The tradition of birthday parties started in Europe a long time ago. It was feared that evil(邪恶的) spirits were particularly attracted to people on their birthdays. To protect them from harm, friends and family members would come to stay with the birthday person and bring good thoughts and wishes. Giving gifts brought even more good cheer to keep away from the evil spirits. This is how birthday parties began.
The following are some countries’ birthday traditions:
Canada---Putting butter on the nose. In Atlantic Canada, the birthday child’s nose is put butter on for good luck.
China---Noodles for lunch. The birthday child pays respect to his / her parents and receives a gift of money. Friends and relatives are invited to lunch and noodles are served to wish the birthday child a long life.
England---Money cakes. Certain symbolic(象征性的) objects are mixed into the birthday cake as it is being prepared. If your piece of cake has a coin in it, you will be rich.
Ireland---Birthday bump(碰撞). The birthday child is lifted upside down and “ bumped” on the floor for good luck.
Italy---Pulling ears. The child’s ears are pulled as many times as how old he / she is turning.
Japan---New clothes. The birthday child wears new clothes to mark the occasion.
New Zealand---Birthday claps. After the candles are hit, the happy birthday song is sung loudly and often out of tune and then the birthday person receives a clap for each year he / she has been alive and then one for good luck.
The United States---Cake, candles and the birthday song. A cake is made, and candles are put on top based on how old the person is.The first paragraph mainly talks about .
| A．why there are so many birthday traditions |
| B．how birthday parties started |
| C．how to keep away from evil spirits |
| D．why gifts must be given to the birthday person |
According to the passage, in which country can the birthday children probably receive a gift of money?
| A．China. | B．England. |
| C．Ireland. | D．Japan. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．In New Zealand, an eight-year-old birthday child receives eight claps in all. |
| B．In Ireland, bumping the birthday child means good luck to him/her. |
| C．In England, coins are the only things that can be made into a birthday cake. |
| D．In Italy, the birthday child’s ears are pulled when he/she is lifted upside down. |
The birthday traditions of New Zealand and the United States share all the following in common EXCEPT .
| A．birthday cake | B．birthday candles |
| C．birthday claps | D．birthday song |
In which section of a website does the passage probably appear?
| A．Tech&Science. | B．Entertainment. |
| C．Careers&Jobs. | D．Culture. |
If you’ve ever owned a chimney, you know that it can get pretty dirty. There’s a whole lot of soot(烟灰) that gets stuck on the inside. That stuff has to get cleaned, or you could have a serious fire risk. While nowadays we have easier ways of doing this dirty job, in the way back days somebody used to climb up the chimney and clean all that soot. And the thing is, not just anybody could do it.
You had to be really small to fit up in the chimney, so they used to give the task to kids – some as young as four or five years old. They worked for their boss known as a master-sweep. They were often covered in soot, and were very likely to get burned. They often developed what became known as soot wart, a form of cancer.
Are your unfairness bells ringing? William Blake’s certainly were. The physical dangers and widespread unfairness of the chimney-sweeping job really stuck in his throat, so much so that he wrote not one, but two poems called “The Chimney Sweeper”.
The first poem (the one we’re discussing here)was published in 1789 in a book called Songs of Innocence. These little poems took children and the joys of childhood innocence as their subject. As you’ve probably guessed by now, many of the poems in Songs of Innocence, like “The Chimney Sweeper”, are about the ways in which childhood innocence is destroyed by unkind old adults. For Blake, innocence is, in many ways, a total joke. It doesn’t exist, because it’s always taken away by the realistic world – chimney-sweeping, death, poverty, etc.
What does a five-year-old chimney sweeper in 18th-century England have to do with you? More than you might think. It is reported that 150 million kids are in child labor in developing countries. Many of them work long hours and face dangerous health risks. Like Blake’s chimney sweeper, these kids are not even given a chance at innocence because experience keeps getting in the way.Which of the following can best describe the chimney-sweeping job?
| A．Easy and interesting. | B．Dirty and dangerous. |
| C．Pleasant and well-paid | D．Challenging and creative. |
Why did Blake write two poems called “The Chimney Sweeper”?
| A．He was very interested in the job. |
| B．He had much experience in the job. |
| C．He considered the job very important. |
| D．He felt deeply sorry for the kid workers. |
How did Blake look at the realistic world?
| A．Thankfully | B．Regretfully | C．Doubtfully | D．Negatively |
In the last paragraph, the writer explains ________.
| A．the realistic meaning of “The Chimney Sweeper” |
| B．the great influence of Blake’s Songs of Innocence |
| C．why child labor still exists in developing countries |
| D．why chimney-sweeping becomes unnecessary today |
Want to find a job? Now read the following advertisements.
FAIRMONT HOTEL
Five Waiters and Ten Waitresses
— Aged under 22
— At least high school graduate
— Good-looking; men at least 1.72 meters tall and women at least 1.65
— Those knowing foreign languages favoured
— Paid 1 600—2 200 dollars per month
One Secretary
— Aged under 30
— Female favoured
— Good at writing and skilled at computer
If interested, call 465-4768 or write to:
Mr. Jack Hundris
Room 0825, Fairmont Hotel
567 Wood Street, San Markers, 78003
Fax: 6954828
WILSON BOOKSTORE
Accountant(会计)
— Aged between 25 and 40
— With an experience of at least two years
— With a degree and an accountant certificate(证书)
— Paid 3 000—4 000 dollars monthly
— With a practical knowledge of computer
Salesclerk
— Basic education of 12 years or more
— Good at computer
— Paid 1 800—2 200 dollars monthly
Tel: 447-4398
Fax: 3485269If you don’t know how to use a computer, you can just apply for the position as _______.
| A．a secretary | B．a waiter or waitress |
| C．an accountant | D．a salesclerk |
If you want to try for a job in Fairmont Hotel, you _______.
| A．have to be a woman and know foreign languages |
| B．should be a university graduate |
| C．have to be taller than 1.72 meters |
| D．should be younger than 30 years old |
From the ads we can conclude that _______.
| A．you’ll be better paid in Wilson Bookstore than in Fairmont Hotel |
| B．all the jobs offered require experience |
| C．the better education you’ve received, the more money you’ll make |
| D．if you want to be an accountant, you may call 465-4768 |
Food we need
Have you learned a lot about the kinds of food people need? They say that there are several kinds of food that people should eat every day. They are: (1) green and yellow vegetables of all kinds. (2) citrus(柑桔) fruits and tomatoes; (3) potatoes and other fruits and vegetables; (4) meat of all kinds, fish and eggs; (5) milk and foods made from milk; (6) bread or cereal(谷类), rice is also in this kind of food; (7) butter, or something like butter.
What food counts
People in different countries and different places of the world eat different kinds of things. Foods are cooked and eaten in many different kinds of ways. People in different countries eat at different times of the day. In some places people eat once or twice a day; in other countries people eat three or four times a day. Scientists say that none of the differences is really important. It doesn’t matter whether foods are eaten raw(生的) or cooked, canned or frozen. It doesn’t matter if a person eats dinner at 4 o’clock in the afternoon or at eleven o’clock at night. The important thing is what you eat every day.
How shall we do?
There are two problems, then, in feeding the large number of people on earth. The first is to find some ways to feed the world’s population so that no one is hungry. The second is to make sure that people everywhere have the right kinds of food to make them grow to be strong and healthy.According to the scientists, which of the following groups of food is the healthiest for your lunch?
| A．chicken, apples, cereal, cabbages |
| B．potatoes, carrots, rice, bread |
| C．oranges, bananas, fish, tomatoes |
| D．beef, pork, fish, milk |
It is important for people to eat _______.
| A．three times a day |
| B．dinner at twelve o’clock |
| C．cooked food all the day |
| D．something from each of the seven kinds of food every day |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．People in some places don’t have enough to eat. |
| B．There are too many people in the world. |
| C．One of the problems is that no one is hungry. |
| D．The scientists are trying to make people grow to be strong and healthy. |
If there is Paragraph 4, what do you think is going to be talked about?
| A．When people eat their lunch |
| B．What to do with the two problems |
| C．How to cook food in different ways |
| D．Why people eat different kinds of food |
In choosing a friend, one should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fair weather friends. They will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities (品质) of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability (可靠).
Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person's place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.
At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults (过错) in others. He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.
Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on (信赖) a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.
There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience (经验) and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor (幽默), too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.
When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I've found a friend!Which of the following qualities the writer thinks is the most important in choosing a friend?
| A．understanding. |
| B．honesty. |
| C．reliability. |
| D．a sense of humor. |
If you have fair weather friends, ______.
| A．they will give you all that they have when you need help |
| B．you will be refused when you get into trouble |
| C．you will become rich |
| D．you can be sure that you get real friends |
Good friends need to ______.
| A．always point out each other's mistakes |
| B．be helped with money |
| C．understand each other's feelings |
| D．have money or luck |
This passage mainly discusses ______.
| A．the qualities of a friend |
| B．where to choose friends |
| C．how to get along with friends |
| D．the importance of having a friend |
As one comes to some crossroads, he or she sees a sign which says that drivers have to stop when they come to the main road ahead. At other crossroads, drivers have to go slow, but they do not actually have to stop unless, of course, there is something coming along the main road; and at still others, they do not have either to stop or to go slow, because they are themselves on the main road.
Mr. Williams, who was always a very careful driver, was driving home from work one evening when he came to a crossroad. It had a “SLOW” sign. He slowed down when he came to the main road, looked both ways to see that nothing was coming, and then drove across without stopping completely.
At once he heard a police whistle (口哨声), so he pulled into the side of the road and stopped. A policeman walked over to him with a notebook and a pen in his hand and said, “You didn’t stop at that crossing.”
“But the sign there doesn't say ‘STOP’.” answered Mr. Williams, “It just says ‘SLOW’, and I did go slow.”
The policeman looked around him, and a look of surprise came over his face. Then he put his notebook and pen away, scratched (抓) his head and said, “Well，I'm in the wrong street！”Mr. Williams was driving ____ one evening.
| A．to a party |
| B．to his office |
| C．home after work |
| D．to work from home |
When he was stopped by a policeman, he ____.
| A．was driving at a high speed |
| B．was driving onto the main road |
| C．was going to stop his car |
| D．was driving slowly |
Mr. Williams continued driving at the crossing because____.
| A．he didn't see any sign there. |
| B．he paid no attention to the traffic rules |
| C．he didn't have to stop |
| D．he was eager to get home |
Looking round Mr. Williams, the policeman was surprised because____.
| A．he met a mad man |
| B．he realized that he himself was mistaken |
| C．Mr. Williams dared to speak to him like that |
| D．Mr. Williams would not apologize to him |