【推荐1】Take a look at this year’s February on your calendar (日历), what do you see? Feb 29! It comes around only once every four years during a leap year (闰年), like this year. So, why do we need it? It takes 365. 25 days for the Earth to go around the Sun once.

We call this a solar year. However, our calendar year is only 365 days. That’s why we have leap years. They help make our calendar more accurate (准确的).

The difference between the two numbers may seem small, but think of it over a long time. If we didn’t have leap years, in a few hundred years’ time, July would actually happen during the cold winter months.

Leap years usually happen every four years, but sometimes there are special rules. When a year is a century year, like 1900 or 2000, if the year is divisible (可整除的) by 100 and not divisible by 400, then it is not a leap year. So, 1900 was not a leap year, but 2000 was.

Fun facts

People born on Feb 29 are often called “leapings”. So, how do leapings celebrate their birthdays? They don’t wait four years, they just celebrate their birthdays on Feb 28 or March 1.

Because it’s a rare (少有的) day, some people think Feb 29 is a good time to do some special things, like having a party or getting married (结婚).

1. What happens in a leap year?

A．February has twenty nine days.

B．February comes later than usual.

C．There are 365. 25 days in the calendar year.

D．The Earth goes around the Sun more slowly.

2. How often do leap years usually come around?

A．Every two years.	B．Every three years.
C．Every four years.	D．Every five years.

3. The writer wrote Paragraph 3 to show that _________.

A．a solar year is very different from a leap year

B．it’s important for our calendar to have leap years

C．it took a long time for people to know about leap years

D．leap years usually have longer and colder winter months

4. According to the fourth paragraph, which year will be a leap year?

A．2100.

B．2400.

C．2600.

D．3000.

【推荐3】Shadow puppet play(皮影戏), also called “shadow play”, is a traditional Chinese art of storytelling. Dramas were played out in screen or walls for thousands of years to entertain(娱乐) and teach. It was very popular in many parts of China during the Tang(618-907) and Song(960-1279) periods.

Shadow puppets are made of hard leather(皮革). The leather is cut out in the shape of a person, an animal or an object. Each puppet is painted in bright colors and put on a stick. Different colors are used to show good and bad of person in the drama. Some puppets have movable arms and legs. They’re shown on the white screen through the light.

During a shadow puppet play, the players stand behind a white screen with lights behind it. The audience sit in front of the screen. The players hold the puppets very close to the screen so the audience can see the puppets’ shadows clearly. Then they move the puppets around and do the voices of the different roles.

Now because of TV and films, shadow puppet plays are not as popular as before. But the basic principle(原理) and ways of shadow performance played an important role in the invention of the modern movie and the development of the movies and cartoons. Nowadays, the Chinese shadow puppet plays have been collected by museums of many countries in the world. It is the treasure in the world culture and art family.

1. Shadow puppet play was very popular ________.

A．between the year 907 and the year 960	B．before the Tang and Song periods
C．through the Tang and Song periods	D．after the Tang and Song periods

2. ________ do the voices of the different roles.

A．The puppets

B．The players

C．The inventors

D．The screen

3. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A．Shadow play is an art of storytelling to entertain and instruct.

B．The colors of each shadow puppet have different meanings.

C．Shadow play is regarded as the treasure in the world culture.

D．Shadow play is unimportant for the development of cartoons.

4. The best title for the passage may be ________.

A．Shadow Play — A Traditional Chinese Art	B．The History of Chinese Shadow Play
C．How to Put on a Shadow Play	D．The Steps to Make Shadow Puppets

【推荐2】Hi, Mike!

I’m writing to tell you something about the customs and festivals.

Everyone loves holidays since one doesn’t need to go to school or work. Although all holidays mean no school and work, but not all of them are the same. On some of them you go out with friends; on others you stay home to eat, talk, and have fun with your family. For example in the U.S., everyone thinks New Year’s Eve and New Year are both for partying with friends. Christmas is the time to stay home and exchange gifts with family members. The opposite is true in Japan though. For example, in Japan, New Year is for spending time with the family to eat, talk, have fun, and go to the temples. But Christmas is for boy and girl friends to go out and exchange gifts. Originally Christmas should be to celebrate the birth of Christ.

I have been interested in foreign customs since I was a little child. If you learn these different holiday customs, you will learn about different histories and cultures. This is much more interesting than learning them at the library from morning to evening.

Love,

Lily

1. We don’t usually need to go to school or work during holidays.
2. Christmas is the time to stay home to eat, talk and have fun with the family throughout the world.
3. All the countries have the same way to celebrate the holidays.
4. Knowing different holiday customs can help us learn about different histories and cultures.
5. This passage is about the customs and holidays in England.

【推荐3】Americans like to have different kinds of parties such as birthday parties, surprise parties, tea parties and house-warming parties. Pajama (睡衣) parties are one of the most popular kinds of parties in the US. At a pajama party, a group of friends spend the night at a person’s house. It is a great way for children or teenagers to get together and have a good time.

To hold a pajama party, the host (东道主) will usually plan some fun activities such as watching movies and playing board games and video games. He or she should also prepare some delicious snacks and fun food like pizza. Guests at a pajama party should bring their own pajamas, toothbrushes, pillows and blankets. But if they forget something, they don’t need to worry because the host will give them what they need.

If a pajama party is mainly for fun, a prom is no doubt a very important thing in most American schools. A prom is a formal (正式的) dance party that is held at a high school. The party is usually held near the end of the senior year, the last year of high school, so it is often called graduation (毕业) dance. Students should wear formal clothes at the prom. A Prom Queen and Prom King may also be crowned (加冕) at many schools’ proms.

1. How many kinds of parties are mentioned in the passage?

A．Four.

B．Five.

C．Six.

D．Seven.

2. Where is a pajama party held?

A．At a cinema.

B．At a restaurant.

C．At a high school.

D．At a person’s house.

3. What can the guests do at a pajama party?

A．They can enjoy some fun activities.	B．They must use the host’s pajamas.
C．They have no snacks or fun food to eat.	D．They can get anything from the host.

4. The students ________ at a prom.

A．wear formal clothes

B．play board games

C．are all crowned

D．are all surprised

5. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．American school life	B．Pajama parties and proms
C．American sleeping habits	D．Birthday parties and ten parties