1 . Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way. Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.
In Western countries, people usually celebrate New Year at midnight on December 31st or January 1st. People may go to parties, sometimes dressed in formal clothes, and they may drink champagne（香槟）at midnight. During the first minutes of the new year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead. But some cultures prefer to celebrate the new year by waking up early to watch the sunrise. They welcome the new year with the first light of the sunrise.
Many cultures also do special things to get rid of bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, in Ecuador, families make a big doll from old clothes. The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start afresh（重新）.
Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the new year.
Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the new year. One widespread Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year's Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the new year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck at New Year. In the United States, some people eat black-eyed peas for good luck—but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them！
1. Which of the following can be the best title of the text?| A．Several different New Year traditions |
| B．The meaning of "Happy New Year!" |
| C．What to eat on New Year's Day |
| D．Why people dress up nicely on New Year's Day |
| A．Different cultures celebrate the beginning and ending of a year in the same way. |
| B．The Western people celebrate the New Year only by watching the sunrise. |
| C．People around the world celebrate the New Year at different times. |
| D．People hold parties, wear new clothes and drink champagne for a whole day. |
| A．To bring good luck. |
| B．To forget everything. |
| C．To avoid bad luck. |
| D．To plan for the next year. |
| A．Families make big dolls filled with old clothes |
| B．Friends tell something special to each other |
| C．Some people get up early to watch the sunrise |
| D．Europeans eat 365 grapes on New Year's Day |
2 . Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, "The British are the only people who like to be told how bad things are." This is definitely true of British comedy. Most people think humor is about happy things, but for the British, the opposite is true. We love to use our cruel sense of humor to complain and be negative.
British comedy, for example, draws a fine line between comedy and tragedy（悲剧）. BBC's The Office is a TV show, famous for its dry humor. The main character, David Brent, is a foolish man, and the show's comedy comes from his delusions. For example, he often tells himself that he is loved by everyone but the viewer can see that everyone hates him.
Stupid characters for the audience to laugh at are an old tradition in Britain. In Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, the character Malvolio is an old man whom people play tricks on. The audience will laugh away, although the reality is that this man is a truly tragic individual.
This side of British humor is reflected in friendships as well. At university, my friends and I would always laugh at one another. I had an American friend who actually found this sarcasm（挖苦）quite upsetting. She didn't realize that in Britain, the better friends you are with someone, the more you laugh at them.
This approach—laughing at everything—may sound rather depressing（让人郁闷的）, but our strange humor played a big part in British history. In World War II, along with a stiff upper lip（坚定沉着）, the British got through it by laughing. What else was there to do?
There is a saying in English: "Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and you cry alone." If you are ever on the receiving end of British sarcasm, you may feel like crying, but it's best to just laugh it off!
1. How is British humor special?| A．It is often surprising and boring. |
| B．It is often about negative things. |
| C．It often laughs at happy people. |
| D．It often makes happy things depressing. |
| A．British people will not laugh at their good friends |
| B．there is a great difference between comedy and tragedy |
| C．stupid people are often treated well in Shakespeare's plays |
| D．British humor used to give people courage in face of sufferings |
| A．Keep silent. |
| B．Cry as you like. |
| C．Don't take it seriously. |
| D．Try to hold back your laughter. |
3 . Small talk is a good way to make friends. If you travel to other countries or have friends from abroad, do you know how to use small talk to make conversation?
In Britain, the best topic is the weather. British weather is changing all the time.
Besides weather, it's good to talk about gardens with British. You could say "Those roses look really beautiful, don't they?'*
In America, people like to talk about sports news, such as American football and basketball.
| A．English people love their pets. |
| B．Americans also talk about clothes. |
| C．Politics or religion is not a good topic. |
| D．Only a few topics are not used for small talk. |
| E．There are also a lot of topics to avoid during small talk. |
| F．You can start chatting by saying "It's a lovely day today, isn't it?" |
| G．Friends are important to us all, but how to make friends is a problem. |
