The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held 46 days before Easter, especially famous for the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Carnival celebrations are believed to have roots in the festival of Saturnalia, which, adapted to Christianity, became a farewell to bad things in a season of religious discipline to regret and prepare for Christ’s death and coming back to life.
Modern Brazilian Carnival dates back to Rio de Janeiro in 1641. It originally copied the European form of the festival, later taking in elements of Native American and African cultures.
In the late 19th century, the strings (弦乐器) were introduced in Rio de Janeiro. These were pageant (游行) groups that paraded through city avenues performing on instruments and dancing. Today they are known as blocks, consisting of a group of people who dress in costumes or special T-shirts with themes or logos. Blocks are generally connected with particular neighborhoods; they include both a music group and a lot of revelers.
Block parades have become an expressive feature of Rio’s Carnival. Today, they number more than 100 and the groups increase each year. Blocks can be formed by small or large groups of revelers with a clear title. Before the show, they gather in a square, then parade in sections of the city, often near the beach.
Carnival time in Rio is very interesting, but is also the most expensive time to visit Rio. Hotel rooms and other lodgings (住宿) can be up to four times more expensive than the regular rates. There are big crowds at some locations and life is far from ordinary in many parts of town.
【小题1】What can we infer from the first paragraph?

The custom of celebrating from the end of January until mid-February has long been popular in Quebec City, Canada. The first large Winter Carnival here, in the world’s snow capital, took place in 1894. Faced with winter’s hardships, the city’s population made this popular tradition into a winter celebration that warmed the hearts of all people.

Interrupted by two wars and then the economic crisis of 1929, the Carnival was held from time to time until the second half of the century. In 1954, a group of business people re-started the festivities. That year, Bonhomme was born and was elected the event’s representative.

   The next year the first official Quebec Winter Carnival took place. The Carnival snowballed into a big event and was important for tourism and economic activity in the city.

   From one winter to the next, the Carnival enriched its activity program. We have since added even more popular activities, such as winter sports, snow sculptures, and activities based on the traditional Quebec lifestyle, such as dogsled races. The Quebec Winter Carnival is the largest winter carnival in the world today, and is third on the list of Top Carnivals after the famous carnivals in Rio and New Orleans.

1960

The people living along Rue Sainte-Therese created many snow or ice sculptures, and this location became known as Carnival Street.

1964

The name of Bonhomme Carnival and his image became registered trademarks.

1970

 A new tradition was born: closing the event with a firework display.

1975

A new activity, called The Break, was created, on Friday from noon till midnight. Many employers gave their employees time off so they could go dancing at the Quebec City Convention Centre. The event continued to be held until 1986, sometimes late into the night.

1977

Until 1991, the Carnival offered a children’s sculpture competition.

1987

The snow bath became part of the program.

1999

Because of the importance of volunteers, the human resources department was created to improve organization.

1.The Quebec Winter Carnival      .

A.is held from mid-February to the end of March

B.is an encouragement for the local people in winter

C.is the second largest carnival in the winter

D.has as many activities as when it was first held

2.

3.

4.

Carnival(狂欢节) does not take place only in Louisiana. There are many celebrations around the world.

In Brazil, the celebration is supposed to go on from the Saturday before Mardi Gras (大斋节前的最后一天)to Mardi Gras Day, but in some Brazilian cities the celebration can last seven or eight days. Just like New Orleans, not many important things are decided in Brazil from New Year's Day to Mardi Gras Day because everyone is preparing for or celebrating carnival. Most Brazilian parades have a subject, which could be political or historical. The parades had to have a subject related to Brazil until 1996. Some cities in Brazil do not have a street carnival, but they might have an indoor party.

Bolivia has carnival parades for children and then more parades for adults. The children dress up in costumes and march in the streets. The adults make traditional dance groups and dance in the streets. But the main part of Bolivia's carnival is getting wet. Almost everyone gets wet from water balloons and water buckets. In Oruru, Bolivia, their carnival is held in the last ten days of the carnival season. People there join in dancing, but their main carnival event is a ceremonial parade that lasts for twenty hours and parades for four kilometers. Over 20,000 dancers are involved as well as 10,000 musicians. This parade attracts at least 400,000 people.

The carnival in Venice, Italy is often regarded as the most carefully prepared carnival and lasts ten days before Lent (大斋节). Many events are held in the canals including shows, concerts, dances and water processions(队列). The official ending to the celebration is the party held in St. Mark's Square.

1.What's the best title for the passage?

2.From the passage we learn that in Brazil ____.

3.The most important feature (特征)of the celebration of carnival in Bolivia is that ____.

4.Which of the following shows that the author pays special attention to the carnival in Bolivia?

5.Which of the following areas or countries prepares the most carefully for their carnival?

When the slave trade was abolished in 1838, the former slaves        the carnival.

A. took up          B. took down     C. took over     D. took in

The custom of celebrating from the end of January until mid-February has long been popular in Quebec City, Canada. The first large Winter Carnival here, in the world’s snow capital, took place in 1894. Faced with winter’s hardships, the city’s population made this popular tradition into a winter celebration that warmed the hearts of all people.
Interrupted by two wars and then the economic crisis of 1929, the Carnival was held from time to time until the second half of the century. In 1954, a group of business people re-started the festivities. That year, Bonhomme was born and was elected the event’s representative.
The next year the first official Quebec Winter Carnival took place. The Carnival snowballed into a big event and was important for tourism and economic activity in the city.
From one winter to the next, the Carnival enriched its activity program. We have since added even more popular activities, such as winter sports, snow sculptures, and activities based on the traditional Quebec lifestyle, such as dogsled races. The Quebec Winter Carnival is the largest winter carnival in the world today, and is third on the list of Top Carnivals after the famous carnivals in Rio and New Orleans.
1960
The people living along Rue Sainte-Therese created many snow or ice sculptures, and this location became known as Carnival Street.
1964
The name of Bonhomme Carnival and his image became registered trademarks.
1970
A new tradition was born: closing the event with a firework display.
1975
A new activity, called The Break, was created, on Friday from noon till midnight. Many employers gave their employees time off so they could go dancing at the Quebec City Convention Centre. The event continued to be held until 1986, sometimes late into the night.
1977
Until 1991, the Carnival offered a children’s sculpture competition.
1987
The snow bath became part of the program.
1999
Because of the importance of volunteers, the human resources department was created to improve organization.
【小题1】The Quebec Winter Carnival     .