_______71_______ It is a very happy day for many boys and girls. Before the term ends in some schools, the children act a nativity (基督诞生) or "birth" play, showing how Jesus was born in a stable.（马棚）.

On the twenty-fourth of December, all children are very excited.______72____ The younger children think that Father Christmas will come down the chimney of fireplace, so they hang up a sock for him to put presents in. The greedy ones even hang up a pillowcase or a sack to try to get more presents.________73_____

On Christmas morning, the children wake up very early. Some even turn on the light at two o'clock, and most of them are awake by six o'clock although there is no light in England for another hour or two at this time of the year.

_____74______ At about one o'clock in the afternoon, the Christmas dinner is brought in._____75______ Children search in their Christmas pudding for new coins which are hidden in it. The rest of the day is full of games and eating until the happiness of all Christian holidays comes to an end.

E. Later that night, Father or Mother will put presents in the sock, and leave others at the side of the bed.

F. Usually they are sent to bed early so that their parents can get the presents ready.

G. Christmas Day falls on the twenty-fifth of December.

阅读理解

　　Halloween is a festival (节日) celebrated on October 31st. The name of the holiday means“hallowed”or“holy evening”because it happens the day before All Saints Day (万圣节) . It is said that Halloween is the children's New Year's Eve. They dress up with special costumes(服装), they eat too much, and stay up too late celebrating.

　　Children go around the neighborhood wearing make-up, and dress in masks(面具) and colorful costumes. The most common costumes are witches, ghosts, skeletons (骷髅) , and popular TV, movie, and storybook characters. Some costumes are homemade; others are bought in stores. The children go from door to door saying“trick or treat”. People give them candy, cookies, fruit or money. Sometimes money is collected to help UNICEF, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.

　　Homes, stores, and classrooms are decorated (装饰) in the traditional Halloween colours, orange and black. Usual decorations are witches, ghosts, skeletons, and jack-o-lanterns. Jack-o-lanterns are pumpkins (南瓜) that are carved (雕刻) to look like faces. They are placed on doorway entrances and in windows. Horror movies and ghost stories are shown on TV on this day.

　　Adults and older children also celebrate Halloween with parades (游行), festivals, and costume parties. Some people create their costumes; other people rent them. Contests are held, where the best costume receives a prize. One of the party events popular with children is dunking (浸泡) for apples. Apples are put in tubs filled with water. People try to get the apples using only their mouths; hands cannot be used.

1．What does the word“holy”(in Paragraph 1) mean?

[　　]

A．With a hole in.

B．Not solid; with a hole or empty space inside.

C．Dark and green.

D．Associated with God or with religion.

2．Which of the following statements is NOT true about the common costumes according to the passage?

[　　]

A．They are colorful.

B．Some of the costumes are homemade.

C．All of the costumes are bought in stores.

D．They are witches , ghosts, skeletons, popular TV characters and so on.

3．Which of the following statements is incorrect?

[　　]

A．Apples are the favorite fruit people eat on Halloween.

B．Adults also celebrate Halloween together with children.

C．Jack-o-lanterns are pumpkins that are carved to look like faces.

D．Horror movies are shown on TV on 31th October.

4．Why is it said that Halloween is the children's New Years Eve?

[　　]

A．Because Halloween comes the day before All Saints Day.

B．Because children can get money from their parents on Halloween.

C．Because children dress up with special costumes, eat a lot, and stay up late celebrating.

D．Because only on that day can children go around the neighborhood.

5．What are the traditional Halloween colors?

[　　]

Kids Fishing Photo Contest

It certainly isn’t hard to “ picture it”, that is – smiles, laughs, looks of anticipation (期望) and excitement. So, join in the fun, catch the excitement of your child on film while fishing and enter his or her picture in the yearly Kids Fishing Photo Contest! The contest is sponsored by Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) in celebration of National Fishing Week!

The winning pictures are those that best catch the theme “kids enjoying fishing”. Children in the first through third place photographs of each category will receive different fishing-related prizes. Winning pictures will also be posted on the VDGIF website and may be used in all kinds of VDGIF publications. There is no need to be a professional photographer. Any photo will do.

Contest Rules

·Children in the photographs must fall into one of the following age groups when the picture is taken: 1—4, 6—10.

·Photos must not be more than 1 year old.

·Photos must be taken in Virginia.

·Children in a boat must be wearing a life jacket.

·Only one photo submission (提交) per child.

·Submit the photo on photograph quality paper, no CD’s accepted.

·Photos must not be bigger than “4×6” size.

·Please stick a piece of paper to the back of the photo including: name, age, address, phone number and location where the photograph was taken.

·A Photo Contest Release Form (PDF) must be submitted along with the photograph.

·Photos must be postmarked on or before April 19, 2013.

·Judging will take place in May and winners will be posted on the VDGIF website.

·Prizes will be sent directly to the winning children.

·This contest isn’t open to immediate family of VDGIF employees and sponsors. Immediate family members refer to children, siblings (同胞) or others living in the same household with a VDGIF or sponsor employee.

To Enter:

Send your photo, with the child’s name, age, phone number and address, along with the Photo Contest Release Form (PDF), to:

Kids Fishing Photo Contest

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

P.O. Box 11104

Richmond, VA 23230–1104

1.The advertisement is intended for ________.

A．children who are below 11 years old

B．people whose children like fishing

C．those who are good at photos

D．those whose parents like fishing

2. The purpose of the contest is to ________.

A．encourage people to take more pictures

B．help people realize the importance of fishing

C．celebrate a national fishing-related activity

D．encourage people to go fishing with kids

3. Which of the following photos can enter the contest?

A. A photo which is in a CD.

B. A photo in which there is a 12-year-old girl.

C. A big photo which is “8×10” size.

D. A photo which was taken in Virginia on July 23, 2012.

4. What should be sent with the photo together?

A. A life jacket.

B. A quality CD.

C. A stamped addressed envelope.

D. A Photo Contest Release Form.

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?

“Tomorrow is another day”---- this line has impressed various people at various times. It's now 70 years after it appeared in the film, but it still seems to hold its power especially during an economic downturn.
The phrase comes from a film adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's successful 1936 novel Gone With the Wind. It's set in the American South and tells the story of a strong heroine, Scarlett O' Hara, who struggles to find love during the Civil War and, afterwards, of her strength in surviving the war and its hardships.
Love story 
In a moment of despair, Scarlett finally realizes that her love belongs to Rhett Butler. For many audiences, it is the theme of love and struggle that has kept the movie alive. While the burning of Atlanta might seem irrelevant to today's viewers, the timeless theme of love keeps its ability to touch people.
With a promise to her lover still in her mind, Scarlett chooses to stay in the midst of war and take care of Melanie. But her heart is broken when Rhett just walks away, leaving the woman that he once loved with cruel words, "Frankly, dear, I don' t give a damn."
Great epic
The film shows the love-hate relationship of these characters, but also American history, the fall of the Confederacy and the following period of Reconstruction in the South. The background made this film a true classic in the epic genre.
When the film opened after World War II, French viewers loved it, and it reminded them of their fight against the Nazis. In 1940 Shanghai, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, people stood in line for hours to watch this film, and saw the same suffering they were having as well as the hope and possibility of building a new homeland from the ruins.
Each nationality could identify with the story and see it as a victory. In fact, Gone With the Wind never lost its charm and ability to inspire and amaze.
Biggest of all time
The film had five directors, 15-plus screenwriters, and an unexpected $3.9 million budget. The film brought in $ 200 million, which makes it the biggest selling film of all times in North America. It also won 10 Academy awards in 1940.
【小题1】The underlined "it" in the first paragraph refers to _______.