2 . 阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

I experienced the Naadam Festival in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for the first time this year. The festival falls on the     1    (four) day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, usually     2    (last) for three days. Naadam means "games" in Mongolian and it is represented by three events: horse racing, wrestling, and archery,     3     are all so     4    (excite) to watch.

On the first day, I set off to the games early with my friend Burin. I saw a lot of people     5    (wear) fancy Mongolian robes. Mongolians travel every year from near and far     6    (attend) the festival, just    7     their ancestors had done for centuries.

After the opening ceremony and some     8    (amaze) performances, the wrestling competition     9    (begin). Mongolian wrestling is different     10     the wrestling in the Olympic Games. There are no rounds, and wrestlers are not separated by    11    (weigh). The wrestler loses if any part of his body above his knee touches the ground. After     12    (sing) some songs, the     13    (compete) danced onto the green field     14    ( wave) their arms in the air as if they were eagles. I was quite     15    (move) by their show of strength and grace.

I     16    (absolute) enjoyed the archery, too, but the horse races were my favourite part. However, I was surprised to see that the riders were boys and girls! I heard it is because children are     17    (light) and the horses can run faster and farther. At first, I was a little worried about the children's     18    (safe), but Burin said, " Don't worry. They've been riding horses all their lives. They'll be just fine. " That was the moment I started to understand     19    people say Horses are at the heart of Mongolian culture.

I' m finally back home now,     20    (feel) really tired, but celebrating Naadam with my friend was totally worth it. He invited me back for the winter to stay in a traditional Mongolian tent and eat hot pot. I can't wait!

3 . Two Christmas traditions have come under attack in recent years from environmentalists: Christmas cards and Christmas trees.

Paper cards are seen as wasteful and, for some people, going card free is another way of going green. They also argue that in a world of e-mail, Skype, Facebook and Twitter, people are in touch all the time anyway; they no longer need the yearly card that connects them with long lost friends. If you want to send Christmas greetings, there are free e-cards, which get the job done with no postage or wasted paper.

However, especially for people who didn’t grow up with e-mail, there is something missing from a Christmas e-mail. The first Christmas cards appeared in London in 1843 and were designed by the same man who had introduced the world’s first postage stamp three years earlier. His name was Sir Henry Cole. They rose in popularity throughout the 20th century. Many people sent cards that were sold for charity. In the UK this year, in the three weeks before Christmas, the post office expects to handle 100 million cards every day.

When we think of trees at Christmas, there is one that immediately springs into mind — the evergreen tree that people decorate with ornaments and place their gifts under. The custom dates back almost a thousand years to Germany. Nowadays 33 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced in America and 50 to 60 million in Europe each year. Some trees are sold live with roots and soil so people can plant them later and reuse them next year.

Some people prefer artificial trees as they are reusable and much cheaper than the natural ones. However, environmentalists point out that they are made from petroleum products, thus causing many pollution problems.

1. What is the main idea of the article?

A．To analyze how two Christmas traditions grew in popularity.

B．To explain the history of two typical Christmas traditions.

C．To introduce the debate about some Christmas traditions.

D．To suggest the solution to the problems caused by celebrating Christmas.

2. What does the underlined word “They” in the fourth paragraph probably refer to?

A．Christmas cards.

B．Christmas e-mails.

C．Postage stamps.

D．Many people.

3. Why do some people suggest getting rid of paper cards?
a. They cannot be recycled.
b. They are not environmentally friendly
c. They are mostly sold for charity
d. The e-cards have many advantages over them
e. They are not as necessary as they used to be for people

A．a, b, d

B．b, d, e

C．a, c, d

D．b, c, e

4. What can we conclude from the article?

A．The first Christmas cards were designed three years earlier than the stamps.

B．This year has seen a dramatic drop in Christmas card sales.

C．Environmentalists advise people to buy cards that are sold for charity.

D．Growing environmental awareness is encouraging people to begin to recycle their cards.