1 . Everyone knows about New Year’s Eve and Independence Day. But did you know that there are enough holidays to fill every day of the year? Here are just a few we found interesting.

World Hello Day

To celebrate this day, say hello to at least ten different people. World Hello Day began in the autumn of 1973, shortly after the end of a war in the Middle East. Brian and Michael McCormack of Omaha, Nebraska, wondered what they could do to encourage world peace. They felt the best way was by getting people to talk with one another.

The McCormacks sent letters to the leaders of every country in the world about the first World Hello Day. They wrote the letters in as many different languages as they could. Officials wrote back from sixteen countries and encouraged Brian and Michael to make World Hello Day a yearly event. The holiday has been held on the third Sunday of November every year since. The McCormacks have received letters from many famous people congratulating them for their efforts.

International Day of the Seal (海豹)

March 22 is the official International Day of the Seal. But the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., and many other zoos and research centers around the world celebrate this holiday on the third weekend of March. The holiday was created to tell people about the dangers seals face from pollution and fishing nets.

At the National Zoological Park, you can find out how seals live and ways to help protect their habitats (栖息地).

Do it! Day

Are you a procrastinator? Here’s a day to finish all those things you’ve been meaning to do. Do It! Day is celebrated on the first Wednesday in September. “The whole idea is to feel good about getting things done,” says the founder of Do It! Day, Ethel Cook. She came up with the idea as part of her work helping businesses get organized. Cook hopes everyone will turn their Do Its into Did Its.

1. World Hello Day was set to        .

A．create peace worldwide

B．stop the war in the Middle East

C．encourage foreign language learning

D．spread knowledge about different countries

2. How did the McCormacks advertise World Hello Day?

A．By reporting it on TV.

B．By meeting famous people.

C．By publishing it in the newspapers.

D．By writing letters to world leaders.

3. When does the National Zoological Park celebrate the International Day of the Seal?

A．On March 22.

B．On the third weekend of March.

C．On the third Sunday of November.

D．On the first Wednesday in September.

4. The underlined word “procrastinator” in the last paragraph refers to a person who        .

A．cleans up things quickly	B．puts off things until later
C．always comes up with good ideas	D．feels good about getting things done

2 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

If you visit a supermarket in the UK in March or April, you will notice a strange thing: Shelf after shelf is filled with large, brightly-colored eggs.

Look a little     1     (close) and you will discover something else. These eggs aren’t real. In fact, they     2     (make) of chocolate. And that can mean only one thing — it’s Easter time again.

Easter is a festival     3     has been celebrated in Britain for thousands of years. These days we mark the occasion (场合) by     4     (give) each other chocolate eggs, or Easter eggs. But what are the roots of this     5     (tradition) event?

For Christian people Easter is a religious festival. According     6     the Bible, Jesus Christ was killed by the Romans     7     came back to life three days later. That is     8     Easter is seen as a time of rebirth.

However, some people suggest that Easter has its origins in pre-Christian times. They say that the very earliest societies celebrated the end of winter and the beginning of spring — the time     9     life returns to the land.

Whatever its origins, Easter is big business. The UK’s biggest retailer (零售商) of Easter eggs sold more than 20 million units last year and some Easter eggs     10     cost more than £20!

3 . 1. Do not drink up the tea at once

Tea is not plain water, it can nourish (养育，抚养) your mind and keep you calm. If you’re not thirsty, then do not drink up the tea at once. On the one hand, it may be hot and bums your lips. On the other hand, it is generally considered a rude behavior. You should take a sip and appreciate the flavor, from good smell to sweetness till the long after taste, you may find words are too plain to describe this fascinating feeling and process.

2. Do not spit the tea out of your mouth

It is also considered that the biggest impoliteness of the guest is to spit the tea out of mouth, especially, in front of the tea server. This bad manner may also leave a very bad impression on the host.

3. Do not smoke

Smoking cigarettes during the tea drinking is disrespectful. If you are a heavy smoker, you should ask the host for opinions. You should not start smoking unless the host or the hostess allows you to.

4. Do not be absent-minded

Keep calm and relaxed when drinking tea, instead of being absent-minded and dispirited. Tea is not only an amazing drink, it can also be your friend. When you feel uneasy, it helps you calm down; when you feel distracted, it makes you relax; while when you find your inner peace, it will bring you indescribable flavor. What a wonderful friend!

1. What can you do in a Chinese Tea House?

A．You can smoke when guests invite you to.

B．You can spit the tea out of your mouth if it doesn’t suit you.

C．You can enjoy listening to MP4 and try to have a short period of sleep.

D．You find inner peace in your mind and relax yourself.

2. The underlined word in the last paragraph probably means ________.

A．favor	B．good taste
C．bad smell	D．ceremony

3. In the writer’s opinion, tea can also be your friend because ________.

A．when you feel unrest in mind, it helps you calm down

B．when you find your inner peace, tea tastes better

C．when you can’t focus on something, tea makes you distracted

D．when you have no friends, make friends by drinking tea with them

4. Drinking up the tea immediately you are served is something improper because of the following but ________.

A．tea is not plain water, it is a healthy drink

B．you may have your lips burned

C．you can’t drink tea directly in front of the tea server

D．it is hot

4 . The world is a colorful landscape of different languages, skin colors, and different cultures. It's important to have a good understanding of different cultures in order to become a well-rounded person    1    

One way is to read books written by authors from a particular culture. Reading works by authors who have a close relationship with a particular culture allows people to gain an authentic glimpse into the food, music, language, religion, and way of a life of a particular group of people.

    2    

Another way to learn about different cultures is to try to learn a foreign language.    3    A person can choose a language she has always wanted to learn and locate learning programs to help her master the language. Besides, one can enroll in a foreign language class in order to learn in a more formal setting. One can also try to visit areas of the city to establish social connection with native speakers of the language.

    4    Seek out restaurants that feature authentic food from a variety of countries. Food is an important part of different cultures and allows people to gain deep understanding into a particular cultural group's way of life.

Communicating with people from other countries through email or snail mail is another useful way to become familiar with different cultures.    5    Various websites offer pen pal services, offering to connect individuals with pen friends around the world.

A．Trying authentic food from a specific cultural group is also a great idea.

B．The Internet has made it possible to communicate with others from different countries.

C．Making contact with native speakers of the language allows one to gain firsthand knowledge.

D．There are several ways to become knowledgeable about different cultures.

E．Stories based on a local culture expose one to a different culture.

F．One way to develop this appreciation is to try to team about other cultures around the world.

G．A variety of language-learning books, software, and audio programs is available.

5 . 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.

1. Bibimbap Festival

In the South Korean town of Jeonjuloves, their “mixed rice” dish is a hearty serve of rice topped with raw beef, a rainbow of vegetables, a raw egg and gochujang sauce 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.

2. Waikiki Spam Jam

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 giving out the best Spam, a type of cheap canned meat made mainly from pork.

3. 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).

4. Potato Days Festival

This festival actually takes place in Barnesville, Minnesota, 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. What makes Bibimbap festival special?

A．They take four days to celebrate it.

B．The mixed rice is rich in many vegetables.

C．There’s music, entertainment and magic during the festival.

D．The rice dish needs to be mixed in one big bowl by dozens of chefs together.

2. What do we know about Waikiki Spam Jam ?

A．The spam is the most favorite for Hawii people.

B．People spend one day to prepare the Jam.

C．The Jam isn’t affordable for the plain townsfolk.

D．The Jam is mainly made from raw beef.

3. If you have time in August, you can go to ______.

A．Bibimbap Festival	B．Waikiki Spam Jam
C．Bessieres Easter Egg Festival	D．Potato Days Festival

6 . Language teachers, learners and other professionals across the USA are celebrating National Grammar Day on March 4. The holiday, created by Martha Brockenbrough in 2008, celebrates the rules and best practices for the English language. Brockenbrough is the founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar, or SPOGG, which operates a website where Brockenbrough writes about different language issues.

Mignon Fogarty, who is organizing National Grammar Day celebrations this year, wrote the book “Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.” Fogarty appeared on the NBC television program “Today” on Wednesday. She discussed new additions to the English language. “People think that dictionaries choose new words because they are proper, she said.” But mostly they choose words because people use them.”

The American Dialect Society chooses a word every year that is new or used in a new way .The choice for 2015 Word of the Year was “they,” used to refer to “he” or “she”. The Oxford English Dictionary adds new words after finding evidence people are using the words often. Researchers for the dictionary also look for evidence the words will be used well into the future.

Grammarly is a software application, or app, which can study writing and find grammar mistakes. In preparation for National Grammar Day, Grammarly studied the writing on the Twitter accounts of the 50 people with the most followers in the world and counted the average number of mistakes in their writing. Then the top 10 accounts with the fewest mistakes were listed.

Comedian Conan O’Brien had the best grammar. He averaged 0.21 mistakes for every 100 words he wrote. Businessman Bill Gates had the second best grammar, with an average of 0.22 mistakes. President Barack Obama came third with an average of 0.26 mistakes.

The National Grammar Day website has many resources for language learners. You can celebrate the day by reading our weekly series “Everyday Grammar.”

1. National Grammar Day is created to ________.

A．celebrate the birth of English grammar

B．improve the standard use of English

C．found the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar

D．publish different language issues

2. From the passage, we know new words are added in dictionaries mainly because they are ________.

A．properly used	B．frequently used
C．newly used	D．hardly used

3. Using Grammarly, we can ________.

A．read articles online	B．correct errors in spelling
C．find grammar mistakes in writings	D．check accounts of famous people

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Grammar is important to language learners.

B．Grammarly is a useful software application.

C．Famous people make fewer grammar mistakes.

D．National Grammar Day is celebrated in some way.

7 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What does the speaker say about gift-giving rules in North America ?

A．Strange.

B．Frightening.

C．Simple.

2. What does the speaker think of Japanese gift-giving rules ?

A．Strict.

B．Out-of-date.

C．Detailed and ancient.

3. Who don’t exchange gifts much in social and business situation ?

A．The Japanese.

B．The Europeans.

C．The Middle Easterners.

4. What can be inferred from the speech?

A．Color plays an important role in gift-giving.

B．Middle Easterners seldom give flowers as gifts.

C．Friends usually give no gifts to each other in the US.

8 . 阅读下面材料，在题后空白处填入适当的内容(每空一词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Many well-established bookshops have closed and that trend is continuing today, despite their efforts     1     (survive) by offering a cafe or children's activities as well.

There are three main reasons for this trend. First, increasingly more people    2     (give)up reading over the past ten years. Second, quite a high percentage of people     3     continue reading have changed from reading paper books to e-books. Third? of the     4     (limit) number of those who continue reading paper books, a high percentage buy them online instead of from physical bookstores.

Bookstores are providing leisure activities and coffeehouses inside. However, as     5    recent survey shows, these measures seem to be of little help. It would be a shame if physical bookstores were to disappear     6     (complete). Bookstores are more than “places selling books", they are cultural palaces. A city     7     bookstores is not culturally rich.

However, bookstores cannot survive the fierce market    8    (compete) and they are failing. The economic burden is so heavy and their profit so thin    9    they cannot continue existing. In order to prevent bookstores from totally     10     (disappear) , both the government and the society should help find good ways.

9 . March, April and May are months full of festivals and events all over the world. Here are four wonderful festivals around the world that happen in spring.

SongKran--Thailand

Dates: 13th-15th, April

In Thailand, it’s time to celebrate the coming monsoon season, which will bring the rain many people have been looking forward to. They celebrate it with a festival called Songkran, when people head out to the streets with water guns to spray (喷洒) everyone who walks past.

Naghol--Vanuatu

Dates: Every Saturday from April to May

Every year, villagers come together to celebrate the harvest of yams, a kind of root vegetable popular in Vanuatu. The festival is most famous for its “land diving ceremony”. During the ceremony men and boys dive to the ground from high wooden towers with only two thin vines (葡萄藤) attached to their ankles.

Cherry Blossom Viewing ---Japan

Dates: The cherry blossom season is different from year to year depending on the weather forecast.

The cherry blossom season has huge importance to the people of Japan, who celebrate the days when the flowers finally blossom. In Japan, almost everyone has picnics in the parks to view the flowers.

Sinhalese New Year--Sri Lanka

Dates: 13th or 14th, April

Just like in many other countries in South or South East Asia, this is the time when the Sinhalese celebrate the traditional New Year, an ancient celebration which marks the end of the harvest season and is one of two times of the year when the sun is straight above Sri Lanka.   There are a lot of delicious foods during the celebration.

1. What does the underlined phrase “monsoon season” probably refer to?

A．Windy season.	B．Rainy season.
C．Dry season.	D．Foggy season.

2. Who may be most interested in Naghol?

A．A gardener.	B．A sports lover.
C．A woodcutter.	D．A music fan.

3. What can people enjoy during Sinhalese New Year?

A．Summertime sunshine.

B．Ancient Architecture.

C．Traditional dances.

D．Excellent foods.

10 . 阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词 或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空。

Yokohama Chinatown is the     1     (large) among Japan's three Chinatowns, which is located in downtown Yokohama.     2     large number of Chinese stores and restaurants can be found in the narrow(狭窄的) and colorful streets of the Chinatown.

From this month, the Yokohama Chinatown Development Association (YCDA) will be busy     3     (start) the ''Yokohama Chinatown Tour'' all year round. Visitors will find it extremely necessary to make use     4     the chance to enjoy lunch while learning Chinese food culture and traditional arts with the Yokohama Chinatown doorkeeper     5     will tell stories about its history and culture.

The first event with the theme(主题) of ''Meeting to enjoy Chinese tea''    6     (hold) next week. A Chinese specialty store(专卖店) has been set up    7    (allow) people to first learn about tea ceremony and different     8     (type) of tea, and then enjoy lunch at a Chinese restaurant.

According to the organizers, in September, the theme will be ''Mid-Autumn Festival moon cake making experience'', when visitors will make mooncakes by    9    (they). After that, the organizers plan to hold events in November and next January with the theme of Spring Festival.

''It is a     10    (meaning) tour to experience traditional Chinese culture. Let 's enjoy it together, '' an official of YCDA said.