1 . The most popular drinks in Britain are tea and coffee. Traditional English food is meat, potatoes and vegetables, but now there’s a lot of international food from all over the world in the supermarkets and markets.
There are normally(通常地) two dishes in a meal: a meat dish and a dessert. People usually eat a light lunch and a big meal in the evening. The most traditional（传统的）dish is roast beef with roast potatoes (cooked in the oven) and vegetables. One of the most traditional desserts is called trifle. Beer is very popular. People often go to pubs for a drink and to talk. Pubs are typical(典型的) British bars.
1. What’s the most popular drink in Britain?2. What’s the traditional English food?
3. How many dishes are there normally in a meal?
4. When do people have a big meal in the UK?
5. Is beer popular in Britain?
Lantern Festival
This time, we’re going to talk about another traditional Chinese festival that comes right after the Chinese New Year’s Day. It is the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival is on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month. It is the end of the Chinese New Year, always 15 days after the Chinese New Year’s Day. On the Lantern Festival, there are lantern shows and lion dances in many places of the country, as well as in the China Towns in America. One kind of the food for the festival is tangyuan. It is another kind of dumpling made of sweet rice rolled into balls and stuffed with sweet or salty fillings. The Lantern Festival is also the beginning of the daily routines of the year. It is a festival for family and friends, just like the Chinese New Year.
1. When is the Lantern Festival?2. What can you find on the Lantern Festival?
3. What do people eat specially on that day?
4. It is a festival for family and friends, isn’t it?
5. Where do people in America celebrate this festival?
6. What would you love to do on that day?
National Holidays
Countries around the world have national holidays. Of course, the holidays are on different days. The ways people celebrate national holidays are sometimes the same, though.
In the United States, the national holiday is on July 4th. There are many parades of all kinds of people and jobs on that day. People cook food outside and eat outdoors. In France, national holiday is on July 14th. There are big parades, too. Planes fly overhead in the sky to give a show sometimes. People dance in the streets. Many events such as concerts and films are free on that day.
Mexican Independence Day is on May 5th. There are big parades, too. In Mexico City, people put on play every year. The play shows how Mexico won its independence. Everywhere around the city is mariachi (墨西哥流浪乐队) music and dancing. People eat their favorite Mexican dish Mole Poblano (chocolate chicken) on that day.
1. The national holidays in different countries are on the same day.2. Mexico’s Independence Day is on July 14th.
3. In the United States, people have all kinds of parades on July 4th.
4. In France, you don’t need to pay any money if you go to the concerts on their national holiday.
5. In France, people play mariachi music on their Independence Day.
4 . The Dragon Boat Festival, the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, has a history of more than 2,000 years. It is usually in June in the Gregorian calendar.
There are many legends（传说）about the evolution（演变）of the festival. The most popular is about Qu Yuan (340—270 BC). Qu Yuan was the minister of the State of Chu and one of China’s earliest poets. Qu Yuan cared much for his country and people. In 278 B.C., he heard that Qin had finally captured（攻占）Chu’s capital, so he jumped into the Miluo River. That day was the 5th of the 5th month in the Chinese lunar calendar. After his death, the people of Chu came to the bank of the river to pay their respects（敬重）to him. The fishermen sailed their boats up and down the river to look for his body. People threw rice dumplings into the water to keep fish away from his body. People followed the customs such as having a dragon boat race, eating rice dumplings on that day. From 2008 on, the festival becomes a national holiday in China.
1. When did people start to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival?2. Qu Yuan was one of China’s earliest poets, wasn’t he?
3. How did Qu Yuan die?
4. What did people do after Qu Yuan died?
5. Why did people throw rice dumplings into the water?
They wanted to
6. In which year does the Dragon Boat Festival become the first national holiday in China?
5 . In April, you can see a lot of pink and white cherry blossom in Japan. Most Japanese schools and buildings have cherry blossom trees outside. In Japan the school year begins in April. In some parts of the country, the first day of school is also the start of cherry blossom their family and friends. They sing, drink, eat and talk until late in the evening. Japanese people started to hold（举办）parties like this long ago.
There are more than 305 kinds of cherry blossom trees in Japan. The Japanese love cherry blossom. They think that a flower is like a man’s life, short but bright.
1. The underlined part “cherry blossom” refers to “________”.| A．a kind of animal | B．a kind of flower |
| C．a kind of people | D．a kind of food |
| A．the first day of school | B．the second day of school |
| C．the third day of school | D．the last day of school |
| A．Family and friends get together under the trees. |
| B．They sing, drink, eat and talk until late in the evening. |
| C．Both A and B. |
| D．They go boating and cycling. |
| A．Less than 305. | B．More than 305. |
| C．About 305. | D．305. |
| A．they mean spring time is here | B．they are lovely |
| C．they are beautiful | D．they are like a person’s life |
| A．Families and friends in Japan. | B．School life in Japan. |
| C．Cherry Blossom Trees in Japan. | D．Cherry Blossom Season in Japan. |
6 . What do we know about the sea? Most of us have seen it. We know that it looks very pretty when the sun is shining on it. We also know that it can be less pretty when the weather is terrible. What other things do we know about it?
The first thing is that the sea is very big. Look at a map of the world and you will find there is less land than sea. The sea covers 3/4 of the world. Some parts of the sea are very shallow (浅的). The sea is very deep in some places. At a place near Japan, the sea is nearly 11 kilometers deep! If the highest mountain in the world were put into the sea at the place, there would be two kilometers of water above it.
判断下列句子是否符合短文内容，符合的用“T表示，不符合的用“F’表示。
1. All the people know about the sea clearly.
2. The sea doesn’t look pretty all the time.
3. If you look at a map of the world, you will find there’s much more sea than land.
4. The land covers three-fourths of the world.
5. The passage tells us that the depth (深度)of the sea in different places are quite different.
6. The word “it” in the last sentence means the water.
7 . Picnics bring us great times with family and friends. Of course, they are also the good chance to enjoy delicious foods. Not all foods are good for picnics. Ice cream and cakes are tasty. But they may mess up your basket and attract flies. There is a rule for buying picnic food—make sure it is easy to carry, keep and eat. Here are some great ideas for picnic food from around the world. They may help you decide which food to take on a picnic.
US
Cold fried chicken is a popular picnic food. Fried chicken is easy to carry around. It is just as delicious whether it is cold or hot. You can buy some from a fast food restaurant.
UK
Scotch eggs (苏格兰鸡蛋) are a traditional picnic food for British people. People can make them at home. People usually keep it in the fridge before picnics and enjoy it cold.
France
France is famous for its cheese. Therefore, cheese is important on picnic menus. As the weather is very hot, people usually choose hard cheese. It keeps well. All fruits go very well with cheese, especially apples, watermelon and grapes.
1. What is the rule for choosing picnic food?2. Why is ice cream not good for picnics?
3. Where can people buy fried chicken from?
4. What is a traditional picnic food for British people?
5. Will French people choose some bananas to go with cheese?
6. What food will you take for picnic? Why?
8 . There are a lot of interesting things in the world. If someone tells you that they can fish in the desert, you must think they are joking. But this is true. In some places of Africa, people can fish in the desert. It must be very interesting to get some fish from the sand. And in the woods of Asia there is a kind of bird. To our surprise, this kind of bird doesn’t eat anything but iron. I think the bird’s teeth must be harder than the iron. We all know that snakes can eat mice, but in a place in Africa, a kind of big mouse can eat snakes. Isn’t it interesting? Have you ever heard of “brush trees”? They are different from trees we know. People use branches to brush teeth, and they are good for people’s teeth.
You must be very surprised to hear these interesting things. But they are all true. In fact there are a lot of interesting things in our world. If you are careful enough, you can find them easily around you.
1. In some places of Africa, people can get fish ________.| A．from the sand | B．in the rivers |
| C．on the trees | D．on the mountains |
| A．grass | B．flowers | C．iron | D．water |
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
| A．leaves | B．branches | C．fruits | D．roots |
| A．What a strange bird | B．We can fish in the desert |
| C．Brush trees | D．What an interesting world |
This is a house for the US presidents（总统）to live and work in. It’s open to the public（公众）in the morning from Tuesday to Saturday.
The Statue of Liberty自由女神像
It’s 91 meters tall. It’s as tall as a 35-storey(层) building. You can take a lift to the lookout tower（瞭望台）. It can hold 40 people. There are 25 windows for visitors to enjoy the view.
The Empire State Building（帝国大厦）
It is the tallest building in New York. It has 102 storeys. You can get a view of the whole city if the weather is good.
1. What is the White House for?
2. When is it open to the pubic?
3. How tall is the Statue of Liberty?
4. How many people can the lookout tower hold?
5. The Empire State Building is the tallest building in New York, isn’t it?
6. Where can we get a view of the whole city if the weather is good?
Let me tell you. The man is Mr. White, and the boy’s name is Bill. He’s the man’s son.
Now they are in Bill’s bedroom. We can see some Chinese books on the desk and on the bed there’s a shirt. It’s Bill’s. His trousers are on it, under his shirt, too.
Now let’s look at the other picture. You can see a woman and a girl in it. The woman is Bill’s mother and she’s in her daughter, Ann’s room. You can see a photo of the Whites on the wall. Between the windows is a desk. A clock is on the desk. It’s eleven. What’s that on the floor? Oh, it’s Ann’s hat. It looks like a brown hat.
1. In two pictures we can see __________.| A．two people | B．three people | C．four people | D．five people |
| A．Ann’s brother | B．Ann’s father | C．Bill’s friend | D．Bill’s teacher |
| A．on the bed | B．in the desk | C．on the floor | D．under the desk |
| A．White. | B．Red. | C．Black. | D．Brown. |
| A．cat | B．ball | C．shirt | D．clock |
