The Christmas Eve meal is very important in most European countries. While other Christian families around the world celebrate this great meal with different kinds of meat, it is a tradition for Italians to eat seven different kinds of fish. Such a meal is called the “Feast of the Seven Fishes”. It’s also considered traditional that there may be nine, eleven, or even thirteen fishes for the meal. This kind of celebration is held to remember the birth of the baby Jesus.
The Feast of the Seven Fishes was held just by southern Italians as a custom at first, but today Italians all over the world hold it. Although the Feast of the Seven Fishes has been regarded as an Italian custom, no one definitely knows the meaning of it. There are lots of explanations for it. Some people believe that seven fishes are served because it took God seven days to create the world. Other explanations mention the Seven Hills of Rome.
For the Feast of the Seven Fishes, it’s not certain that which kinds of fish should be served. At the Feast of the Seven Fishes, the meal usually begins with antipasto (开胃食物) and ends with delicious desserts.
The Feast of the Seven Fishes has been a tradition since ancient times, and it will continue or even change as life changes. However, for Italians all over the world, the cultural meaning of the tradition is more important than anything else. Italian families celebrate the Christmas Eve meal with different kinds of ______.
| A．meat | B．fish | C．desserts | D．antipasto |
Where did the Feast of the Seven Fishes begin?
| A．In Northern Italy. | B．In Rome. |
| C．In Southern Italy. | D．In England. |
The Feast of the Seven Fishes is held to remember ______.
| A．the day when God created the world |
| B．the Seven Hills of Rome |
| C．seven Christmas Eve meals |
| D．the birth of the baby Jesus |
The underlined word “definitely” means “_______” in Chinese.
| A．快速地 | B．确切地 | C．温柔地 | D．逐渐地 |
Which of the following is NOT true about the Feast of the Seven Fishes?
| A．It began from ancient times. |
| B．The number of the fish for it has already changed now. |
| C．There are clear requirements for the kinds of fish for it. |
| D．To Italians, the cultural meaning of it is more important than anything else. |
A girl told her mom everything was going wrong for her, and that she always failed her math exam so that she wouldn’t like to study at all．After hearing the daughter’s words, the nice and patient mother thought of a good way to make her daughter happy．“I will make a delicious cake for you,” said the mom．She walked into the kitchen, and the daughter followed with her．When the mom prepared the cooking utensils (炊具) and ingredients（原料）, the daughter sat against the kitchen door, watching her．Her mom asked her, “My dear, would you like a piece of cake?” The daughter replied, “Sure, Mom! You know how I love cake!” “All right,” the mom said, “drink some of this cooking oil．” The daughter was very surprised and said, “What? No way!!!” “How about some raw (生的) eggs?” asked the mom and the daughter answered, “No way!” “How about some flour (面粉)?” “No, Mom! I will be sick!”
The mother explained, “All of these are uncooked and taste bad, but if you put them together, they will make a delicious cake．Life works the same way．When we ask ourselves why there are so many difficult times, we don’t realize what a success these terrible events will lead us to．Having a great day also means having a great CAKE! Keep the hope and one day your day is A PIECE OF CAKE!”What does the girl do?
A． A cook．
B． An actress．
C． A student．The girl saw her mom_________ in the kitchen．
A． do the dishes
B． make a cake
C． have dinnerAt first, the mother let the girl___________．
A． eat some flour
B． break some raw eggs
C． drink some cooking oilThe mom thinks that there will be a success at last after _____．
A． someone has difficult times
B． someone enjoys himself
C． someone has a great cakeWhat do you think of the mom?
A． She is kind of silly．
B． She is nice and patient．
C． She is too strict with her daughter．
We spoke to three students from around the world about different national holidays．There are different customs (习俗) for each festival．
Tan Xiaodong．15．Hong Kong, China
“It’ll be Chinese New Year soon．Before it we’ll clean the house and decorate(装饰) it for good luck．Every shop is going to close for a few days and we’ll go out a lot to celebrate in the streets．We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center．I love this festival．”
Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia
“Australia Day is on 26th January and it’s an important holiday here．We always have a Monday off, so we celebrate for three days．My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over．Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there’s lots of music and dancing．What fun!”
Amy, 14, New York, the USA
“The first Thanksgiving Day was hundreds years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help．It’s still a very important day for families to be together．This year we’re going to visit my parents and we’ll eat a delicious meal of turkey．Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November every year．”How many festivals are mentioned (提到) in the passage?
A．Two．
B． Three．
C． Four．During the Chinese New Year, tourists can _________．
A．do a lot of shopping
B． see lion and dragon dances
C． eat turkeyOn Australia Day, families often ___________．
A. have a picnic in the countryside
B． go to a swimming pool
C．have a party at schoolWhat do you think a turkey is in the passage?
A．A country
B． A festival
C． A birdFrom the passage, we can learn that _____________．
A．the first Thanksgiving Day was born a hundred years ago
B．many go out for a picnic with friends before Chinese New Year
C．different festivals have different customs
My grandfather is eighty years old now．He always complains about how fast things have changed, and he often says that life used to be better．
Families aren’t families they used to be．A lot of families have broken up．If husband and wife have problems with their marriage, they no longer stay together．And mothers used to stay at home and take care of their children, but now not any more．Everyone is busy working．Mother used to spend all day cooking in the kitchen．But now the family don’t eat home-cooked food any more．
And the cars! No one walks any more．More and more people drive．Students used to walk 5 miles to school every day, even in winter．But now students don’t．And in school, children don’t have to think any more．In math class, for example, they used to add, subtract, multiply and divide(加减乘除)in their heads．Instead, they use calculators(计算器)．
And people today have TV and computers, and they don’t talk to each other any more．They are too busy to talk, too busy to eat, too busy to think…．
Life used to be simple, but it isn’t any more．What does my grandfather think of the life now?
A． He thinks the life is the same as it used to be．
B． He thinks the life now is worse than it used to be．
C． He thinks the life now is better than it used to be．What does the underlined word “marriage” mean in Chinese?
A． 生活
B． 工作
C． 婚姻What has happened these years according to the passage?
A． Children don’t have to think any more in school．
B． Students use calculators in math class．
C． Both of them．What changes have happened to some families?
A． People have TV．
B． People like to eat home-cooked food．
C． Lots of families have computers．
D． Lots of couples(夫妇)live apart because of unhappy problems．
A． a, b, d
B． b, c, d
C． a, c , d Which is TRUE according to the passage?
A． Life now is much simpler．
B． People are too busy to talk with each other now．
C． Lots of mothers stay at home and look after their children．
I was born in a poor family, so I started working early. At the age of thirteen, I got my first job: working on a farm. I got up at 5:00 am and worked for 8 hours. After finishing a day’s work, I was paid ＄2.4. Even though it was only a little money, this did not make me upset. I believed that I could make more money in the future.
During High School, I was interested in sports. By playing different kinds of sports, I stayed healthy and have a strong body. And that was helpful for me to do more jobs.
When I was 17, I had my first dream－buying myself a car. At that time, I was doing a part –time job at a car store .Sending things to gas station (加油站)every weekend. Later, I did a another part–time job after school on weekdays. And at the same time, I tried to save money.
Finally, I bought my first car. When I was given the car key that day. I felt my dream was achieved and I was so proud. I was the only student in the school that had a car.
Everyone wants to get the nice things in life, but are you willing to work for it? Just remember that in order to achieve your dream, you have to be positive and work hard?The writer got his first job when he was 17.
The writer was not interested in sports.
The writer’s first dream was to buy a car for his parents.
The writer took pride in what he had done.
The writer was hard－working.
Films provide more than just entertainment．Watching foreign language films is a way to develop language skills．While watching a film，you are immersed（沉浸）in the language and can pick up new expressions that you might not find in a textbook．Some difficulties can arise when watching foreign language films-for example，unfamiliar colloquial language or strong regional accents．With this in mind，here are my tips to help you make progress in English learning while enjoying the films．
Choose a film type that you enjoy.
If you like action films，watch an action film-for example Indiana Jones．If you prefer comedies，watch a comedy-anything with Hugh Grant in always provides a laugh！It's simple enough，but if you choose something you enjoy watching in your native language，you're more likely to enjoy it in English．
Choose something that you are familiar with.
It's best to start off with something simple because in this way you have a higher chance of understanding the film．Disney films such as The Lion King，or the more recently released Tangled，are classic examples．Other cartoons such as Rango and The Lego Movie are also worth a watch．
If you need to，use subtitles（字幕）．
Subtitles are very helpful for beginners．using subtitles in your own language is the easiest choice，but for more advanced learners why not consider using English subtitles？This way，you can match the written subtitles to the words spoken on .screen．It helps you to develop your language further.
I hope you find these tips useful-if you want to recommend a film to other users，feel free to use the comments section！Is watching foreign language films a way to develop language skills？
What film type can we choose to learn English？
Why is it best to start off with something simple？
What are helpful for beginners while watching English films？
What is the passage mainly about？