1 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

The Tradition of Making New Year’s Resolutions

There are so many ways to celebrate New Year and especially New Year’s Eve. Traditions of the season include the making of New Year’s resolutions. That tradition     1     (date) back to the early Babylonians. While popular modern resolutions may include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking, the early Babylonian’s     2     (popular) resolution was to return borrowed farm     3     (equip).

The tradition of using a baby     4     (signify) the New Year began in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket,     5     (represent) the annual rebirth of that god as     6     spirit of fertility (多产). Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth.

    7     the early Christians criticized the practice as pagan (异教徒), the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to rc-evaluate its position. The Church finally allowed     8     (it) members to celebrate the New Year with a baby,     9     was to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus.

The practice that an image of a baby with a New Year’s banner (横幅) is used as a symbolic representation of the New Year     10     (bring) to early America by the Germans. They had used it since the fourteenth century.

2 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What roles do fathers play nowadays?

A．They mainly stay at home looking after children.

B．They work outside the home leaving childcare to their wives.

C．Besides working they help with childcare as well.

2. What do people often do on Mother’s Day?

A．Mothers and children go shopping together.

B．They have outdoor picnics.

C．They wear carnations.

3. What is most important on these two days?

A．What children write on cards.

B．The value of gifts.

C．Love and respect given to parents.

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.