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The First of May is a Bank Holiday—the first public holiday of the year in England. Most people consider it a special day, the beginning of summer, a day when the light lasts long into the evening, and when we can look for warm weather. We don't always get it. We feel disappointed, but not surprised if there are cold winds and frosts at night in May. Winter should be over. Most people know that in the past, when farming occupied almost everyone, the changing seasons were of great importance. In that older time there was every reason to celebrate May Day. Customs of those celebrations remain.?
Of these customs, the best known is the choosing of a May Queen and the dancing round Maypole. Even these customs are little more than memories now—but in the last century it was quite common in villages and small towns, and even in schools and colleges, for a pretty and popular girl to be chosen Queen of the May. It was a great honour to be chosen. For a day she wore a light and flowery dress, carried garlands（花环）, and was ceremonially crowned with flowers. She presided over a procession, as a rule with a number of attendants, and over the Maypole dancing and all kinds of entertainment. The Maypole was slender（苗条的w.w.^w.k.&s.5*u.c.#o） tree trunk, cut off its branches, with beautiful ribbons fastened to the top. The dancing was designed in such a way that the dancer's movements move the ribbons into a pattern. This, as you can imagine, required skill from the dancer, and was not achieved without practice.
It's the Celtic people who celebrated the First of May as a spring festival. Their celebration seems to have had little to do with taking pleasure in early, beautiful flowers and in warmer weather! They called it Beltane—the fire of the god Bel. They lit fires, in the expectation that their blaze would help the sun in its struggle to regain its strength. They drove their cattle between banks of flame in the expectation that the terrified beasts would be purified and protected from disease. A tree, which must have been blackened with smoke, stood in the middle of the fires, and is thought to have been the origin of the Maypole. Their priests（牧师） made sacrifices to the goods in the hope of good harvests and sufficient store of food for the winter. There was dancing certainly, but it was noisy and cheerful, since its purpose was not to weave a pattern of colored ribbons, but to drive out evil spirits from the earth and to arouse those kind spirits.?
57. The main purpose of the passage is to show ________.?
A. the reason why they celebrate May Day
B. the start and customs of May Day
C. the way they celebrate May Day
D. the choosing of a May Queen during May Day
58. According to the passage, which sentence is NOT true??
A. In the old days they celebrated May Day for the changing of the seasons.?
B. In England summer begins at the first of May.?
C. The custom of the choosing of a May Queen still exists in the present May Day celebration.?D. The Celtic people celebrated the first of May as a spring festival.??
59. From the surrounding words and sentences we know that the word “presided” means ____.
A. 管理 B. 越过 C. 指挥 D. 主持?
60. The best title for this passage is ________.
A. The First of May B. The Beginning of Summer
C. May Queen D. The Holiday of the Year?
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______the extremely hot weather, we continued having classes．
- A.Thanks to
- B.In addition to
- C.In defence of
- D.Regardless of
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When I was in medical college, I went 36 with some of my friends. The 37 was summer; therefore, we 38 to go to the seaside. After arriving there, we rented a room and left our 39 there. We finished lunch and then decided to rent a boat 40 the sea and the weather were beautiful.
We started to 41 , but about one mile out, the weather suddenly changed. 42 the weather was not good, we didn’t want to 43 , but finally my friends and I 44 that we should go back. We tried to change the boat’s 45 , but as soon as we changed it, the oarlock (橹, 桨) broke. Therefore, we were 46 to turn back. We had to wait for help because we couldn’t do anything.
After seeing the change of the weather, we 47 to row, but it was too late. We 48 it. The sea changed a lot, the waves got very high, and the boat began to 49 like a cradle (摇篮). One of my friends started to cry; 50 started to feel sick. Three hours passed, and nobody came to help us. We were just praying. 51 , after five long hours of waiting, two big boats came to 52 us and we 53 . If they 54 come to get us, we would have crossed the border between Turkey and Greece because the border was very close.
This story is the most exciting story of my life because we could have 55 , but luck was with us and we escaped.
A. to camp B. and camped C. camping D. on camp
A. climate B. month C. reason D. season
A. chose B. selected C. managed D. would rather
A. things B. luggage C. package D. bags
A. if B. even if C. because D. for
A. go B. row C. sail D. surf
A. As B. If C. Although D. Even if
A. give in B. give up C. go forward D. row
A. agreed B. hoped C. suggested D. promised
A. head B. direction C. line D. way
A. unable B. able C. delighted D. sad
A. shouldn’t continue B. couldn’t continue
C. shouldn’t have continued D. couldn’t have continued
A. forgot B. regretted C. didn’t mind D. disliked
A. move B. tremble C. shake D. swing
A. other B. the other C. another D. others
A. Fortunately B. Unfortunately C. Fortunate D. Unluckily
A. carry B. bring C. search D. rescue
A. didn’t drown B. didn’t die C. escaped D. ran away
A. didn’t B. wouldn’t C. shouldn’t D. hadn’t
A. died B. survived C. floated D. returned
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It was two years ago in winter when I went
with my family to Engadine in Switzerland. The journey by car was pleasant until we reached the bottom of the Julier Pass(尤里尔隘口) when it began to snow.
Suddenly, the weather became very bad and soon we found ourselves in a storm. On the top of the pass, the visibility(能见度) was almost zero and we had to guess where the crash barrier(防撞护栏) was. It was terrible, the snow turned into ice and stuck to the windows despite the heating being set at full blast. Several times I had to get out of the car to clear the ice from the windshield(挡风玻璃).
But the way down towards Silvaplana was less stressful and we knew that we would arrive in paradise(乐园). It snowed without interruption the first day of our holidays and not being used to this natural weather, we found it simply magical to watch so much snow falling down on the mountains.
The following day, in this large, amazing area made up of frozen lakes and rivers between white mountains, we discovered a little hut next to the cross-country ski tracks, close to a farm. There was a fridge in this heated wooden cabin that contained milk, cheese and yoghurts for self-service. There was a list of prices for each item. You took what you wanted, then wrote down the total on a notebook what you had taken and put the money into an open box and if necessary took the change.
Where else could you find such trust? As I’ve already told you, Engadine is a paradise.
69.The author and his family were caught in a storm when they_______.
A. began the visit to Engadine B. were in Silvaplana
C. were passing the Julier Pass D. crashed into barriers
70. According to the passage, in the little hut________.
A. foods were offered to tourists for free B. tourists had to serve themselves
C. tourists had to enjoy their own food D. there were several persons on duty every day
71. What may impress the author most?
A. The white mountains. B. The Julier Pass.
C. The frozen lake . D. The little hut.