The Lunar Calendar(阴历)
Modern Chinese use the solar calendar(阳历)as English people do . But at the same time , they use their own lunar calendar . Each lunar year is given the name of one of these animals : the rat , the ox , the tiger , the hare , the dragon , the snake , the horse , the goat , the monkey , the chicken , the dog and the pig . This list lasts for 12 years and then starts again .
Each Chinese month starts on the day of the new moon . And the full moon comes on the 15th day of the month . The New Year always starts between January 21 and February 20 . On the last day of the lunar year , there is a big family dinner . All members of the family except married daughters try to be present at this meal , even of they have to travel many miles to reach the home of their parents . Old quarrels are forgotten , and everybody is happy . After the dinner , the children keep awake to welcome the New Year .
The New Year celebrations last for 15 days , from the new moon to the full moon . On the first day , children and unmarried people go to visit their elders .If next year is the year of the dragon , what was the name of last year ?
A.It was the year of tiger . |
B.It was the year of the hare . |
C.It was the year of snake . |
D.It was the year of the ox . |
Suppose that next Chinese New Year’s Day is on 15th February , when will people have their big family dinner ?
A.On February 15 | B.On February 16 |
C.On February 14 | D.On February 17 |
The family usually have their big family dinner at the home of ________ .
A.the married son | B.the married daughter |
C.the unmarried son | D.the parents |
People celebrate the New Year ________ .
A.for 15 days |
B.from the new moon to the full moon in the first month of the lunar year |
C.from January 21 to February 20 |
D.both A and B |
From this selection we know that each Chinese month is measured by _______ .
A.the sun’s revolutions(旋转) |
B.the moon’s revolutions |
C.the earth’s revolutions |
D.both the earth’s and moon’s revolutions |
Everyone has worries. How do you deal with your worries? There is always something you can do to help yourself feel less worried. Sitting there worrying is no fun and it won’t solve your problems.
Grades at school are often a top worry for kids. If you worry most about grades, ask yourself these questions:
● Why are grades important? What do grades mean to me?
● How do I get ready for class? Do I go over my notes even when there isn’t a test?
● Do I have a good place to do my homework?
● Have I tried different ways of studying?
If your worry is about a fight you had with your friend, you might write down al! the things you could do-write a note to him or her, invite him or her to watch a basketball game, say sorry to him or her and so on. Once you have a list of things you could do, you can choose one thing that could get your friend back.
You can ask for help when you’re worried. You can find someone to talk to, such as your parents, friends, and teachers.
( )1. What do kids often worry most about?
A. Their hobbies. B. Their homework.
C. Their marks at school. D. A fight with their friends.
( )2. According to the passage, when you’re worried, you’d better _______.
A. work hard B. talk to someone
C. get ready for class D. write down your worries
( )3. If you’re worried about grades, DON’T ask yourself "_______".
A. Why are grades important? B. What do grades mean to me?
C. How do I get ready for class? D. Why not give up my studies?
( )4. If you had a fight with a friend, you could _______.
A. invite him or her to watch a game B. put the blame on him or her
C. try to make new friends D. leave him or her alone
( )5. What does the passage mainly tell us?
A. Who is often worried. B. When people are worried.
C. How to deal with worries. D. What kinds of worries people have.
In China, people talk about “Shuxiang”, which is very interesting. For example, 2006 is a “dog year”, and when a baby is born in this year, we say he or she is a little dog. Shuxiang usually brings people good luck. There are 12 animals below.social, having rich feelings, friendly but complaining
hard, ordered, but keeping old
brave, confident, but careless
peaceful, having a good manner, a business head but cold emotion
active, outgoing, popular but selfish
fascinating(迷人的), thoughtful, but doubtful
active, self-confident, wise but proud and angry
kind, helpful, elegant but sad
wide, clever, warm, unsatisfied but slick(圆滑的)
confident, helpful, happy, but dressy
realistic, loyal(忠诚的), practical
hard, honest, simple, lucky but careless
6. When a baby is born in 2008, we can say he or she is a little .
A. pig B. rat C. tiger D. snake
7. If we call a boy a little horse, when was he born?
A. In 1998. B. In 2000. C. In 2002. D. In 2004.
8. Mr Lu, our English teacher, was born in 1976, a dragon year. Can you choose the right description of his characteristics?
A. He is a active, self-confident, resourceful but proud and angry
B. He is kind, helpful, artistic but sad
C. He is active, outgoing, popular but selfish
D. He is fascinating, thoughtful but dressy and doubtful
9. If someone is brave, confident but careless, we can guess he was born in a year.
A. rat B. dog C. horse D. tiger
10. Which of the following is not true?
A. In China, when me talk about “Shuxiang”, it means twelve animals.
B. From the passage, we can know 2010 is a hare year.
C. Shuxiang perhaps brings you good luck, but we shouldn’t believe it.
D. A cock year always comes after a monkey year.
The size and shape(外形)of your ears show your character(性格)more than any other part of the face. Other parts of the face change shapes as we get older,but ears do not change their shapes. They only change in size.
Reading people’s character from their ears is a very old science. In the past people thought that a person’s ears with colour was dangerous. They also thought that the shape of the ears showed if a person was musical or not. Today,too,many people believe that the size and shape of the ears help you know if a person is musical.
Ears are all different,and each different thing has a meaning. Next time you look at a person,see if his or her ears are large,medium-size,or small. Look at the lobes(耳垂).Do they stick to the face? Ears that are always red mean that a person may get angry easily. Ears that are always cold and nearly white colour mean that a person has a nervous(神经质)character.
1. Reading people’s character from their ears is____________ .
A.only for music B.an old idea C.very new D.a good way to talk with others
2. When a baby is born,___________ .
A.his / her ears are red B.his / her ears will not change all the life
C.his / her ears will not change in shape D.he / she will get large ears
3. When one’s ears are red,it means_____________ .
A.he is a kind man B.he is very happy
C.he may get angry easily D.he drinks too much
4. Which may be the best title of the article?___________.
A.Looking at a person in the right way. B.Ears and colours.
C.The change of ears. D.Ears and characters
5.If you look at someone’s ears,the right way is____________ .
A.to look at his face,ears and nose
B.to look at the size,colour,and shape
C.to look at his mouth,eyes and nose
D.to look at the hair,eyes and colour[
Monday…..oh, I don’t like Monday because I will(将) have to go back to school again after the weekend. Tuesday is not so bad. I usually play tennis with my friends after school. On Wednesday evening I don’t go out. I stay at home and do my homework. I like Thursday because the next day is Friday. I always go out on Friday –maybe to the cinema. I love the weekend. On Saturday I stay in bed until lunchtime, and I sometimes go to the shops in the afternoon. In the evening we go to a club—there are good bands there every Saturday. Then on Sundays I go to my friend’s house or she comes to mine. I usually visit my grandmother for an hour in the afternoon. Then the weekend is over and it’s Monday…. And I feel bad again! The writer doesn’t like the Monday because _________
A.Monday is the first day of a week |
B.he just spent(度过) a happy weekend |
C.Monday is the first school day of a week |
D.he will have many lessons on Monday |
The writer thinks Tuesday is not so bad because _______
A.he can play tennis with his friends | B.he has no homework to do |
C.he has a P.E. class | D.he is free |
The writer may go to the movies on _______
A.Monday | B.Tuesday | C.Wednesday | D.Friday |
What does the writer NOT do on weekends?
A.Stay in bed until lunchtime | B.Watch football games on TV |
C.Go to his friend’s house | D.Go shopping in the markets |
From the text, we know that the writer _______
A.doesn’t like school very much | B.likes to stay at home |
C.only likes Friday | D.only likes Saturday |
There are many kinds of cars in the world. My grandmother thinks that is because cars are like their drivers. She says, “Rich people have expensive cars, big people have large cars, and old people have old cars,” But I don’t agree with her.
My neighbor, Mrs. Hill, is 82 years old. She drives only on Tuesday, and she drives only to the bank. She never drives more than 30 kilometers an hour. Do you think Mrs. Hill has a very old and small car? No! Her car is new. It is very large and it can go 200 kilometers an hour! My friend Mike is an artist. He draws beautiful pictures with a lot of colors. But his car is black! Mrs. Bates has a very old car. It often has engine(发动机) trouble. Does she have that kind of car because she is very poor? No, she has four factories and two million dollars in the bank. My aunt Mary has a car. Every Sunday, she drives to the country with her husband, her three children , her mother and their dog.
Now you read about my friends and their cars. Do you agree with my grandmother? My grandmother thinks________.
A.big people drive small cars | B.old people drive new car |
C.poor people have expensive cars | D.rich people have expensive cars |
Mrs. Hill’s car is _______.
A.fast and new | B.fast but old | C.slow and old | D.fast and small |
Mrs. Bates may be ________.
A.a worker | B.an artist | C.a boss | D.a bank clerk |
What kind of picture does Mike draw?
A.He often draws pictures with black |
B.He often draws very colorful pictures |
C.He draws pictures with only a few colors |
D.He never draws beautiful pictures |
There are _____ people in my aunt’s car on Sunday?
A.5 | B.6 | C.7 | D.8 |