1 . Every year on April 1, April Fools' Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. In France, it's called "Poisson d^’Avril" or "Fish of April”. In Scotland, the holiday is often called "Gowkie Day". In Iraq, the holiday is called "Kithbet Neesan” or "April Lie".

History experts say people have celebrated April Fools^’ Day for a long time. Some believe April Fools' Day comes from the ancient Romans more than two thousand years ago, which was a day of playing games and pretending to be someone else.

Others say the day for fooling began in France in 1564. when King Charles changed the yearly calendar. He moved New Year's Day from April 1 to January I Many people did not know about the change because of communication problems then. Some people continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. Other people called them April Fools and played jokes on them.

In the United State, April Fools' Day is just a day of joking and playing tricks on friends. These kinds of jokes are also called pranks （恶 作 剧）.These jokes typically end in the prankster shouting “April Fools”!

Simple pranks, like telling a friend a funny lie or making prank phone calls, are still common. But major companies also get in on April Fools' Day in a much bigger way. A few years ago, on April 1, Starbucks announced it was introducing new coffee cup sizes-plenta and Micra. The very large cups, bigger than a human head, remained useful for customers even after finishing all that coffee. According to Starbucks, the cups could be used as a rain hat, a pot for plants, or a lampshade.

It did not take long for customers to catch on to the prank. More and more people use media or smartphone apps to play pranks on their friends on April Fools' Day. One very annoying smartphone app, Cat Facts, sends funny facts about cats to your friends⁵ phones every day.

1. Why did some French people keep the old New Year's Day?

A．They liked the old celebration.

B．They did not know the change.

C．They wanted to be different from others.

D．The king wanted to play plank on the people.

2. Americans celebrated April Fools' Day to ________.

A．escape the stress of their work

B．find a chance to give children gifts

C．improve the friendship between them

D．have fun and play jokes on others

3. What is the   meaning of the underlined words "get in on” in Paragraph 5?

A．Join in	B．give away
C．stick to	D．break away from

4. What is the author's purpose of writing the text?

A．To introduce a new festival.

B．To tell a story on April Fools'   Day.

C．To introduce April Fools' Day.

D．To explain the misunderstanding of April Fools' Day.

2 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What is the talk mainly about?

A．A Chinese village.

B．A Chinese tradition.

C．A Chinese industry.

2. How is the show created?

A．By lighting fireworks.

B．By lighting a cold brick wall.

C．By pouring melted metal against the wall.

3. What is the most accurate description of the show?

A．Dangerous.

B．Dull.

C．Easy.

4. What do we know about Wang De’s son?

A．He plans to stay in the village.

B．He has learned the skill from his father.

C．He hopes to keep the flame alive.

3 . I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles”(风格)of directions every time I ask “ How can I get to the post office?”
Foreign tourists are often confused(困惑的)in Japan because most streets there don’t have names. In Japan, people use landmarks(地标)in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “ Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat. In many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “ Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map. They measure distance in time, not miles. “ How far away is the post office?” you ask. “ Oh,” they answer, “ it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “ Yes, but how many miles is it?” They don’t know.
It’s true that a person doesn't know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, “ Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “ I don't know”. People in Yucatan believe that “I don't know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!
1. When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place, they usually _______ .

A．describe the place carefully

B．show him a map of the place

C．tell him the names of the streets

D．refer to recognizable buildings and places

2. What is the place where people measure distance in time?

A．New York.	B．Los Angles.
C．Kansas                 C. Iowa

3. People inYucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ________ .

A．in order to save time	B．as a test
C．so as to be polite	D．for fun

4. What can we infer from the text?

A．It’s important for travelers to understand cultural differences.

B．It’s useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly.

C．People have similar understanding of politeness.

D．New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors.