Chinese culture has many, many festivals commemorating(纪念)some unusual events. Dragon Boat Festival is one such festival. The main thing to do on this day is to eat zongzi, the glutinous rice(糯米)dumpling.

  In some places, people race boats that are colorfully decorated(装饰)with dragon designs, but I have never seen such a race. I have, however, eaten lots of zongzi. You can buy them or eat homemade ones. They are commonly eaten as a snack food. Tile rice may be white, and it may have some red bean paste(红豆沙)inside. Sometimes the rice is brown from a sauce and inside is a small chunk(块)of ham. In any case, each one is wrapped in reed leaves and steamed, I suppose, for a long time. At first, I thought they were rather tasteless, but I have developed a taste for them now, and I like to eat them, though once a year is enough.

  The origin of the zongzi is as strange as the food itself. There was a Chinese poet and official (Chinese officials in old times were always poets)named Qu Yuan. He was an official in the kingdom of Chu around 340~278 BC. China has a tradition of ministers(大臣)who give advice to the king, and Qu Yuan was such a minister. Qu Yuan advised the king of Chu to prepare for war because the state of Qin was ready to devour(吞灭)his state. But the king thought he was safe since the emperor of Qin seemed to be more interested in other, weaker states. But, finally, Qin did attack Chu, and the Chu kingdom was defeated.

  Qu Yuan was so sad about this that he killed himself by jumping into the Miluo River. His countrymen, on learning of this, rushed to the scene in small boats and tried to find his body. They failed to find it, so they made the dumplings wrapped in reed leaves and threw them into the river so the fish would eat the dumplings and not Qu Yuan's body. That day was the fifth day of the fifth lunar(阴历)month. Later, it became a ritual(仪式)to eat the zongzi and to hold dragon boat races on that day every year.

(1) What do people mainly do on Dragon Boat Festival?

[  ]

A.They eat zongzi.

B.They all go boating.

C.They swim in the river.

D.They all buy something to throw into the river.

(2) According to the text, which of the following is TRUE?

[  ]

A.The author becomes so interested in zongzi that he eats them once a month.

B.The tale of how the zongzi came into being is even stranger than the food itself.

C.The king of Chu didn't like Qu Yuan's advice and killed him.

D.Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated in commemoration of the death of Qu Yuan.

(3) Qu Yuan killed himself because ________

[  ]

A.the king of Chu didn't take his advice, and as a result the Chu kingdom was defeated by Qin

B.the Chu kingdom was the weakest state

C.he couldn't live a good life

D.he wanted to show his bravery in face of danger

(4) What is the purpose of this text?

[  ]

A.To tell the readers about different kinds of zongzi.

B.To give information about the war in old times.

C.To tell the readers about the zongzi, as well as the origin of Dragon Boat Festival.

D.To recommend that the readers eat more zongzi.

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