1 . Ice cream is certainly the world's favorite dessert.     1     Of all the people across the world, more ice cream is eaten in Australia than in any other country: 16.6 liters per person per year.

A form of ice cream was eaten in China about 4,000 years ago.     2     Sounds strange today.

Ice cream was brought to Europe in the 16th century, but at that time only the super-rich could afford it. When the Italian princess Catherine de Medici married the future King Henry Ⅱ of France in 1533, a different kind of ice cream was served every day a month!     3    

Ice cream was introduced to America in the 1700s, but mostly enjoyed by the wealthy. Around 1800, special ice houses were invented and ice cream became an American industry.     4     In 1946, they ate more than 20 liters of ice cream per person.

The world's most popular flavor is vanilla（香草）, which was produced from vanilla beans. 80% of the world's vanilla beans grew on the island of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa.     5     And of all the days of the week, most ice cream is bought on Sunday!

A．Ice cream didn't become available to the ordinary people in France until 1660.

B．In Europe alone, about 11 billion dollars a year is spent on ice cream.

C．Americans celebrated the victory of World WarⅡwith ice cream.

D．California produces more ice cream than any other state.

E．More than 90 percent of the US families buy dessert.

F．It was made of milk rice, fruit and snow!

G．The most favorite topping is chocolate.

2 . If we were asked exactly what we were doing a year ago，we should probably have to say that we could not remember. But if we had kept a book and had written in it an account of what we did each day, we should be able to give an answer to the question．

It 1s the same in history．Many things have been forgotten because we do not have any written account of them. Sometimes men did keep a record of the most important happenings in their country, but often it was destroyed by fire or in a war．Sometimes there was never any written record at all because the people of that time and place did not know how to write．For example，we know a good deal about the people who lived in China 4,000 years ago，because they could write and leave written records for those who lived after them．But we know almost nothing about the people who lived even 200 years ago in Central Africa，because they had not learned to write．

Sometimes，of coures，even if the people cannot write，they may know something of the past．They have heard about it from older people，and often songs, dances and stories have been made about the most important happenings, and these have been sung，acted and told for many generations，for most people are proud to tell what their fathers did in the past．This we may call”remembered history”．Some of it had been written down. It is not so exact or so valuable to us as written history is，because words are much more easily changed when used again and again in speech than when copied in writing．But where there are no written records，such spoken stories are often very helpful．

1. Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

A．“Remembered history”，compared with written history, is less reliable．

B．Written records of the past play a most important role in our learning the human history．

C．A written account of our daily activities helps us to remember the events that happened in the past．

D．Where there are no written records of the past．there is no history．

2. Why do we know little about what happened in Central Africa 200 years ago?

A．There was nothing worth being written down at that time．

B．People there had not known how to write in those days．

C．The written records were perhaps destroyed in a fire．

D．People there ignored the importance of keeping a record．

3. ”Remembered history”is regarded as valuable only when      ．

A．it is written down	B．it proves to be true
C．no written account is available	D．people are interested in it

4. It can be inferred from the passage that we could have learned much more about our past than we do now if our ancestors had ．

A．kept a written record of every past event

B．not burnt their written records in wars

C．told exact stories of the most important happenings

D．made more songs and dances

3 . Thanksgiving Day is a special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing.

Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival.This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in.But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. On December 4,1619, the Pilgrims from England landed near what is now Charles City,   Virginia. They went down on their knees and thanked God for their safe journey across the Atlantic.

The first New England Thanksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest.The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620.They had a difficult time and the first winter was cruel.Many of the Pilgrims died.But the next year, they had a good harvest. So Governor Bradford declared a three­day feast. The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast.Everyone brought food.

In time, other places of the continent began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving.But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day.During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it.He announced the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving.Today, Americans celebrate this happy harvest festival on the fourth Thursday in November.Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in much the same way as their American neighbours. But the Canadian Thanksgiving Day falls on the second Monday in October.

1. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated ________.

A．in spring	B．in summer
C．in autumn	D．in winter

2. The first to celebrate thanksgiving were ________.

A．some people from England

B．the American Indians

C．Sarah Josepha Hale

D．Governor Bradford

3. We can infer from the passage that New England must be ________.

A．in the USA

B．in Great Britain

C．in Canada

D．on some island off the Atlantic

4. The passage mainly tells us ________.

A．how Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the USA

B．how Thanksgiving Day came into being and the different ways it is celebrated

C．that Thanksgiving Day is in fact a harvest holiday

D．how the way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day changed with the time and places

4 . Hundreds of years ago, news was carried from place to place by people on foot or by horse. It took days, weeks and sometimes months for people to receive news. Now it is possible to send words and pictures around the world in seconds. Billions of people learn about news stories of their own country and all over the world every day, either by watching TV or reading newspapers.
Newspapers have been an important part of everyday life since the 18th century. Many countries have hundreds of different newspapers. How do newspaper editors decide which news stories to print? Why do they print some stories and not others? What makes a good newspaper story?
Firstly, it is important to report news stories. TV stations can report news much faster than newspapers. Yet, newspapers give more about the same story. They may also look at the story in another way, or they may print completely different stories from those on TV.
Secondly, a news story has to be interesting and unusual. People don’t want to read stories about everyday life. As a result, many stories are about some kind of danger and seem to be “bad” news. For example, newspapers never print stories about planes landing safely; instead they print stories about plane accidents.
Another factor(因素) is also very important in many news stories. Many people are interested in news in foreign countries, but more prefer to read stories about people, places and events in their own country. So the stories on the front page in Chinese newspapers are usually very different from the ones in British, French and American newspapers.
1. According to the passage, how do people learn about news stories in the world now?

A．They carry news stories and tell others from place to place on foot or by horse.

B．They tell each other what they have seen with their eyes.

C．They watch TV or read newspapers.

D．They listen to the radio every day.

2. To make a good newspaper story, how many factors does the passage talk about?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Five.

D．Six.

3. According to the passage, which of the following can you most possibly watch on TV?

A．You often play football with your friends after school.

B．Your teacher has got a cold.

C．A tiger in the city zoo has run out and hasn’t been caught.

D．The bike in front of your house is lost.