When I spent Christmas away from home in Europe for the first time, I was only 14 and it was absolutely terrible. I am now married and live in the US. So there is little possibility for me to go home for Christmas. Now I am able to get through Christmas with some moments of joy:
First, you are advised to search your area for stores that carry items from your home country or town. Buy food, candles and some other things that mean something to you.
Hold on to the traditions from your home that you think are important even if other people think they are stupid. But keep in mind to be open for new traditions from wherever you might be, because those traditions are as important to those people around you as yours are to you. For me that includes celebrating Christmas on the 24th.
Call, write Christmas cards, buy gifts and mail them to loved ones, just as if you were there. If you try to pretend (假装) as if the holiday doesn't exist, you are just going to make it worse.
Introduce your traditions to your loved ones, especially your kids. It will only enrich their celebration of the holiday to have some unique (独一无二的) traditions in their home. Little by little it will become their tradition and it’s fun for them to try something new.
Find clubs, churches or organizations that are from your home country. Chances are that they will have some celebration with some of your traditions which you can join in.
Food is one of the most important factors in any kind of tradition. Find the recipe (食谱) of that cake your grandmother used and make it your tradition to bake that particular cake.
Call up your parents and get them to send you some of your favorite childhood ornaments (装饰品) for your tree.
Pay attention to new traditions, talk to your family about which ones you want to make your own and stick with them.
If you are far away from home, Christmas can never be the same as you experienced it before, but it is important to remember these traditions while appreciating the new ones. Keep an open mind and find a compromise between old and new traditions.
1.The author spent his 14th Christmas ___________.
A. unpleasantly in the US B. joyfully in the US
C. unpleasantly in Europe D. joyfully in Europe
2.Why does the author advise people to hunt in some special stores?
A. Because people can buy some discounted goods there.
B. Because people can feel less homesick there.
C. Because it's an old Christmas tradition.
D. Because they offer goods from the hometown of the people.
3.Which of the following statements does the author agree with?
A. It's great for children to have some unique traditions.
B. People should join in all kinds of clubs to celebrate Christmas.
C. People should give up traditions which are stupid in other people's eyes.
D. It is popular to celebrate Christmas on the 24th around the world.
4.The writer suggests giving a call to parents on Christmas mainly to __________.
A. express love to them
B. follow the tradition
C. ask for some ornaments
D. set an example for children
Welcome to our idiom (习语) corner!
1.Picture _____ can be chosen to express “to do something without thinking”.
2.We can’t believe Robert won this watch. He’s really _______.
A. a walking man B. a trigger C. a dark horse D. an egg
3.The Chinese meaning to the idiom “to walk on air” is probably “________”.
A. 一无所有 B. 欢天喜地 C. 愁眉苦脸 D. 不假思索
4.The writer didn’t use _______ to help the readers understand the idioms above.
A. explanations (解释) B. pictures C. examples D. results
Foods that are well known to you may not be familiar to people from different places around the world. Tourists and travelers often get to try some unfamiliar food. That is part of the fun of traveling. Here are four people’s experiences with foreign food.
David King is a Chinese student in France. “I never had cheese or even milk before I came to France. Cows are seldom seen in my part of China. So there is no milk or milk products. I drank some milk when I first arrived in France. I hated it! I tried cheese, too, but I didn’t like it. I love ice cream, though that’s made from milk.” |
Birgit is from Sweden. She traveled to Australia on vocation. “I was in a restaurant that was special in fish. I heard some other people order flake, so I ordered some, too. It was delicious! Later, I learned that flakes is an Australian name for shark. Now, whenever I see a new food, I try it on purpose. You know why? I remember how much I enjoyed flake.” |
Chandra is a dentist in Texas. She is from India. “ I’m afraid to try new foods because maybe there is beef in them. I’m a Hindu (印度教信徒) and my religion (信仰) stops me from eating meat from the cow. That’s why I can’t eat hamburgers or noodles with meatballs.” |
Nathan is from the United States. He taught for a year in China. “My friend gave me some 100-year-old eggs to eat. I didn’t like their appearance at all. The eggs were green inside, but my friends said the color was normal. Chinese people put something on fresh eggs. Then they put them in the earth for three months. So the eggs weren’t really very old. Even so, I didn’t want to touch them.” |
1.Chandra is afraid to try new foods because_________.
A. she can’t eat food with beef
B. she doesn’t like their appearance
C. she doesn’t like foreign food
D. she doesn’t need any food at all
2.Nathan worked as _______ in China for a year.
A. a worker B. a dentist
C. a teacher D. a student
3.The passage tells us that ___________.
A. David King often drinks milk
B. flake and shark are the same fish
C. a Hindu eats meat from the cow
D. the egg is put in the earth for a hundred years
先通读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从后面各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出可以填入相应空白处的最佳答案。
Mr. Evans lived in a city. He was a math _______ three years ago. He taught well and his students _______ him. So he decided to work in the middle school all his life. But a terrible accident _________ his life.
One spring he took his class to _________ a place of interest. The children saw a lot of _________ things and had a good time there. But on their way to school, their _______was hit by a truck because the young driver was drunk. Five students _______ and more than half the students were _________ in the accident. He didn’t know how it had happened and was very _________it and after he came out of hospital, he left school and became a ________. He tried his best to stop the drivers from breaking the traffic laws(交通规则). He worked hard and was strict with the drivers. So they were afraid of him.
One afternoon it was very hot. Mr. Evans was ________. He was standing at the crossing and watching the traffic. Suddenly he saw a car rushing the crossing. __________ ran so fast that it almost hit a man ________ a bike. He stopped it at once and saw a girl in it.“ ________ your license (执照) to me, Madam,” said Mr. Evans.
The girl handed her bag to him and said, “Please look for it in the bag ________. I can’t see anything without glasses.”
1.A. worker B. teacher C. doctor D. farmer
2.A. liked B. wished C. helped D. answered
3.A. hit B. won C. lost D. changed
4.A. build B. break C. visit D. find
5.A. terrible B. dangerous C. safe D. interesting
6.A. bus B. train C. car D. ship
7.A. left B. lived C. died D. fell
8.A. surprised B. hurt C. locked D. unusual
9.A. sad about B. afraid of C. interested in D. worried about
10.A. shopkeeper B. policeman C. cleaner D. driver
11.A. at home B. in the office C. at work D. at school
12.A. He B. She C. They D. It
13.A. on B. in C. by D. with
14.A. Send B. Sell C. Show D. Lend
15.A. you B. I C. yourself D. Myself
--- This kind of watch is much _____ today than last month. Would you like to have one?
--- Really? I’ll take one.
A. the most expensive B. the cheapest
C. more expensive D. cheaper
--- I like Super Brain very much. Do you know ______ on show?
--- At 10:00 every Friday evening. It’s a good program to make science popular.
A. where it is B. where is it
C. when it is D. when is it
