1 . I love learning about customs and practices in other countries. For this post, I asked all of my friends in the Multicultural Kid Blogger group to give me their favorite birthday traditions!
CHINA
The most special of the birthday traditions in China is for babies. New parents give red eggs (an even number) to friends and family for good luck. Common presents include food, silverware, and money wrapped in red paper. On birthdays, it is common to eat longevity noodles (长寿面) without breaking them for good luck to live a long life.
ISRAEL
Sometimes children in Israel wear a crown (王冠) made from leaves or flowers for their birthday. The birthday child sits in a chair, and gets picked up and raised and lowered the chair one time for each year of age, plus one more for good luck. Guests at the birthday party sing and dance around the chair. At birthday parties, kids often play games, such as races with potatoes on spoons.
GHANA
In Ghana, one of the most common birthday traditions is that kids get to eat oto for breakfast: sweet potatoes mixed with onions, made into patties, and fried with hard boiled eggs. Later in the day, Ghanaians sometimes have a party for the child with stew, rice, and kelewele. At the party, girls often like to play a game called ampe.
MEXICO
Mexico families love parties, and celebrate birthdays en grande (盛大地). The 15th birthday, quinceañera is the most important, formal, and well-prepared. Mexicans always sing Las Mañanitas to wake up the child on their birthdays. When the birthday girl or boy blows out their candles, guests call for them to take a bite of the cake (“mordida-mordida!”) and always push their face into the frosting. A Mexican birthday party always has a piñata filled with little toys and candies.
1. What do parents both in China and Ghana do for their kids’ birthdays?| A．Offer them a special food. | B．Give them money in red papers. |
| C．Play a unique game with them. | D．Make a special clothing for them. |
| A．A blessing song. | B．A beautiful crown. | C．Red eggs. | D．A wonderful breakfast. |
| A．A noticeboard. | B．A travel guidebook. | C．A website. | D．A geography magazine. |
Over 180 North American teenagers and university students have participated in a “cloud dialogue”, learning about the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins in China.
Named “Night at Sanxingdui Museum”, the one-hour online event targets foreign youth
Xu Danyang, a 27-year-old archaeologist who was in charge of the excavation of a sacrificial pit in the Sanxingdui Ruins site,
Discovered in the late 1920s, the Sanxingdui Ruins have been called one of the world’s greatest archaeological
3 . 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 |
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer. But there is one question that has millions of current answers. That question is “What’s your name?” Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct.
Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?
People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones.
Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”.
The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near brook(小溪)；someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.
Other early surnames came from people’s occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter — a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter —a person who made pots and pans.
The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture.
Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer.
Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name. English-speaking people added –s or –son. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O. Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the McDonnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell.
1. Which of the following aspects do the surnames in the passage NOT cover?
| A．Places where people lived. | B．People’s characters. |
| C．Talents that people possessed. | D．People’s occupations. |
| A．owned or drove a cart | B．made things with metals |
| C．made kitchen tools or contains | D．built houses and furniture |
| A．Beatrice Smith | B．Leonard Carter |
| C．George Longstreet | D．Donald Greenwood |
| A．later generations | B．friends and relatives |
| C．colleagues and partners | D．later sponsors |
