Celebrating New Year’s Day is one of the oldest and most exciting traditions around the world. Since this festival marks the beginning of the year, New Year’s Day is thought of as a perfect time for a “clean start”. People in the world decide to act better in the year just beginning than the year just ended.
No day has ever been celebrated in so many different ways. All over the world, countries have their own special beliefs about what the New Year means to them.
In Scotland, the New Year is called Hogmanay. In the villages of Scotland, barrels of tar (沥青) are set on fire. It represents that the old year is burned up and the new one is allowed to enter.
New Year’s Day is also the Festival of Saint Basil in Canada. Children leave their shoes by the fireside on New Year’s Day with the hope that Saint Basil, who is famous for his kindness, will come and fill their shoes with gifts.
The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. It is an important time when Jews promise to do better in the future. Special services are held in the church, children are given new clothes and New Year bread is cooked to remind people of harvest time.
On New Year’s Day in Japan, everyone gets dressed in their new clothes and homes are decorated (装饰) with bamboos—symbols of long life.
In European countries such as Germany, France and Belgium, families start the New Year by first attending church services. Afterwards, they visit friends and relatives. In France, boys and girls receive gifts of money on New Year’s Day.
New Year celebrations around the
| Country/people |
Celebration activities |
Special beliefs |
| Scotland |
People |
The old year is burned up and the new one is allowed to enter. |
| Canada |
Children leave their |
Their shoes will be |
| Jews |
It is a time for people to People |
|
| Japan |
People Homes are decorated with bamboos. |
Symbols of |
| European |
People attend church services visiting friends and relatives. |
|
If there is an “Olympics for Eating”, the days from Halloween in October to Super Bowl Sunday in January are it. Kids always get at least 7 pounds heavier over these holidays.
Well, what do we have in the “Olympic for eating”? The first activity is the Halloween Candy. You can try any way to collect candies.
Next is the Thanksgiving food. You have dinner around a turkey with family and friends on Thanksgiving Day. Eat the delicious food as much as you can. About one month later there is Christmas and then the New Year’s celebration. Go on eating delicious porridge(粥) and peas. You are so lucky to have so many holidays and get so close to each other. At last, the game ends with Super Bowl Sunday. On this day, you don’t have dinner. You have mountains of snacks!
Who wins the game? Those who don’t get heavier! Start practising now! You must be more careful about what you can eat!“Olympics for Eating” is ______.
| A．a festival |
| B．not the real Olympic Games |
| C．from Thanksgiving to Super Bowl Sunday |
| D．a game for kids exercising |
What’s the special food for Thanksgiving Day?
| A．Candies. | B．Snacks. |
| C．Turkeys. | D．Porridge. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．If the kid eats the most food, he wins the game. |
| B．If the kid gets the heaviest, he wins the game. |
| C．If the kid is heavier after the eating game, he can’t win. |
| D．If the kid doesn’t eat the food during the game, he wins. |
Here’s the weather report for some main cities from four continents(大洲).
| City |
℃ |
Weather |
City |
℃ |
Weather |
| Beijing |
29~35 |
cloudy |
Paris |
15~29 |
windy |
| London |
13~27 |
foggy |
Singapore |
25~30 |
shower |
| Moscow |
11~22 |
cloudy |
Sydney |
7~12 |
sunny |
| New York |
22~26 |
cloudy |
Tokyo |
23~27 |
rainy |
Which city was the hottest on that day?
| A．Beijing. | B．London. |
| C．Paris. | D．Singapore. |
How many kinds of weather were shown?
| A．Four. | B．Five. | C．Six. | D．Seven. |
It is winter in __________.
| A．Sydney | B．Paris | C．London | D．Tokyo |
Mrs Smith is going shopping with her son．They are looking for presents for Mr Smith’s birthday．They drive to the shop mall on Baker Street．
Mrs Smith goes to the Electrical Shop on the third floor. When the woman gets to the counter，she finds the camera she wants to buy is sold (卖)out．She finds another kind of camera，but it is too expensive．Then she finds a compact camera. That is a small camera．There is a discount on it．but she does not know if her husband likes it．So she decides (决定) not to buy that one．
Tom goes to the Men’s Clothing Shop on the first floor．The boy is looking for a jumper for his father．He has only $ 10 in his pocket and it’s not enough．Then he waits for his mother to come．At last，they buy the jumper for Mr Smith.What do they want to buy for Mr Smith at first?
| A．A camera． |
| B．A jumper． |
| C．A camera and a jumper． |
| D．They don’t decide． |
What shop does Mrs Smith go to first?
| A．The Men’s Clothing Shop． |
| B．The Women’s Clothing Shop． |
| C．The Camera Shop． |
| D．The Electrical Shop． |
Why doesn’t Mrs Smith buy a camera?
| A．Because the camera she wants to buy is sold out． |
| B．Because another kind of camera is too expensive． |
| C．Because her husband may not like the compact camera． |
| D．All the above (上面的)． |
What shop does Tom go to?
| A．The Women’s Clothing Shop． |
| B．The Men’s Clothing Shop． |
| C．The Camera Shop． |
| D．The Electrical Shop． |
How much do they have to spend?
| A．More than 10 dollars． | B．Less than 10 dollars． |
| C．10 dollars | D．5 dollars． |
John gets up early from Monday to Saturday, because he must go to school before 7:30 on weekdays(工作日) and go to the Drawing Club at 8:00 on Saturday mornings. He usually goes to the bookshop on Saturday afternoons, and after supper he watches TV until(直到) midnight.
He doesn’t get up early on Sundays. John’s parents both work on Sundays. John always watches TV after he gets up. Then he usually goes to KFC to have a hamburger and some juice for lunch. After that, he goes back home and starts to play computer games until his parents come back. He does his homework after supper. He usually has lots of weekend homework, so he must spend three hours on it. He usually goes to bed at about 11:00 p.m. on Sundays. He often complains(抱怨) he has too much homework to do.How often does John need to get up early?
| A．Every day. | B．Five days a week. |
| C．Only at the weekend. | D．Every day except on Sundays. |
What does John do on Sunday mornings?
| A．He goes to have lessons. | B．He goes to a club. |
| C．He goes to the bookshop. | D．He watches TV. |
When does John do his weekend homework?
| A．On Sunday evenings. | B．On Sunday mornings. |
| C．On Saturday evenings. | D．On Sunday afternoons. |
Why does John have lunch in KFC on Sundays?
A. Because he’s too busy.
B. Because his parents aren’t at home.
C. Because he gets up too late.
D. Because his parents have lunch in KFC.Which of these is not right?
| A．John watches TV after supper on Saturdays. |
| B．John doesn’t exercise on Sundays. |
| C．John watches much TV on Sunday afternoons. |
| D．John goes to bed late on Saturday and Sunday evenings. |
Look at my pen pal’s album. This is Lily, my pen pal. She lives in New Zealand(新西兰).It ’s next to Australia(澳大利亚).She is a quiet girl. She likes playing the violin and drawing comic pictures. She wants to be an artist in the future. She goes to school on foot. She has a brother. His name is Jill. He is only five. He likes riding his small bike in the garden and playing with his toy cars. Her father is a baseball player. Her mother is an accountant. She works in a bank. They both go to work by car. They are very happy.
Where is New Zealand?
A. It’s next to America.
B. It’s next to Australia.
C. It’s next to China.What’s Lily’s hobby?
A. She likes playing the violin and drawing comic pictures.
B. She likes riding his small bike in the garden and playing with his toy cars.
C. She likes drawing comic pictures and riding a bike.What does her father do?
A. He’s a baseball player
B. He’s a football player
C. He’s a policemanHow does her father go to work?
A. On foot. B. By bus. C. By car.Does Jill like riding his small bike in the garden?
A．Yes, he does.
B. No, he doesn’t
C. Yes, she does.