Easter Sunday is one of the most important religious (宗教) holidays. It is on the first Sunday after
the full moon or after March 21. It is celebrating for the rising of Jesus Christ from his tomb (坟墓).
Before he died, he said he would come back to life again.
     There are a lot of symbols (符号) for Easter. Of all the symbols, we see the eggs and the rabbits
most. American children believe that the Easter Rabbit brings chocolate eggs at Easter, so they carry
small baskets to look for coloured eggs. The eggs are in the grass, near the house or in the trees.
Americans hold eggs rolling on Easter Monday morning every year in front of the White House. The
most famous one is along the Fifth Avenue (大街) in New York City. Students usually have a week-long
holiday. They often go home to have an Easter dinner with their families.

1. Easter Sunday is in _____.

A. spring     
B. summer    
C. fall    
D. winter

2. How many symbols can we see on the Easter Sunday?

A. One.   
B. Two.    
C. More than two.    
D. No symbol.

3. Easter Sunday is celebrating for _____.

A. the death of Jesus Christ         
B. the harvest  
C. the birthday of Jesus Christ       
D. the rising of Jesus Christ

4. Americans hold eggs rolling _____ every year in front of the White House.

A. on Easter Sunday morning        
B. on Easter Sunday evening 
C. on Easter Monday morning       
D. on Easter Monday evening 

5. How long can students stay at home on Easter holiday?

A. Two days.   
B. Seven days.   
C. Four days.   
D. Five days.

     An important question about eating out is who pays for the meal. If a friendof yours asks you to have
lunch with him, you may say something like this, "I'm afraid it'll have to be someplace cheap, as I have
very little money." The other person may say, "OK, I'll meet you at McDonald's."
     This means that the two agree to go Dutch, that is, each person pays for himself. He may also say,
"Oh, no. I want to take you to lunch at Smith's," or "I want you to try the Chinese dumplings there. They're great." This means the person wants to pay for both of you. If you feel friendly towards this person, you
can go with him and you needn't pay for the meal. You may just say, "Thank you. That would be very
nice."
     American customs (1) about who pays for dates (2) are much the same as in other parts of the world.
In the old days, American women wanted men to pay for all the meals. But, today, a university (3) girl or
a woman in business world will usually pay her way during the day. If a man asks her for a dance outside
the working hours, it means "Come, as my guest(4)." So as you can see, it is a polite thing to make the
question clear at the very beginning.

Notes:  (1) custom n. 风俗 (2) date n. 约会 (3) university n. 大学 (4) guest n. 客人

1. The passage tells us            .
    A. How to eat out
    B. Where to eat out
    C. What to eat out
    D. Who pays for the meal
2. If you have little money, .
    A. You'll have a cheap meal
    B. You'll borrow some from others
    C. You'll ask your friend to pay for your meal
    D. You won't want your friends to ask you to dinner
3. "Go Dutch" in this passage means            .
    A. 去饭馆
    B. 就餐
    C. 订餐
    D. 各自付款
4. Sometimes your friend takes you to lunch. It means           .
    A. He's going to lend some money to you
    B. He's going to pay for your meal, too
    C. He'll be angry with you
    D. He can't understand you
5. In America, some girls and women now           .
    A. Ask men to pay for their meals
    B. Try to pay for the men's meals
    C. Try to pay for their own meals
    D. Never have anything outside

     Have you ever seen a horse with toes (脚趾)? Millions of years ago, horses had many toes. They had
four toes on each front foot. They had three toes on each back foot. The horses were smaller than cats.
     These small horses lived in the forest. Their many toes helped the horses run over the soft wet ground.
     It was very hot in the forest. But the weather changed. It became cold. Many trees couldn't live in
cold weather. The trees died and fell. Open field took the place of (代替) forests. The sun made the
ground dry and hard (坚硬).
     Horses began to change too. They began to get bigger. This took a long time. On the dry hard land,
horses needed only their middle toes for running. Their middle toes became hard. After a long time
horses had only one hard toe on each foot. We call this hard toe a hoof (马蹄).

1. Long ago, the horse had four toes on each of its _____.
    A. back feet
    B. front feet
    C. right feet 
2. The cats were _____ the horses at that time.
    A. much bigger
    B. smaller than
    C. bigger than
3. Which of the three sentences is true?
    A. The weather stays the same the whole year all over the world.
    B. When the weather changed, animals began to change too.
    C. Cats were bigger in the past than they are today. 
4. On the dry hard land _____.
    A. horses needed a lot of room for running
    B. a horse needed more than four toes for running
    C. horses needed only their middle toes for running
5. Now each horse has _____ on its feet.
    A. one toe 
    B. three toes
    C. four toes

     F1 is a very fast car race. It is one of the most popular sports in the world. The drivers go at over
300 kilometers an hour every race. But F1 cars didn't always go so fast.
     In 1895, the first F1 race began in France. During that race, it took the drivers 48 hours to finish
580 kilometers. In 1901, the best drivers had an average (平均) speed of 100 kilometers an hour.
Modern grand prix (奖品) F1 racing began in 1950 in Britain. Grand prix is French. It means "large
prize". Today, 12 teams and 24 drivers race to get points. There are races at different tracks (路线) all
over the world from March to October every year. There are also F2 and F3 racing. But the cars are
slower and less high-tech.
    During a F1 race, drivers have to make several stops to change tyres(轮胎) and put more petrol in
their cars. A team of people do these tasks together to make the stops short. Some people lift the car
up, others change the tyres. While this team works on the tyres, another person puts petrol in the car
and a different person cleans the driver's helmet. One more person talks to the driver about how to win.
It's amazing that all those people finish it in just a few seconds!
     During 100-meter races, people count the athletes' speed by 1/100th (0. 01) of a second, for example
10.81 seconds. In the world of car racing, however, the race has to be timed to 1/1,000th(0. 001) of a
second. That is 50 times faster than the time for a blink (眨眼).
     F1 cars look very colorful. First, cars of different teams have different colors. Then there are a lot
of advertisements on the cars.

1. The best drivers in F1 races can reach the speed of ____ an hour.

A. 100 kilometers
B. 300 kilometers
C. 580 kilometers
D. 1,000 kilometers

2. Modern grand prix F1 racing first began ____. 

A. in France
B. in Britain
C. in 1895
D. in 1901

3. Today F1 race is held ____. 

A. at different tracks all the year round
B. every month all over the world
C. from March to October every year
D. in France and Britain every year

4. When the driver makes stops in a race, a team of people will ____.  

A. help him make the stops short
B. lift the car up and change the tyres
C. put petrol in the car and clean the car
D. clean the driver's helmet

5. In the world of car racing, the race has to be timed to ____. 

A. second 
B. 10. 81 second
C. 1/100th of a second
D. 1/1,000th of a second

                                                                   Letter A
Dear Rose,
     I like your programmes very much. I'm now writing to ask you something about American social
customs (社交习惯). My American friends want me to join them in their dinner party. I am very happy
and have decided to go, but I'm a little worried about it, too. The social customs in my country are very
different from here, so I'm afraid of making mistakes.
     Should I bring a present, such as sweets or flowers? Should I arrive on time or a little late? At the
dinner table, how can I know which fork (叉子) or knife to use? How can I let the family know that I'm
thankful for their kindness?
                                                                                                                                        Wang Lin
    
                                                                  Letter B
Dear Wang Lin,
     It's a good idea to bring a small present when you go to a dinner party. Flowers are always nice, or you may bring a bottle of wine (葡萄酒) if you know that your friends drink it.
     You should arrive on time or five to ten minutes late. Don't get there early. If you're going to be more
than fifteen minutes late, you should call and tell them.
     Try to be free at the dinner table. If you don't know about choosing the right fork or knife, just watch
the other people, and follow them. If you still have no idea of what to do, ask the person next to you.
If you like the food, say so. Of course, you'll thank them for the meal and for their kindness. It's also a
good idea to send a thank-you card the day after.
                                                                                                                                            Rose

1. Wang Lin wants to _____.
    A. make friends with Rose
    B. know some social customs for a dinner party
    C. make her friends happy
    D. give her friends a surprise
2. Rose is possibly _____.
    A. a good housewife
    B. a TV hostess (主持人)
    C. a member of the dinner party
    D. a friend of Wang Lin's
3. If you're asked to a dinner party but not sure about what to bring as a present, it's good to bring _____.
    A. some fruits
    B. a bottle of wine
    C. some flowers
    D. a knife and fork
4. Which of the following is NOT proper (适当的) for joining in a dinner party?
    A. Get there 15 minutes earlier.
    B. Make yourself at home.
    C. Follow others to use forks and knives.
    D. Thank your friends for the meal.
5. From the letters we've learned that it's very _____ to know something about American social customs.
    A. difficult
    B. friendly
    C. enjoyable
    D. helpful

     All a   1    the world, people drink tea. But tea doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. In different
countries people have very d   2   ideas about drinking tea.
    In China, for example, tea is always served w  3   people get together. The Chinese drink it at any
time of the day at h   4  or in tea houses. They prefer their tea plain, with nothing e   5  in it.
Tea is a   6   important in Japan. The Japanese have a special way of serving tea c   7   a  tea ceremony (茶道). It is very old and full of meanings. Everything must be done in a special way in the ceremony.
There is even a special room for it in J   8   homes.
    A   9   tea-drinking country is England. In England, the late afternoon is "teatime".  Almost everyone
has a cup of tea then. The English usually make tea in a teapot and drink it w   10   cream and sugar.
They also eat cakes, cookies and little sandwiches at teatime.