1 . 【课本原文】

A Love of Gardening

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” These words come from the author of the book The Secret Garden, first published in 1911. At that time, only the very rich in Britain had gardens. Very soon after this, homes with gardens began to be built. This is what started the British love of gardening！Today, millions of Brits like to say that they have “green fingers”, with around half the population spending their free time gardening.

For many people in the UK, their garden is their own private world. Each spring, children plant sunflowers and wait to see which one is the tallest. Expert gardeners know just the right corner for roses, and others spend hours trying to grow perfect vegetables to enter into competitions. And while many Brits like nothing better than spending their Sunday cutting the grass, some are happy just to sit under the branches of the trees and enjoy the beauty of the world around them.

But in cities, limited space has led to people looking for new solutions. Those without outside space can rent small pieces of land on which to grow things. Today, there are over 4,000 people in London waiting for such pieces of land. One recent idea has been to turn rooftops and walls into private gardens. These gardens have helped make the cities greener and improve air quality.

As well as being good for the environment, gardening is also good for the soul. What other free-time activity allows you to be at one with nature and create more beautiful living things? And if you’re in any doubt about this, take a moment to reflect on this line from The Secret Garden: “Where you tend a rose... A thistle cannot grow.”

1. What inspires a lot of Brits to create their own private gardens?

A．Their hobby for gardens.

B．Publishing of The Secret Garden.

C．The call of the government.

D．Release of working pressure.

2. Why do so many people like gardening in the UK?

A．They would like to enjoy their own private life.

B．They would like to enjoy their own flowers and perfect vegetables.

C．They all want to protect the environment.

D．They would like to share their happy time with others.

3. What does it show when Brits rent small pieces of land outside?

A．They are very competitive.

B．They want to have their own private space.

C．Gardening can provide a quiet environment for people.

D．Greening in Britain is already on the rise.

4. What is this text mainly about?

A．Great changes in London.

B．A love of gardening.

C．The importance of gardening.

D．The use of spare time.

2 . In the long history of about 5,000 years, numerous Chinese traditional festivals were celebrated in honour of gods or some significant days, some of which are passed down from generation to generation and people always practice special traditional activities in each festival.

The Qingming Festival

The Qingming Festival is on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox (春分), around April 4 or April 5 every year.     1    . They remove the weeds growing on their ancestors’ tombs to make them clean, so this festival is also called Tomb-Sweeping Day. In some areas, people are forbidden to use the fire to cook food, so they only eat the cool food. Thus, it is also named the Hanshi Festival.

The Double Ninth Festival

    2    . The Chinese character of September is the same as 9, so we get this special name. Chinese people, especially in the northern region, climb up the mountains to enjoy the wonderful view, and admire the beauty of chrysanthemums (菊花).

The Winter Solstice (冬至)

The winter solstice is on around December 22 or 23 of the solar calendar each year. From that day on, the daytime will be longer and longer.     3    . Chinese people in the northern region eat dumplings and wontons (馄饨), while in the southern region rice balls.

    4    

In China, this festival is in late January or early February, the last day of the lunar year. People celebrate it by having a family reunion dinner, setting off fireworks and staying up late. Breaking the dishes and bowls is a thing all the people are afraid of, but if you did it, you should say “Sui sui ping an!”     5    .

A．The Spring Festival

B．New Year’s Eve

C．People will go to commemorate (纪念) their ancestors

D．People always visit their friends and relatives

E．It is celebrated on Sep. 9th of the lunar calendar, around in October of the solar calendar

F．It’s a holiday which is regarded as important as the Spring Festival

G．It is a double-meaning word, meaning you will be safe during the new year

3 . Craziest Food Festivals sounds like a joke topic, but once you start looking into it, you’ll realize they’re everywhere — the crazier, the better.

Bibimbap Festival

In a Korean town in Jeonju, their “mixed rice” dish is a hearty serve of rice topped with raw beef, a rainbow of vegetables, a raw egg and gochujang sauce (韩国的辣椒酱) so much. They take four days out of October to celebrate it.

Like any festival there’s music, entertainment and magic, but making it that little bit different is the bibimbap that’s whipped (搅拌) up in a big bowl by dozens of chefs and served to over 400 people.

Waikiki Spam Jam (怀基基午餐肉节)

Who knew this canned meat had so much love?   Well, it turns out that a can of Spam is the go-to item in Hawaii, along with a grass skirt and garland (花环). The people of Hawaii love Spam so much that they even spend a day in May serving out the best Spam, a type of cheap canned meat made mainly from pork.

Bessieres Easter Egg Festival

At Easter time, for those in the French town of Bessieres it’s all about an egg far less sweet.

Here they celebrate the holiday by getting dozens of chefs to make one large omelette (煎蛋卷) — 15, 000 eggs strong — for the townsfolk (市民).

Potato Days Festival

This festival actually takes place in Barnesville, Minnesota (明尼苏达州), the US. Over the last Friday and Saturday in August the town celebrates its potato-growing skills by hosting potato picking and peeling contests, as well as a Miss Tater Tot pageant (盛典) for five- and six-year-old girls.

1. Bibimbap is 　　　.

A．a kind of egg cake far less sweet

B．a can of meat made mainly from pork

C．a fried potato ball covered with sauce

D．a rice dish mixed up with vegetables, etc

2. Waikiki Spam Jam takes place 　　　.

A．from 22 to 25 October

B．in May in Hawaii

C．in Barnesville, Minnesota

D．in a French town

3. If Jim wants to learn Asian food culture, he’d better go to 　　　.

A．Bibimbap Festival

B．Waikiki Spam Jam

C．Bessieres Easter Egg Festival

D．Potato Days Festival

4 . October 15th is Global Handwashing Day. Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap.

Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so-called critical moments. These include after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food.

Global Handwashing Day is the idea of the Public-Private Partnership for hand washing with soap. The goal, they say, is to create a culture of hand washing with soap. The organizers say all soap is equally effective at removing disease-causing germs (细菌). They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub it into all areas, including under the fingernails. Then, wash well under running water. Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth.

The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing. Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the chances that people will wash again.

It also says that washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any medicine. It could help reduce cases of diarrhea (痢疾), which is the second leading cause of child deaths, killing more than one and a half million children a year, by almost half.

1. What does the author intend to tell us in the passage?

A．To keep healthy by washing hands.

B．To wash hands with soap.

C．To take action to wash hands.

D．To wash hands often.

2. Which of the following is the right way to wash hands?
a. Washing hands well.
b. Covering hands with soap.
c. Drying hands.
d. Rubbing hands with soap.
e. Wetting hands.

A．a-c-b-e-d	B．e-d-a-b-c
C．a-c-b-d-e	D．e-b-d-a-c

3. Which fact can’t explain why soap is important?

A．It gives people a longer hand washing time.

B．It helps to remove a lot of germs from hands.

C．It attracts people to do more hand washing.

D．It gets all people into the habit of washing hands.

4. According to the last paragraph, diarrhea is a disease that 　　　.

A．kills half of the kids in the developing countries a year

B．causes the greatest number of child deaths

C．can be prevented to some degree by washing hands with soap

D．can’t be cured without washing hands

5 . What is your favorite holiday? Here are some students’ opinions.

Sandy from Taiwan says:

My favorite holiday is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I always visit my grandfather and grandmother, and we always go to the same restaurant on the mountain to hold jubilation. At night, we always have a barbecue, and watch the moon together. I enjoy it a lot.

Zhenia from Ukraine says:

My favorite day is New Year’s Day. We celebrate the new year on the 31st of December. Father Frost comes with his granddaughter on that night. He puts his presents under the New Year Tree. We have a party and stay up until midnight to see the New Year in and the Old Year off. We cook delicious food for the party. People also celebrate Old New Year in our country. It is on the 14th of January.

Yagna from India says:

My favorite day is Deepavali (屠妖节), which is also called Festival of Lights. People do some cleaning at home and light their oil lamps to thank for the defeat of the bad king. To celebrate it, we also eat sweets and delicious food, wear new clothes, and give presents to our friends and relatives.

Pat from Thailand says:

My name is Pat. My favorite holiday is Songkran. It takes place from the 13th to 15th of April. On the holiday people pour water on each other. It is a lot of fun. People also buy new clothes and they have big parties.

1. What is Sandy’s favorite holiday?

A．The Mid-Autumn Festival.	B．New Year’s Day.
C．Deepavali.	D．Songkran.

2. The underlined word “jubilation” is closest in meaning to “        ”.

A．hope

B．celebration

C．present

D．exercise

3. Why do people celebrate Deepavali?

A．To eat sweets and delicious food.	B．To wear new clothes.
C．To give presents to others.	D．To thank for the defeat of the bad king.

6 . Traveling without a map in different countries. I find out about different ways of giving directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”

Foreign tourists are often puzzled in Japan because most streets there don’t have name signs. In Japan, people use landmarks (标志性建筑) to give directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the comer. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”

People in Los Angeles, the US, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance by time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “It’s about five minutes from here.” You don’t understand completely. “Yes, but how many miles away is it, please?” To this question you won’t get an answer, because most probably they don’t know it themselves.

People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because tourists seldom understand the Greek language. Instead, a Greek will often say, “Follow me.” Then he’ll lead you through the streets of the city to the post office.

Sometimes a person doesn’t know the answer to your question. What happens in the situation? A New Yorker might say. “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People there believe that “I don’t” is impolite. They usually give an answer, but often a wrong one. So a tourist can get lost very easily in Yucatan! However, one thing will help you reach your destination everywhere in the world. It’s body language.

1. Which of the following is probably an example of Japanese directions?

A．“The post office is at Street Kamira.”

B．“Turn right at the hospital and go past a school.”

C．“The post office is about five minutes from here.”

D．“Go south two miles. Turn west and then go another mile.”

2. Why don’t people in Los Angeles give directions in miles?

A．They prefer to lead you the way.

B．They prefer to use body language.

C．They use landmarks to give directions instead of distance.

D．They often have no idea of distance measured by miles.

3. How do Greeks give directions?

A．Using street names.	B．Leading the way.
C．Using landmarks.	D．Giving people a wrong direction.

4. According to the last paragraph, we can learn that ______.

A．people in Mexico know street names well

B．body language makes you get lost in Yucatan

C．people in Mexico prefer to use body language

D．people in Yucatan sometimes give wrong directions

7 . Chinese ancient poetry was the heart and soul of Chinese ancient literature. Poems and songs have been the means of entertainment of men from the earliest times. Chinese ancient poetry was primarily written to be chanted or sung.

The poetic persona (表面形象) is a feature of classical Chinese poetry. The persona appears when the poem is written from the viewpoint of some other person. Some poems are comments on the contemporary society and life. Chinese ancient poems, although apparently simple in the first reading, have deeper and greater meanings when read intensively.

The earliest Chinese ancient poetry begins with The Book of Songs which is a collection of 305 poems. It was the first comprehensive compilation(辑)of Chinese ancient poems. Each poem in The Book of Songs was set to music and could be sung. Folk songs made up the most part of the book! Confucius, the great ancient philosopher, was fond of this book. It was also the accepted textbook of the Confucian school.

Chinese poetic history is extremely long and colorful. The Tang dynasty, the golden age of Chinese ancient poetry, produced many famous poems. Three Hundred Poems of the Tang Dynasty, was compiled by Heng Tang Tui Shi(蘅塘退士) of the Qing dynasty. This was used for very many years to teach primary students.

Almost everything is the subject of Chinese ancient poetry including marriage, agriculture, courtship(求爱), sorrow and joys, romance, heroic deeds and so on. Generally, each poem is usually composed of lines of four, five or seven syllables. Translations of Chinese ancient poems are available in books and also online. Now these beautiful poems have attracted readers all over the world.

1. What’s the earliest Chinese poetry intended to do?

A．To record history.	B．To spread knowledge.
C．To entertain people.	D．To state people’s thoughts.

2. Which can describe the obvious characteristics of Chinese ancient poetry according to the text?

A．Modern and symbolic.	B．Simple but meaningful.
C．Difficult and figurative.	D．Imaginative but unreal.

3. What can we learn about The Book of Songs from the text?

A．It is compiled by Heng Tang Tui Shi.

B．It includes more folk songs than other kinds of poems.

C．It was the textbook for kids during Confucius’s childhood.

D．It was produced during the golden age of Chinese ancient poetry.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Chinese ancient poetry has limited subjects.

B．Chinese ancient poems win popularity overseas.

C．Every Chinese ancient poem is made up of four lines.

D．Something in Chinese ancient poems is lost in translation.