| A．Staying at home and relaxing. | B．Traveling to European countries. |
| C．Taking extra courses. | D．Doing part-time jobs. |
| A．To relax and unwind. | B．To explore new countries. |
| C．To get ahead on credits. | D．To do volunteer work. |
| A．To relax and get ready for more experiences. |
| B．To explore new countries in a totally fresh way. |
| C．to contribute and have a positive impact. |
| D．To save up for tuition fees as well as expectations. |
| A．He thinks it’s a smart move. | B．He believes she should relax instead. |
| C．He is indifferent. | D．He thinks she should join him for volunteer work. |
| A．To work in July. | B．To print a form. |
| C．To go back to school. | D．To take a vacation. |
| A．She doesn’t want to have a birthday party. | B．She doesn’t like the gift. |
| C．She wants to forget her birthday. | D．She doesn’t want to grow old. |
| A．Tom invites Susan to his wedding. | B．Tom will get married to Susan. |
| C．Susan invites both Tom and Anna. | D．Anna will attend Tom’s wedding. |
1. How much does the woman have to pay for a long distance call?
| A．A fortune. | B．Nothing at all. |
| C．Twice the fortune. | D．A little. |
| A．The company won’t accept it. | B．It is partly broken. |
| C．The date on the card isn’t correct. | D．It is in use today. |
| A．Answer the password, dial his dad’s number and the number on the card. |
| B．Dial the number on the card and his dad’s, then input the password. |
| C．Dial the number on the card, answer the password, and dial his dad’s number. |
| D．Dial his dad’s number then input the password and the number on the card. |
| A．3:30 p.m. | B．3:30 a.m. | C．6:30 p.m. | D．6:30 a.m. |
| A．The class has kept the party a secret from Jack. |
| B．Jack is organizing a party for the English teacher. |
| C．Jack is surprised to learn of the party for him. |
| D．Teachers will come to Jack’s birthday party. |
| A．According to how important the work is. |
| B．According to when the work occurs to you. |
| C．According to how much you like the subject. |
| D．According to when the work should be completed. |
| A．Have a vacation. | B．Reward yourself for finishing a task. |
| C．Take some summer activities. | D．Do something planned in advance. |
| A．Those who lack time for study. | B．Those who are good at making a plan. |
| C．Those who prefer study to relaxation. | D．Those who plan to study in summer. |
8 . People around the world take celebrating seriously, and many of them are willing to go to great effort and expense to plan and participate in public celebrations.
Exactly when and where human beings began coming together in public to celebrate as a group can date back to hunter-gatherer societies, when success in the never-ending search for food, clothing, and shelter must have aroused the need to celebrate together.
Besides the need for food and survival, there are records of religious parades dating back to 3000 B.C. Parades were also used to demonstrate military power and celebrate military victories; to attract customers to events such as the circus by giving the public a sample of the entertainment; or to celebrate ethnic (民族的) connection and holidays. The New York Times of October 28, 1917, summed it up by saying, “If you take the parades out of history, you have precious little history left.”
Of course, many modern celebrations are not connected to any religion. In the Internet era, electronic communication makes it possible to organize celebrations almost instantly. “Flash mobs” are a new way of gathering and celebrating. Secretly planned online, they bring together tens, hundreds, or thousands of individuals to perform some unusual or funny act in a public place. Flash mobs not only reflect the increased speed of communication but also a lighter attitude to celebration. No longer is public celebrating something necessarily linked to human survival, religion, or deep traditions.
This does not mean, however, that modern celebrations are not socially conscious. One striking image inspiring community spirit is Edwards’ photograph of crowds in Australia, who were gathering in the rain for a music festival to raise funds for wildfire relief. Throughout history, across countries and cultures, celebrations are always worth significant amount of time and money spent planning, preparing, organizing, and carrying out an event. The priority given to celebrating seems to put it alongside food, shelter, love, and freedom as a basic need of humanity.
1. According to the passage, which one of the following events can make celebrations happen?| A．A business has made a huge profit. | B．It has been sunny for a week. |
| C．Farmers harvest in the autumn. | D．A new museum opens in the city center. |
| A．If there is no parade, human history will be more precious. |
| B．Students should be taught the importance of parades in history class. |
| C．Only parades can be recorded in history books. |
| D．Many significant historic moments featured a parade. |
| A．Four strangers meet at a concert and then decide to perform together in a public square. |
| B．Someone announces openly a series of performances to take place at school. |
| C．An online group plans and performs a dance in a crowded train station. |
| D．The number of people watching a street performer grows to several hundred. |
| A．Why We Celebrate? | B．Celebration and Social Responsibility |
| C．Planning a Parade | D．The Origin of Celebration |
| A．In the woman’s hometown. |
| B．In the man’s hometown. |
| C．Outside their hometown. |
| D．In a small town. |
| A．Choose whichever friend can give the best toast. |
| B．Choose whichever friend can plan the reception. |
| C．Choose whichever friend knows all their in-laws. |
| D．Choose whichever friend knows a lot about weddings. |
| A．The bride’s family. |
| B．A wedding planner. |
| C．The groom’s family. |
| D．The new couple. |
| A．She doesn’t think it is a tradition. |
| B．She thinks her mother-in-law can plan the wedding well. |
| C．She thinks it will cost too much to have a wedding planner. |
| D．She doesn’t want her wedding to be in the charge of someone unknown to her. |
Interesting Traditions Around the World
Traditions are passed down from generation to generation to inform us of our history. Some are widespread and taken on by one and all, like celebrating New Year and birthdays, and then there are some that are quite strange or interesting and practiced only by a small group of people.
Famadihana, also called the turning of the bones, is a festival in Madagascar that honors the dead and celebrates family ties. Every seven years or so, families who can afford rich dinners for guests and new clothes for the living families and the dead, celebrate the festival. They give out gifts for the dead and crying is discouraged during the celebration.
Bali’s Day of Silence, or Nyepi, as they call it, is a holiday celebrated with eating little or no food as well as meditation, the practice of thinking deeply in silence. The whole island shuts off all sounds, lights, and all other activities, so there is peace all around. Days before the actual celebration, Balinese people make the ogoh-ogoh (dangerous animals) statues (雕像) that will be used and paraded through the streets the day before Nyepi. The statues are then usually burnt after supposedly attracting dangerous animals.
Having started in Middle Ages, flag throwing has long been popular in Tuscany. As the Italians love a good celebration, army parades were held with marching bands and flag bearers. Since flags are considered sacred, the flag bearers have to make sure that they do not fall to the ground. Today, flag throwing is not just popular in Tuscany but also in the whole of Italy.
Some traditions may sound strange, yet people hold them close to their hearts and still practice the age-old rituals to this day. These rituals are part of their culture and history and are able to shape and describe people.
Outline:
I. Introduction
As a form of historic culture, some traditions are shared altogether and others are
II. Body part
People in Madagascar celebrate Famadihana to honor the dead and
During Nyepi in Bali, people eat little or no food and
Flag throwing features army parades and gains popularity in Italy.
III. Conclusion
People still hold fast to some age-old rituals, because these traditions can
