When a cake is brought to the table at a birthday party, it is usually decorated with candles. It is said that the tradition of lighting birthday candles was invented by the ancient Greeks; it has taken on different meanings through the years. Today, one of the most popular birthday traditions is to blow out the candles all at once to make a secret wish come true.
In order to please Artemis, the goddess of the moon, the ancient Greeks arranged something special for birthdays. A moon-shaped cake was baked and decorated with lit candles. They thought the smoke from the candles would carry an offering(祭品) up into the sky, where they believed Artemis lived.
The tradition of lighting birthday candles continued in Europe, where candles were sometimes kept burning all day on a person’s birthday, partly as celebration and partly to keep away evil spirits. It was believed that the blowing out of candles represented one’s prayers(祈祷) to the gods. Some cultures believe it is a bad luck to blow out the candles until after the evening meal is eaten.
Traditionally, one candle represents a year of the person’s age. Some families prefer to add an extra candle for good luck. But that practice is improper when a very young child is celebrating a third birthday. Generally, older people’s birthdays are celebrated by placing just a few candles to represent, such as an eight for 80th birthday.
Today’s birthday candles are made in different shapes, like animals or flowers. One or two candles in the shape of numbers are sometimes used instead of lots of candles; for example, a four-shaped and a zero-shaped candle would represent 40.Why did the ancient Greeks arrange something special for birthdays?
| A．To make their dreams come true. |
| B．To celebrate a person’s birthday. |
| C．To protect themselves from evil spirits. |
| D．To please the goddess of the moon. |
What is the tradition of lighting candles for birthdays like in Europe?
| A．The candles were always kept burning all day on a person’s birthday. |
| B．The blowing out of candles represented one’s prayers to the god. |
| C．Some cultures believe it is right to blow out the candles before the evening meal. |
| D．The Europeans sometimes keep burning the candles all day just as a celebration. |
What can we infer from the last two paragraphs?
| A．In some families, people would add an extra candle without any special meaning. |
| B．It is common to see a cake with four candles on a three-year-old child’s birthday. |
| C．Traditionally, people can use an eight-shaped and a zero-shaped candle to represent 80. |
| D．Usually one candle is placed on a cake for each year of the person’s age. |
The following is the information about an accident.
| Time |
January 21, 2012 |
| Place |
Mount Hua, Shanxi |
| People |
A team of seven mountain climbers |
| Weather |
Heavy snow |
| Event |
Two climbers fell into the valley (山谷) |
| What happened |
Mr. Zhang hurt his left leg. Miss Wang was hurt in the head |
| Time of call for help |
2:30 p. m. |
| Name of the caller |
Mr. Chen, a member of the team |
| Action |
Firemen arrived there at 3:00 p. m. and took the wound (伤者) to the nearest hospital at 3:15 p. m. |
根据短文内容，选择正确答案。
| A．rainy | B．snowy | C．sunny | D．windy |
| A．Policemen | B．Visitors | C．Partners | D．Firemen |
| A．morning | B．afternoon | C．evening | D．night |
| A．Two | B．Three | C．Four | D．Five |
| A．When they were climbing the mountain, two of them fell into the valley. |
| B．The firemen arrived half an hour later. |
| C．Mr. Zhang hurt his head. |
| D．The accident happened on Mount Hua, Shanxi |
When my first wartime Christmas came, I was in basic training in New Jersey and not sure if I could make it home for the holidays. Only on the afternoon of December 23 was the list of men who would have three-day passes (通行证) posted. I was one of the lucky soldiers.
It was Christmas Eve when I arrived, and a light snow had fallen. Mother opened the front door. I could see beyond her, into the corner of the living room where the tree had always stood. There were lights, all colors, and ornaments (装饰物) shining against the green of a pine.
“Where did it come from？” I asked.
“I asked the Gates boy to cut it,” my mother said. “I wouldn’t have had one just for myself, but when you called--- oh, such a rush! He just brought it in this afternoon…”
The pine reached to the proper height, almost to the ceiling, and the Tree Top Krystal Star was in its place. A few green branches reached about a little awkwardly (难看地) at the side, I thought, and there was a bit of bare trunk showing in the middle. But the tree filled the room with warm light and the whole house with pleasant smell of Christmas.
“It’s not like the ones you used to find,” my mother went on. “Yours were always in good shape. I suppose the Gates boy didn’t know where to look. But I couldn’t be picky.”
“Don’t worry, ” I told her. “It’s perfect.”
It wasn’t, of course, but at the moment I realized something for the first time: all Christmas trees are perfect. When the writer got home, ________.
| A．it was December 23 |
| B．it was snowing heavily |
| C．he found a Christmas tree in the living room |
| D．the Gates boy was cutting a Christmas tree for his mother |
From the passage, we can conclude（推断） that ________.
| A．the writer used to cut very beautiful Christmas trees |
| B．his mother didn’t like perfect trees |
| C．his mother didn’t want to have a tree |
| D．the writer wouldn’t have a tree cut by someone else |
“All Christmas trees are perfect”, because they can remind you of ________.
| A．the wartime | B．the green of a pine |
| C．the pleasant smell | D．the sweet home |
The best title for this passage would be “________”.
| A．How to Choose a Christmas Tree |
| B．How Soldiers Spent Christmas |
| C．The Perfect Christmas Tree |
| D．The Christmas Without a Tree |
In some parts of China, school children have to cook for themselves. But now, with the help of donations, this becomes a history forever.
At the donation ceremony in southwest China's Lishan Primary School in Yunnan province, kids gathered at playground to receive something new to them -- a kitchen system. Gu Dongjun was the donor of the new system. She wanted the children to grow up healthily.” I hope the kids can eat clean and hot food,” she said.
Lishan Primary School has more than 500students. Half of them live at school, and have to cook for themselves in the open air. They have been picturing their dream kitchen since they knew they would no longer have to cook outside.
It was not just Lishan Primary School getting a new kitchen. Another 12 schools in Yunan Province also got new kitchens. Zhou Faming is the headmaster of Panlong Primary School. He said the new system really helped improve the quality of food. China Youth Development Foundation(中国青少年发展基金会)started an activity recently to support 100 schools every year in poor places. And so far 20 schools have already received the new kitchen system.According to the passage, how might the students eat in the past?
| A．Clean and hot. |
| B．Delicious and warm. |
| C．Dirty and cold. |
| D．Clean and warm. |
In Lishan Primary School, how did the students who lived there get their food in the past?
| A．They cooked on their own in the open air. |
| B．Their mother cooked for them. |
| C．The cook cooked for them in the kitchen. |
| D．The cook cooked for them in the open air. |
In Lishan Primary School, when did they draw their dream kitchen?
| A．Since they had no kitchen. |
| B．Since they went to the school. |
| C．Since they received a kitchen system. |
| D．Since they knew the would have a new kitchen. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Chinese Schools. | B．China Youth Development Foundation. |
| C．Feed Students Better | D．How to Cook. |
In the 1920s and 30s the airlines were just beginning. It was unusual for people to travel by air because it was expensive and dangerous. In those days, there were no flight attendants to look after the passengers(乘客). Young men ,or “stewards” helped the passengers onto the airplane and carried the passengers’ luggage(行李)but they did not provide food or drinks. But then in 1930,a woman called Ellen Church invented the “stewardess”.
Ellen Church was born in 1904 on a farm in Iowa. She was a different child. She didn’t want to work on a farm or marry a farmer —she wanted a more adventurous life. Ellen studied to be a nurse at the University of Minnesota and then got a job in a hospital. For the next few years she stayed at the hospital but also took flying lessons and got her pilot’s license.
Ellen was twenty-five years old when she first got in touch with Boeing Air Transport. She loved flying but she understood that airlines were a man’s world. Although women like Emelia Earheart were becoming famous, she realized it was impossible for a woman to have a career as a pilot .But she had another idea. Most people were frightened of flying because. flying was still an unreliable(不可靠的) way to travel. There were often delays(延误),many crashes and the bad weathers made many passengers sick. Ellen thought nurses could take care of passengers during flights and B.A.T. agreed.
The young woman from Iowa and seven other nurses became the first air stewardesses.
At first pilots were unhappy because they did not want stewardesses on airplanes, but passengers loved the stewardesses. In 1940 there were around 1000 of them working for different airlines. The early “stewardesses” had to be under twenty-five-year-old, single and slim. When a woman joined an airline, she had to promise not to get married or have children. It was a hard job and not well paid. They worked long hours and earned ＄1 an hour.
In the 1970s, stewardesses were unhappy in their job and airlines had to make some changes. Since the 1970s, “stewardesses” have been called flight attendants. They are well paid and work fewer hours than in the past.The underlined word “adventurous” means _____________.
| A．奇怪的 | B．平淡的 | C．有趣的 | D．冒险的 |
The main reason for Boeing Air Transport offering Ellen the job was ________.
| A．her flying experience | B．her university education |
| C．her nursing experience | D．her life attitudes |
According to the passage, in the 1940s a woman had to ________ if she wanted to be a stewardess.
| A．be a nurse | B．be married | C．be a mother | D．be young |
The passage mainly talks about _______.
| A．the background of early flying pilots |
| B．the experience of flying passengers |
| C．the history of early flight attendants |
| D．the development of airplanes |
According to HEALTHY EATING PLATE, we should pay attention to ______aspects(方面) to be healthy.
| A．2 | B．4 | C．6 | D．1 |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Some kinds of oil are unhealthy. |
| B．Eating lots of fruit of different colors is a good way to keep healthy. |
| C．Brown rice is healthier than white rice. |
| D．We’d better eat a lot of potatoes and French fries. |
What’s the passage mainly about? __________________.
| A．How to use plates | B．How to eat healthily |
| C．How to use healthy oils | D．How to eat whole grains |
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