Question

Every Chinese has his or her own Chinese zodiac sign (known as Sheng Xiao), and so does each year. 2020 is the Year of the Rat. The rat is also the first in the rotation (循环) of the 12 zodiac signs.

Of the many stories that _______ these animal signs and their arrangement (安排), the most famous one is that of the Great Race. As the story goes, Jade Emperor, or Yudi, wanted to find a way to measure (测量) _______. So he organized a race. The first twelve animals to make it across a river would have a place on the zodiac calendar in the order they _______.

The rat rose with the sun to get an early start. _______ the rat was small and couldn’t swim very well, he asked some bigger animals for help. While the tiger and horse refused, the _______ ox agreed to carry the rat across. Yet, just as they were about to reach the other side of the river, the rat_______ the ox’s head and won first place. The ox came in second, with the powerful tiger right_______ him. The rabbit who was small but afraid of falling behind jumped across stones and logs (木头) _______ and came in fourth. Next came the dragon, the snake and the horse.

Then Jade Emperor looked out at the river and found the sheep, the monkey and the rooster were on raft (木筏). They worked together to push it across the river. When they made it across, the three agreed to give the _______ place to the sheep, followed by the monkey and the rooster. Next came the dog. The last animal was the pig, who had gotten hungry and stopped ________ and sleep before finally reaching the finish line.

So, each year is connected with one of the animals in this order.

1.A.prove B.question C.explain

2.A.rotation B.time C.arrangement

3.A.started B.arrived C.stayed

4.A.Because B.If C.When

5.A.hard-working B.open-minded C.kind-hearted

6.A.fell off B.jumped off C.climbed to

7.A.behind B.before C.beside

8.A.lazily B.quietly C.quickly

9.A.seventh B.eighth C.ninth

10.A.eating B.running C.to eat

Answer 1