Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way. Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.
In Western countries, people usually celebrate New Year at midnight on January 1st. People may go to parties, dress in formal clothes -- like tuxedos (小礼服) and evening gowns, and drink champagne at midnight. During the first minutes of the New Year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead. But some cultures prefer to celebrate the New Year by waking up early to watch the sun rise. They welcome the New Year with the first light of the sunrise.
It is also a common Western custom to make a New Year’s promise, called a resolution. New Year’s resolutions usually include promises to try something new or change a bad habit in the new year.
Many cultures also do special things to get rid of bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, in Ecuador, families make a big doll from old clothes. The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start afresh (again). Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the new year.
Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck is to eat grapes on New Year’s Day. The more grapes a person eats , the more good luck the person will have in the year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck at New Year. In the United States, some people eat black-eyed peas (豇豆) for good luck -- but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them!
1.Which culture celebrates New Year in the morning?
A．The passage doesn’t say. B．Spain.
C．France. D．The United States.
2.What is a resolution?
A．Something you say. B．Something you eat.
C．Something you burn. D．Something you wear.
3.What is the topic of the fourth paragraph?
A．Bringing good luck.
B．Remembering the past.
C．Planning for the next year.
D．Keeping away from bad luck.
4.Which is probably true about eating black-eyed peas on New Year?
A．Black-eyed peas taste bad.
B．The peas are very difficult to cook.
C．One pea brings one day of luck.
D．It is bad luck to eat a lot of black-eyed peas.
假设你叫Jessie，你的加拿大笔友James 想了解一下你将要参加的2007年全国中学生英语冬令营的有关信息，请你根据下面的海报给他写一封信，谈谈有关情况和活动意义，并邀请他参加你们的活动。回信的日期：2007-12-10
注意：1．书信必须包括以上提供的内容要点，可以适当增加细节，使内容连贯；
2．词数：100字左右；
参考词汇：表演 ： performance n.
英语冬令营：English Winter Camp
英语演讲比赛：English speaking competition
完成下列句子（每空1词，每空1分）
1.If the neighbours do not give any sweets, the children might
(搞恶作剧) them.
2.I am (期待) seeing my parents as soon as possible.
3.He could not have Yong Hui (做坏事不受惩罚) telling people lies.
4.------You are quite free now, I think.
------ (与此相反),I have tons of things to do.
5.I don`t think you will be (及时) for the meeting.
You may have noticed that the world′s population is not evenly distributed(分布) around our planet. There are some countries where people seem to be living nearly on top of each other because conditions are overcrowded. Then there are others where it seems that hardly anybody lives. What influences this unequal distribution of people? There are specific advantages and disadvantages of *diving in a certain area.
The two main factors that influence people`s choice of location are climate and resources. Climate is the usual weather conditions in a region. Areas that have bad weather are generally less deal as places to live in. The north and south poles at the top and bottom of the world may be beautiful in their rugged, natural way, but the disadvantage of the bitterly cold and windy conditions usually keeps people away. When it comes to climate, warm conditions and a normal amount of rainfall are advantages that attract people.
Natural resources are things that we get from nature that help us survive. Each region offers different resources, and therefore attracts different groups of people. People who enjoy the beach can make their living by catching and selling the ocean′s many fish and other sea creatures. Those who prefer farming can take advantage of rich soil(土壤) in valleys near rivers. Some people are willing to accept the disadvantages of the terrible conditions of deserts or mountains in order to take advantage of the resources like oil or woods.
1.The underlined part “on top of ”in the first paragraph most likely means_______.
A. very close to B. on the highest part of
C. in control of D. on the surface of
2.What are the main factors that influence the distribution of people?
A. Resources and oceans. B. Climate and rivers.
C. Climate and resources. D. Warm conditions and rainfall.
3.The writer thinks many people don′t live near the north or south pole because ________.
A. they can′t get enough food there
B. they natural sights there don′t attract people
C. the unpleasant weather keeps them away
D. the length of nighttime is too short or too long
4.Why do people go and live in valleys near rivers?
A. The temperature isn′t too low in winter.
B. the resources like oil can bring them much money.
C. People can make their living by catching and selling fish.
D. It′s easier for people to grow plants or keep animals.
5.The purpose of the example in the last paragraph is to tell us _______.
A. people cannot survive in cold conditions
B. different resources attract different groups of people
C. People usually prefer living at the seaside to living in mountains
D. a normal amount of rainfall is necessary for people to live in the desert
Can you remember the day when you spoke your first word? If you can, you are unusual. Try to imagine what first few months of your life were like. I am sure you just spent most of your time eating, sleeping and crying. As you grow older, you were awake more of the time. It took your parents more time to play with you and talk to you. You watched and listened curiously. You began to know that people made certain sounds to go with certain things.
Then you began to try making the sounds you heard. And step by step you were able to make the right sound for one thing.
On that day you came to understand the secret of language. The secret is that a certain sound means a certain thing. One sound might be as good as another. But it is no good as a word unless everybody agrees on its meaning. Only when a group of people use the same set of sounds of things, can they understand each other. Then, and only then do these people have a LANGUAGE.
After you found the secret of language, you learned words. Some of the words meant things, such as BOOKS, CHAIRS and SHOES. Some words meant doing things, such as GO and SWIM. And other words describe things, such as GOOD and DIRTY. Soon you learned to put words together to express one's idea, such as "1 want to go out and play with my friends." This is language. By means of language people can communicate. So we say languages are means of communication.
1. can remember the day when___________.
A. One; he spoke his first word
B. No one; he spoke his first word
C. Most people; they spoke their first words
D. None; they spoke their first words
2.When you were a little baby, you_________.
A. made sounds to let people know that you wanted to eat
B. spent most of your time playing with your parents
C. could not hear any sound around you
D. spent most of your time eating, playing and crying
3.The secret of language is that____________.
A. one sound might be as good as another
B. people can understand each other
C. a certain sound is for a certain thing
D. there is a special sound for each person
4.You could learn words_____________.
A. before you knew what the language was
B. after you knew what the language was
C. if you knew the secret of the language
D. when you were a baby
5.The aim in using language is .
A. to get everything one wants from others
B. to say what one wants to know
C. to share ideas, opinions, news, etc with one another
D. to make oneself understood by others
The best way of learning a language is using it. The best way of learning English is talking in English as much as possible. Sometimes you'll get your words mixed up (混合) and people will not understand you. Sometimes people will say things too quickly and you can't understand them. But if you keep your sense of humor , you can always have a good laugh at the mistakes you make. Don't be unhappy if people seem to be laughing at your mistakes. It's better for people to laugh at your mistakes than to be angry with you, because they don't understand what you are saying. The most important thing for learning English is: "Don't be afraid of making mistakes because everyone makes mistakes."
1.The writer thinks that the most important thing for you to learn a language is___________.
A. reading B. practicing
C. talking about it D. listening
2.What should you do in learning English?
A. Try to make some mistakes.
B. Avoid making any mistakes.
C. Remember as many new words as you can.
D. Use it as often as you cam
3.If people laugh at the mistakes you make, you should ___________.
A. be angry with them B. be angry with yourself
C. not care D. believe you are right
4.When you make a mistake, you should___________.
A. never make any mistakes again
B. tell others not to make the same mistake
C. punish yourself for making it
D. keep your sense of humor
5.The story tell us:" ___________."
A. It is normal that we make some mistakes in learning English
B. Everyone must make mistakes
C. We can avoid making mistakes in learning a language
D. Laughing can help one learn English well
