The state of being in love, according to some scientists, may actually be good for your health. Although scientists know that being in love can make a person feel great, the exact influence of love on a person’s health is harder to determine. However, scientists say that people do need love in order to live healthy lives.
According to Dr. Thomas Lewis, people need to be in relationships because that is how we are designed. He says the brain can only maintain(保持) the overall stability of a person’s immune(免疫) system, bodily rhythms, and heart if it receives input(输入) from outside the body in the form of emotional connections with others.
Professor Antonio Damasio has a similar view. He says that love enriches a person’s imagination and creativity, and makes a person’s body work better. He also believes that love can even improve the body’s ability to fight against disease. Damasio’s wise words of advice are “ Choose love and you will live longer.”
1.The main idea of this passage is __________.
A. love can really cause people active
B. love has effect on songs and books
C. love is linked with emotion
D. love is what we need
2.What does the underlined word “uplifting” mean? It means __________.
A. inspiring B. available C. cold D. mad
3.From the passage we know__________.
A. People write songs, poems and books to say love is the sweetest thing
B. nobody but Professor Semir Zeki has found love does affect people’s brains
C. being in love sometimes may make someone act as if he/ she were mad
D. love causes heightened activity in all areas of a person’s brains
4.Which of the following statements is not true?
A. Some scientists have the idea that love does good to people.
B. It is possible for scientists to decide how much influence love can give people.
C. People are born to be in need of getting on touch with each other.
D. A person’s health depends on partly on emotional connections with others.
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1.Many Americans fail to lose weight probably because _______ .
A. they lack confidence
B. they do exercise alone
C. they are under great pressure
D. they don’t get enough exercise
2.From the text, we can learn that if you join the gym, _______ .
A. you’ll lose weight safely but slowly
B. you’ll struggle with workout routines
C. you’ll be advised to pay attention to nutrition
D. you’ll be advised to have nothing in between workouts
3.How much do a couple have to pay if they join the gym today?
A. $800. B. $500. C. $900. D. $1,000.
4.This text is most probably taken from a ________ .
A. newspaper B. magazine
C. website D. textbook
No matter how well you understand a foreign language, misunderstanding still exists between native speakers and you. Here is such an example.
Three young Frenchmen were travelling in Britain. Though they had taken a few English lessons before their holiday, they were often in trouble because of their misunderstanding of English. One day they talked about their misfortunes (不幸) together.
The first Frenchman said, “I once heard someone shout ‘Look out’, I put my head out of a window and a bucket (一桶) of water fell on me.”
The second Frenchman said, “I was once in a ship and heard the captain shouted, ‘All hands on decks (甲板)’ I put my hands on the deck and someone walked on them.”
The third Frenchman said, “I once called early on an English friend and the maid (女佣) who came to the door said, ‘He’s not up yet’ When I went again for him, she said, ‘He’s not down yet’. I said, ‘If he’s not up and he’s not down, where is he?’ She said, ‘He’s still upstairs now. When I told you he was not up I meant he had not got up yet, so he has not come downstairs by now’ ”
1.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Misunderstanding of English
B. Three Young Frenchmen
C. Misfortunes of Three Frenchmen
D. A Few English Lessons
2.When someone is calling “look out” to you，he probably wants you to ______.
A. put your head out of the window B. go away
C. receive a bucket of water D. be careful
3.The sentence “All hands on decks” may mean ______.
A. you should put your hands on the deck
B. everyone should get ready
C. someone walks over one’s hands
D. someone is making fun of a foreigner
Hank Viscardi was born without legs. He had not legs but stumps(残肢)that could he fitted with a kind of special boots. People stared at him with cruel interest. Children laughed at him and called him ‘Ape Man’ (猿人) because his arms practically dragged on the ground.
Hank went to school like other boys. His grades were good and he needed only eight years to finish his schooling instead of the usual twelve. After graduating from school, he worked his way through college. He swept floors, waited on table, or worked in one of the college offices. During all this busy life, he had been moving around on his stumps. But one day the doctor told him even the stumps were not going to last much longer. He would soon have to use a wheel chair.
Hank felt himself getting cold all over. However, the doctor said there was a chance that he could be fitted with artificial legs (假腿). Finally a leg maker was found and the day came when Hank stood up before the mirror, for the first time he saw himself as he has always wanted to be-a full five feet eight inches tall. By this time he was already 26 years old.
Hank had to learn to use his new legs. Again and again he marched the length of the room, and marched back again. There were times when he fell down on the floor, but he pulled himself up and went back to the endless marching. He went out on the street. He climbed stairs and learned to dance. He built a boat and learned to sail it.
When World War II came, he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job. He took the regular training. He marched and drilled along with the other soldiers. Few knew that he was legless. This was the true story of Hank Viscardi, a man without legs.
1.Children laughed at Hank and called him ‘Ape Man’ because .
A. he didn’t talk to them
B. he kept away from them
C. he couldn’t use his arms
D. his arms touched the ground while moving
2.It can be inferred from the story that five feet eight inches tall is __.
A. an average height for a fully grown person
B. too tall for an average person
C. too short for an average person
D. good enough for a disabled man
3.The sentence “he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job” implies that the Red Cross .
A. was only glad to give him a job
B. give him a job because he was a good soldier
C. was not willing to give him a job at first
D. gave him a job after he talked to someone whom he knew in the organization
4.When Hank marched and drilled along with the other soldiers, he .
A. took some special training
B. did everything the other soldiers did
C. did some of the things the other soldiers did
D. did most of the things the other soldiers did
Optimism（乐观）always leads to happiness, health and success while pessimism（悲观）, by contrast, results in hopelessness, sickness and failure．That’s because optimists and pessimists deal with the same challenges and disappointments in very different ways．
注意：1．无须写标题，不得照抄英语提示语；
2．除诗歌之外，文体不限；
3．内容必须结合生活中的一个事例；
4．文中不得透露个人姓名和学校名称；词数不少于120左右。
