Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way.Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.
Chinese New Year is an important traditional Chinese holiday celebrated at the turn of the Chinese calendar. It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly clean the house, in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red color paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of “good fortune”or “happiness”, “wealth”, and “longevity”. Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red paper envelopes.
In Western countries, people usually celebrate New Year at midnight on December 31st or January 1st. People may go to parties, sometimes dressed in form alclothes like tuxedos and evening gowns, and they may drink champagne（香槟）at midnight. During the first minutes of the New Year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead. But some cultures prefer to celebrate the New Year by waking up early to watch the sun rise.
It is also a common Western custom to make a New Year’s promise, called a resolution. New Year’s resolutions usually include promises to try something new or change a bad habit in the New Year.
Many cultures also do special things to get rid of bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, in Ecuador, families make a big doll from old clothes. The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the New Year can start afresh. Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a New Year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the New Year.
Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the New Year. One widespread Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year’s Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the new coming year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck at New Year. In the United States, some people eat black-eyed peas for good luck—but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them!The passage is mainly about_____.
| A．the meaning of “Happy New Year!” |
| B．several different New Year traditions |
| C．traditional activities for the New Year |
| D．interesting traditions on New Year’s Day |
We can learn from the passage that_____.
| A．some cultures celebrate New Year in the morning |
| B．4 cultures do special things to celebrate New Year |
| C．people in Ecuador go to parties on December 31stor January 1st |
| D．the Western people celebrate New Year only on New Year’s Day |
To have a happy new year,_____.
| A．friendssing to each other in special ways |
| B．families make big dolls filled with new clothes |
| C．some people get up early to watch the sunrise |
| D．Europeans eat 365 grapes on New Year’s Day |
When eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day, people think_____.
| A．one pea brings one day of good luck |
| B．black-eyed peas are the best medicine |
| C．the peas are very black and taste bad |
| D．the peas are helpful to count numbers |
Mark Twain is someone Americans are taught to love. Older relatives, English teachers and the media always praise him. But when you actually take the time to read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, you find that his work is more wonderful than you could ever imagine.
The novel describes a young boy named Tom Sawyer growing up in a small town along the Mississippi River. He explores the countryside on a riverboat with his friends, falls in love with girls, starts secret clubs and searches for treasure. Twain’s idea of childhood is magical – a time of imagination, wonder and, of course, adventure.
More importantly, through the eyes of Tom Sawyer, Twain cleverly makes fun of US culture. For example, Tom hates going to church, and Twain uses scenes of Tom there to mock religion(宗教) and its old traditions.
Twain’s writing is full of these kinds of critical (批判的) points about culture and politics(政治). That’s why he is so loved in the US – he wasn’t afraid to state his opinions, and he did so clearly.
He also believed strongly in women’s right to vote in elections and gave a famous speech on the subject, called “Votes for Women”, in 1901.
“Tom was a great hero once more——the pet of the old, the envy of the young,” Twain writes in Tom Sawyer. But he could just as well be describing himself.According to the writer, after reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, you are likely to think ______.
| A．it’s not worth all the praise |
| B．it’s as wonderful as you imagined |
| C．it’s better to read it with teachers |
| D．it’s even better than you imagined |
What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
| A．A brief(简要的) description of the novel. |
| B．Where Twain’s idea of childhood comes from. |
| C．How naughty and adventurous Tom Sawyer is. |
| D．What makes Tom Sawyer’s adventures so wonderful. |
What does the underlined word “mock” mean?
| A．make changes to | B．make fun of |
| C．give reasons for | D．give examples of |
Why is Twain so loved in the US according to the article?
| A．He supported women’s right to vote. |
| B．He wrote bad things about US wars abroad. |
| C．He criticized American culture and society(社会) clearly and cleverly. |
| D．He showed readers a magical childhood that everyone would love. |
Which is the best title of this passage?
| A．Mark Twain never stops laughing at US society |
| B．Mark Twain and Tom Sawyer |
| C．Mark Twain’s life |
| D．The Adventures of Tom Sawyer |
Time flies.Your time in junior high school will come to an end in a few months.Let’s look back over the last three years.What were the highs and lows?
For Zhang Xiaomeng, a senior high school girl from Jiangsu, meeting her best friend Hua Xuan was the best part of her time at junior high school.They went to class together, had lunch together, and even went to the washroom together.Having one or two best friends is important, said Xu Zheng, a teacher from Jiangsu.“Students have secrets.They don’t want to tell their parents,”Xu added.However, being too rebellious (叛逆的) in junior high is the biggest regret for Liu Anqing, a senior high school student from Fujian.“I didn’t listen to my parents.I quarreled with my mother every week,” said Liu.“I wish I could go back to that time and get on well with them.” Time also needs to be taken care of Zhang Zihua, 15, from Shanxi, thought he had plenty of time to prepare for the big exam at the end of Junior 3.Then one day, he was told: “The exam is in 100 days.” “We need a strong knowledge base to pass the exam.But I didn’t care about it,” said Zhang.Gu Xiaoli, a teacher from Jiangsu, said that it’s never too late to catch up.“No matter your regrets about wasted time, you can always pick things up from now,” said Gu.How many students shared their ideas in the passage?
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
The underlined word “regret” in Paragraph 2 most probably means a feeling of ____.
| A．happiness | B．surprise | C．anger | D．sadness |
Which of the following is true about Liu Anqing?
| A．She quarreled with her parents every day when she was a little girl. |
| B．Her parents didn’t like her at all. |
| C．She didn’t do well in her study at junior high school. |
| D．She didn’t get on well with her parents when she was in junior high school. |
What’s wrong with Zhang Zihua?
| A．He didn’t pass the exam. |
| B．He had no good friends. |
| C．He didn’t get ready for the exam. |
| D．He didn’t get on well with his parents and teachers. |
Bicycle tour and race
A bike tour and race will be held on August 26th and 27th(Sat. &Sun. ) at 5:30 a. m. The riders will leave Tian’an Men Square and ride the first 35 kilometers as a training leg（一段路程）. Then the next 55 kilometers’ leg, from Yanjiao to Jixian, will be the first competitive(比赛的) part of the tour. The riders and their bikes will then be taken from Jixian to Changli.
The second racing leg of the tour will be from Changli to the seaside of Nandaihe, covering a distance of 20 kilometers. Saturday night includes the stay at Nandaihe and supper. Sunday morning is free for the seaside. At noon all the people and their bikes will be taken back to Beijing.
Cost: 200 yuan; Telephone: 4675027
Brazilian（巴西的） footballers
The Brazilian Football Club play with Beijjing Guo’an Team at the Workers Stadium On August 26th. The club has four nation team players. Also coming is 1994 US World Cup star Ronario who has promised to play for at least 45 minutes.
Ticket Prices: 60／100／150 yuan
Time／date: 4: 30 p. m. August 26th(Sat. ); Telephone: 5012372
Rock climbing
The third National Rock Climbing Competition will be held on August 26th and 27th at the Huairou Mountain--climbing Training Base. More than 10 teams from Beijing, Wuhan, Dalian, Jilin and other places will take part in it. A Japanese team will give an exhibition climbing. Free for audience.
Take a long-distance bus from Dongzhimen to Huairou.
Time／Date: 9～12 am, August 26th and 27th; Telephone: 7143177, 7144850 Wang ZhenghuaThe main purpose of announcing the above events is to give information about____.
| A．visiting teams |
| B．things to do for the weekend |
| C．famous players |
| D．prices to pay for the sports events |
What is special about the rock climbing cmpetition?
| A．You don’t have to be a sportsman to take part in. |
| B．The bus trip to the places of the competition is free. |
| C．You can watch it without paying. |
| D．Many foreign teams take part in it. |
If you want to do something on Saturday afternoon, which telephone number will you call?
| A．7144850 | B．7143177 |
| C．4675027 | D．5012372 |
阅读理解
What is this?
| A．A notice. | B．An advertisement. |
| C．An application. | D．An interview. |
Who is this most probably written for?
| A．Parents. | B．Children. |
| C．Pupils. | D．Guides. |
What is NOT mentioned about the trip?
| A．Days of the trip. | B．Places to visit. |
| C．Price of the trip. | D．Meals during the trip. |
阅读理解
Some people say that today, reading is not as important as it was. These days we have photographs, films, radio and television. Why read a description of something when you can look at a photograph? Why read a newspaper when the latest news is brought to us every hour on radio and TV?
Photography was certainly a wonderful invention. Photographs can give a very clear idea of places and of people that we have never seen. An encyclopedia (百科全书) , for example, is always better when it has good illustrations. But we also need words to explain the photographs and drawings. A photograph of an elephant may give us a very good idea of what an elephant looks like, but it tells us nothing about the different sorts of elephants there are and where they are found, their exact size and weight, how they can be useful to man and so on.
In the same way, a good film has action, movement, color, and maybe music. These are things we do not find on the printed page. But reading a novel has certain advantages over watching even an excellent feature film. Reading a novel requires imagination. Each of us imagines a story differently.
Watching news on television can certainly be exciting. But we need newspapers as well. Some important news stories happen when there are no cameras around. More importantly, a newspaper does not just report the news. It explains why something has been happening. It also contains interesting articles on different subjects. Newspapers are an important part of our lives, if we want to understand what is going on in the places we live as well as in other parts of the world.
Reading is very important for information and pleasure. We need to be good readers to enjoy a full life as human beings. Reading is a skill and like other skills, it needs practice. The more we read, the better readers we become. And the better readers we become, the more we enjoy reading! The secret is to get the reading habit. Read at least a little every day.According to Paragraph 2, photographs can give us __________.
| A．enough information about people and places |
| B．no information about things |
| C．some information about things but not enough |
| D．the wrong information about things |
Newspapers contain __________.
| A．more information than television |
| B．less information than television |
| C．more news from other countries |
| D．less information about important events than TV |
What are the advantages of novel over a feature film?
| A．There are more interesting subjects in novels. |
| B．We do not hear any music in a novel. |
| C．Novels always explain what is happening. |
| D．Novels make us use our imagination. |
What does the author think about reading?
| A．It is a wonderful invention. |
| B．It is an important part of our lives. |
| C．It requires no practices. |
| D．It is not as important as television. |