Perhaps we’ll always be fools when it comes to figuring out the origins of April Fool’s Day. Some historians say it has something to do with the change of the calendar. Others say that’s complete nonsense---it has to do with the change of the seasons. Regardless of how it started, it has developed into the silliest day of the year.

     The history of April Fool’s Day isn’t clear, but some believe it began in France around 1582, with the reform of the calendar under Charles IX. The Gregorian calendar was introduced, moving New Year’s Day to January 1^st, instead of the previous march25—April 1. Because news traveled slowly, some people knew nothing about the changes of several years. Still others refused to acknowledge the change and continued to celebrate it on the last day of the former celebration, April 1. These people were called“fools”.

     But maybe it’s just that time of the year---the turn of winter to spring---that makes everyone a bit excited and ready for some fun. After all, the Romans had a festival named Hilaria that fell on March 25^th.

     Today, April Fool’s Day has spread throughout much of the world, with cultures giving their own idea on the day. Here’s a look at some of the silliness.

In England, jokes are only played in the morning. It is considered bad luck to play a practical joke on someone in the afternoon. In Scotland, April Fool’s Day is celebrated over two days and is also known as“April Gawk”.The second day of the celebration involves tricks. It is known as Taily Day. In Portugal, April Fool’s Day is celebrated on the Sunday or Monday before Lent(大斋期). Tricksters throw flour at friends.

And America? Anything goes. From simple silly lies to complex tricks. What is your favorite April Fool’s joke?

60. As for the origins of April Fool’s Day________.

   A. almost no one takes interest in it

   B. opinions are widely divided

   C. it is due to the calendar change

   D. the historians think it meaningless

61. Some people were called“fools”because________.

   A. they’re not well informed about new things

   B. they didn’t know the changes for calendar

   C. they held firmly on to their own views

   D. they were tired of the French lifestyle

62. It can be inferred from the passage__________.

   A. the whole world celebrates April Fool together

   B. different celebrations are for April Fool’s Day

   C. the Americans tend to make fun of their friends

   D. the Portuguese observe Fool’s Day every Sunday

You are walking down the street, minding your own business when you see a snowball. No big deal, right? Except the snowball is as tall as you are. And weighs about a ton. Did we mention that it is June?

   That’s the experience thousand of Londoners had when they crossed paths with “ Snowball in Summer,” Goldsworthy makes sculpture （雕塑）from all sorts of things he finds outside – leaves, earth, and rocks, as well as ice and snow. He wanted to find out how busy people would react to an unexpected snowball melting in their midst.

   During the winter of 2008, he rolled 13 giant snowballs near his home in Scotland. He filled each one with a surprise in the center – such as berries, feathers, little stones or sheep’s wool – which would appear as the snow melted. The finished snowballs were stored in a deep freeze until summer, then transported to London in refrigerated trucks. At midnight on June 21, 2008, while the city slept, Goldsworthy and his helpers rolled their snowballs into place.

  People walking to work or school must have thought the sky was falling when they stumbled across snowballs the size of baby elephants. Some of them had never even seen snow in real life, and they couldn’t help touching them in great surprise. As the snow started to melt, things got even more interesting. The perfectly round snowballs took on different shapes as the stuff inside began to poke through. Two days later, most of Goldsworthy’s snowballs were gone, and their fillings scattered. But Londoners were left with a really good story about that odd summer day when the snowball came.

What is really special about the snowballs is that ______________________.

A. they lie in the street

B. they are in the shape of baby elephants.

C. they have berries, feathers, little stones and feathers in them.

D. they appear in June.

What was the purpose of Goldsworthy in making the snowballs?

A. To find out people’s reactions to them

B. To call up people’s memory of the cold winter.

C. To show off his skills in sculpture.

D. To let people experience the cold winter.

Why did Goldsworthy and his helpers roll their snowballs into place at mid-night?

A. They didn’t want to disturb other people.

B. It was quite at that time.

C. They wanted to avoid the traffic jam.

D, They wanted to give people a surprise.

Read the passage carefully．Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.

Most people look forward to retirement as a time when they can finally take up activities that they never had the time or energy to pursue before．But some recent studies on people in their golden years are disturbing: they suggest that retirees are more likely to suffer from depression and possibly higher rates of other diseases such as heart disease and high blood pressure．That’s why a new study of French workers is welcome news.

Led by Hugo Westland, a professor of psychology at Stockholm University, the study of more than 14,000 workers found lower rates of depression and fatigue (疲劳) in people after they got tired while they were still employed.

The scientists followed the employees of the French national gas and electric company for 14 years．They found in the year immediately after retirement, the volunteers reported 40% fewer depressive symptoms than they had in the year before their retirement．The researchers also found an 81% drop in reports of both mental and physical fatigue over the same time period.

Clearly, said Westerlund, much of these decrease in physical and mental fatigue can be traced back to relief from the stresses of work．The decline in depressive symptoms suggests that retirement may be having a positive mental effect, too, which may have a lot to do with the generous pensions (养老金) that French workers enjoy．Most retirees in that country still benefit from about 80% of their yearly salaries.

“The economic or financial situation in retirement is very important,” Westerlund says．“We don’t know if the decrease in fatigue and depressive symptoms is because of the removal of something bad while in work or the addition of something good while in retirement．But no matter the reason, if life in retirement is not comfortable, then we won’t see the improvements we did.”

However, in European nations like France, governments are considering changes to pension plans, which may affect retirees’ health after they leave their jobs－with less of a financial safety net, workers may no longer seem so mentally and physically happy to be out of work．   

(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN EIGHT WORDS.)

According to some recent studies, retired people may have depression and higher rates of other diseases like __________.

Westerlund’s group found that in the year just after the retirement most retired French workers felt much less tired both __________.

What does the word “improvements” in paragraph 5 refer to?

Retirement may make people happier with __________.

——The dinner was delicious!

    ——I agree. I am so full.

    ——That’s too bad. But some dessert ____.

A、has ordered  B、will be ordered 

C、has been ordered D、was going to be ordered

How the iron of tomorrow can change your lifestyle today.

(the first Self Cleaning Iron)

General Electric introduces the iron of tomorrow. The iron can clean itself. Inside where a iron gets dirty. Because it cleans itself each time you empty it. How? With a push of a magic blue button.

The magic blue button

The first thing you’ll notice that’s different about this iron is the blue button on the side. It’s marked "Self Clean". Push this blue button, and you can wash out loose mineral deposits(沉淀物) that remain and block up inside. Push this button, and you’ve made life a lot easier.

Less chance of brown spots

Sure, Self Cleaning Iron is going to cut down on brown spots. (Those ugly spots that happen on nice, cleanly pressed clothes.) Because a Self Cleaning Iron becomes clean each time you press that magic blue button.

Steams better longer

Common sense tells you that if you’ve an iron that blocks less often it has to stay younger for a long period of time. In other words, it steams better longer. That’s another joy of ow??ning General Electric’s Self Cleaning Iron.

What does it mean to you

Today you are doing so much more than just running a house and running after the kids. You’re working. You’re going to school. It’s all part of your lifestyle. The iron can change that lifestyle. By giving you less trouble before you iron. If we can make it easier for you to be a better wife, a better mother, a better housekeeper, we want to. The new Self Cleaning Iron is another one of Home-Makers from Gener??al Electric.

Lifestyle. We’ re with yours. GENERAL ELECTRIC

This passage is ________.

A. an introduction to General Electric

B. an operating instruction of Self Cleaning Iron

C. an advertisement of Self Cleaning Iron

D. a description of the change of lifestyle

This iron can clean itself by ________.

A. emptying itself                       B. washing out mineral deposits

C. blocking up mineral deposits                 D. giving off more steam

according to the passage, what is most likely to attract the customers?

A. It is made by General Electric.

B. The iron will not produce mineral deposits.

C. There will be fewer brown spots on pressed clothes.

D. Their clothes will be cleaned at the same time.

Self Cleaning Iron can help change your lifestyle because________.

A. you can run your house better

B. you don’t have to run after the kids

C. you can use it while you are working

D. we want you to be a better housekeeper