Question

    Mother’s Day is a time of memory and celebration for Mom. The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations date back to ancient Greece in honour of Rhea, the Mother of Gods. During the 1600s, England celebrated a day called “mothering Sunday”. Celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent(四旬斋)，“mothering Sunday” honoured the mothers England.

During the time many of the England’s poor worked as servants for the wealthy.AS most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday, the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along.

As Christianity(基督教) spread throughout Europe, the celebration changed to honour the “Mother Church”---the spiritual power that gave  them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival combined with mothering Sunday celebration. People began honouring their mothers as well as the church.

In the United States Mother’s Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe as a day devoted to peace. Then in 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign(运动) to establish a national Mother’s Day. Ms Jarvis persuaded her mother’s church in Grafton, Virginia to celebrate  Mother’s Day on the second anniversary of her mother’s death, the 2nd day Sunday of May. By the next year Mother’s Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessmen, and politicians demanding to establish a national Mother’s Day. It was successful as by 1911 Mother’s Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement that Mother’s Day was a national holiday and it was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother’s Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also celebrate Mother’s Day on the 2nd Sunday of May.

1.What is the author’s purpose in writing the first paragraph?

A.To raise questions. B.To introduce the topic.

C.To interest readers. D.To solve problems.

2.The earliest Mother’s Day was celebrated to___________.

A.mark the birth of Greece B.prepare for the autumn harvest

C.honour the Mother of Gods D.honour the mothers of England

3.The fourth and fifth paragraphs mainly talk about___________.

A.the feast of Mother’s Day in the U.S.

B.the origin of Mother’s Day in the U.S.

C.the development of Mother’s Day in the U.S.

D.the celebration of Mother’s Day in the U.S.

4.The passage is intended to______________.

A.give readers some information B.persuade readers

C.report a story D.amuse readers

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.B

4.A

【解析】

本文是说明文。主要介绍母亲节的来历及庆祝方式。

1.推理判断题。通读全文可知，作者写第一段的目的就是为了引入本文的主题：母亲节。分析选项可知B项符合题意。

2.细节理解题。根据第一段第二句“The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations date back to ancient Greece in honour of Rhea, the Mother of Gods.”，可知，最早的母亲节庆祝活动可以追溯到古希腊，以纪念众神之母瑞亚。分析选项可知C项符合题意，故选C项。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段和第五段的内容可知，在美国，母亲节是Julia Ward Howe在1872首次提出的，在1907，来自费城的安娜贾维斯开始了一个运动来建立一个全国性的母亲节，第二年，费城也庆祝了母亲节。1914年总统正式宣布母亲节是一个全国性的节日。由此可推断出这两段是讲述美国母亲节的由来，分析选项可知B项符合题意，故选B项。

4.推理判断题。通读全文可知，本文主要介绍了母亲节的来历，是给读者一些关于母亲节的信息。分析选项可知A项符合题意，故选A。