Cultural events that take place in Edinburgh during August draw most people’s attention, but plenty of other festivals can also entertain you throughout the rest of the year.
Ceilidh Culture Festival
Where: various places
When: Date late Mar/early Apr
Tel & website: 228 1155, www.ceilidhculrure.co.uk
Backed by the local authorities, this is a community-focused celebration of traditional Scottish music, dance, song and storytelling. City-wide over a period of nearly four weeks, prices are different for different events.
Beltane Fire Festival
Where: Calton Hill, Calton Hill & Broughton
When: 30 Apr
Website: www. beltane.org
An ancient tradition marking the transition (转变) from winter to spring, the Beltane fire festival was revived (恢复) in the 1980s and has grown into quite a drama: fire, costume, body-paint, dancing and drumming. If the weather holds, it can attract up to 12,000 people. Tickets cost around ￡5 in advance from the Hub; a limited number are available for ￡7 on the night.
Doors Open Day
Where: various places
When: weekend, late Sept
Tel & Website: 557 8686, www.cockburnassociation.org.uk
Each year, heritage (遗产) body the Cockburn Association works with organizations and individuals (个人) to allow public access to buildings that few people usually get to see---everything from private homes to lighthouses. It’s all free.
Capital Christmas
Where: various places
When: late Nov till early Jan
Website: www.edinburghschristmas.com
What started out as a few accidental events has grown into a large, popular, city-wide festival. The main part is the Winter Wonderland in Princes Street Gardens, including fairground (露天市场) rides, crafts market, a skating rink (溜冰场) and the Edinburgh Wheel (a Ferris wheel next to the Scott Monument).If you want to find out more about the Ceilidh Cultural Festival, you can visit_____ .
| A．www. ceilidhculrure.co.uk |
| B．www.cockburnassociation.org.uk |
| C．www.edinburghschristmas.com |
| D．www. beltane.org |
Why do people celebrate the Beltane Fire Festival?
| A．To celebrate traditional Scottish music. |
| B．To exhibit ancient architecture. |
| C．To celebrate the transition from winter to spring |
| D．To celebrate the invention of fire. |
Doors Open Day may be on______ .
| A．a Monday in late September |
| B．a Saturday in late September |
| C．a Saturday in late November |
| D．a Monday in late November |
In the past, American families tended to be quite large. Parents raising five or more children were common. Over the years, the size of the family has decreased. One reason for this is an increase in the cost of living. On the average, children attend schools for more years than they used to, making them financially dependent on their families longer. Moreover, children nowadays are better dressed and have more money to spend on entertainment. The parents usually take the responsibility for all the expenses. Meanwhile, families are less close than they used to be. More and more American mothers work away from home. The break up of the family occurs when the parents divorce. A lot of children in the U. S. live part of their young lives with only one parent. Broken families usually result in problems for children and parents alike. Children blame themselves when their parents separate. They grow up feeling unsettled as they are moved back and forth between parents. Usually one parent is responsible for raising the children. These single parents must care for the children’s emotional and psychological needs while also supporting them financially. This is very demanding and leaves very little time for the parent’s own personal interests. Single parents often marry other single parents. In this type of family, unrelated children are forced to develop brother or sister relationship. The situations of many American families today are not good. However, recent signs indicate that things are getting better. The divorce rate is declining. The rate of childbirth is rising. Perhaps Americans have learned how important families are. In the past, American families tended to be ____.
| A．quite small | B．medium sized | C．quite large | D．small |
To parents who take the responsibility for children’s expenses, the cost of living increases because ____.
| A．children attend school for more years | B．children are better dressed |
| C．children spend more money on entertainment | D．all of the above |
According to the author, the situations of American families in the future may ____.
| A．become worse | B．remain the same |
| C．get better | D．keep unchanged |
The title of the article might be ____.
| A．American Children | B．American Families |
| C．American Mother | D．American Parents |
A growing number of students in the United States are studying Mandarin(普通话). It is the official language of China. More and more people speak Mandarin than those who speak other languages in the world.
Schools that teach Mandarin want to prepare students for a future in which they are likely to work with people from China. Business in China is booming(繁荣的), and that trend(趋势) is expected to grow.
The US government is trying to encourage even more public schools to teach Mandarin. Officials are considering spending about $1 billion on Mandarin programs in schools. China is getting involved(参与) too. The Chinese government has donated Mandarin textbooks to US schools. Some schools are also taking part in teacher exchange programs with China.
“It is important for students to learn Mandarin and Chinese culture,” said Mary Patterson, a school principal(校长) in Portland, Oregon. “Students who do so will have wider opportunities when they become adults.”Why are US schools teaching Mandarin?
| A．To help students communicate with Chinese students. |
| B．To encourage students to move to China, |
| C．To prepare students for the future. |
| D．To get students interested in business. |
The underlined word “donated” (in Paragraph 4) can be replaced by “______”?
| A．provided | B．kept | C．made | D．found |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Why US students learn Mandarin | B．Schools in China |
| C．How to speak Mandarin | D．China today |
A young woman was driving through the lonely countryside. It was dark and rainy. Suddenly she saw an old woman by the side of the road, holding up her hand as if she wanted a lift(搭便车).
“I can’t leave her out in this weather,” the young woman said to herself. She stopped the car and opened the door.
“ Do you want a lift?” she asked. The old woman nodded and climbed into the car. After a while, she said to the old woman “ Have you been waiting for a long time?” The old woman shook her head. “ Strange” thought the woman. She tried again. “ Bad weather for the time of the year,” she said. The old woman nodded.
Then the young woman noticed that the old woman’ s hand, which were large and hairy(多毛的). Suddenly she realize that “she” was a man！She stopped the car. “ I can’t see out of the rear screen(后挡风玻璃),” she said. “ Would you mind cleaning it for me ?”
“The old woman” nodded and opened the door. As soon as “she” was out of the door, the frightened young woman drove off as fast as she could.
When she got to the next village, she stopped. She noticed “ the old woman ” had left “her” handbag behind. She picked it up and opened it. Inside was a gun. When the young woman talked with “her”, “ the old woman” only nodded or shook “her” head because “she”______.
| A．didn’t want the young woman to hear “her” voice |
| B．didn’t want to trouble the young woman any more |
| C．was so tired that “she” didn’t want to talk with her |
| D．was worried that the young woman had seen “her” hands |
The young woman asked “the old woman” to clean the rear screen in order to_________.
| A．see more clearly | B．drive fast and well |
| C．make “her” speak | D．throw “her” out |
From the story we can see that the young woman was______.
| A．kind and clever | B．beautiful and bright |
| C．foolish and shy | D．strong and helpful |
What do you think “the old woman” was?
| A．A policeman. | B．A basketball player. |
| C．A robber(抢劫犯). | D．A poor villager. |
If you live in the United States, you can’t have a full-time job until you are 16 years old. At 14 or 15, you work part-time after school or on weekends, and during summer vacation you can work 40 hours each week. Does all that mean that if you are younger than 14, you can’t make your own money? Of course not! Kids from 10-13 years of age can make money by doing lots of things.
Valerie, 11, told us that she made money by cleaning up other people’s yards. Lena, 13, makes money by knitting(织) dog sweaters and selling them to her neighbors. Reisa said she had started taking art classes and showing her works to people. People ask her to draw pictures for them and they pay her for them. Jasmine. 13, writes articles for different magazines!
Kids can learn lots of things from making money. By working to make your own money, you are learning the skills you will need in life. These skills can include things like how to get along with others, how to use technology and how to use your time wisely. Some people think that asking for money is a lot easier than making it; however, if you can make your own money, you don’t have to depend on anyone else. The five dollars that you make will probably make you feel a lot better than the twenty dollars you ask for. Kids can have full-time jobs at the age of______ in the USA.
A. 17 B.15 C. 14 D. 13 If you are 15 years old, you can’t work part-time______.
| A．after school | B．on weekends |
| C．during school time | D．during summer vacation |
Riesa makes money by_______.
| A．cleaning up other people’s yard | B．drawing pictures for others |
| C．writing articles for different magazines | D．knitting dog sweaters. |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The writer thinks kids from 10-13 years of age can make money too. |
| B．Kids can learn how to use their time wisely by making money. |
| C．Kids don’t need to get along with others when making money. |
| D．Kids can learn skills if they try to make money on their own. |
We use the Internet for many things: business, shopping, writing letters, talking to people, finding information and so on. In recent years, a new kind of English has grown on the Internet. There’s no real word for it yet, so we’ll call it e-talk. People don’t like typing too much. To save time, they turn phrases into a few letters (called acronyms). Acronyms are often used in chat rooms(聊天室). Some of them are:
BTW(by the way); BRB(be right back); LOL(laughing out loud); IMO(in my opinion)
People also use many abbreviations. They are shortened forms of words. Some common abbreviations are:
info(information); puter(computer); pic(picture); sec(second)
We ususally don’t see people when we communicate on the Internet, so people have new ways to show feelings. Most people use their keyboards to draw “feelings”, such as:
:-) (happy); ;-)(joking); :-((sad); :-O(surprised)
These days, many forums(论坛)have picture feelings. For example:
(happy) (sad) (angry) (cool)
There are even whole new words, like ”newbie’s” (someone who is new on a chat board or forum). When you write something bad about someone else, it’s called “flaming” the person.
It takes time for people to get used to e-talk. Also, different groups on the Net have their own special ways of communicating. Newbie’s sometimes have to ask other people what they mean. As the Internet grows, e-talk will continue to grow and change.Why do people type acronyms?
| A．To show their feelings. | B．To make jokes. |
| C．To save time. | D．In this way newbie’s won’t understand them. |
What does “BTW, my computer is not working well, :-( ”mean?
| A．The person is happy about getting a new computer. |
| B．The person has to go away from his/her computer. |
| C．The person is angry at somebody. |
| D．The person is sad that his computer is having problems. |
If someone is angry, what may he type?
| A． |
B．BRB | C．LOL | D． |
E-talk will probably_______.
| A．keep changing | B．stay the same |
| C．be used by people on the telephone | D．be easy for newbie’s to understand. |