March, April and May are months full of festivals and events all over the world. Here are some wonderful festivals around the world that happen in spring.

SongKran--Thailand

Dates: 13th-15th, April

In Thailand, it’s time to celebrate the coming monsoon season, which will bring the rain many people have been looking forward to. They celebrate it with a festival called Songkran，when people head out to the streets with water guns to spray(喷，洒）everyone who walks past. If you walk on the streets where the festival is celebrated, prepare to get soaked!

Naghol--Vanuatu

Dates: Every Saturday from April to May

Every year, villagers come together to celebrate the harvest of yams, an important part in the people’s diet in Vanuatu. The festival is most famous for its “land di ving ceremony”. During the ceremony men and boys dive to the ground from high wooden towers with only two thin vines(藤条) attached(附于)to their ankles(脚踝）. The divers’ heads have to lightly touch the ground when they jump---something very dangerous if the vines are not measured（测量）properly.

Cherry Blossom Viewing ---Japan

Dates: The cherry blossom season is different from year to year depending on the weather forecast.

The cherry blossom season has huge importance to the people of Japan, who celebrate the days when the flowers finally blossom. Only a few days later, the petals(花瓣） fall to the ground, like pink snowflakes. This is one of the most beautiful things to see. In Japan, almost everyone has picnics in the parks to view the flowers.

Sinhalese New Year--Sri Lanka

Dates: 13th or 14th, April

Just like in many other countries in South an South East Asia, this is the time when the Sinhalese celebrate the traditional New Year, an ancient celebration which marks the end of the harvest season and is one of two times of the year when the sun is straight above Sri Lanka. There are a lot of delicious foods during the celebration.

1.What does the underlined word “soaked” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A. tired       B. wet      C. crazy       D. interested

2.The writer thinks that the “land diving ceremony” can be dangerous for the divers because ___________.

A. the divers may fall onto the ground if the thin vines break

B. the divers may bump into （撞在…上）the wooden tower on the way down

C. the divers’ ankles may get injured if the vines are tied too tightly

D. the divers may injure their heads if the vines aren’t measured properly

3.. We can learn from the passage that__________________.

A. the Cherry Blossom Celebration usually lasts a  long time in Japan

B. the Cherry Blossom Celebration is the most important festival in Japan

C. the time for the Cherry Blossom Celebration in Japan can be different yearly

D. people usually stay at home for celebration during the cherry blossom season

March, April and May are months full of festivals and events all over the world. Here are some wonderful festivals around the world that happen in spring.

SongKran--Thailand

Dates: 13^th-15th, April

In Thailand, it’s time to celebrate the coming monsoon season, which will bring the rain many people have been looking forward to. They celebrate it with a festival called Songkran, when people head out to the streets with water guns to spray(喷，洒）everyone who walks past. If you walk on the streets where the festival is celebrated, prepare to get soaked!

Naghol--Vanuatu

Dates: Every Saturday from April to May

Every year, villagers come together to celebrate the harvest of yams, an important part in the peopls’s diet in Vanuatu. The festival is most famous for its “land diving ceremony”. During the ceremony men and boys dive to the ground from high wooden towers with only two thin vines attached(附于)to their ankles(脚踝）. The divers’ heads have to lightly touch the ground when they jump---something very dangerous if the vines are not measured（测量）properly.

Cherry Blossom Viewing ---Japan

Dates: The cherry blossom season is different from year to year depending on the weather forecast.

The cherry blossom season has huge importance to the people of Japan, who celebrate the days when the flowers finally blossom. Only a few days later, the petals(花瓣） fall to the ground, like pink snowflakes. This is one of the most beautiful things to see. In Japan, almost everyone has picnics in the parks to view the flowers.

Sinhalese New Year--Sri Lanka

Dates: 13^th or 14^th, April

Just like in many other countries in South an South East Asia, this is the time when the Sinhalese celebrate the traditional New Year, an ancient celebration which marks the end of the harvest season and is one of two times of the year when the sun is straight above Sri Lanka. There are a lot of delicious foods during the celebration.

1.. What does the underlined word “ soaked” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

2.The writer thinks that the “land diving ceremony” can be dangerous for the divers because ___________.

3.We can learn from the passage that__________________.

       阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从41~60各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

We may look at the world around us, but somehow we manage not to see it until whatever we’ve become used to suddenly . Take, for example, the neatly-dressed(穿戴整齐的) woman I to see — or look at — on my way to work each morning.

For three years, no matter  the weather was like, she was     waiting at the bus stop around 8:00 a.m. On   days, she wore heavy clothes and a pair of woolen gloves. Summertime    out neat, belted cotton dresses and a hat pulled low over her sunglasses.   , she was an ordinary working woman. Of course, I all this only after she was seen no more. It was then that I realized how I expected to see her each morning. You might say I    her.

“Did she have an accident? Something ?” I thought to myself about her disappearance. Now that she was gone, I felt I had  her. I began to realize that part of our life probably includes such chance meetings with familiar : the milkman you see at dawn, the women who walks her dog along the street every  morning, the twin brothers you see at the library. Such people are    markers in our lives. They add weight to our of place and belonging.

Think about it. , while walking to work, we mark where we are by     a certain building, why should we not mark where we are when we pass a familiar, though , person?

A. disappears              B. appears             C. arrives              D. comes

A. happened        B. wanted          C. used             D. tried

A. what           B. how             C. which        D. when

A. always                B. seldom           C. sometimes   D. often

A. sunny          B. rainy            C. cloudy      D. snowy

A. took            B. brought          C. carried      D. turned

A. Clearly           B. Particularly      C. Luckily             D. Especially

A. believed         B. expressed          C. remembered      D. wondered

A. long          B. often            C. soon                 D. much

A. respected   B. missed           C. praised           D. admired

A. better      B. worse           C. more                 D. less

A. forgotten             B. lost               C. known              D. hurt

A. happy        B. enjoyable    C. usual         D. daily

A. friends       B. strangers        C. tourists          D. guests

A. regularly   B. actually   C. hardly    D. probably

A. common     B. pleasant          C. important D. ordinary

A. choice       B. knowledge   C. decision     D. sense

A. Because           B. If                  C. Although        D. However

A. keeping              B. changing         C. passing     D. mentioning

A. unnamed              B. unforgettable     C. unbelievable      D. unreal

In western countries, especially in America, some social customs have lasted still today. For example, ladies first, that is to say, women in those countries are respected(尊重) in many ways.

In the U.S. and Europe, you will see men usually open doors for women and women generally walk ahead of men into a room or a restaurant unless the man have to be ahead of the ladies to choose the table, to open the door of a car or to give other services. On the street, men almost walk or across the street on the side of the ladies which is closer to traffic, but if a man walks with two ladies, he should walk between them.

1.In this passage， “customs” especially refers to _______.

A．what a group of people usually do

B．what people in western countries do

C．what people in eastern countries do

D．what people in united states do

2.When you introduce a group of people in English, you will probably begin with  _____.

A．Men and women                        B．Women and men

C．Gentlemen and ladies                    D．Ladies and gentlemen

3.In which country people may think it strange that men should open doors for women?

A．England           B．Italy              C．Japan             D．Germany

4.Which of the following statements is not true?

A．In Europe, a man generally follows a woman when they enter a restaurant together.

B．In America a man who walks ahead of a women always gives services.

C．In the U.S, women almost always walk closer to the running cars.

D．In the U.S, men should always walk by the side of the ladies.

5.Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of this passage?

A．In western countries, some social customs have lasted till today.

B．Women in western countries are respected in many ways.

C．Men usually open doors for women in the U.S. as well as in Europe.

D．Men show respect for women by giving them good services.

In western countries, especially in America, some social customs have lasted still today. For example, ladies first, that is to say, women in those countries are respected(尊重) in many ways.
In the U.S. and Europe, you will see men usually open doors for women and women generally walk ahead of men into a room or a restaurant unless the man have to be ahead of the ladies to choose the table, to open the door of a car or to give other services. On the street, men almost walk or across the street on the side of the ladies which is closer to traffic, but if a man walks with two ladies, he should walk between them.
【小题1】In this passage， “customs” especially refers to _______.