1 . We spoke to three students from around the world about different national holidays. There are different customs for each festival.
Tan Xiaodong, 15, Hong Kong, China
“It’ll soon be the Chinese New Year. Before it, we’ll clean the house and decorate (装饰) it for good luck. Every shop is going to close for a few days and we’ll go out a lot to celebrate on the streets. We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center. I love this festival.”
Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia
“Australia Day is on 26th January and it’s an important holiday here. We always have a Monday off, so we celebrate for three days. My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over. Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there’s lots of music and dancing. What fun!”
Amy, 14, New York, the USA
“The first Thanksgiving was celebrated hundreds of years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help. It’s still a very important day for family members to be together. This year we’re going to visit my grandparents and we’ll eat a delicious meal of turkey. Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November every year.”
1. How many festivals are mentioned in the passage?| A．Two. | B．Three. |
| C．Four. | D．Five. |
| A．do a lot of shopping | B．eat turkey |
| C．go to beach parties | D．see lion and dragon dances |
| A．have a picnic in the countryside |
| B．go to a swimming pool |
| C．have a party at school |
| D．clean the house and dance |
| A．A country. | B．A festival. |
| C．A kind of food. | D．A kind of drink. |
| A．Amy is from Sydney, Australia |
| B．different festivals have different customs |
| C．many people go out for a picnic with friends before the Chinese New Year |
| D．Thanksgiving Day is on 26th January in the USA |
2 . It used to be that Christmas, with a little help from Blue Peter, was about adding the personal touch. We'd sit there for hours making cards and gifts for family and friends, knowing that the thought put into them would be properly appreciated.
Nowadays, time is against us, but there is still one easy way for you to make someone's Christmas this year — a personalised card from M＆S’ new website. To celebrate their new site, M＆S is offering Times readers two-for-one on all cards. Simply choose one of the 300 exclusive Christmas designs — starting from￡1.99, personalise it by changing the name and writing a message or uploading a photo. Then, add the receiver’s address and the card will be sent for you. Order by 2pm and it will be posted the same day.
In all, there are l,500 card designs to choose from, covering all kinds of special occasions. So if you want to get ahead of yourself for 2010, you know where to visit. You can even choose to be reminded of those important dates every year.
To claim your two-for-one on M＆S personalized cards, simply visit marksandspencer-personalised.com. Remember to enter the code ‘TIMESFRI’ on the payment page. This code is available for two days.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS: M＆S PERSONALISED CARDS
1. The product given for free must be of equal or lower value.
2. Payment of postage is required.
3. Marks＆Spencer reserves the right to take back this offer without prior notice.
1. What does the underlined part “two-for-one” in Paragraph 2 mean in the ad?| A．Two paid cards and one free card. | B．One paid card and two free cards. |
| C．Your name and a message on one card. | D．Your photo and the receiver’s on one card. |
| A．a website selling Christmas cards only | B．an agency of the newspaper Times |
| C．a company promoting the sales of cards | D．an advertising agency of card producers |
| A．enter a code on the payment page of M＆S’ website |
| B．always order it before two o'clock in the afternoon |
| C．put into the card your own date of birth and address |
| D．spend time making cards with the help of Blue Peter |
| A．they can be delivered free of charge |
| B．you can enjoy the special offer all the year round |
| C．their value may be lower than that of a free card |
| D．you can get a favor of at least ￡1. 99 |
