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请认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后图表中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。
注意：每空只填一个单词。
“Happy New Year!” Everyone will greet each other with these words as they meet each other on New Year’s Day. But it wasn’t always January 1 that marked the New Year.
At least 4,000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians marked the changing of the year. In Egypt, the year started when the Nile River flooded, enriching farmers’ fields. This happened at the end of September.
The Babylonians held a festival in the spring, on March 23, to kick off the next farming cycle. The Babylonian celebration lasted for 11 days.
The date January 1 was picked by the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar as the change of the year when he established his own calendar in 46 BC. The month of January originates from the Roman god, Janus. He is pictured with two heads. One head looks forward and the other back. They represent a break between the old and new. The new calendar was in time with the sun and it has been used until the present day.
In Vietnam, the New Year holiday happens in February. They buy fresh flowers and a peach blossom to put in their house, following the Vietnamese custom.
Thailand has its specific New Year’s date; it’s different from the normal calendar. The Thai New Year is celebrated on April 13. On this day, Thai people play with water, throwing it on each other. It is intended to bring good luck during the New Year ahead.
In China, the more favorable New Year is usually celebrated in February according to lunar calendar (阴历). On New Year’s Eve, all family members sit together at table, enjoying lots of auspicious foods such as dumplings, chicken to bring good luck.
Title: New Year traditions all around the world
|
Countries |
1.___________ |
Origins（起源）or activities |
Meanings or reasons |
|
Egypt |
the end of September |
the Nile River flood |
make fields 2. _____________ |
|
Babylon |
March 23 |
holding a 3.___________ |
kick off the next farming cycle |
|
Rome |
January 1 |
Roman god, Janus |
4._________ a break |
|
5. __________ |
April 13 |
6.____________ water onto each other’s body |
bring good luck |
|
Vietnam |
7. ___________ |
buying fresh flowers and a peach blossom |
8.____________the custom |
|
China |
February |
9.____________ auspicious foods |
bring good luck and 10.___________ to everyone |
Health experts have discovered that adding low-calorie vegetable soup to the start of a meal can actually help to lose weight.
Because you feel full sooner, you eat less of your main course.
The soup regime（养生法）was tested by researchers at Pennsylvania State University, led by Dr Barbara Rolls.
They found that when people ate a first course of soup before lunch they reduced their total calorie intake by 20 per cent, compared with those who did not begin the meal with soup.
But those who favor creamy soups should be careful．Researchers stressed the soup must be low-calorie and based on stock（菜汤）, not cream.
All of the soups tested in the study were made from identical ingredients - chicken stock , broccoli（硬花甘蓝）, potato, cauliflower（菜花）and carrots.
They were mixed together to create four different textures and thickness from separate stock and vegetables through to pureed soup.
Scientists thought that thick soups with chunks of vegetables which required chewing might be more filling, but to their surprise they found all forms had the same effect.
The findings were presented to the Experimental Biology conference in Washington, DC, and the research was part-funded by the National Institutes of Health.
1. What’s the reason that adding low-calorie vegetable soup to the start of a meal can actually help to lose weight?
A. You can take in large quantities of vegetables.
B. You can absorb high calories from the soup.
C. You can take in low calories from the soup.
D. You can feel full soon after having the soup.
2. Which of the following can not be in the low-calorie soup?
A. chicken stock B. cauliflower C. cream D. carrots
3. What is the best title of this passage?
A. Vegetable Soup Helps to Lose Weight．
B. A Scientific Research is Carrying out.
C. A Research Done at Pennsylvania State University
D. Findings Carried out to the Experimental Biology.
4. The underlined word “favor” is the same in meaning with ______.
A. hate B. enjoy C. prefer D. drink.
Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go in to their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening.
One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own.
Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one’s free time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature.
Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance-halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional(偶尔) walk in one of the parks and a fortnight’s (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night.
1. Which of the following statements is true?
A. People who like country things prefer to live outside the city.
B. Few people who work in London prefer to live in the country.
C. One disadvantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper.
D. The people living outside London must like gardens.
2. One can use the same money for ________ in London to buy a little house with a garden in the country.
A. getting a small flat with a garden B. having a small flat with a garden
C. renting a small flat without a garden D. buying a small flat without a garden
3.When the flowers and vegetables in the garden come up, those _______can share the secret of Nature.
A. who live in the country B. who have spent time working in the garden
C. who work inside the city D. who sometimes walk in the parks
4. People who like the city life would feel that _______ if they had to live outside London.
A. their life was meaningless B. their life was invaluable
C. they didn’t deserve a happy life D. they were not worthy of their happy life
Jeanne Calment, a French woman, became a record breaker on 17 October of 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.
Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people’s home in the south of France; her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes her as being more like a 90-year-old in good health than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on her 120th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied: A very short one. She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her.
So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercises every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a day, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86.
A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at that time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying:
Sorry, I’m still alive!
1. How does Jeanne Calment feel about her old age?
A. She is miserable and unhappy.
B. She is cheerful and humorous.
C. She would like to live much longer.
D. She feels she is going to die very soon.
2. Jeanne Calment has a long life because of _______.
A. smoking only a little every day
B. her giving up smoking and drinking
C. drinking two glasses of strong red wine every day
D. the good genes from her parents, a healthy diet and some exercises
3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The Japanese man died earlier than Jeanne Calment by one day.
B. Jeanne Calment is tired of living so long a life.
C. Jeanne Calment’s husband, children and grandchildren have all died.
D. One of Jeanne Calment’s legs was once broken.
4.Which could best replace the underlined word “move” in the fourth paragraph?
A. deal B. trick C. march D. sport
5. Why does Jeanne Calment say “Sorry, I’m still alive” to the local lawyer every year on her birthday?
A. Because she had an agreement at 80 with the lawyer which was to her advantage.
B. Because she has asked the lawyer to pay her more rent than they first agreed.
C. Because the lawyer has paid her much more money than the value of the house.
D. Because the house she rented to the lawyer isn’t worth the money he has already paid.
(NEW YORK) A French tourist highly praised for rescuing a two-year-old girl in Manhattan said he didn’t think twice before diving into the freezing East River.
Tuesday’s Daily News said 29-year-old Julien Duret from France was the man who left the spot quickly after the rescue last Saturday.
He lifted the little girl out of the water after she fell off the bank at the South Street Seaport museum. He handed the girl to her father, David Anderson, who had dived in after him.
“I didn’t think at all,” Duret told the Daily News. “It happened very fast. I reacted very fast.”
Duret, an engineer on vacation, was walking with his girlfriend along the pier(码头) when he saw something falling into the water. He thought it was a doll, but realized it was a child when he approached the river. Immediately, he took off his coat and jumped into the water.
When he reached the girl, she appeared lifeless, he said. Fortunately, when she was out of the water, she opened her eyes.
Anderson said his daughter slipped off the bank when he was adjusting his camera. An ambulance came later for her, said Duret, who was handed dry clothes from onlookers. Duret caught a taxi with his girlfriend shortly after.
The rescue happened on the day before he left for France. Duret said he didn’t realize his story of heroism had greatly moved New York until he was leaving the city the next morning.
“I don’t really think I’m a hero,” said Duret. “Anyone would do the same thing.”
1. Why was Duret in New York?
A. To meet his girlfriend. B. To spend his holiday.
C. To work as an engineer. D. To visit the Andersons.
2. What did Duret do shortly after the ambulance came?
A. He was interviewed by a newspaper.
B. He went to the hospital in the ambulance.
C. He disappeared from the spot quickly.
D. He asked his girlfriend for his dry clothes.
3. Who dived after Duret into the river to save the little girl?
A. David Anderson B. A passer-by C. His girlfriend D. A taxi driver
4. What is probably the headline of this news report?
A. A Careless Father B. A Poor Girl
C. Warm-hearted Onlookers D. Brave Frenchman Found
短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（/\），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第十一处起）不计分。
Nowadays women are playing a much more important part in society. More and more women are working like teachers, scientists and even leader. Almost all jobs that were used to be done by men are done perfectly well by women. Women are no longer looking down upon in society. With the changes in their social role, women’s position in the family have been improved as well. It’s hard to see the phenomenon which the wife is busy while the husband is sitting in an armchair, watching TV. In spite of all these changes, the great number of men still guard his rights. They thought of women as incapable creatures. Sometimes few women are allowed attend important meetings. This is the problem we should try to solve now.
