My five brothers, my sister and I lived in Toronto with our parents. My father worked in a factory, and my mother stayed at home. Each year my father would dress up as Santa Claus and go through the streets sharing joy and candies with the children there. He loved it as much as they did!
But around Christmas in 1970, my father was out of work. In fact, there was no money for Christmas and my parents weren’t sure how they’d provide for us.
That Christmas Eve, however, as usual, my father left the house dressed as Santa Claus. He knew that even though our Christmas would be hard, he could not make the other kids in the neighborhood disappointed.
As my father left the house and went downstairs, another Santa Claus was walking up, with a great bag of gifts for us! He said nothing, only smiled a sweet smile at my father, and wished him a merry Christmas. The jolly man handed the bag and walked away down the block.
We never knew who showed us great kindness on the snowy Christmas night. We do know, however, that without him we would have had nothing under the tree. His kindness gave my parents hope and showed us in a very real way the true meaning of Christmas.
Our family has never forgotten this kind stranger and his generosity(慷慨). Each year we tell the story of the mysterious(神秘的) Santa Claus and try to repay his gifts by giving help to others in need.
【小题1】According to the passage, the writer’s father is ______on Christmas.

Lights, cameras, action! It’s movie night with your friends. And you’re looking for something to snack on during the movie. What better snack to choose than popcorn? In American culture, popcorn and movies are closely tied together. It is one of the most popular snacks offered at a movie theater. Popcorn is a popular treat made out of corn kernels that have been ‘popped’ by heat. Often times, the popped corn is covered with melted butter and salt to give the snack more flavor.

Popcorn has a history that goes back about 5,000 years ago to the American Indians. Corn was a major part of their diet, so they had many different ways of preparing it. They made popcorn by tossing prepared corn kernels onto a bed of hot stones over a fire. As the popcorn shot out in various directions, people made a game to see who could catch the most popcorn. Naturally, the prize was being able to enjoy this delicious snack. In fact, people loved the snack so much that they began to serve it with cream and sugar for breakfast.

In the late 19^th century, popcorn carts began appearing on almost every American street corner. These carts were big hits at fairs, carnivals, and expositions. Later on, home version of popcorn poppers became available, and the snack became even more popular. Not to mention, this was also around the time when popcorn was introduced to the movie theaters.

One of the biggest innovations for popcorn was microwaveable popcorn. For people who did not want to go through the trouble of making popcorn at home, microwaveable popcorn was nice alternative. Today, there are many variations for eating popcorn. There’s the classic buttered popcorn, the sweet alternative of caramel corn (where the popcorn is covered in a light coat of molasses), and others such as cheesy popcorn (popcorn covered in a layer of cheese dust). 

1.Where do people often eat popcorn in America?

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2.What do people often put on the top of the popcorn to make it more delicious?

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3.When did people start to see popcorn carts on American Streets?

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4.Can people make popcorn at home in America?

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5.What’s the main idea of the passage?

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 The New York City Marathon was started by a man named Fred Lebow．It began in 1970 as a small，unimportant race．Only 127 people ran，and just 55 of them finished．They ran around Central Park four times．Few people watched them run．However，over the years the marathon grew and became more popular．

Today people come from all over the world to run in the marathon．Runners must be at least 18 years old，but there is no age limit（限制）．In fact，the oldest runner was an 89-year-old man．Recently，more than 27,000 people ran in the New York City Marathon．Large crowds cheered the runners and offered them cold drinks and encouragement．

The course（路线）of the marathon has changed，too．Instead of running around Central Park，the runners go through the five districts of New York City：Queens，Brooklyn，Manhattan，the Bronx，and Staten Island．The marathon begins at the base（基座）of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in Staten Island．The runners go across the bridge into Brooklyn．Then they go up through Queens and into the Bronx．The marathon finishes in Central Park in Manhattan．The complete course is 26.2 miles，and takes the best runners less than 3 hours．

Although it has changed since 1970，the New York City Marathon is always exciting．Through the years，many unusual events（事件）have happened during the marathon．For example，Pat Tuz and John Weilbaker got married a few minutes before the race．Then they ran the race with their party members．Some people run the whole marathon as a family．Other people run the race backwards．

In the fall of 1992，Fred Lebow，the founder（创始人）of the New York City Marathon，slowly ran his last race．He was very ill with cancer，but he did not want to stop running．In October 1994，Fred died．However，the New York City Marathon，and all its excitement，will continue for many years to come．

1．根据短文内容完成句子（每空限填一个单词）

The course of the New York City Marathon in 1970 was to                    the Central Park four times．

2．根据短文内容完成句子（每空限填一个单词）。

Look at the map．A runner has to go across                    over the river before he completes the whole course．

3．根据短文内容完成句子（每空限填一个单词）。

In October 1994，                  to Fred Lebow，the founder of the New York City Marathon．

4．把短文中画底线的句子译成汉语。

5．根据短文内容回答问题（不超过10个单词）。

What does the writer want us to know about the New York City Marathon from the passage?