1 . Lawns（草坪）are some of the most common things in the world until you really start thinking about them. That’s when you realize that they make no sense. Why do people keep these uninteresting, pointless little plants outside their homes? They’re not beautiful like flowers, they don’t provide food and you have to take care of them constantly.
Israeli bestselling author Yuval Noah Harari thought these deeds were weird too. He looked into their history and ended up with an interesting story.
No one considered putting patches of grass outside their homes in ancient times. That changed in the Middle Ages, when French and English kings and nobles started putting patches of grass at their castle entrances.
“Well-kept lawns demand land and a lot of work,” wrote Harari in his book. “In exchange, they produce nothing of value.” Peasants could never afford to waste their time or land on lawns, so these lawns were a perfect status symbol（身份的象征）for nobility（高贵）.
When the Industrial Revolution began in the 18th and 19th centuries, the middle classes started being able to afford their own suburban（郊区的）houses. And guess what became the suburban status symbol? A perfectly kept lawn.
The popularity of lawns continued to grow, taking over public event spaces and sports. In the past, people played sports on all kinds of surfaces—dirt, ice, sand. But in the last couple centuries, they made the switch to green grass.
“Grass is nowadays the most widespread crop in the USA after corn and wheat,” Harari continued. Lawns spread beyond Europe and the U.S, and they’re now status symbols around the world.
Suburban people may not realize it, but they care for lawns just because centuries ago, French and English kings wanted to show off by intentionally planting something useless. It’s strange that people should continue to spend so much time and money on what’s really a leftover（遗留物）from the Middle Ages. When you plan your house, you can shake off（摆脱）the cultural leftover and imagine for yourself a rock garden or some other new creation.
1. What does the underlined word “weird” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．strange | B．ordinary |
| C．beneficial | D．attractive |
| A．Environmental awareness. | B．People’s taste. |
| C．Cultural background. | D．Personal wealth. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Disapproving. |
| C．Favorable. | D．unclear. |
| A．The Function of Lawns | B．The Value of Lawns |
| C．The History of Lawns | D．The Management of Lawns |
People may wonder
First there was England. Wales was linked to it in the thirteenth century. Now when people refer to England you find Wales included as well. Next England and Wales were joined to Scotland in the seventeenth century and the name was changed to "Great Britain". Happily this
3 . American Country Music
Over the past twenty years, American country music has become more and more popular. Song writers are no longer writing about the modern values of the USA—money, success or expensive things to buy. Instead they are writing once more about things that are common for everyone: feeling alone in the modern world, the value of having good friends and so on.
In the 1950s, American music was about other things, for example, love—getting or losing a boyfriend or girlfriend. Money was also thought to be important.
Then in the 1960s, song writers turned to other subjects. During these years many young students were angry with society, so songs were often full of anger. Political leaders were not well thought of and those songs often made fun of them.
Today country music has returned. It has become big business and brings in between 200 and 400 million dollars a year. Once, the home of American country music was Nashville, Tennessee. Now, however, the music has reached all parts of the States, from Los Angeles in the west to New York in the east. Singers do not just come from the States but from all over the world. There are many famous singers from Britain, Canada and Australia. A lot of them appear on television too.
The first country singers sang while playing the guitar. It was easy for them to carry a guitar on their travels. Now, however, a lot of electrical equipment is needed for large theatres.
Country music today remains much the same as before. One subject to which country music often returns is “the good old days”. In “the good old days” people thought well of each other. People loved life in the open air. They believed that the best things in life were free: sunshine, laughing, walks in the beauty of the country, friends and music.
1. What do we know about American country music?| A．Country singers had a great interest in politics. |
| B．Country music is originally written for the black. |
| C．More musical instruments are used by country singers. |
| D．Televisions lead to the growing popularity of country music. |
| A．Friendship. | B．Love. |
| C．Power. | D．Money. |
| A．record their past achievements |
| B．remind people of American history |
| C．express their appreciation of a simple life |
| D．call on people to stay away from social problems |
4 . In 1940 the German army entered the Netherlands, beginning an occupation that lasted five years. Members of the Dutch royal family(荷兰皇室) were forced to go to the United Kingdom to avoid being caught. However, the threat of German bombing attacks meant that England was not completely safe. For this reason Princess Juliana and her daughters, Princesses Beatrix and Irene, moved to Canada and settled in Ottawa. In January 1943 Juliana gave birth to a third daughter, Princess Margriet Francisca. The Government of Canada temporarily declared her place of birth as outside of Canadian land, meaning Margriet could hold Dutch citizenship and therefore still be qualified for the Dutch throne.
In 1945, the Dutch royal family returned home. Shortly after her return, Princess Juliana presented 100,000 tulip bulbs to Canada in appreciation of the important role played by Canadian troops in liberating the Netherlands and for providing her family with a safe place during the war. The following year she sent 20,500 tulip bulbs. Juliana continued to send thousands of bulbs as a yearly gift, a tradition that continued after she became queen in 1948. The gift of tulips is an ongoing tradition, and each year the people of the Netherlands and the Dutch royal family each send 10,000 bulbs to Canada in recognition of the close ties between the two countries. The gift of bulbs and the tulip flowers attracted interest and visitors in Ottawa. In 1952 Karsh, an Armenian-born photographer, suggested the idea of a tulip festival to the Ottawa Board of Trade. The first Canadian Tulip Festival took place in 1953. The first festival proved popular, and it became a yearly event. To mark the festival’s 50th anniversary in 2002, Canada Post issued a series of commemorative stamps(纪念邮票) and plates featuring the flowers and Princess Margriet returned to visit Ottawa. In the following years the festival began to focus more on international friendship and the festival’s historical origins. Now it is one of the world’s largest tulip shows.
1. Why did the Dutch royal family move to Canada? (不多于5个词)
2. Why did Princess Juliana send tulip bulbs to Canada in 1945？ (不多于7个词)
3. How often does Canadian Tulip Festival take place? (不多于4个词)
4. What is the passage mainly about? (不多于8个词)
