Thanksgiving Day is a special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing.
Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in. But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. On December 4, 1619, the Pilgrims (朝圣者) from England landed near what is now Charles City, Virginia. They knelt down and thanked God for their safe journey across the Atlantic.
The first New England Thangksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest. The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. They had a difficult time and the first winter was cruel. Many of the Pilgrims died. But the next year, they had a good harvest. So Governor Bradford declared a three-day feast. The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast. Everyone brought food.
In time, other colonies (殖民地) began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day. During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it. He proclaimed (宣布) the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving. Today, Americans celebrate this happy harvest festival on the fourth Thursday in November, Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in much the same way as their American neighbors. But the Canadian Thanksgiving Day falls on the second Monday in October. The passage mainly tells us _______
A.how Thanksgiving Day came into being and the different ways it is celebrated |
B.how to celebrate Thanksgiving Day |
C.how Thanksgiving Day changed with the time and places |
D.why Thanksgiving Day is a harvest holiday |
Thanksgiving Day is celebrated _______.
A.in spring | B.in summer | C.in autumn | D.in winter |
The first to celebrate thanksgiving were _______ .
A.people in Canada | B.Governor Bradford |
C.some people from England | D.the American Indians |
We can infer from the passage that New England must be ______ .
A.in England | B.in Canada |
C.on some island off the Atlantic | D.in America |
Which of the following statements is NOT ture?
A.There’s little difference between the American way and the Canadian way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. |
B.Abraham Lincoln was not the first to decide on thanksgiving celebrations. |
C.Thanksgiving Day used to be a holiday to celebrate a good harvest. |
D.Thanksgiving Day is celebrated to express the American and Indian people’s thanks to God. |
In American schools there is something called Homecoming Day. Many high schools and colleges with a football team have a homecoming game. This can be the most important event of the year except graduation or commencement (毕业典礼)Day. Students plan Homecoming Day many weeks in advance.
Several days before Homecoming, students start to decorate the school. There are signs to wish luck to the team, and many other signs to welcome all the graduates. Many people still come to Homecoming twenty or thirty years after their graduation.
The members of school clubs build booths(售货棚) and sell lemonade(柠檬汽水),apples and sandwiches. Some clubs help to welcome visitors.
During the day alumni and their wives will gather at the school. They like to look for teachers that they remember. Often they see old friends and they talk together about those happy years in school.
Everyone soon comes to watch the football game. When the game is half over, the band comes onto the field and plays school songs. Another important moment is when the Homecoming Queen or King appears. All the students vote the most popular student Homecoming Queen or King. It is a great honor to be chosen.
Homecoming is a happy day, but it is not perfect unless the football team wins the game. Even if the game loses, the students still enjoy Homecoming. Some stay at the school to dance, and others go to a party. For everyone it is a day worth remembering. The best title of this passage is ________.
A.American School | B.Homecoming Day |
C.Homecoming Queen or King | D.Homecoming Game |
Which of the following is NOT done on Homecoming?
A.To see old friends. |
B.To call on teachers they remember. |
C.To watch the football game. |
D.To organize clubs. |
The underlined word “ alumni” refers to ________.
A.male former students of a school or college |
B.female former students of a school or college |
C.grandfathers of the students in a school or college |
D.grandmothers of the students in a school or college |
It was 6 p. m. on 24 January 2001, the first day of Chinese New Year. As I drove along the road, a small car flew across the centre double amber lines(双黄线) from the ____ direction and crashed into my car head-on. I was ____ and was awakened by the ringing of my mobile phone. It was a travel agent, asking me ____ I had arrived at the Mandarin Oriental for my work.
I was ____ to Kuala Lumpur General Hospital. But the hospital staff was too ____to attend to me, so I called a friend and told him about the ____. Some friends arrived very soon after and sent me to a private hospital nearby.
I was given ten months’ medical leave and then I was ____. My heart ____, knowing that it meant I couldn’t work. As a tour guide and tour leader, I only got paid if I took on more work. I felt completely ____, but a lot of unexpected blessings came my way. Friends and relatives ____ me with my banking, insurance or simply came to cheer me up.
But I was only 30, and wanted to see the world. When the casts were removed, I did not let the sight of my weak legs ____ me. I worked hard at my physiotherapy(物理疗法) with only one aim: I must ____ again. ____five months of tiring therapy up to three sessions a week, I was back on my feet. After eight months, I was walking ____ the aid of walking stick. By February the following year, I ____ my job again.
The accident made me____ how lives can change in a split second. I recall the Chinese family drove me to the hospital ____ my bloodied condition on Chinese New Year. The kindness I’ve experienced taught me never to ____ hope. I value life ____ , not only my own but also everyone I know, and will always try to help when I know of someone ____.
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I was never neat, while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her projects had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both get tired of each other.
War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, “ take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened, I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started yelling. She yelled back louder.
The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled under her covers, sobbing. Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart.
Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn’t notice Kate had sat up. She was watching, her tears dried and her expression one of disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me, “thanks.”
Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned the key to living together; giving in, cleaning up and holding on.How is Paragraph 1 mainly developed?
A.By listing facts. | B.By doing comparison |
C.By giving examples | D.By drawing a conclusion |
What made Kate so angry that evening?
A.She got the news that her grandmother was ill. |
B.She couldn’t find her shoes. |
C.She heard the author shouting loud. |
D.She saw the author’s shoes under her bed. |
What was the author’s attitude to Kate but for the call?
A.Annoyed | B.Envious |
C.tolerant | D.Sympathetic |
What might be the best title for the story?
A.How to be organized | B.My Friend Kate |
C.Learning to Be Roommates | D.Hard Work Pays Off. |
Few of us haven’t read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams. Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone’s heart-we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity.
Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too. Her story is shown in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high school.
Mary is shy but loves to dance. Compared with other girls, she is invisible. However, her world changes completely when a famous teenager pop singer, Joey Parker, appears.
Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not-kind, handsome and desirable. Mary and Joey’s paths cross at a ball. They meet and fall in love with each other. But when Mary has to rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl. Of course, there is a wicked stepmother, Dominique. She takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies. Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn’t get into the top dance school. Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey finding Mary, even if that means embarrassing them.
The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modern-day twists to the classic fairy tale. Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful. There is a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies.
“The movie takes the Cinderella fairy tale as its jumping off point,” writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson, “Yet the focus is firmly on following your dream.”The first paragraph is mainly to
A. raise a question on poverty
B. remind us of a fairy tale inform us of the importance of dream
D. build our interest about the following movieWhat can we infer from the passage .
A.Joey is just like other boys in Mary’s class |
B.Mary’s mother used to be a singer |
C.The MP3 player helps Joey find Mary |
D.Another Cinderella Story is just another copy of Cinderella |
What does the underlined word “obscurity” probably mean?
A.being popular | B.being unknown |
C.being famous | D.being silent |
The passage is mainly about
A.An advertisement of Another Cinderella Story |
B.An essay about dreams |
C.A review about a movie |
D.A fairy tale |
Guide to Stockholm University Library
Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.
Zones
The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.
Computers
You can use your own computer to connect to the wifi specially prepared for notebook computers; you can also use library computers, which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.
Group-study places
If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 2-3 people and others can hold up to 6-8 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps.
There are 40 group-study rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.
Storage of Study Material
The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have obtained at least 40 credits(学分),you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year’s rental period.
Rules to be Followed
Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.
Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library , but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you. The library’s ground floor is mainly for students to _______.
A.read in a quiet place. | B.have group discussions. |
C.get their computers fixed. | D.have a sweet snap. |
What is required when booking a group-study room?
A.A group must consist of 8 people. |
B.Three-hour use per day is the minimum. |
C.Applicants must mark the room on the map. |
D.One should first register at the university. |
What should not be brought into the library?
A.Mobile phones | B.Orange juice |
C.Apples | D.Candy |
A student can rent a locker in the library if he ______.
A.has earned the required credits |
B.can afford the rental fees |
C.attends certain courses |
D.has nowhere to put his books |