 Birthday Traditions Birthdays are celebrated around the world. Some traditions are quite similar from country to country: candies, cakes and birthday wishes. Others are quite different. Here are a few. Argentina In Argentina, as in many Latin American countries, one of the most important birthday parties is a girl’s fifteenth. When girls turn fifteen, they have a huge party and dance the waltzfirst with their father, and then the boys at the party. Denmark A flag is flown outside a window to show that someone who lives in that house is having a birthday. Presents are placed around the child’s bed while he/she is sleeping. The Netherlands Special year birthdays such as 5, 10, 15, 20, 21 are called the crown year and the birthday children receive a very large gift. You can always see flowers around the child’s chair. lsrael A small child sits in a chair while adults lift it up and down a number of times according to the child’s age, plus one for good luck. Japan The birthday child wears new clothes to start the day. Certain birthdays are more important than others and these are celebrated with a visit to the local shrine. These are the third and seventh birthdays for girls and the fifth for boys. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Denmark and Israel | B．Denmark and Japan |
| C．the Netherlands and Japan | D．the Netherlands and Israel |
| A．why birthday traditions are completely different |
| B．what quite similar traditions are in different countries |
| C．how children celebrate birthdays in different countries |
| D．where children celebrate birthdays in different countries |
相似题推荐
We will have dinner from 7:00 to 8:00. We will have hamburgers, chicken, dumplings, salad and ice-cream. For fruit, we will have apples, watermelon. After dinner, we will watch a movie. I hope my friends can come. My family want to meet them too.
1. How old is Cindy now?
| A．13. | B．14. | C．15. | D．16. |
| A．November 1st. | B．On Friday. | C．November 3rd. | D．On Sunday. |
| A．At her school. | B．At Uncle Bob’s Restaurant. |
| C．At her home. | D．At her aunt’s Restaurant. |
| A．Hamburgers. | B．Ice-cream. | C．Dumplings. | D．Bananas. |
| A．Watch a movie. | B．Watch a baseball game. |
| C．Watch TV. | D．Play some games. |
| Book your birthday party here! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! The Children’s Museum has 3 floors of hands-on exhibits for kids to play. There will be no mess at your home! Call 337-4339420 for availability information: Monday—Saturday: 10 a.m.—4:30 p.m. Sunday: 1 p.m.—4:30 p.m. | |
| We have 2 plans to meet your needs: | |
| Plan A: You bring the cake and enjoy the party. We will do the set-up and clean-up. We provide: *A party room for an hour and 45 minutes. *All the paper products such as invitations, party bags, and party hats. *A T-shirt for the birthday child. *Lunch & Ice Cream. *Cost: $285 for non-members $260 for members | Plan B: We provide the space and you do the rest. You do the set-up and clean-up and bring everything for your party. We provide: *A party room for an hour and 45 minutes. *Cleaning supplies. *A birthday hat for the birthday child. *Cost: $205 for non-members $180 for members |
| Both plans must be paid for early to book a room and the exact time! Please Book Early! We normally book 4 weeks ahead of time! | |
1. How long can each party room be used?
| A．45 minutes | B．One hour. | C．About 100 minutes. | D．About 150 minutes. |
| A．A birthday cake. | B．A free T-shirt. | C．Birthday candles. | D．Cleaning supplies. |
| A．The party rooms are available on Sunday evenings. |
| B．From Plan B, you needn’t to bring anything to your party. |
| C．You’d better book a room one month before your birthday. |
| D．Whether you choose Plan A or B, you can get the same service. |
| A．There will be no mess at your home. |
| B．There is no time limit for the party room. |
| C．Ther are many plans for you to choose from. |
| D．There is no need to book a room ahead of the time. |
【推荐3】Peter wondered why he didn’t have many friends. The reason was that he was always taking, never giving.
One day Peter told Bill, “I’d like to give a party on Saturday. I’d like you to come and bring Martha, too.” “Thanks, Peter. We’d be happy to come.” “Perhaps you’d like to bring your violin. You and Martha sing well together. I’m sure everyone will want you to sing for us.” That was how Peter began to plan his party. Next he asked another friend, Betty, to bring a cake.” You make the best cake in the world, Betty, and I like to eat your cake better than have one from the bakery (面包店).” Peter invited a few other friends to come to his party. He didn’t forget to ask for something from each of them. He even asked Jim Jackson and Mary Jackson to let him give the party at their house! They agreed.
The party was a big success. However, as the guests were leaving, they said “Thank you!” to Bill and Martha for the music, Betty for the cake, the Jacksons for the use of the house and to others for their hard work. To Peter they just said, “Thanks for the invitation.” After that, few people like him.
1. The party was held ________.| A．at Peter’s house | B．in a large hall |
| C．in a secret place | D．at Peter’s friends house |
| A．Betty made the best cake. | B．Mary Jackson sang well. |
| C．Bill sang well. | D．The Jacksons did hard work for the party. |
| A．All his friends | B．Few people | C．Everyone | D．Many of his friends |
| A．tried his best | B．did nothing | C．did everything | D．only invited some friends |
| A．a warm-hearted man | B．good at making friends | C．a selfish (自私的) man | D．a welcome friend |
How much sleep do we need? People are all different. Some people need only three or four hours of sleep a night. Others need ten hours of sleep a night. Most Americans sleep seven to eight hours a night. After age fifty, the sleep time goes down to 6.5 hours a night.
Some people find it hard to sleep. About one in three Americans have a problem with sleep. Most people have a bad night when they cannot sleep. The name of this problem is insomnia(失眠症). This is not a new problem. Many famous people in history had insomnia. Some of these people have special ideas about sleep. Benjamin Franklin had four beds. He moved from bed to bed to fall asleep. King Louis XIV of France had four hundred and thirteen beds and hoped to fall asleep in one of them. Mark Twain lay(躺) on his side across the end of his bed.
1. Different people need different time to sleep.2. Most Americans sleep more than 8 hours a night.
3. If a person has insomnia, he can never sleep.
4. About 1/3 of Americans have a problem with sleep.
5. Mark Twain had four beds to make himself sleep.
【推荐2】Circles can be found everywhere in the natural world, but with no exact way to measure(测量) them they are very mysterious and might never be completely understood. When you take the distance around a circle and divide it by the distance across a circle, you will always get Pi. While Pi is about 3.14 when rounded, it is endlessly long. With the help of computers, mathematicians(数学家) have been able to work Pi out to over a trillion decimal places(小数点后万亿位). This makes Pi mysterious, even to the most famous mathematicians.
Pi Day is celebrated on March 14, since the way we write this date, 3/14, looks just like Pi when rounded. In 2009, U. S. Congress voted to formally make March 14 Pi Day. Certain parts of the world—places where March 14 is written as 14/3—will instead celebrate Pi Approximation Day which takes place on July 22nd because of the division(除法) result of 22/7.
Pi has appeared in movies, comics, music, and more. “In modern movies, any time the filmmaker wants to create a sense of mystery, the symbol Pi is used,” says Blatner. People also love working to remember the digits(数位) of Pi and competing against others to see who can remember most. The Guinness World Record for remembering the most digits of Pi is held by Lu Chao of China, who successfully remembered Pi to nearly 67,000 decimal places.
Above all, Pi Day is about having fun with the number, according to Blatner. People will celebrate Pi Day by eating pie and throwing pie, and with fun Pi-related games. Princeton, New Jersey holds a series of Pi-related festivities. Events this year include a surprise birthday party for Albert Einstein whose birthday also falls on March 14, and a “Walk a Pi Event” where participants will walk 3.14 miles together. Just like the number itself, the possibilities for Pi Day are truly endless.
1. What makes Pi mysterious?| A．Ways to divide a circle | B．Ways to use it when rounded |
| C．Being unable to write it as an expression | D．Its endless decimal places |
| A．Because it is announce formally | B．Because it was corrected originally |
| C．Because the division result is similar to Pi | D．Because that day is easier to remember |
| A．To move more viewers | B．To call for viewers’ attention |
| C．To make the films more frightening | D．To add something mysterious to the film |
| A．Lu Chao is the first Chinese to recite Pi |
| B．Many states in the USA celebrate Pi day on July 22nd |
| C．There are many different events to celebrate Pi Day in the world |
| D．Scientists will try their best to work out the digits of Pi thoroughly |
Now people depend more on the Internet to store information. Do people remember less? If you know your computer will store information, why do you put it in your brain? Experts are wondering if the Internet is changing what and how we remember.
In a recent study, Professor Betsy Sparrow did some experiments（实验）. She and her team wanted to know if the Internet is changing memory. In the first experiment, they gave people 40 unimportant facts and then stored them into a computer. The first group of people were told that the computer had stored the information. But the second group didn’t know that. Later, the second group remembered the information better. People in the first group knew they could find the information again, so they did not try to remember it.
In another experiment, the researchers gave people facts to remember, and told them where to find the information on the Internet. The information was in a certain computer folder（文件夹）. Surprisingly, people later remember the folder’s location（位置） better than the facts. When people use the Internet, they do not remember the information. Instead, they remember how to find it. This is called “transactive memory（交互记忆）”.
According to Sparrow, we are not becoming people with poor memories as a result of the Internet. Instead, computer users are developing stronger transactive memories, that is, people are learning how to organize a great deal of information so that they are able to find it at a later date. This doesn’t mean we are becoming either more or less intelligent, but there is no doubt that the way we use memory is changing.
1. The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 2 refers to “_____________”.| A．the way we use the Internet |
| B．the information was stored in the computer |
| C．the information which was asked to remember |
| D．the memory which is being changed by the Internet |
| A．the first group remembered the information better |
| B．Sparrow gave people 40 unimportant numbers to remember |
| C．the second group did their best to remember the information |
| D．the two groups of people knew the computer had stored the information |
| A．remember the facts easily |
| B．keep the information in mind |
| C．remember how to find the information |
| D．store the information on the Internet easily |
| A．The Internet makes us less intelligent. |
| B．The Internet has influenced the way we live. |
| C．The Internet makes our memories become worse. |
| D．The Internet has changed the way we remember. |
【推荐1】One day, an American man Tom went to London to visit his friend, Rick. Rick told him that his flat (公寓) was on the first floor. When he arrived, Tom went straight to the first floor of the building. But a man told him that there was no Rick on that floor. Do you know why?
In fact, the British (英国人) call the first floor of a building the ground floor. The floor above the ground floor is the first floor, but Americans would call it the second floor.
The story shows that there are a few cultural differences between Britain and America, though the British and Americans both speak English.
The British don’t like showing their feelings. They hardly start small talks with strangers (陌生人). For example, on the train the British often spend their time reading newspapers or books. But Americans are quite different. They’re more active and easier to talk with.
The British and Americans may use different terms for the same things. The British usually use “football” “ holiday” and “autumn”, but Americans like to use “soccer” “vacation” and “fall”.
1. Why did Tom go to London?| A．To visit his friend. | B．To spend his holiday. |
| C．To study English. | D．To have a meeting. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．playing cards | B．talking loudly | C．doing some reading | D．singing and dancing |
| A．成果 | B．学期 | C．会议 | D．词语 |
| A．A funny story about Tom |
| B．Cultural differences between the UK and America |
| C．Small talks in the UK and America |
| D．British people and American people |
【推荐2】Different countries and different people have different manners. We must find out their customs so that they will not think us impolite. Here are examples of the things that a person with good education does or does not do.
If you visit a Chinese family, you should knock at the door first. When the door is opened, you will not move before the host says “Come in, please. ’’After you enter the room, you would not sit down until the host asks you to take a seat. When a cup of tea is put on a table before you or sent to your hand,you will say“Thank you”.And receive it with two hands, not one hand, or they will think you have ill manners. Before entering a house in Japan, it is a good manner to take off your shoes. In European countries,even though shoes sometimes become very dirty,this is not done. In a Malaysian(马来西亚的)house,a visitor never finishes the food on the table. He leaves a little to show that he has had enough. In England,a visitor always finished a drink or the food to show he has enjoyed it. This will make the host pleased.
1. Why must we find out different countries’ manners?| A．Because they are good for our study. |
| B．Because they won’t think us impolite. |
| C．Because they will think we are good persons. |
| D．Because they won’t think us polite. |
| A．you won’t leave |
| B．you won’t walk |
| C．you won’t stand in front of him |
| D．you won’t get in |
| A．you needn’t take off your shoes |
| B．you must take off your dirty shoes |
| C．you are not allowed to wear dirty shoes |
| D．you should put on clean shoes |
| A．he has enjoyed it |
| B．he is quite full |
| C．he is not hungry at all |
| D．he needs some drink |
| A．In China you can receive a cup of tea with one hand when the host offers you. |
| B．In European countries, people needn't take off their shoes before entering a house. |
| C．In a Malaysian house,a visitor always finishes a drink or the food. |
| D．In England,a visitor never finished the food on the table. |
Father's Day has a very short history. It was started because there was a Mother's Day, and just because some Americans thought that if we had a Mother's Day, we should also have a Father's Day. Father's Day has become important in North America. And shopkeepers found it was a good way to get people to buy presents for their fathers, presents from their shops.
By the way, very few countries have a Father's Day, though some have Children's Day, or a special day for boys and another for girls. More and more countries are having Mother's Day, so maybe Father's Day will also become popular before too long. Now, what do people in North America do on Father's Day? The newspapers, radios, and TV tell children what they should do-buy a Father's Day present for your father. They even tell a wife to buy a Father's Day present-not for her father but for her husband, even if he is not yet a father. And they tell grandchildren to buy a Father's Day present for their grandfathers.
The important thing to remember about Father's Day is that American children can show their love to their fathers in a more open way.
1. Father's Day was started just because ________.| A．fathers are as great as mothers | B．there was a Children's Day |
| C．people liked their fathers very much | D．there was a Mother's Day |
| A．Mother's Day is not popular. |
| B．Very few countries have a Father's Day. |
| C．Americans never care about Father's Day. |
| D．Father's Day has become important in North America. |
| A．help their fathers do something | B．show their love to their fathers |
| C．go shopping with their fathers | D．play with their fathers |
| A．people to buy as many as presents |
| B．children to buy presents only for their fathers |
| C．women to buy presents only for their husbands |
| D．everyone to do some housework at home |
| A．the writer is against Father's Day |
| B．many countries have a Father's Day |
| C．shopkeepers can get more money on Father's Day than usual |
| D．Father’s Day comes before Mother’s Day |
【推荐1】We welcomed the Chinese New Year of Tiger in February, but have you been to Yunnan Safari Zoo（云南野生动物园）to see the real tigers? According to the news, thousands of people went to the zoo to see tigers during the Spring Festival holiday. There were lots of interesting and fun activities for the tourists to take part in.
The tigers, including Siberian tigers, Bengal tigers and two white tigers, are more than 100 in total. On January 13th, seven baby tigers started their “first show”. Every one of them is both cute and vigorous（精力充沛的）. And starting on January 30th, the zoo even started a program called “New Year’s Eve dinner for tigers”, which provided lots of good food for them. Though they are just babies, they are old enough to eat meat. A twins of 3-month-old tigers there, greatly liked by the crowd, have already become superstars for the tourists. When the feeder brought them chicken, the two baby girl tigers went straight for meat, took their food to a corner and started eating.
So why do people go to see tigers? Besides for purpose to relax, some of the tourists say tigers are symbols of power and courage. By seeing the tigers in the year of Tiger, they hope to be like tigers, both powerful and brave in the new year.
根据短文内容，判断正误（正确“T”，错误“F”）。
1. The year mentioned in the passage is the Chinese Year of Tiger.
2. The number of the tigers in the zoo is over 100.
3. On February 13th, seven baby tigers started their “first show”.
4. The baby tigers are not old enough to eat meat.
5. People hope to be powerful and brave like tigers.
【推荐2】There are many different kinds of festivals around the world. Here are four of them.
Saint Patrick’s Day in Ireland
Ireland is an island country. It’s in the west of Europe. There are wide green fields.
Saint Patrick’s Day is on March 17. It’s an important holiday in Ireland. This holiday is to remember Saint Patrick. He did good things for the people of Ireland.
During the holiday, there are parades(游行) and lots of green. You can see people in green clothes, and you can even see green buildings.
Red Wednesday in Iran
Red Wednesday is a fire jumping festival in Iran. It is on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year. People jump over the fire. They hope that it will take all the bad things away.
The Winter Carnival in Canada
When winter comes, it’s party time in Quebec City, Canada. The Quebec Winter Carnival is all about outdoor fun. It starts from the first Sunday in February and lasts for 10 days.
One of the most popular events is the dog sled(雪橇) race. It has more than 30 teams and the race goes on for 6 kilometers. You can see joy and happiness on every face.
The Desert Festival in Tunisia
Tunisia is a very important country in North Africa. Every year on the last Sunday in December, the Desert Festival is held in Tunisia. As ＂ships of the desert＂, camels have the leading role in the festival. There are camel racing and camel wrestling(摔跤).
1. On Saint Patrick’s Day, you can see the following EXCEPT ______.| A．camels | B．parades | C．people in green | D．green buildings |
| A．They run in the snow. | B．They wear red clothes. |
| C．They jump over the fire. | D．They watch the camel racing. |
| A．The race happens on March 17. | B．The race goes on for 6 kilometers. |
| C．The race has a history of about 10 years. | D．About 30 people go to the race every year. |
| A．On the first Sunday in February. | B．On the last Sunday in December. |
| C．On the eve of the last Friday of the year. | D．On the eve of the last Wednesday of the year. |
| A．In a storybook. | B．In a cookbook. |
| C．In a travel magazine. | D．In a sport magazine. |
【推荐3】Birth order—does it matter? Are you different because you are the first, second, or third child in your family?
A study showed that first-borns have an average（平均的）IQ that is three points higher than people who fall into a different place in the birth order. In 2007, an international organization of CEOs found that 43% of them are first-borns, 33% are middle children, and 23% are last-borns. First-borns are more likely（可能的） to be doctors and engineers and get higher pay.
While first-borns are more successful, last-borns are generally more friendly. According to a 2007 Time magazine article, “The Power of Birth Order”, last-borns are more likely to be artists. Mark Twain and Stephen Colbert were both youngest in large families, and Jim Carrey was the youngest of four. They are also more likely to be funny and get attention from all the older people at the dinner table.
Then there are the middle children. Many middle children experience less one-on-one（一对一的）time with their parents. They often feel short-changed: The oldest gets more rights, and the youngest is “spoiled”（被宠坏的）. Though they maybe ignored（忽视）, middle children are more likely to grow into easygoing adults.
Many factors（因素）make us who we are, but if the research is correct, birth order may be one of the most important factors.
1. ________ is most likely to be a CEO.| A．A first-born | B．A last-born | C．A third-born | D．A second-born |
| A．He was a first-born. | B．He was likely to be friendly. |
| C．He was a middle child. | D．He was likely to be given low pay. |
| A．受亏待的 | B．受控制的 | C．受宠爱的 | D．受欢迎的 |
| A．has no influence on IQ | B．matters a lot at the dinner table |
| C．may decide who we are | D．is a factor in making us powerful |
| A．What Makes You Successful? | B．Who Improves Your Social Skills? |
| C．How to Grow into a Big Man? | D．Where’s Your Place in Your Family? |
