People all over the world celebrate the New Year. However, not all countries celebrate ____ the same way, and in some countries, the New Year doesn’t begin on the ___ date every year.

In many countries, the New Year begins on 1st January, but people start celebrating on 31st ___, New Year’s Eve. In New York many people go to celebrate in Times Square. ____they’re waiting for the New Year; they listen to music, sing traditional songs and have fun. Just before 12 o’clock, everyone ____down from 10: 10, 9, 8… As soon as it’s 12 o’clock, everyone shouts very ___ , “Happy New Year!”

New Year’s Day is often a ____.day. Some families get together for a special meal. When the weather is fine, many families go out for a ____.

On New Year’s Day, many people make____ for the new year. They____ a list of things, such as “I will help more with housework. I will work __ at school than others.” or “I won’t spend so much time____video games.” When they have made __ list, they read it to their family or friends and promise to____their resolutions.

So it doesn’t matter how they celebrate, ____ people in countries all over the world, it’s a time to say goodbye to the old year, and to welcome the new.

1.A. at B. on C. in D. for

2.A. familiar B. same C. important D. normal

3.A. February B. November C. December D. September

4.A. If B. Even though C. While D. Before

5.A. comes B. turn C. looks D. counts

6.A. loudly B. Quietly C. Sadly D. safely

7.A. school B. good C. family D. lucky

8.A. walk B. secret C. job D. treatment

9.A. mistakes B. friends C. resolutions D. dinner

10.A. put on B. write down C. take away D. look after

11.A. quickly B. hard C. harder D. hardly

12.A. play B. to play C. playing D. plays

13.A. its B. his C. her D. their

14.A. follow B. make C. do D. give

15.A. by B. For C. with D. from

John spent years walking into a supermarket in his neighborhood. There he often waved to a friendly saleswoman. Recently, John got some news. To his surprise, he found the saleswoman in the supermarket was his sister Buddline.

Altogether, John has a brother and three sisters. So far he has found all of them. The children were all given up over 50 years ago by their mother. At that time, their mother lived a very hard life and had to give them to an organization.

One of the children, Deidre found their mother later in life and took care of her until her death last year. Buddline, 56, knew their mother’s name and was found by Deidre after their mother died. One by one, they found all the rest except John. They called the organization, which called John and told him about his family this summer.

When Deidre told him about their other siblings(兄弟姐妹)and showed him Buddline’s picture, John couldn’t believe his eyes because he then knew Buddline was the saleswoman in the supermarket. Soon John and Buddline made up for the lost time they spent as just a customer and a sales woman.

All five siblings met face to face for the first time in October. “I walked in and I was just kind of speechless,” John said. “The conversation got going after a while, but we all just looked at each other and we all look alike.”

In just a matter of weeks, John, who had no kids of his own and lost his adoptive parents(养父母)last year, got four siblings and “at least” ten nieces and nephews. “I gained a huge family,” said John, the eldest sibling.

1.We can know from the text that the five brothers and sisters _______.

A. were found by their mother

B. were helped by a supermarket

C. grew up in different families

D. set up an organization together

2.Who looked after their mother at the end of her life?

A. John B. Deidre C. Buddline D. Nobody

3.How did John feel when he recognized Buddline in the picture?

A. Sad B. Worried C. Angry D. Shocked

4.When the five brothers and sisters finally met face to face in October, they _______.

A. held together and cried B. kept in silence all the time

C. didn’t know what to say at first D. didn’t think they were really a family

5.The underlined word “gained” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “_______”.

A. got B. saw C. needed D. introduced

Almost everyone has a piggy bank (储蓄罐), but did you ever wonder why people often make it in the shape of a pig?

Believe it or not, people made the piggy bank in the shape of a pig by mistake. In the Middle Ages, many containers (容器) at home were made of a kind of cheap clay (陶土) called pygg. The word “pygg” sounds the same as “pig”. At that time, there weren’t banks like we have today, so people would save their money at home in some clay containers. Because the kind of clay was called pygg, people called the containers pygg banks. Over time this became piggy banks. After several hundred years, people forgot that the word “pygg” meant a kind of clay.

The English language also changed. People used the word “pig” more commonly. So when English workers were asked to make “piggy banks”, they thought they needed to make containers in the shape of pigs. Surprisingly, the pig-shaped containers were popular.

Today piggy banks are made of all kinds of things, and they also come in different shapes and animals. But people still call those cute containers for money piggy banks.

根据材料内容完成下列任务。

任务一:判断正(T)误(F)。

1.In old times, “pygg” was a kind of cheap clay.

2.The banks we have today first appeared in the Middle Ages.

任务二:完成句子,每空一词。

3.As time went on, “pig” became a more commonly-used ________ than “pygg”.

4.Piggy banks are cute containers for ________ and they come in different shapes and animals.

任务三:选择最佳答案。

5.What’s the passage mainly about?

A. Who invented piggy banks.

B. How piggy banks help save money.

C. When people began to make piggy banks.

D. Why piggy banks are often in the shape of pigs.

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网