Everydayisafraidofsomething.To-优题课

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 barrels of tar.	The old year is burned up and the new one is allowed to enter.
Canada	Children leave their by the fireside.	Their shoes will be with gifts by Saint Basil.
Jews	It is a time for people to to do better in the future. People New Year Bread to remind of harvest time.
Japan	People their new clothes. Homes are decorated with bamboos.	Symbols oflife
European	People attend church services visiting friends and relatives.

It is difficult to say exactly how the music we call “rock” or “rock and roll” began. Its roots (根源) go back to many different countries and many different kinds of music and many musicians.
Rock music developed mainly from the interaction (相互影响）of black African and white European music. The Europeans and the African slaves (奴隶）who came to America during the seventeenth century each had their own different kinds of music. Black Africans used heavy drumbeats，a rough singing voice，and the calling of a melody (旋律）and answer of a chorus. The white Europeans，mostly English and Scots，used a stronger melody，a less heavy beat，and instruments such as guitars，horns，and fiddles. The history of rock and roll is the history of how rock changed from these two traditions.
From the seventeenth to the twentieth century， musicians in the southern United States developed two new forms of music： the blues，usually played by blacks，and country music， played by whites. Black musicians sang the blues with a guitar. This music was similar to work songs：stories of troubles and pain， with lines that were repeated several times. The word “rock and roll” probably came from the black churches in the South， where people sang and danced to the strong rhythms， which they called “rocking and reeling”. At the same time， whites were playing country music， which was mostly traditional dancing music and slow songs that told sad stories. The singers played with string instruments such as fiddles and guitars.
During this time blues and country musicians had some influence on each other， but the influence grew stronger after phonograph records (留声机唱片)became popular in the late nineteenth century. The birth of the electric guitar changed country and blue music in the 1940s. The sound of the electric guitar would become the sound， of rock and roll. No one thinks of early rock and roll without thinking of Elvis Presley，the“King of Rock and Roll”.Rock music continues to develop and change， but the heart and soul of rock is the same heart and soul that Elvis expressed.
What’s the best title for the passage?

A．Different Kinds of Music

B．The Beginning of Rock and Roll

C．Elvis’s Contribution (贡献）to Music

D．Rock and Roll Is Developing

Which of the following doesn’t describe black Africans’ music style?

A．They used heavy drumbeats.

B．They sang in a rough voice.

C．They used instruments such as guitars， horns， and fiddles.

D．They used the calling of a melody and answer of a chorus.

Which of the following describes country music?

A． Country music is usually played by blacks.

B．People sang spiritual music and danced to the strong rhythms， which they called “country music”.

C．Country music was traditional dancing music and slow songs that told sad stories.

D．Country music was similar to work songs.

Which of the following NOT right according to the passage?

A．In the seventeenth century， many visitors went to America from Europe and Africa.

B．Rock music developed mainly from the interaction of black African and white European music.

C．Musicians in the southern United States developed two new forms of music： the blues and country music from the seventeenth to the twentieth century.

D．Blues and country musicians had some influence on each other during a time in history.

Many children use the Internet to get useful knowledge and information， and to relax in their free time. But some of them are not using in a good way. Here are some rules to make sure you are safe and have fun on the Internet.
●Make rules for Internet use with your parents. For example， when you can go online， for how long and what activities you can go online.
●Don’t give your password(密码) to anyone else， and never leak out the following information—your real name， home address， age， school， phone number or other personal information.
●Check with your parents before giving out a credit(信用) card number.
●Never send a photo of yourself to someone in e-mail unless your parents say it’s OK.
●Check with your parents before going into a chat room. Different chat rooms have different rules and attract different kinds of people. You and your parents must make sure it’s a right place for you.
●Never agree to meet someone you met on the Internet without your parent’s permission(允许). Never meet anyone you met online alone.
●Always remember that people online may not be who they say they are. Treat everyone online as strangers.
●If something you see or read online makes you uncomfortable， leave the site. Tell a parent or teacher right away.
●Treat other people as you’d like to be treated. Never use bad language.
●Remember—not everything you read on the Internet is true.
If you want a true friend on the Internet， you can ______.

A．tell the people what your name is

B．meet the people online alone

C．write an e-mail about yourself

D．get your parent’s permission

The underlined phrase “leak out” in the third paragraph may mean “______”.

A．give in	B．leave out
C．give out	D．put away

This passage is mainly about “______”.

A．How to Use Computers

B．Surfing the Internet

C．Information on the Internet

D．Internet Safety Rules

Last week Lu visited England. He stayed with my grandmother. He found it was strange.
‘I don’t know why， but I frightened your grandmother a lot. When I arrived， I gave her a purse from Dongtai. She looked in it and asked me to take it back. Then I saw a red spider (蜘蛛) on the table， and I killed it for her. She seemed very unhappy. Do English people like spiders?
‘Later we went shopping. Someone was painting a shop front， so there was a ladder. Grandmother stopped me from walking under it and said I must walk around it. I liked the shops and bought some lovely rose soap for my mother， a smart umbrella for my father and some new shoes for myself. When we got back， I put the shoes on the table and opened the umbrella to check if it was all right. Your grandmother came in and screamed!
‘Then I broke a small mirror in the bathroom. Your grandmother’s face went white. I felt very sorry. When I left， I gave your grandmother some flowers. She counted and there were 13. She didn’t like them.’
I explained to Lu， ‘My grandmother follows the old customs. You must not give someone an empty purse， or they will have no money. You must not kill a “money spider”， or the same will happen. Also it is very unlucky to walk under a ladder or put new shoes on the table. An open umbrella in a house means someone will die. Breaking a mirror brings seven years’ bad luck， and 13 is also a very unlucky number. You were really making my grandmother very afraid.’
What did the writer’s grandmother feel when she saw the umbrella?

A．Excited.	B．Satisfied.
C．Afraid.	D．Happy.

Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Thirteen is an unlucky number in England.

B．It is very unlucky to walk under a ladder or put new shoes on the table in England.

C．For most British people， breaking a mirror means bad luck.

D．People never give purses as presents in England.

How many wrong things did Lu do altogether?

A．5.

B．6.

C．8.

D．10.

Plants are very important for living things. Life could not go on if there were no plants. This is be-cause plants can make food from air， water and sunlight. Animals and man cannot make food from air， water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals. Therefore animals and man need plants in order to live. This is why we find that there are so many plants around us.
If you look carefully at the plants around you， you will find that there are two kinds of plants： flowering plants and non-flowering plants.
Flowering plants can make seeds（种子）.The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed， some have two， three or four， and some have many seeds. But a few fruits have no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit.
Most non-flowering plants do not grow from seeds. They grow from spores（孢子）．Spores are very， very small. Some spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as seeds. When these spores fall on wet and shady places， they usually grow into new plants.
What fact does the passage lead you to believe?

A．Of all living things， animals are most important.

B．Spores are seeds.

C．All fruits of flowering plants have seeds.

D．Without plants， man will die out.

The paragraph following the passage will be about_______.

A．how plants can make food from air

B．how spores grow into new plants

C．why some plants have no seeds

D．why non-flowering plants are more important than flowering plants

This passage is most likely to be taken from_______.

A．a story book

B．a novel

C．a science magazine

D．a laboratory report