The day after Christmas, December 26, is called Boxing Day in the UK. It’s where we get another day off before heading back to work. There’s more reasons though.
Boxing Day is a National Bank Holiday, a chance to eat your leftovers
There are plenty of
The Victorians were the ones
Sailing ships when setting sail
1.设立原因：人们提笔忘字，写汉字机会减少；
2.日期：9月28日，孔子(Confucius)诞辰；
3.活动：书法(calligraphy)竞赛及展览等。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear John,
I’m writing to tell you something about it Chinese Character Writing Day in our city. __________________
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You are welcome to join US.
Yours,
Li Hua
3 . On Remembrance Day members of the armed forces (soldiers, sailors and airmen) are commemorated (纪念).
The other common name for this day is Armistice Day which marks the date and time when armies stopped fighting World War Ⅰ, on November 11th at 11am in 1918 (the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month). Some 100,000 Canadian soldiers died in the First and Second World Wars.
In Canada, Remembrance Day is a federal statutory (法定的) holiday — with a notable exception of Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Ontario and Quebec — as it is in many other countries in the world where this day is observed on the national level.
All government buildings fly the Canadian flag this day and people remember those who fought for Canada during a two-minute silence at 11am. Many people wear poppies before and on Remembrance Day to show their respect and support for Canadian troops. Poppies are generally handed out free but often a voluntary donation is given in exchange.
In the United States this day is called Veterans’ Day and is also observed on November 11th.
Should Remembrance Day be a state holiday in every province?
We continue to receive lots of messages from people all over the country who are outraged (气愤的) why Remembrance Day is not a state holiday everywhere in Canada. Indeed, it would make sense to make this a state holiday in every province and territory — even in Ontario. But not everyone agrees. Send us your thoughts about this issue in the comment area near the bottom of this page.
Recently we received a comment from Jason and would like to post it on this page because we think that Jason makes a very good point in his message:
“Please DO NOT make Remembrance Day a statutory holiday in Ontario. Family Day is a much more appreciated break for families in the heart of the long cold depressing winter. Remembrance Day is better observed in a ceremony at your school, community centre or place of work.”
1. What can be learned about Remembrance Day?| A．It was established on November 11th, 1918. |
| B．It is also referred to as Armistice Day. |
| C．It is not observed on the same day as Veterans’ Day. |
| D．It is held in memory of American soldiers that died in two world wars. |
| A．The Canadian flag will appear on all buildings. |
| B．People hold a two-minute silence at 12 am. |
| C．All people wear poppies just on the day. |
| D．Poppies are often offered in exchange for some donation. |
| A．There is something in what he said about the issue. |
| B．Not everyone agrees to have Remembrance Day. |
| C．To collect people’s different views on the issue. |
| D．To show Family Day is appreciated in Ontario. |
| A．The Internet. | B．The magazine. |
| C．The newspaper. | D．The history book. |
4 . Plays are an important part of British culture. The West End theatre district in London is the best place to watch a professional play, but acting also takes place in every school and village hall across the country.
There are over 2,500 non-professional drama groups in the UK today and they are an active part of community life. people from all walks of life take on acting roles in addition to their regular jobs. They do it for fun, for the love of acting and as a way to meet new people.
Not everyone in a drama club is a skilled actor, but enthusiasm(热情)is considered to be more important than talent. Friends, family members and neighbours enjoy getting together to watch the final performance and telling the people they know to “break a leg(走运)”. It’s a great way of bringing communities together. Also, in many rural parts of Britain, non-professional theatre is the only chance people have to see plays for miles around.
Many people get a taste for acting at school. Every school puts on a play at least once per year, usually at Christmas, and parents love coming to watch their children perform. Ask any British person and they’re sure to have happy memories of being in their school’s Christmas play, whether they played the role of Mary or Joseph or perhaps even a sheep or a donkey.
Another Christmas theatre tradition is the pantomime(舞剧). Pantomimes are a type of musical comedy for families .the audience is encouraged to participate in the performance-singing along with the music and shouting to the actors. Pantomimes are really fun to watch, especially for children.
British people love going to the theatre, professional or not, and many of them also enjoy performing. If you have the chance, go and see a play in the UK.
1. What matters most for an actor in a drama club, according to the article?| A．Talent | B．Enthusiasm |
| C．Professional training | D．Support from family |
| A．All the performers are professional child actors |
| B．The audience is allowed to play some small roles in them |
| C．The audience is encouraged to interact with the actors |
| D．The musical comedy is always about family life |
| A．learn how to be a professional actor in school |
| B．consider acting to be their regular jobs |
| C．often participated in performance when in school |
| D．watch plays in the West End theatre district in London |
| A．Reasons why British people love plays |
| B．The origin of theatre traditions in the UK |
| C．Rules for theatergoers to follow in the UK |
| D．The popularity of non-professional plays in the UK |
5 . Christmas can easily become an expensive time of a year. From gifts to decorating, the money spent on the celebration adds up quickly. But there's no reason to completely break the bank.
Make a budget (预算). Set the amount you're willing to spend for the holiday, including gift giving, decorating and travel.
Start shopping for Christmas decorations early. Stores have sales for decorations between Halloween and Thanksgiving.
Shop for gifts all year round. Whenever you're out shopping, keep an eye out for great Christmas presents.
Scale down (缩减) your gift giving. Sometimes you just can't afford to get something for everyone. Remove the people from your list whom you rarely speak with.
| A．Send them simple cards instead. |
| B．This budget is perfect for many people. |
| C．Once you have a budget set, keep to it. |
| D．And it's after Thanksgiving that the prices begin to go up. |
| E．Christmas is known as the season of giving, sharing and receiving. |
| F．There are ways to celebrate well and spend wisely at the same time. |
| G．It doesn't matter when you get the gift, whether it's January or June. |
6 .
People often dream of a perfect holiday with white sands, blue beaches and so on. But traveling or sometimes even planning a trip can be a stress. Here are some tips to make your holiday a memorable one.
● Plan ahead. The first thing you need to do is to be sure of what you need from this trip. Do you want to experience the local culture or just have fun on those sandy beaches?
● Read up before you go.
● Pack light and right. Pack only the important things.
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| A．Always book your stay. |
| B．Have realistic expectations. |
| C．How to plan for a perfect holiday |
| D．Avoid carrying unnecessary things around. |
| E．Plan your trip according to your needs and likes. |
| F．Prepare yourself before visiting an unknown holiday place. |
| G．All you need is to get away from busy people and the world. |
7 . A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man — the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort.
This attitude toward manual(体力的)labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously(豪华地)furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward, furthermore the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.
1. From paragraph 1, we can know that in America ________.| A．people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man |
| B．people can always rise to the top through their won efforts |
| C．college professors win great respect from common workers |
| D．people feel painful to mention their fathers as labors |
| A．servants in American are hard to get |
| B．she takes pride in what she can do herself |
| C．she can hardly afford servants |
| D．It is easy to prepare a meal with canned food |
| A．work in a furniture shop |
| B．keep accounts for a bar |
| C．serve customers in a restaurant |
| D．wait to lay the table |
| A．A Respectable Self-mad Family |
| B．American Attitude toward Manual Labor |
| C．Characteristics of American Culture |
| D．The Development of Manual Labor |
