1 . Whether it's hanging the stockings or baking cookies, all of our favorite Christmas traditions have an interesting history. But no matter where or how you celebrate the holiday season, you might notice a rather unusual custom: finding oranges in your stocking on Christmas morning. As it turns out, there are several arguments as to why people began to put oranges in Christmas stockings.

According to the original story of St. Nicholas (now called Santa Claus), the saint gave three bags of gold to a poor man. The money helped the man pay for his daughters' weddings, and St. Nick has had a reputation for being generous ever since. Meanwhile, the oranges are thought to represent the gold he left the girls.

Some believe, on the other hand, that the practice began during the Great Depression. Because many families couldn't afford to buy Christmas gifts or candy, luxury (奢侈) foods, like oranges and walnuts were placed under the tree, instead.

Another explanation is that the oranges are a reminder to share what you have with others, as December is the season of giving. And finally, some think the oranges were once a "special treat" in the winter — especially for children living in the north. Therefore, there appeared oranges in the stockings.

1. What does the underlined word "reputation'' in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Great system.	B．Future generation.
C．Big celebration.	D．Good name.

2. Why are the oranges a reminder to share what you have with others?

A．Because December is the season of giving.

B．Because many families couldn't afford to buy Christmas gifts or candy.

C．Because the oranges are thought to represent the gold he left the girls.

D．Because the oranges were once a "special treat" in the winter.

3. How many arguments are there according to the passage?

A．2.	B．3
C．4.	D．5.

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A．People can only put oranges in Christmas Stockings.

B．Many families were rich during the Great Depression.

C．St. Nicholas helped the man pay for his daughters' weddings.

D．The oranges were not a ''special treat" in the winter for children living in the south.

2 . New movies set holiday eve record

Chinese moviegoers set a box office （票房） record for the eve of the week—long National Day holiday. By 9:30 p.m. September 30, new movies had brought in 630 million yuan.

The major movies contributing to the box office record were My People, My Country, The Captain and The Climbers.

My People, My Country ranked first by bringing in around 270 million yuan. It was made up of seven short stories which were set in historic moments to look back at New China’s 70 years of existence. The movie was co-directed by Chen Kaige, Zhang Yibai, Guan Hu, Xue Xiaolu, Xu Zheng, Ning Hao and Wen Muye.

Another well-received film, The Captain, earned 194 million yuan to occupy second place. Starring actor Zhang Hanyu, the film is based on heroic Sichuan Airlines pilot Liu Chuanjian, who completed one of the most miraculous （奇迹的） emergency landings in China’s civil aviation （民航） history.

Also adapted from real events, The Climbers earned 157 million yuan. With an excellent cast including Zhang Ziyi and Wu Jing, the film is about Chinese mountaineers’ climbing to the top of Mount Qomolangma.

Wu Jing said the film filled a gap in the market, with sports-themed titles quite rare in the world’s second-largest movie market.

Besides the three movies, eight other films will be on during the holiday ending on Oct 7.

1. My people, My country was directed by the following directors except ________.

A．Zhang Yibai	B．Zhang Yimou
C．Chen Kaige	D．Xu Zheng

2. The film The Captain has earned ________ yuan according to the passage.

A．194 million	B．157 million
C．270 million	D．630 million

3. Why did Wu Jing say The Climbers filled a gap in the movie market?

A．Because it is about climbing Mount Qomolangma.

B．Because it is a very successful movie.

C．Because its theme is about sports.

D．Because it is adapted from a real event.

3 . I once heard this tale in India, where it is told as if true—though any naturalist would know it couldn't be. The country is India. A colonial殖民地的official and his wife are giving a large dinner party. They are seated with their guests — army officers and their wives, and a visiting American naturalist.

A spirited discussion springs up between a young girl who says women have long outgrown the jumping-on-a-chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse era（时代、年代）3nd an army officer who says they haven^’t. “A woman^’s reaction in any crisis," the officer says, “is to scream. And while a man may feel like it, he has that ounce more of control than a woman has. ”

The American scientist does not join in the argument but sits and watches the faces of the other guests. As he stares, he sees a slight strange expression come over the face of the hostess. She gestures to the servant standing behind her chair and whispers to him. The servant's eyes widen. He turns quickly and leaves the room. Of the guests, none except the American notices this or sees the servant place a bowl of milk on the balcony just outside the open glass doors.

The American understands. In India, milk in a bowl means only one thing: bait （诱饵）for a snake. He realizes there must be a cobra in the room. The American’s   eyes move across the room but he sees nothing. He realizes the snake can only be in one place—under the table.

His first reaction is to jump back and warn the others. But he knows any sudden movement will frighten the cobra into striking. He speaks quickly, the tone of his voice so arresting that it

quietens everyone. “I want to know just what control everyone at this table has. I will count three hundred—that's five minutes — and not one of you is to move a muscle. Now_, ready!”

The 20 people sit like stone images while he counts. He is saying "... two hundred and eighty. . . ” when, out of the corner of his eye, he sees the snake emerge and make for the bowl of milk. Four or five screams ring out as he jumps to slam the balcony doors.

“There is your proof!" the host exclaims. “A man has just shown us perfect self-control. ”

“Just a minute," the American says, turning to his hostess, “How did you know that cobra was in the room?"

With a faint smile coming across her face she replies: "Because it was lying across my foot. ”

1. From the passage we can conclude that .

A．women are afraid of mice

B．the army officer's opinion is quite wrong

C．the American suggests playing a game for entertainment

D．the hostess has had previous experience addressing snakes

2. Choose the right order of the events given in the passage.
a. The American's eyes sweep the room but he sees nothing.
b. The American suggests the guests playing a game.
c. Following the instructions, the servant puts out some milk.
d. The hostess is staring ahead, a slight weird look appearing.
e. The American shuts the balcony doors safely, and several screams are let out.
f. The snake edges its way to the bowl of milk.

A．d,c,a,b,f,e	B．a,b,c,e,f,d
C．d,f,a,b,e,c	D．f,e,c,a,d,b

3. Who has real self-control according to the passage?

A．The American.	B．The army officer.
C．The girl.	D．The hostess.

4. What may be the best title for the passage?

A．A Heated Argument	B．A Striking Dinner Party
C．An Unbelievable Story	D．A Smart Hostess

4 . What are martial (武术的)arts and swordsmen like? To most Chinese, the answer to this question can be found in the works of the late novelist Jin Yong. Jin, whose real name was Zha Liangyong, died on Tuesday evening in Hong Kong, aged 94. The news soon spread all over Chinese mainland, where he inspired a generation, guiding them into the world of Wuxia, namely, swordsmen.

In his books, readers can learn about Chinese calligraphy(书法), painting,music,medicine and wine. He was the most successful writer in popularizing traditional Chinese culture. Chinese people had a deeply-rooted admiration for noble qualities and love for the country. So he won many people’s heart. Many people are fond of watching films and TV dramas adapted from his books, which influenced many peopled personality and value.

Jin’s influence knew no national boundary. No matter in New York, Singapore or Vancouver, where there are Chinese, there are his readers. His death marks the end of an era for martial art novels. We can hardly expect to see other writers with such influence and artistic achievement as him.

In terms of writing technique, Jin borrowed from Western plays. Some of his plots were just like ancient Greek tragedy. For instance, in his Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (《天龙八部》), the hero was like a tragic figure in Greek mythology. Writers in the West created new worlds like the one in the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. If there is an imagined world in China, that is the world with martial arts and swordsmen Jin wrote for us.

1. How does Jin influence his readers?

A．By making films and TV dramas.

B．By making his readers read his books.

C．By making his readers love for country.

D．By making traditional Chinese culture popular.

2. What can we learn from Paragraph 3?

A．Jin knew no national boundary.

B．Other writers can get achievement as him.

C．An era of martial art novels was ended as he died.

D．People live in foreign countries are his readers.

3. By which did Jin make his writing technique better?

A．Chinese novels.	B．Western plays.
C．Greek tragedy.	D．Greek mythology.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．The Basic Introduction of Jin's Life

B．Jin's Writing Technique of His Books

C．Jin's Making Martial Arts and Swordsmen Better

D．The World of Jin's Martial Arts and Swordsmen

5 . The first World Friendship Day was proposed for July 30, 1958 by the World Friendship Crusade, an international civil organization to foster a culture of peace through friendship.     1     Just as in the US and several other countries, the festival has been greatly commercialized（商业化）.

Days before the festival, card and gift companies launch a large campaign(活动) to attract people into buying cards and gifts for their friends. Streets and stores are filled with advertising programs aimed at young people.     2     This marketing strategy(策略) has been severely criticized(批判) by many people. Many feel that such crazy commercialization has damaged the meaning of Friendship Day.

    3     especially the pink and yellow ones. The day is observed with great pleasure and merry. A highly popular thing connected with the day is the well-known friendship band—the modern day symbol of friendship that friends give to one another to form an everlasting bond. Friendship bands are the favorite items for youngsters and available in stores all over the country. Friendship poems and Friendship Day gifts are exchanged between best friends to renew the bond of friendship and express gratitude and love for each other.     4    

Since its beginning in 1935, Friendship Day celebrations have come a long way.     5     Friendship Day remains the time when you acknowledge your friends’ contribution in your life, express love for them, cherish their presence in your life and pay them a salute. Today, Friendship Day is being celebrated around the globe, across diverse cultures and social periods.

A．The popular customs of Friendship Day include handing over roses,

B．The idea of honoring friendship was adopted by a few countries in Asia.

C．Restaurants offer special discounts to make the most of the time as well.

D．These days, however, it is celebrated with a lot of showing off and expenses.

E．These are new ways of celebration of this day that have grown in popularity.

F．The original idea for a day of friendship came from Hallmark cards in the 1930s.

G．But however much the ways of celebration have changed, the basic idea behind the occasion remains the same.

6 . The world is designed for right-handed people, but why does a tenth of the population prefer the left?     1    

The answer to it remains a bit of a mystery. Since scientists have noticed that left-handedness tends to run in families, it’s assumed that left-handedness has a genetic(基因的) component to it.

    2     In fact, identical twins, who share the same genes, can sometimes prefer to use different hands. There are also plenty of theories on what else might determine which hand you write with, but many experts believe that it’s kind of random.

Historically, the left side and left-handedness have been considered a negative thing by many cultures.     3     In some areas, the left hand became known as the “unclean” hand. In many religions, the right hand of God is the favored hand. For example, Jesus sits at God’s right side. God’s left hand, however, is the hand of judgment. Various activities and experiences become rude or even signs of bad luck when the left hand becomes involved. In some parts of Scotland, it is considered bad luck to meet a left-handed person at the start of a journey.     4    A person giving directions will put their left hand behind them and even physically try to point with their right hand if necessary. In some Asian countries, eating with the left hand is considered impolite.

    5    People come to realize that left-handedness is natural. Some researchers find out that lefties are more creative and can deal with abstract thinking better. The left-handedness is more easily adaptable to the right-handed world as well. Being left-handed is no longer a sad story now; instead, it is a wonderful gift or maybe it is something you should take pride in.

A．In other words, left-handers are born that way.

B．Left-handedness used to be regarded as a disability.

C．The unfavorable associations of the use of the left hand among cultures are varied.

D．Why do they prefer to use their left hand rather than their right hand for routine activities?

E．Why do some parents force their left-handed children to become right-handed when writing?

F．In Ghana, pointing, gesturing, giving or receiving items with the left hand is considered rude.

G．Fortunately, nowadays most societies and cultures no longer reject left-handedness like before.

7 . How people read facial expressions of others says a lot about their cultural practices, a new study suggests.

In the study, about 80 Japanese and American student participants viewed a series of images (图像), each of which consisted of one center model and four background models. The researchers manipulated (操纵) the facial expression (happy, angry, sad) of the center or background models and asked the participants to determine the emotion (情绪) of the center figure.

The majority of Japanese participants (72%) reported that their judgments of the center persons emotions were influenced by the emotions of the background figures, while the same percentage of western participants reported they were not influenced by the background figures.

“What we found is quite interesting,” says Takahiko Masuda, a psychology professor from the University of Alberta. “Our results show that when Americans are trying to figure out how a person is feeling, they selectively focus on that particular person’s facial expression, while Japanese consider the emotions of the other people in the situation.”

“This may be because Japanese attention is not concentrated on the individual, but includes everyone in the group,” says Masuda.

In another round of image-viewing, researchers monitored the eye movements of the participants and again the results indicated that the Japanese looked at the surrounding people more than the westerners when judging the situation.

While both the Japanese and westerners looked to the central figure during the first second of viewing the photo, the Japanese looked to the background figures at the very next second, while westerners continued to focus on the central figure.

“East Asians seem to see people in terms of the relationships to others,” says Masuda. People raised in the western culture tend to separate a person from their surroundings, while East Asians are accustomed to “kuuki wo yomu”, which literally translates to “reading the air” of a situation. “As a result, they think that even surrounding people’s facial expressions are an informative source to understand the particular person’s emotion,” says Masuda.

1. Why were there background models in the study?

A．To show the participants various facial expressions.

B．To let the participants figure out their emotions.

C．To see whether they would influence the center model.

D．To see whether they would influence the participants’ judgments.

2. In the image-viewing process, the westerners ________ than the Japanese.

A．spent more time looking at the background models

B．spent less time looking at the background models

C．determined the emotion of the center model more quickly

D．determined the emotion of the background models more slowly

3. “Kuuki wo yomu” in the last paragraph indicates ________.

A．dealing with a situation

B．reading facial expressions

C．looking at the surroundings

D．knowing the surrounding people

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Facial Expressions Show Emotions

B．Culture Affects How We Read Faces

C．Team Work Strengthens Relationship

D．Cultural Differences Determine How We Feel

8 . Table Manners

We all like to think we have good table manners, but what you consider proper table manners may actually be considered rude in another country! Lets explore some strange table manners around the world.

Most people believe that it is bad manners to slurp（出声地吃或喝） or hold your soup bowl up to your mouth    1     Slurping in Japan is an indication that the food is good. Therefore, in Japan, slurping is considered polite.

    2    In some cultures, finishing all the food on your plate is a sign that your host did not provide you with enough food. Filipinos, Koreans and Thais will all think like this. In many cases your host will continue to serve you each time you clear your plate For Japanese people, however, finishing all the food on one's plate is a sign to the host that the meal is delicious and that you appreciate the meal.

    3    This is a belief in many Asian countries, including Thailand, Japan and China. It's considered taboo(禁忌 )because during funerals (丧礼), bowls of rice with chopsticks sticking in them are offered to the dead

Don’t cut your salad with a knife in France. Proper etiquette(礼节) in France when eating a salad to fold the salad leaves onto your fork if they are too big to put in your mouth. You should never cut your salad with a knife.     4    .

Pay attention to forks. Have you ever been to a fancy western restaurant, not sure which fork to use?

    5    Fin Thai culture the proper way to enjoy Thai food is with a spoon in your right hand and a fork in your left. Some countries don’t even use forks but rather eat with their hands, like India, Nepal and Pakistan

A．That isn’t true in Japan

B．It's the one furthest from your plate.

C．You must finish the food on your plate

D．Should you finish all the food on your plate?

E．You may use your fork to eat something like fruit.

F．Never leave your chopsticks sticking in a bowl of rice

G．This rule is taught to many French children from an early age.

9 . Some Famous Libraries in the World

The Royal Library of Alexandria

The Royal Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt is probably known as the largest and the most famous library in the ancient world. It is said that the ancient library was burned three times over the centuries. A likeness of the ancient library was built in Alexandria and was opened on October 16，2002.

Celsus Library

Celsus Library was built in what had been a monument tomb of the governor of the Province of Asia, Celsus Polemaeanus in Ephesus, Turkey. It used to be the third richest of ancient times in the world，which had more than 12,000 works of art, but it was destroyed in wars, leaving some ruins. Even so, it is now still so world-famous for its beautiful structure that many visitors come to see it. There is a statue of Athena at its entrance as she is the Goddess of Wisdom. It remains delicate and appealing.

Bodleian Library

Bodleian Library is attached to Oxford University and mainly used as a research library. It is also a copyright library, which means it has a right to every book published in the United Kingdom. The library was designed by the architect, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Construction was completed in 1940.

The British Library

The British Library was set up in 1973 and is one of the world’s greatest libraries. This library has PACCAR gallery of living and workshop of words. The sounds and images offer shows and different programs at the theme exhibitions. They also have a wide collection of stamps of the world which are on show for visitors. The library also offers events like music and discussions.

1. Which of the following libraries has been reconstructed?

A．The Royal Library of Alexandria.	B．Celsus Library.
C．Bodleian Library.	D．The British Library.

2. What can you do in Celsus Library?

A．Read books.	B．Borrow books.
C．See a stamp exhibition.	D．Enjoy the beautiful remains.

3. What is special about Bodleian Library?

A．It belongs to a university.

B．It was once destroyed by fires.

C．It is one of the famous ancient libraries.

D．It is well-known for its beautiful structure.

10 . It’s fun to dream about vacationing in Europe, but international flights are not always particularly affordable. If you’re looking to experience a taste of European culture, however, there are many places in the US with a European heritage(传统).
St. Augustine Florida

Founded by Spanish settlers in 1565, St. Augustine is full of Spanish-inspired architecture, historical sites and other attractions. The Colonial Quarter is a popular tourist area, and there are many places to grab traditional Spanish food.

Holland, Michigan

Holland was settled in 1847 by Dutch Calvinist separatists, under the leadership of Dr Albertus van Raalte. Terrible economic conditions in the Netherlands forced them to emigrate(移居国外), while their desires for religious freedom led them to unite and settle together as a group. Much of the original architecture was destroyed in an 1871 fire, but the city still has many windmills, eateries, art and even an annual tulip festival and holiday market.

New Glarus, Wisconsin

More than 160 years after it was founded, New Glarus has maintained much of its Swiss heritage and old world traditions. New Glarus’ Swiss immigrant roots are proudly on display with its Alpine architecture, Swiss Historical Village Museum and Yodel Club. The Wisconsin village also puts on cultural events like the Heidi Folk Festival and Swiss Volksfest.

Solvang, California

Located near Santa Barbara, Solang is a charming California city with Danish roots.   A group of immigrates from Denmark founded Solvang just over 100 years ago to create a Danish home away from home. As such, the city is full of Danish architecture, restaurants, shops and even a copy of Copenhagen’s famous Little Mermaid statue.

1. Which US city might have the longest European origin ?

A．St. Augustine

B．Holland

C．New Glarus

D．Solvang

2. Why did Dutch Calvinist separates decide to emigrate?

A．To reveal the dark side of their native place.

B．To pursue religious freedom and economic opportunities.

C．To found a Dutch community with united power.

D．To seek for a US state with better social welfare.

3. Which of the following originates from Denmark?

A．Yodel Club.	B．The Heidi Folk Festival.
C．The Colonial Quarter.	D．The Little Mermaid statue.