1 . The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. It is one of the most important Chinese festivals. On that special day, people in China always have a dragon boat match. The dragon boat is quite long and there are pictures of dragons on each side. During the match, about twenty men in the boat make it move quickly. There is always a man standing in the middle of the boat to beat a drum. The audiences (观众) along the river shout for their favorite team. From this match, we have the name of the festival-the Dragon Boat Festival.
And this special day has another name-Duanwu Festival. About it we have a story. Long long ago, there was a famous poet called Qu Yuan. He was famous not only for his poems, but also for thinking a lot for the people. After he died, people eat rice dumplings in memory of him.
1. The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on _________.| A．lunar May 5th | B．May 5th | C．lunar May 15th | D．May 15th |
| A．ten | B．twenty | C．thirty | D．forty |
| A．shout for them | B．take photos | C．carry a dragon for them | D．beat a drum |
| A．Qu Yuan | B．Li Bai | C．Du Fu | D．Bai Juyi |
| A．pumpkins | B．moon cakes | C．rice dumplings | D．candies |
How do we know the time? A clock, a watch or a mobile phone can help us. However, many years ago there were no clocks and knowing the time was not so easy.
About 5, 500 years ago, the Egyptians invented the sun clock. This was a tall stone building. Its shadow (影子) showed the movement of the sun. So people were able to know midday. The Egyptians made a sundial about 3,500 years ago. It was smaller than the sun clock and could let people know the time for half a day. On cloudy days or at night it was impossible to tell the time with a sun clock or a sundial. Water clocks were the first clocks not to use the sun. The idea is simple. Water flows (流动) from one bottle to another. When the water reaches a certain level, it shows the hours. The Egyptians used water clocks about 3,400 years ago. These clocks were popular in the Middle East and China. But they failed to make people know the exact time.
In the 13th century, the mechanical clock was invented. This was more exact, but it was expensive to make one. Over the next few centuries it was developed. For example, springs(发条) were added. This enabled people to get the correct time and allowed clocks to be smaller. In 1927, the first quartz clock was developed. Clocks became cheaper to build. It's also cheaper for ordinary people to own a clock. People began depending on them more and more to run businesses, markets and so on. More recently, in 1956, came the digital clock. And
nowadays satellites send our mobile phones the time to the exact second.
There has been a lot of progress in timekeeping. Clocks are always changing but some things never change.
1. What does the word "ordinary" in Paragraph 3 mean in Chinese?| A．现代的 | B．特殊的 | C．普通的 |
| A．Four. | B．Five. | C．Six. |
A．  |
B． |
C．  |
| A．The importance of time. |
| B．The inventions of clocks. |
| C．The development of timekeeping. |
3 . Youth Day in China is celebrated every year on 4th May. It was set up by the Government Administration Council of People's Republic of China in December of 1949 to honor the memory of the May Fourth Movement of 1919.
Youth Day is to remember the event of May 4th that remains forever in the history of China. This is not only a patriotic（爱国的）attitude but also a movement to fight against feudalism（封建主义）.
Youth Day has a great influence on the development of modern Chinese culture, language, science as well as democracy（民主）. This day also shows the unity and strong will of the Chinese people to defend their nationalism, independence and determination（决心）for freedom and democracy.
In a broader sense, it happened in the time when the country was going through the New Culture Movement. In memory of the May 4th Movement, the Chinese government set up this festival to develop the spirit of revolution. It encourages the youth to make great changes and to be creative. Several activities are organized all over the country in honor of this day in China such as public gatherings, social practices, ceremonies for the youth, and volunteer activities.
阅读短文，做出正（A）误（B）判断。
1. Youth Day was set up in 1919.
2. Youth Day was set up to honor the memory of the May Fourth Movement of 1919.
3. Travelling is included in Youth Day activities in China.
4. Youth Day isn't important in the development of modern Chinese culture.
5. The Chinese government encourages the youth to be creative.
4 . How do we know the time? A clock, a watch or a cell phone can help us.
About 5,500 years ago, the Egyptians invented the sun clock. This was a tall stone structure.
About 3,500 years ago, the Egyptians made a sundial.
Water clocks were the first clocks not to use the sun. The idea is simple. Water flows(流动) from one container to another. When the water reaches a certain lever, it moves a lever(控制杆) and this shows the hours. The Egyptians used water clocks about 3,400 years ago. These clocks were very popular in the Middle East and China but they failed to keep accurate(精准的) time.
In the 13th century, the mechanical clock was invented. This was more accurate, but was expensive to make. Over the next few centuries, it was developed.
In 1927, the first quartz clock was developed.
More recently, in 1956, came the digital clock. And nowadays satellites(人造卫星) send our cell phone the time to the exact second. There has been a lot of progress in time keeping but some things never change. Many of us still have trouble getting out of bed on time and not missing appointments.
| A．For example, springs(发条) were added around 1500. |
| B．They learned to use the shadows cast by the sun. |
| C．Its shadow showed the movement of the sun. |
| D．Clocks became cheaper to build and own. |
| E．However, many years ago there were no clocks and knowing the time was not so easy. |
| F．It was smaller than the sun clock and could measure(测量) the time for half a day. |
