A holiday is any day when people lay aside their ordinary duties and cares. The word comes from Old English. At first, holidays honored some holy events or persons. People in Great Britain and other countries speak of holidays as Americans speak of vacations.
Every nation has its special holidays. China observes New Year’s Day (January 1), May Day and National Day as legal holidays, as it was on Oct. 1, 1949 that People’s Republic of China was founded. The Chinese have long celebrated the Chinese lunar year. In the United States, congress has declared several as legal days such as New Year's Day (January1), Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day and so on. Some holidays celebrate special events in the development of a country, such as Greece’s Independence Day, Italy’s Liberation Day and India’s Independence Day.
In the United States, banks and schools usually close on a legal holiday. When such a holiday falls on Sunday, the following Monday is often observed. Schools and organizations often observe days known as traditional holidays, although schools and businesses do not close then. Those holidays include Valentine's Day and Halloween.
1.American people call “holiday” as ________.
A.festival B.day C.vacation D.event
2.Which of the following holidays has nothing to do with a country’s development?
A.China’s National Day B.America’s Independence Day
C.Italy’s Liberation Day D.Valentine’s Day
3.If a legal holiday falls on Sunday, people usually celebrate on ________.
A.Sunday B.the following Sunday
C.the following Monday D.the following Tuesday
4.What does the underlined word “observes” mean according to the text in Paragraph Two ?
A.notices B.watches C.obeys D.celebrates
Usually, it is known that nodding the head means “Yes”, and shaking the head has the opposite (相反的) meaning. But some people will probably be puzzled when they first come to India. When they talk to an Indian, he often shakes his head. They might think that the Indian does not like what he said, but on the contrary he is expressing agreement.
The Indians have a habit of shaking their heads slightly when they talk to somebody. It doesn’t mean “No”, but “Yes”. If a person doesn’t know this, it might cause misunderstanding. At one time a foreigner in Indian told his driver who was an Indian to take him to his office. The driver shook his head. The foreigner repeated his request and the driver shook his head again. At last, the foreigner shouted angrily, “Drive me to my office at once!” The driver said in a low voice, “Yes, sir,” smiling and shaking his head again at the same time.
1.Generally speaking, nodding the head means ________, and shaking the head means________ .
A.Yes; Yes B.No; Yes C.Yes; No D.No; No
2.Why did the foreigner become angry? Because ________ .
A.the Indian driver didn’t want to send him to his office
B.he misunderstood the meaning of shaking the head in India
C.he asked the driver to send him to his office, but the Indian driver didn’t say any words
D.the Indian driver asked him for a lot of money
3.What is the passage mainly about ?
A.Cultural misunderstanding. B.An Indian driver. C.A foreigner in Indian. D.Nodding the head.
American teenagers are driving less than ever before. Surveys of American teenagers show that American young people prefer chatting with their fiends online or playing games on the Internet to driving around in their cars.
For teenagers in the 50s and 60s of the 20th century, they had to have a car at an early age to show they were cool. Today, many teenagers have to choose between a car and the latest smart phones. With gas prices going up, car driving is becoming more expensive. For almost half of the people between 18 and 26, surfing the Internet is more important than owning a car. Young adults today meet their friends just through Facebook and chat, swap photos and play games together.
The golden age of the 50s and 60s of the 20th century when teenagers drove around just for fun is gone. In those days a shiny new car was something to boast about. It showed who you were. In 1978 about half of all 16-year-olds got their driver's licenses(驾驶执照)as soon as they had reached that age . In 2010 the figure dropped to only 30%.
Today driving is not as much fun as it was in the 50s and 60s of the 20th century. In the golden age car meant everything for young people. Another reason why teenagers drive less may be stricter driving tests and the fact that 16-year-olds must drive with experienced drivers over 21.
A study also shows that Americans of all ages have reduced car use , mostly because high gas prices.
1.Why did teenagers in the 50s and 60s have to buy a car?
A.To go traveling with their families. B.To play games with their friend.
C.To have more talks with their friends D.To become cool and enjoy themselves.
2.What make today’s American car sales fall down according to the last paragraph?
A.High gas prices B.Strict driving tests C.Heavy traffic D.Lack of fashion styles
3.The text is organized by comparing the different needs between American teenagers in the 50s and 60s of the 20th century and ________.
A.American teenagers in 1978 B.16-year-olds in Asia
C.today’s teenagers in America D.middle-aged Asian
There was a man. He had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn how to judge things, so he let them go and look at a pear tree that was far away.
The first son went in winter, the second in the spring, the third in the summer, the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.
The first son said the tree was ugly, bent and weak. The second son said no it was covered with green buds(新芽) and full of hope. The third son said it was filled with blossoms and they smelt so sweet and looked so beautiful. The last son disagreed with all of them, he said it was ripe and full of fruit, life and fulfillment(成就).
The man then said to his sons that they were all right, because they each had seen but only one season in the tree’s life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree or a person by only one season, and that essence of who they are — the pleasure, the joy and love from that — can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.
If you give up when it’s winter, you’ll miss the hope of your spring, the beauty of your summer, the fulfillment of your fall. Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
1.When did the youngest son go to observe the pear tree?
A.In spring B.In autumn C.In summer D.In winter
2.The underlined word " blossoms " probably means
A.Colorful flowers B.Weak trees C.Green buds D.Ripe fruit
3.What’s mainly discussed in the text?
A.Don’t judge something by one season. B.Autumn is the harvest season in a year.
C.Never give up until you get success. D.Spring is the best time to do the year’s work.
That’s the greatest gift I’ve ever received. On my 15th birthday, I was __________ when my father and mother insisted that I go on a “mystery drive” with them. I figured it must be something good, as it was my birthday. I didn’t realize exactly how happy I would be though, ___________ we pulled up in the parking lot of a huge sewing supply store. I immediately knew what was coming. Although I could not manage to ____________ my smile, I was able to compose (使平静) myself enough to walk out of the car and to the store without____________. This was the day when my family was going to open the doors to a new opportunity for me. As you might have __________ , they bought me a sewing machine. This may sound nice or some may even think it a dumb (笨的) present. I don’t only think of it as a machine, only. To me, it’s many things. For one, it’s my parents’ acceptance of my dreams and inspirations. They know that I have big plans for designing and think that I can ____________ them. Not only that, but it is the realization that my parents no longer think of me as a child with strange and unrealistic goals. They, for one of the first times in my life, ____________ me as a real adult. Plus, the knowledge that they were willing to pay a lot for the machine showed me that they____________ me. My family think that my creativity anddesigns are so unique that it’s worth it for me to get started on something real.
1.A.sorry B.proud C.surprised D.frightened
2.A.until B.after C.when D.unless
3.A.make B.lose C.catch D.control
4.A.singing B.crying C.whispering D.running
5.A.guessed B.feared C.seen D.heard
6.A.solve B.employ C.follow D.achieve
7.A.praised B.cared C.treated D.supported
8.A.ask for B.look after C.turn against D.believe in
初中生活的第一个学期即将结束，你是否结识了一些好朋友呢？假设你是Tony，你有一个好朋友叫Peter。请以“My friend”为题，利用表中的信息，将你的朋友Peter 介绍给大家。文章的开头已给出，请接着往下写。
要求:
1. 字迹工整清楚、语句通顺、语意连贯；
2. 开头已给出, 不计入总词数；
3. 文章中不得出现真实的姓名和学校名；
4. 70词左右(可适当发挥)。
Name | Peter King | Age | 14 |
Nationality (国籍) | English | School | No.3 Middle School |
Class | 2 | Grade | 7 |
School life
| hobbies: playing all kinds of sports | ||
lunch: vegetables and beef (healthy) | |||
like: geography dislike: history (boring) |
My friend
Hello! My name is Tony. I have a good friend. __________________________________
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