When you are about to do something brave, a cheerful wish of “Good luck!” from a friend can be helpful. But if you think you need lots of luck, what else might you do?
In the UK and US there are some strange traditions for bringing yourself a little more good luck. Some are hundreds of years old and some are much newer.
Have you heard the saying “When you wish upon a star”? If you are looking up at the sky on a clear night and you see a sudden flash of light, it is probably a shooting star! Seeing one doesn’t happen very often. The saying goes that if you see one you have been very lucky, and so if you make a wish, it will come true.
Maybe you have heard of the lucky rabbit’s foot. Some people believe that rabbits are lucky animals, so they carry a part of the rabbit, its foot, for good luck. There are all kinds of strange, unclear rules about which of the rabbit’s feet is the luckiest. It is said that this good luck tradition is the oldest one of all. However, as the funny saying goes, “Depend on the rabbit’s foot if you will, but remember it didn’t work for the rabbit!”
People in Britain love trees. If it is autumn and leaves are falling from the trees, some people try to catch the leaves as they fall because they think each leaf they catch will bring them a lucky month in the following year—they will need to catch 12 falling leaves to have a whole year of good luck!
1.______ is mentioned (提到) in the oldest good luck tradition.
A. A rabbit’s foot B. A falling leaf
C. A cheerful wish from friends D. A shooting star
2.From Paragraph 3, we know that _______.
A. we can often see shooting stars
B. people can see a shooting star on a rainy night
C. your wish may come true if you see a shooting star
D. people believe that it’s unlucky to see a shooting star
3.The British try to catch 12 falling leaves because _______.
A. the leaves fall in autumn B. there are so many leaves to catch
C. the leaves can bring them a lucky month D. they want to have a whole year of good luck
4.In Paragraph 5, the underlined word “them” refers to ______.
A. trees B. people C. leaves D. years
5.The passage is mainly about ______.
A. how to wish upon a star B. things that bring good luck
C. British people love leaves D. which of the rabbit’s feet is the luckiest
二、完形填空 （10%）
Mr. and Mrs. Green were very worried about their son, Daniel. He was born normal (正常) in every other way,_____ seemed to be dumb (哑的). Mr. and Mrs. Green tried everything to get him to _____, but with no success.
When Daniel was six years old, the best doctors in the town examined (检查) him _____, but could find nothing wrong. And he seemed to be smart. It was just that he _____ spoke.
“There might be something wrong with his _____, and he doesn’t know he’s able to speak,” one doctor said.
“But he can read and write,” said Mr. Green, “We’ve written him notes, telling him to speak some day.”
“It’s certainly very _____,” another doctor said. “Perhaps he will be able to speak some day.”
_____ passed. Daniel went to university. But he didn’t speak a single word.
Then one day Daniel was having a meal with his parents. Without any warning, he looked up from his _____ and said, “Pass me the salt, please.”
Mr and Mrs Green were excited. “You spoke! You spoke!” they cried. “Why have you _____ so long to speak?”
“I didn’t have anything to say,” he said. “Until now everything was ______. But you forgot to put salt in these potatoes.”
1.A. because B. when C. but D. before
2.A. speak B. walk C. play D. laugh
3.A. angrily B. slowly C. carefully D. quickly
4.A. never B. often C. usually D. always
5.A. back B. hair C. face D. mind
6.A. exciting B. strange C. noisy D. quiet
7.A. Hours B. Weeks C. Months D. Years
8.A. chair B. meal C. hands D. books
9.A. slept B. walked C. missed D. waited
10.A. wrong B. easy C. perfect D. new
—It’s been such a wonderful evening with you! Thank you very much!
—_______
A. Glad to hear that. B. My pleasure!
C. It’s nothing. D. No thanks.
It took the man less time to fly to Xi’an than it _______ there.
A. did to drive B was driving C. does to drive D. did driving
The new supermarket in our town _______ for two weeks, but I _______ there yet.
A. has opened; haven’t gone B. has been open; haven’t been
C. has been open; haven’t gone D. has opened; haven’t been
— Do you mind me sitting here?
— ________. Take your seat, please.
A. No, I do B. Yes, of course C. No, not at all D. Yes, of course not
