A turkey named Courage gave thanks to President Obama for saving his life on the day before Thanksgiving. Honouring a 62-year-old tradition, the President pardoned the bird on Thanksgiving eve.
The tradition of a turkey pardon at Thanksgiving began with President Truman in 1947. Courage comes from Ellsworth, Iowa. The name Courage was chosen by voters (投票人)who took part in a survey posted on the White House website. The lucky turkey walked on the lawn of the Rose Garden and posed for the cameras at the presidential podium(讲台).
The dinner that has become known as the First Thanksgiving was actually a harvest festival celebrated in December of 1621. That’s when English settlers in Plymouth, Massachusetts, gave thanks for the progress they had made after a hard winter in their new country. As America grew, Thanksgiving customs also spread and got bigger. George Washington declared that the first national Thanksgiving would be on November 26, 1789. In the decades to follow, however, people celebrated Thanksgiving locally, with no official date. President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November 1863 a national day of Thanksgiving. It stayed that way until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it one week earlier. He wanted to lengthen the shopping period before Christmas to encourage gift-buyers and to help businesses. So Congress(议会) ruled that, after 1941, Thanksgiving would be an official federal holiday falling on the fourth Thursday of November.
This year we celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday, November. Millions of Americans got together to give thanks with friends and family. The lucky turkey, Courage, was one of them. After his pardon, Courage would be sent to Disneyland Resort in California, where he would be the grand assemble of Disney’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
【小题1】That the turkey Courage was pardoned was decided by ________.
| A.George Bush | B.Congress | C.President Truman | D.the public |
| A.celebrate the harvest of British settlers |
| B.celebrate the progress of Americans |
| C.encourage the struggle with British settlers |
| D.celebrate the joy of all Americans after a hard winter |
| A.encourage the economy | B.help the poor |
| C.please Congress | D.lengthen the summer holidays |
| A.President Obama pardoned a turkey before Thanksgiving because of the economic crisis |
| B.the turkey named Courage was pardoned by President Roosevelt before Thanksgiving |
| C.the pardoned turkey walked on the lawn of the Rose Garden on Thanksgiving eve |
| D.the pardoned turkey will appear in a celebrating parade of Thanksgiving Day |
It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers (生产商)follow certain uniform standards for various features(特征)of clothes. What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men. Take a look at the way your clothes button. Men’s clothes tend to button from the right, and women’s from the left. Considering most of the world’s population---men and women---are right-handed, the men’s standard would appear to make more sense for women. So why do women’s clothes button from the left?
History really seems to matter here. Button first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the 17th century, when rich women were dressed by servants. For the mostly right-handed servants, having women’s shirts button from the left would be easier. On the other hand, having men’s shirts button from the right made sense, too. Most men dressed themselves, and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt.
Today women are seldom dressed by servants, but buttoning from the left is still the standard for them. Is it interesting? Actually, a standard, once set, resists change. At a time when all women’s shirts buttoned from the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacture to offer women’s shirts that buttoned the right. After all, women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch. It would be weird for them to button from the right, since anyone who noticed that would believe they were wearing men’s shirts.
【小题1】What is surprising about the standard of the clothing industry?
| A.It has been followed by the industry for over 400 years. |
| B.It is different for men’s clothing and women’s. |
| C.It works better with men than with women. |
| D.It fails to consider right-handed people. |
| A.They tended to wear clothes without buttons. |
| B.They were interested in the historical matters. |
| C.They were mostly dressed by servants. |
| D.They drew their swords from the left. |
| A.adopting men’s style is improper for women |
| B.manufacturers should follow standards |
| C.modern women dress themselves |
| D.customs are hard to change |
| A.analyzing cause |
| B.making comparisons |
| C.examining differences |
| D.following the time order |
Can storms in Africa cause asthma(哮喘) in the Caribbean(加勒比)? Islanders point to the desert insects that land on beaches after a 5,000-kilometer flight across the Atlantic. If they can use winds to get from one continent to another, so can clouds of dust that carry disease.
Scientists think that as Africa becomes drier, dust from expanding deserts is being blown away into Caribbean islands. A study in Barbados shows that asthma has increased 17 times since Africa’s drought(干旱) began in 1973.
Other forms of life are suffering, too. Among them are the Caribbean’s famous coral reefs( 珊瑚礁), which began dying in large numbers in the 1900s. Eugene Shinn of the U.S. Geiological Sudrvey(USGS) in Florida went to the virgin Islands to study the reefs. The tests he and his colleagues carried out showed that the coral was dying of disease caused by Africa microbes(微生物) from across the ocean.
William Sprigg of the University of Arizona is studying the problem as part of a major UN project. He says that dust is causing problems in the U.S., too.
“We are just beginning to collect the evidence of airborne(空气传播的) dust influences on human health,” he told The Washington Post.
【小题1】Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
| A.Dangerous Dust | B.Dangerous Disease |
| C.Changing Weather | D.Developing Technology |
| A.America. | B.Africa. | C.The Atlantic. | D.The Pacific. |
| A.desert insects | B.strong winds | C.airborne dust | D.dry weather |
| A.They are in Florida. |
| B.They used to be very beautiful. |
| C.They began dying in the past decades. |
| D.The African microbes have bad effect on them. |
| A.He is a member of UN. |
| B.He thinks African dust also affects the US. |
| C.He has collected enough evidence about dust influences. |
| D.He is a reporter from The Washington Post. |
Wilderness activity week, Finland
Set off on a really wild adventure to Finland, where night is a distant memory during the endless days of summer.
From your cottage, set high in the hills above Koli National Park, you can explore a perfect wilderness, and pull over at a lakeside beach whenever you like a dip(游泳).
Seven-night breaks cost from £899 per adult, £699 per child, including flights, accommodation, some meals and a guide. The Adventure Company (0845 450 5311; www.adventurecompany. co. uk).
Horseriding in the Tarn France
Learn to ride, or perfect your horse-riding skills at Les Juliannes in the Tarn Valley. Activities include everything from show-jumping to hacking(骑马)through the rolling hills and medieval(中世纪的)villages. Between sessions, you can relax by the pool, cycle along the country lanes or roam the grounds. Guests stay at a rural 17th-century farmhouse.
Seven-night breaks cost from £658 per adult, £628 per child aged 12-15 years. £553 for 10 to 11-year-olds and £423 for under-nines. Price includes return flights, transfers, half-board accommodation and ten hours’ riding, Inntravel(01653 617906;www. inntravel. co. uk).
Learn to sail in Greece
Sunvil Sailing has live-aboard learn-to-sail breaks off the island of Lefkas that are designed for both the complete novice(新手)as well as those with a degree of sailing.
Seven-night breaks cost from £721pp in peak season, including return flights, transfers, live-aboard accommodation and tuition. Meals and dinner ashore are not included. Sunvil Sailing (020 8758 4780; www. sunvil. co. uk).
【小题1】If you want to have some experiences of country life in the past, you’d better go to .
| A.explore a perfect wilderness |
| B.stay for a few days in Finland |
| C.Horseriding in the Tarn, France |
| D. Learn to sail in Greece |
| A.£2030 | B.£1316 | C.£1869 | D.£1211 |
| A.a national park |
| B.a cottage high in the hills |
| C.a perfect wilderness |
| D. summer days without night |
| A.www. activitiesabroad. com |
| B.www. adventurecompany. co. uk |
| C.www. inntravel. co. uk |
| D.www. sunvil. co. uk |