B
The most important holiday in spring, especially for Christians, is Easter. This Christian holiday is not on the same date every year，but it’s always on a Sunday. It can be any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Many people celebrate Easter by buying new clothes. Children celebrate by hunting for colored eggs that their parents have hidden around the house. People also give Easter baskets filled with candy and other goodies to one another to celebrate the day.
But the holiday is more than new clothes and good things to eat. On Easter, many people go to church to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection（复活）from the dead. Most people color Ester eggs. Some people hide them. Others just eat them. But no matter what one does with Easter eggs，they are an important Easter tradition throughout the Western world. People from many different cultures celebrate Easter. In both America and Belgium, children look for Easter eggs hidden on lawns and in bushes. In America, children believe the eggs are hidden by the Easter bunny (兔子).But in Belgium, the hidden eggs are supposed to have fallen from church bells. In Bulgaria (保加利亚), red Easter eggs are lucky in churches. Bulgarian families also hit these Easter eggs together to see whose is the strongest. The winner looks forward to good fortune that year. Still dozens of other Easter traditions exist. In parts of Austria，for example，children sing from door to door and are rewarded with colorful eggs.
61．Easter comes _______.
A. on the same date every year
B. on Sunday on March 22
C. on Sunday on April 25
D. on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25
62．To celebrate Easter, people ___________.
A. go shopping, hide colored eggs and children hunt for them
B. give Easter baskets filled candy and goodies to one another
C. buy new clothes, hide colored eggs and children look for them around the house
D. both B and C
63．For Christians the more important thing to do on Easter is________.
A. going to church to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection
B. buying new clothes
C. eating delicious food and paint color eggs
D. exchange beautiful gifts each other
64．People from different cultures have different ideas about Easter egg _________.
A. In both American and Belgium, children hunt for Easter eggs hidden in rooms and in bushes
B. In Belgium, the hidden eggs are thought to have fallen from doorbells
C. In American, children believe the eggs are hidden by the Easter bunny
D. In America, the hidden eggs are supposed to have fallen from doorbells
65．In some places of Austria, children sing from door to door for_______.
A. blesses B. Easter eggs C. candy and goodies D. Easter bunny
A pair of giant pandas from southwest China’s Sichuan Province arrived at their new home in Belgium’s Pairi Daiza zoo, some 60km southwest of downtown Brussels, at around 15:00 local time (1400GMT) on February 23, 2014.
About 2,500 people, many of them excited children waving national flags of China and Belgium as well as panda-decorated flags or wearing costume of Panda greeted the pandas along the road to the zoo.
Visitors today can only observe the pandas through a closed-circuit television system in the reception.
Officials said they wanted the pandas fully adapted to their new home before making public debut in April.
The pandas, Xing Hui, the male and Hao Hao, the female, are both 4 years old and are on lease from a breeding center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
The lease term is 15 years, according to officials with the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas, the world’s largest research base for the species.
“It’s a good thing for Belgium.” Nicole Duflot, a grandmother coming to the zoo with her husband and her grandson told Xinhua, “We can’t see the Panda today but it’s a great thing for us to come here.”
The Pandas will be living in a panda hall of 5,300 square meters within the zoo.
“I hope Xing Hui and Hao Hao will enhance friendship between Belgium and China.” Liao Liqiang, the Chinese ambassador to Belgium, said during an interview with Xinhua.What was the main purpose of China leasing pandas to Belgium?
| A．We were supposed to make money from Belgium. |
| B．We meant to improve the relationship between China and Belgium. |
| C．We expected to amuse the Belgian children. |
| D．We wanted to make the pandas adapt to the environment abroad. |
The underlined word “debut” probably means ___________.
| A．first appearance | B．ceremony | C．announcement | D．argument |
According to the passage, which statement is right?
| A．Xing Hui and Hao Hao will live in the city centre of Brussels. |
| B．Xing Hui and Hao Hao were very popular with the elders in Belgium. |
| C．Xing Hui and Hao Hao will come back to China in 2029. |
| D．Xing Hui and Hao Hao were born in 2008 in Sichuan Province. |
On the first day of the pandas’ arrival, visitors could ___________.
| A．gently feel the pandas along the road to the zoo |
| B．get into the panda hall of 5,300 square meters |
| C．take pictures with the pandas freely |
| D．watch the pandas through the TV system in the zoo |
From the passage, we can predict that______________.
| A．Belgium’s Pairi Daiza Zoo will make much money soon |
| B．Xing Hui and Hao Hao will be very well treated in their new home |
| C．Belgium’s Pairi Daiza Zoo will serve the Chinese visitors with free admission |
| D．pandas will be best-sellers in Belgium |
Have you ever heard the saying “If you want a friend, be one”?
Here is how a new teacher made friends with the girls and boys in her class on the first day of school. As the bell rang, the teacher smiled at each girl and boy. Then she said in a quiet voice, “Good morning. How nice it is to have all of you in my class this year. I'd like to know each of you. I am sure we will enjoy working together.” Everyone felt that she meant what she said because of her sweet voice and her friendly look.
She told the girls and boys her name and wrote it on the blackboard. Then she told them some of the things she liked to do and she was hoping to do with them during the year.
Then she said to the class, “Now you know my name and the things I like and I want to know your names and the things you like. Then I will feel that I know you.”
Could you make friends by doing the same as this teacher did?
One way of getting to know girls and boys in your class is to find out more about them. It is often easy to be friends with those people who have the same hobbies with you. You play the same games and go on journeys together.
You may find that some new comers in your class miss their old friends and feel strange and lonely. You can invite them to take a walk or to ride bikes with you. You will find many things in common to talk about. Just talking together in a friendly manner is one good way to make friends.What does the underlined sentence “If you want a friend, be one” in Paragraph 1 mean?
| A．You may have a friend by doing everything for him. |
| B．You can make friends by doing what a friend should do. |
| C．If you want to have a friend, try to make one be your friend. |
| D．When you need a friend, you have to be a friend of yourself. |
The teacher’s sweet voice and her friendly look _______.
| A．made every girl and boy happy |
| B．told the girls and boys everything about herself |
| C．showed that she would like to be a friend of the girls and boys’ |
| D．meant she wanted to tell the boys and girls something interesting |
A new comer will be your friend if __________.
| A．he always thinks of his old friends |
| B．you ask him to do something |
| C．he knows you |
| D．you talk with him in a friendly way |
If you want to make friends with others, which of the following shouldn’t you do?
| A．Learn more about them. | B．Go on journeys together. |
| C．Find out your differences. | D．Try to be the same as them. |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．How to Make Friends |
| B．Teachers Can Make Friends with Students |
| C．A Friend in Need Is a Friend Indeed |
| D．How to Be Friends with New Comers |
Today's word, pan, takes us back to the days of the gold rush in California.
On January 24th, 1848, a man named James Wilson Marshall discovered gold in California. The news spread quickly. Thousands rushed west. They traveled on foot, on horseback and by boat to reach the gold fields. By 1849, the great gold rush was on. Towns and cities grew overnight. Throughout California --- in the mountains, along the streams and rivers --- thousands of people searched for gold.
Some found areas of mountain rock thick with gold. These men got rich. But such areas were few and quickly claimed by the first men to find them. Others searched for gold in the rivers coming down the mountains. They were after pieces of gold that the rains had washed down from above .
The only way to find this gold was by panning. First a gold miner put dirt in a metal pan and added water. Then he shook the pan so that the water would wash the dirt. Slowly, he poured the water out of the pan. If he was a lucky miner, pieces of gold would remain.
Across the nation, newspapers carried stories of the gold being found. Each one hoped that the place he claimed panned out well --- had some gold.
For many, gold mining did not pan out. For a few, it panned out well. But in time, huge machines were built that could wash many tons of dirt at a time. Panning died out.
The word, however, remained in the language. Today, Americans still say, “ It panned out well ,” when something they have done pleases them. A business, a discovery, a simple event pans out well if it is successful. Unhappily, sometimes things do not pan out.
In recent years, the word pan has taken on another meaning. Today, it also means to criticize. How it got this meaning is hard to discover. But the job of a critic is to sometimes pan the work of a writer, artist or singer.Why did so many people flood to California in 1848?
| A．Because towns and cities there developed quickly. |
| B．Because the mountains in California were a great place for travel. |
| C．Because they wanted to get rich by looking for gold. |
| D．Because the land of California was fertile at that time. |
The underlined part “It panned out well" in Paragraph 7 has the same meaning as “______”
| A．Everything turned out well | B．Nothing could be worse |
| C．It's not the case | D．It's a pity |
What is the purpose of this passage?
| A．To tell us some stories about the gold rush. |
| B．To introduce the word "pan" in American English. |
| C．To teach us how to look for gold in rivers. |
| D．To introduce the history of the gold rush in California |
Dining in a completely dark room, unaware what’s on your plate while sitting next to a complete stranger may not sound like an ideal restaurant experience but it’s certainly an intriguing way to spend a rainy night in London.
Dans le Noir, close to London’s financial district, is a restaurant full of blind waiters and waitresses who become your eyes around the restaurant, whose original Paris branch opened in 2004.
In the bar with the light, you choose whether you want the fish, meat or vegetable, but the dishes themselves remain a secret, as do the ingredients of the “surprise” cocktails. Bags, coats and devices(设备)that light up, including watches and mobile phones, are kept in the bar. Placing your hand on the shoulder of your guide, you are led to a table in a black dining room that sets up to 60 people. And it is dark.
The waiters tell you when the food is being placed down in front of you, then the fun begins, trying to get food into your mouth, then identifying just what it is that’s on your plate, and finally whether you have missed any of it.
It’s also a great chance to break social convention and eat using your fingers. Those same fingers are also the only way you can tell how much wine you’re pouring into your glass.
The happy atmosphere in the dining room also made the night memorable. You can’t really avoid talking to the person next to you at the long tables and guessing what the dishes are certainly provides adequate fuel for the conversations.
All will be revealed at the end of the meal when you are led back out into the lit bar. Not only do you finally get to see what you’ve just been eating but also who you’ ve been talking to for the last 90 minutes.What does the underlined word “intriguing.” in the first paragraph mean?
A terrible B. interesting C. expensive D. newAccording to the text, “ Dans le Noir”__________.
A is far from London’s financial district
B has its first branch opened in Britain
C is very popular among blind customers
D has a dining room which can seat up to 60 peopleWe know from the text that the customers in “Dans le Noir”_________.
| A．are forbidden to eat with their fingers |
| B．can talk to the strangers at table |
| C．will book the menu in a dark bar |
| D．can take their mobile phones into the dining room |
What’s the main purpose of the text?
| A．To help blind people find a job in restaurants. |
| B．To show how to open a restaurant with a new idea. |
| C．To show how to enjoy the time in a dark restaurant. |
| D．To introduce and attract customers to “Dans le Noir ”. |
Endless playing of songs like All I want for Christmas in shops during the festive season doesn’t just drive us mad —the songs also make us more careless with our money, research has warned.
While repeated performance of Jingle Bells may seem like an innocent attempt to raise customers’ spirits during the nightmare of Christmas shopping, the songs also have a more delicate impact.
“Background music, or “Muzak”,can be used by marketers to impose cultures ---such as the commercialization of Christmas--- onto consumers and influence their behaviour,” experts said.
Dr. Alan Bradshaw of Royal Holloway, University of London, said, “Festive jingles are force-fed to Christmas shoppers in a bid to change their mood, influence their sense of time and what sort of products they buy. In other words, this is an attempt to control your shopping habits in a way that you might hardly be aware of.”
“Often we are told that we have the freedom to choose where we want to shop, but during Christmas the use of music in this way is so common that our freedom to choose disappears.”
Dr. Bradshaw and Prof Morris Holbrook of Columbia University examined the phenomenon and found that retailers often “dumb down” the music played in shops to relax customers, meaning it is easier to control their behaviour.
It is thought that slowing down the rhythm of music in shops can trick customers into thinking less time has passed, and therefore spend more time examining the shelves, for example.
Some providers of background music have been known to promote their services by claiming they can boost profits by controlling the behaviour of customers.
“A common trick is to take a popular current song and record an instrumental version which can be slowed down or sped up at different time of the day to influence behaviour in different ways,” Dr. Bradshaw said.
Background music is often classed as “Muzak” in honor of the Seattle-based company which began producing its soft-sounding melodies in the 1930s.According to Dr. Bradshaw, in what ways does Christmas music influence customers?
①their mood②their income
③their sense of time④ the sort of products they buy
| A．①②③ | B．①③④ | C．②③④ | D．①②④ |
Shopkeepers slow down the rhythm of music in shops to ___________.
| A．let customers spend more time shopping |
| B．make customers and sales assistants relaxed |
| C．let customers enjoy the beautiful music |
| D．help customers find what they really want |
What kind of music is now often adapted to influence customers in shops?
| A．Classical music | B．Popular modern songs. |
| C．Folk songs. | D．Jazz music. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Music makes happy Christmas |
| B．Christmas “Muzak” |
| C．How to make Christmas music? |
| D．Christmas music makes us spend more |