Food is stronger than language. Growing up in Canada, my first __1__ was Cantonese but, as I entered school, my parents switched over to speaking English, __2__ me to this day with a dicey (不确定的)command of the dialect. But more than that, living in Canada and now Beijing means I don't have to __3__ with my original language. I do, however, have to __4__ like a Cantonese, avoiding jiaozi for yuntun and steak for steamed fish.

We are what we eat, not only in terms that __5__ our bodies but culturally. __6__ can be embarrassing. What 9-year-old doesn't remember the schoolyard teasing she got when she opened up her lunch bag __7__ to find a special treat from the "motherland" (heard in the USA: "Eew! You got a chicken's foot?" Heard in China: "Waah! You got peanut butter AND jelly?"). And as every fifth-grader knows, food can make you __8__ in the crowd or be a part of it.

Even for the third and fourth generations, they may not __9__ the mother tongue of their ancestors but they __10___ with their heritage through their traditions; traditions that centre around family gatherings and food.

We __11___ American Thanksgiving the other day and as__12__, had a roast turkey the size of a sturdy(健壮的) bulldog, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts and pumpkin pie. But being Chinese, we __13__ the traditional bread stuffing with rice because, as everybody knows, you ___14__ going into diabetic shock if you don't have rice every four hours or at least that's what my mother always told me when I asked __15__ we couldn't have pizza for dinner.

（ ）1. A. challenge      B. knowledge           C. ability                  D. language

（ ）2. A. leaving          B. showing               C. giving                  D. leading

（ ）3. A. come up       B. keep up               C. catch up              D. take up

（ ）4. A. eat                B. drink                   C. play                     D. live

（ ）5.A. supply           B. support                C. affect                   D. build

（ ）6. A. Thought        B. Language             C. Fun                     D. Food

（ ）7. A. only              B. always                 C. happily                D. suddenly

（ ）8. A. stand up       B. stand out             C. come up              D. come out     

（ ）9. A. remember  B. tell                        C. speak                  D. say

（ ）10. A. confirm      B. consider              C. insist                    D. identify

（ ）11. A. celebrated   B. created                C. cheered               D. classified

（ ）12. A. usual           B. custom                C. normal                 D. culture 

（ ）13. A. examined    B. expected             C. changed              D. charged

（ ）14. A. keep           B. risk          C. stop                      D. suggest

（ ）15. A. what     B. when                    C. where                  D. why

    Tuesday was the eighth day of the 12 th month on the Chinese lunar calendar. I first became aware of the day as a traditional festival called laba, or the eighth day of the winter month – when I was working in a factory 30 years ago.

At lunch time，some elder co-workers opened their lunch boxes, and out came the sweet smell of well-cooked rice porridge mixed with beans，nuts and dates（枣）and they talked excitedly. Then, I wondered why there should be such an unnecessary excitement over the  laba festival. Growing up during the “cultural revolution” (1966－1976), when almost all traditional things were considered out-of-date，I had scarcely become aware of most of the traditional festivals.

I really started to value and celebrate these traditional festivals when I began to write about  Chinese culture. It is really encouraging that, despite the dramatic changes and modernization that our country has experienced over the past three decades, people have come to treasure many of our traditions more. Some people may have a complaint against the extreme commercialization（商业化）of these traditional festivals, but I believe the business promotions have at least worked to increase people’s awareness.

Most of the traditional Chinese festivals are celebrated with feasts. No wonder that on Tuesday a lot of people were buying rice，nuts，dry fruit, and beans from supermarkets and stores. A few thousand went to the Yonghegong Lama Temple to make prays for peace and happiness.  

Now that we have celebrated laba festival，we are now looking forward to the Lunar New Year, when we are supposed to have a lot more feasts. In fact, it is reported that almost all popular restaurants have been booked out for the Lunar New Year Eve dinner in major cities across the country.

1．As a whole，the passage is mainly organized by_________.

    A．space               B．examples          C．time                 D．comparison

2．What is the writer’s attitude toward Chinese Festivals?

    A．He takes them seriously all the time.

    B．He values them more than before.

    C．He expects only the Lunar New Year.

      D．He thinks Chinese Festival are too commercialized.

3．The common ways to celebrate traditional Chinese festivals in the passage are to________.

       ① stop working in the factory               ② enjoy some special delicious food

       ③ have feasts with the family or friends     ④ pray for peace in temples

       ⑤ buy rice，nuts，fruits and beans         ⑥ write about Chinese culture

       A．①③⑤            B．②⑤⑥             C．①④⑥               D．②③④

4．From the last paragraph it can be inferred that now_________.   

       A．people are eager to show their richer life

    B．people have become tired of laba festival

    C．people are living a better life than before

       D．people are always active in celebrating festivals

Isn't it astonishing how much time we spend talking about food? “Have you ever eaten …?” “What did you have for lunch?” and so on. And yet when you travel from one country to another, you will find that people have quite different feelings about food. People often feel that what they eat is normal (正常) and that what other people eat is strange or silly. In most parts of Asia, for example, no meal is complete without rice. In England, people eat potatoes every day. In the Middle East, bread is the main part of every meal. Eating like so many things we do, becomes a habit which is difficult to change. Americans like to drink a lot of orange juice and coffee. The English drink tea four or five times every day. Australians drink a great deal of beer, and the French drink wine every day.

   The sort of meat people like to eat also differs from one country to another. Horse meat is thought to be delicious in France. In Hong Kong, some people enjoy eating snakes. New Zealanders eat sheep, but they never eat goat meat. The Japanese don't like to eat sheep meat because of its smell, but they enjoy eating raw fish (生鱼).

   So it seems that although eating is a topic we can talk about for hours, there is very little common sense in what we say it. People everywhere enjoy eating what they have always eaten, and there is very little we can do to change our eating habits.

56. Which of the following is true according to the article?

A. All people have the same feeling about food.

B. In most parts of Asia, people usually have rice for meals.

C. People often consider other people to be strange or silly.

D. The topic people spend time talking about is bread and meat.

57. People in different countries      

A. drink the same sort of wine     B. have the same eating habit

C. eat different kinds of meat      D. have the same tea at different time within a day

58. The Japanese don't like to eat sheep meat         

A. because they dislike its smell   B. because it is too expensive

C. because it is easy to go bad     D. because they think it will do harm to their health

59. English people drink tea four or five times a day      

A. because they get thirsty easily      B. because there is plenty of tea in Britain

C. because of their drinking habit      D. because they have enough time to do so