Merry Christmas

The winter holiday season is the most festive time of the year in the United States. Students from elementary school through college have about two weeks’ vacation, beginning shortly before Christmas and ending soon after New Year’s Day. 　 71　 There are many parties to celebrate the birth of Christ and the arrival of the New Year.

72 Late in November, street lights and store windows are decorated with the traditional Christmas colors of red and green. Santa Claus, shepherd and angel scenes appear in shop windows. Winter scenes with snowmen, sleighs, skaters, and skiers decorate cards and windows.

The manufacture and sale of Christmas items is big business. 　 73　 Smart shoppers buy their gifts far in advance, before the Christmas rush makes shopping a chore.

Although Americans enjoy the commercial friendliness of Christmas, the most beautiful and meaningful parts of the holiday occur at home. 　 74　 Then they sit down to enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner—turkey or ham, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and cranberry sauce. Dessert is usually fruit cake, plum pudding, or apple pie. Most of the Christmas customs which Americans enjoy today are variations of traditions brought here by European immigrants, decorating the Home with evergreens for example. 　75　 Branches of evergreens were thought to bring good luck and guarantee the return of spring. Now, at Christmastime, decorated trees stand in about two-thirds of American homes. The modern American tree is usually covered with colored balls and strings of colored lights.

A.　　 Many families gather around the tree and open their gifts.

B.　　 In America, the spirit of Christmas arrives about a month before the holiday itself.

C.　　 Many families go away for the holidays, but those who stay home have fun, too.

D. In America, it’s customary to exchange gifts with family members and close friends.

E. Stores depend on Christmas shoppers for about one-fourth of their annual sales.

F. Today the custom continues, but now it is for fun.

G. This winter custom began in ancient times.

　　In the 19th century England people liked to go to the seaside. In those days, ladies wore long bathing dresses, and men wore bathing suits. Women did not walk about on the beach in their bathing dresses. They hired a bathing machine. A bathing machine was used for changing in, and for taking the bather down to the sea. It cost 2 pence to hire a machine and an attendant (f~ ~). When she had paid, the bather climbed up the back steps and got into the bathing machine. Then she changed into her bathing dress. When she had changed , the machine was pulled down to the sea. The bathing machine stopped in the water and the bather went down the front steps into the water. If she did not want to get into the sea, the attendant pulled her in.

1. Who used the bathing machine?

　　A. Women bathers.

　　B. Both men and women bathers.

　　C. Bathers who couldn’t swim.

　　D. Bathers who couldn’t walk.

2. A bathing machine was mainly used for

　　A. giving the bather a pleasure ride on the beach

　　B. giving the bather some exercise before getting into the water

　　C. protecting the bather from catching cold from the sea wind

　　D. protecting the bather from being seen in bathing dress out of water

3. In the 19th century people who used the bathing machine usually did the following things. Which is the right order for doing them?

　　a. Changing into bathing clothes

　　b. Getting out of the bathing machine

　　c. Paying 2 pence

　　d. Getting into the bathing machine

　　e. Being taken down the beach

　　f. Getting into the water

　　A. e,d,a,b,f,c　　B. c,d,a,e,b,f

　　C. c,d,e,a,b,f　　D. d,a,e,b,f,c

阅读下面短文, 掌握其大意，然后从36~55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

        One day before Christmas, all of us children from the Children's Home Society Orphanage(孤儿院) were taken to the Mayflower Hotel in downtown to attend a Christmas party.

After the man on the stage said a prayer       （祈祷）, we were told to  　36　 . Within minutes we were   37    a meal which was fit for a king. I ate   38  I could eat no more. As we ate, Santa Clause came walking out onto the  39  . The kids cheered with  40  . Everyone began clapping their hands and yelling as   41  as they could.

I too was excited   42   but I knew better than to yell（叫喊）out loud or to jump up and scream. Mrs. Winters, the head matron, sat only three seats from me. She had   43   it very clear to everyone that we were to behave ourselves in "a proper manner" and that there was to be "no yelling or shouting".

One orphan   44  was led up onto the stage and each kid was handed a   45   by Santa Claus himself.

As the line became shorter and shorter my   46   finally came. He smiled at me. Then he reached over and handed me a   47   box which had two gold ribbons(丝带) on it. As I leaned(向前倾) to take the box I tripped and I   48  to my knees. Santa reached over and helped me to my feet.

"Move  49   Kiser." called out Mrs. Winters.

I was now leaning against Santa Claus' leg and I was looking   50   into his eyes. His face was less than an inch from mine.

"Can I   51   you Santa?" I asked him.

The next thing I knew Mrs. Winters had caught me up by my shirt collar and was  52   me away from the line of children.

I sat down in my chair just crying. Once in a while I would  53   at the stage to see if my gift was still sitting by Santa Claus.

When we all lined up waiting, I  54  "HO HO HO" coming from behind me.

As I   55  , there stood Santa Claus holding my large box. Then he knelt down and he hugged my neck as hard as he could.

36. A. stand up            B. go out               C. sit down            D. keep silent

37. A. taken                B. served               C. brought             D. supplied

38. A. until                  B. unless               C. before               D. after

39. A. table                   B. hotel                 C. seat                   D. stage

40. A. encouragement  B. excitement        C. disappointment D. astonishment

41. A. loud                  B. big                   C. high                  D. low

42. A. outside               B. beside              C. aside                 D. inside

43. A. took                  B. made             C. demanded         D. warned

44. A. at a time           B. at one time        C. at time’s            D. at time

45. A. favor                       B. box                 C. gift                  D. medal

46. A. turn                   B. way                 C. chance              D. gift

47. A. golden                      B. yellow              C. small                D. large

48. A. sat                     B. fell                  C. dropped            D. turned

49. A. by                     B. on                  C. in                    D. out

50. A. quickly             B. directly            C. immediately      D. finally

51. A. tell                            B. call                  C. hug                  D. leave

52. A. pushing              B. keeping             C. stopping            D. pulling

53. A. look                  B. jump               C. put                  D. stand

54. A. watched            B. found               C. heard                      D. observed

55. A. turned around      B. turned up          C. turned away       D. turned down

阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从36－55各题所给的四个选项（A，B，C，D）中选出最佳选项。

Born in America, I spoke English, not Chinese, the language of my ancestors. When I was three, my parents flashed cards with Chinese 36 at my face, but I pushed them 37 .My mom believed I would learn 38 I was ready .But the 39 never came.

　　On a Chinese New Year’s Eve, my uncle spoke to me in Chinese, but all I could do was 40 at him, confused, scratching my head. “Still can’t speak Chinese?” He 41 me, “You can’t even buy a fish in Chinatown.”

　　“Hey, this is America, not China. I’ll get some 42 with or without Chinese.” I replied and turned to my mom for 43.

　　“Remember to ask for fresh fish, Xin Xian Yu,” she said, handing over a $20 bill .I 44 the words, running downstairs into the streets of Chinatown.

　　I found the fish 45 surrounded in a sea of customers. “I’d like to buy some fresh fish,” I shouted to the fishman .But he 46 my English words and turned to serve the next customer .The laugh of the people behind increased 47 their impatience. With every 48, the breath of the dragons on my back grew stronger—my blood boiling— 49 me to cry out. “Xian Sheng Yu, please” “Very Xian Sheng,” I repeated .The crowd erupted into laughter. My face turned 50 and I ran back home 51  , except for the $20 bill I held tightly in my pocket .

　　Should I laugh or cry? They’re Chinese. I’m Chinese. I should feel right at 52 . Instead , I was the joke , a disgrace (丢脸)to the language.

　　Sometimes, I laugh at my fish 53  , but , in the end the joke is on 54 . Every laugh is a culture 55 ; every laugh is my heritage (传统)fading away.