March, April and May are months full of festivals and events all over the world. Here are some wonderful festivals around the world that happen in spring.

SongKran--Thailand

Dates: 13th-15th, April

In Thailand, it’s time to celebrate the coming monsoon season, which will bring the rain many people have been looking forward to. They celebrate it with a festival called Songkran,when people head out to the streets with water guns to spray(喷,洒)everyone who walks past. If you walk on the streets where the festival is celebrated, prepare to get soaked!

Naghol--Vanuatu

Dates: Every Saturday from April to May

Every year, villagers come together to celebrate the harvest of yams, an important part in the people’s diet in Vanuatu. The festival is most famous for its “land di ving ceremony”. During the ceremony men and boys dive to the ground from high wooden towers with only two thin vines(藤条) attached(附于)to their ankles(脚踝). The divers’ heads have to lightly touch the ground when they jump---something very dangerous if the vines are not measured(测量)properly.

Cherry Blossom Viewing ---Japan

Dates: The cherry blossom season is different from year to year depending on the weather forecast.

The cherry blossom season has huge importance to the people of Japan, who celebrate the days when the flowers finally blossom. Only a few days later, the petals(花瓣) fall to the ground, like pink snowflakes. This is one of the most beautiful things to see. In Japan, almost everyone has picnics in the parks to view the flowers.

Sinhalese New Year--Sri Lanka

Dates: 13th or 14th, April

Just like in many other countries in South an South East Asia, this is the time when the Sinhalese celebrate the traditional New Year, an ancient celebration which marks the end of the harvest season and is one of two times of the year when the sun is straight above Sri Lanka. There are a lot of delicious foods during the celebration.

1.What does the underlined word “soaked” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A. tired       B. wet      C. crazy       D. interested

2.The writer thinks that the “land diving ceremony” can be dangerous for the divers because ___________.

A. the divers may fall onto the ground if the thin vines break

B. the divers may bump into (撞在…上)the wooden tower on the way down

C. the divers’ ankles may get injured if the vines are tied too tightly

D. the divers may injure their heads if the vines aren’t measured properly

3.. We can learn from the passage that__________________.

A. the Cherry Blossom Celebration usually lasts a  long time in Japan

B. the Cherry Blossom Celebration is the most important festival in Japan

C. the time for the Cherry Blossom Celebration in Japan can be different yearly

D. people usually stay at home for celebration during the cherry blossom season

 

What happens to a teenage kid when the world he thought he knew suddenly changes? Find out in Little Brother by American author Cory Doctorow. It is a fascinating book for a new generation of sci-fi readers.

Marcus Yallow, 17, from San Francisco is much more comfortable in front of a computer than obeying the rules of society. Smart, fast and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting (骗过) his high school's monitoring system. This way he and his friends get to head off to play a popular online game in real life.

While they are playing, a bomb explodes on the Bay Bridge. Marcus stops a military (军队的) vehicle to get help for his injured friend, but this simple act throws him into a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secret prison. There he is treated as a possible terrorist(恐怖分子). He is eventually let go after four days, but his injured friend disappears.

When he returns, Marcus discovers that there are many "security measures" in place and that now all citizens are treated like potential terrorists. While some consider this government action necessary for public safety, Marcus sees this as a complete destruction of the rights he is supposed to have as a citizen.

He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him with only one thing to do: to take down the DHS himself. He helps organize a large network called Xnet to spread the truth, anonymously (匿名地).

The book presents a young man who is irresponsible, but learns about himself, and grows, in the course of the story. As part of this learning and growing he becomes aware of very serious issues about his society.

1. What kind of article does this passage belong to?     

A.A fascinating story.                      B.A book review.

C.News report                           D.A TV programme

2. Marcus Yallow was sent to prison because ________.        

A.he killed his friend

B.he bombed a military vehicle

C.he did something that a possible terrorist could do

D.his injured friend disappeared

3. From the second paragraph we can infer that _________.     

A.Marcus Yallow is much more comfortable obeying the rules of society

B.Marcus Yallow is smart, fast and wise in real life

C.Marcus Yallow always plays online games in real life

D.Marcus Yallow is expert at the network world

 

While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an incredible(难以置信的) sight. The  36  was swimming and started with only three men. For one reason or another, two of them had a 37 start, so they were disqualified. That would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to  38 against.

I watched the man  39  off the blocks and knew immediately that something was wrong. Now I’m not an expert  40  but I do know a good dive 41 a poor one, and this was not exactly medal  42  . I listened to the crowd begin to  43 this poor man that was clearly having a  44  time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was 45  he made a few desperate(拼命的) stroke(划水) and you could tell he was exhausted.

But in those few  46 strokes, the crowd had changed. No longer were they laughing, but beginning to  47 . Some even began to  48  things like, “Come on, you can do it!” and he 49  finished his race. The crowd went  50 . Even though he recorded one of the  51 times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other 52 .

In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals, feeling they have  53 been cheated out of gold, or when they act so  54  in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog(败者), a man that gave his all --- knowing that he had no chance, but competed because of his  55  and the spirit of the games.

1.                A.view           B.event          C.game D.match

 

2.                A.false           B.nervous        C.strange   D.violent

 

3.                A.fight           B.struggle         C.defend   D.race

 

4.                A.set            B.bounce         C.dive D.fall

 

5.                A.swimmer       B.coach          C.judge D.adviser

 

6.                A.from           B.in             C.beyond   D.between

 

7.                A.feature         B.quality          C.example  D.sign

 

8.                A.break off       B.stand by        C.laugh at   D.focus on

 

9.                A.happy          B.wonderful       C.satisfying  D.tough

 

10.               A.hopeful        B.pitiful          C.boring D.skillful

 

11.               A.intellectual      B.smart          C.awkward  D.excellent

 

12.               A.support        B.quit           C.cheer D.hesitate

 

13.               A.speak          B.present        C.conclude  D.yell

 

14.               A.eventually      B.hardly          C.successful D.nearly

 

15.               A.wild           B.angry          C.sad   D.grey

 

16.               A.fastest         B.luckiest         C.worst D.slowest

 

17.               A.companion      B.competitors     C.volunteers D.partners

 

18.               A.somehow       B.already         C.even D.anyway

 

19.               A.poorly         B.carelessly       C.sharply    D.proudly

 

20.               A.advantage      B.independence   C.determination  D.principle

 

 

I was reading these interesting stories behind a group of great logos in the world. Personally Nike is my favorite one – it’s so simple. And I liked the stories behind them, which made me forget all other things. McDonald’s, Apple, Mercedes Benz and Adidas own great logos as well, and they are among my favorites.

Nike

In the Greek myth, Nike is the goddess of victory and the source of inspiration for soldiers. This logo represents the wing in the famous statue of the Greek goddess. Nike’s logo was designed by Carolyn Davidson in 1971 for $ 35, and was registered as a trademark in 1995.

McDonald’s

The logo was designed in 1962 by Jim Schindler to resemble the archshaped(拱形的) signs on the side of the company’s then walk-up hamburger stand. Later on, the two golden arches were combined together to form the M. The McDonald’s name was added to the logo in 1968.

Apple

There are different stories behind Apple’s logo. The first logo was a reference to the religious story of Adam and Eve, in which the apple represented the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. One year later, the second logo was designed in 1977 by Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne, and it described Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. This logo didn’t stay long. One year later it was replaced almost immediately by graphic designer Rob Janoff’s “rainbow apple”, a rainbow-colored silhouette(轮廓)of an apple with a bite taken out of it. And then the rainbow-colored apple was replaced by the one-colored logo in 1998. It has not been changed so far.

Mercedes Benz

The Mercedes Benz logo, which was originally created by Gottlieb Daimler in 1909, consists of a simple description of a three-pointed star that represents its rule of the land, the sea and the air. The company was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Mercedes is the name of Maybach’s elder daughter, while Benz came as a result of a combination with Benz, Cie and DMG in 1926.

Adidas

The Adidas logo, which was created by the founder of the company Adi Dassler, represents mountains, pointing towards the challenges that are seen ahead and goals that can be achieved. The logo was used for the first time in 1967.

1.What does the author think of the stories of the great logos?

A.They are boring.                        B.They are out of date.

C.They are attractive.                      D.They are practical.

2.What does Nike’s logo stand for?

A.The goddess of victory.

B.The source of inspiration for soldiers.

C.The statue of the Greek goddess.

D.The wing of the Greek goddess.

3.We can learn that Apple’s present logo is ______.

A.the religious story of Adam and Eve

B.a bitten apple with only one color

C.Newton’s sitting under an apple tree

D.the rainbow-colored bitten apple

4.______ stands for the rule of the land, the sea and the air.

A.Nike’s logo                           B.Apple’s logo

C.The Mercedes logo                      D.The Adidas logo

5.Which of the following time orders describes the births of the great logos?

A.Mercedes Benz –McDonald’s – Nike – Apple.

B.Nike – McDonald’s – Apple – Mercedes Benz.

C.McDonald’s – Apple – Nike – Mercedes Benz.

D.Nike – Mercedes Benz – McDonald’s – Apple.

 

Buying a house for most of the people is a once in a lifetime decision, which means people decide to do so only after coming across the ideal house. Surprisingly, eight in every 10 home buyers are unhappy with their houses.

A survey conducted by the Beijing Consumers’ Association (BCA) recently shows about 80 percent of the 2,315 respondents in 23 residential complexes of Beijing are dissatisfied with the soaring house prices.

They think the reasonable price in Beijing should be between 3,000 yuan and 7,000 yuan per square meter.

The quality of the buildings, the surrounding environment and traffic and property management(物业管理)are the other factors that play a role in people’s decision to buy a house.

The BCA has suggested strict sales regulations and contracts to ease house-owners’ sufferings. It has urged the authorities to impose severe punishment on developers found violating building and other rules and joining hands with others to bid up property prices, About 41.2 percent of the respondents have complained that their house have defective designs, while nearly 40 percent say the lighting and ventilation(通风)are far from satisfactory.

The landscapes in the residential areas are a source of unhappiness for 43.2 percent of the respondents, and about one-third say they were “bluffed” into buying “third grade” house. And more than half are not satisfied with the sport and entertainment facilities in their neighborhood.

Property management in the buildings, 56.5 percent of the respondents say, is way below standard compared to the high fee charged by the complexes.

60 percent of the consumers doubt the contents of developers’ advertisements, with only 6.3 percent being satisfied.

Experts have suggested consumers gather thorough knowledge about a developer and their work before deciding to buy a house from it. They should check the day-light conditions and ventilation in different weather conditions in advance, if possible.

1. According to the passage________ of the buyers are NOT content with their houses.

A.80%

B.60%

C.56.5 %

D.41.2%

2.Which is the best title of the passage?

A.Most Home Buyers Are Unhappy with Their House.

B.Buying a House Is an Important Decision.

C.Thinking Carefully Before Buying a House.

D.The Environment Is Important When Making a Decision.

3.The meaning of the underlined word probably means “_______”.

A.fooled

B.cheated

C.asked

D.forced

4.If you want to buy a flat, according to the survey, you will consider the following EXCEPT_______.

A.property management

B.the surrounding environment

C.the quality of the buildings

D.the height of the building

 

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