Festivals and celebrations
Festivals and celebrations of all kinds 1.(hold) since ancient times. Ancient people held festivals and celebrations 2.(celebrate) the end of cold weather, planting in spring and harvest in autumn. Today’s festivals have many 3.(origin), some religious, some seasonal, and some for special people or events.
Some festivals are in memory of the ancestors, 4.might return either to help 5. to do harm. On the Day of the Dead in Mexico, people eat food in the shape of skulls and cakes 6. “bones” on them. The Western holiday Halloween is now a children’s festival, 7. they can dress up and ask for sweets. People hold festivals to honor famous people. Columbus Day is in memory of the 8.(arrive) of Christopher Columbus in the New World. During harvest and thanksgiving festivals, people are grateful because their food is gathered for the winter and the 9.(agriculture) work is over. The Spring Festival in China is 10. energetic and important festival.
Rachel lived outside Seattle and always wanted to help others when young. At age 5, she learned about an organization named Locks of Love which______ hair donations(捐赠) to make wigs (假发) for children who have ______their own hair because of cancer or other diseases. Rachel then asked to have her long hair ______ and sent to it.
Then when she was 8, her school began ______ money to build wells in Africa. When she learned that other children had no clean ______, Rachel was shocked. So she asked her parents to ______ holding her birthday party. In place of ______, she asked her friends to ______ $9 each to the project in Africa.
Rachel’s ninth birthday was on June 12, and she had _____ a birthday page on the Internet with a goal of $300. ______, Rachel was able to raise only $220 — which had left her just a bit ______.
On July 20, Rachel was ______ injured in a traffic accident. That was a terrible shock to her friends, who wanted to find some way of showing ______. They began donating on Rachel’s birthday page. Donations ______ her $300 goal quickly, and kept rising.
When it was ______ that Rachel would never recover, her parents donated her hair a final time to Locks of Love, and her organs (器官) to other children. Word ______ about Rachel’s story.
More ______ was being raised. The total donations soon topped $100,000, then $300,000. ______ others, I was also moved and donated. Until now more than $850,000 has been raised from all over the world, ______ donations from Africans moved by the little American girl who ______ their continent.
1.A. sells B. uses C. buys D. borrows
2.A. washed B. worn C. lost D. pulled
3.A. cut B. tied C. brushed D. dried
4.A. raising B. spending C. wasting D. earning
5.A. air B. paper C. room D. water
6.A. stop B. enjoy C. practise D. start
7.A. time B. hair C. games D. presents
8.A. give B. owe C. serve D. award
9.A. turn up B. set up C. picked up D. backed up
10.A. Besides B. So C. However D. Therefore
11.A. excited B. relaxed C. tired D. disappointed
12.A. unluckily B. uncertainly C. impossibly D. unfairly
13.A. courage B. support C. interest D. power
14.A. gained B. found C. passed D. allowed
15.A. clear B. possible C. necessary D. proper
16.A. disappeared B. changed C. ended D. spread
17.A. evidence B. money C. advice D. doubt
18.A. From B. For C. Like D. Without
19.A. saving B. including C. sending D. costing
20.A. cared about B. looked for C. belonged to D. relied on
Today, we will talk about diet and weight loss. Exercise is important if you want to get in good shape. To have a perfect body, someone go to extremes to lose weight. 1.
In the weight loss industry, there is never a lack of ideas about how to lose weight. Consider the “Sleeping Beauty diet,” where you sleep your way to weight loss. You cannot eat if you are sleeping, or so the theory goes.
2. The tapeworm (绦虫) is said to help people lose weight by eating the food that is stored in their stomach. But first you have to be willing to eat the little worm. This may be more trouble than many people want.
Strange, new diets and exercise programs arrive on the market every day. 3. The weight loss industry takes in billions of dollars each year, and it is growing.
Experts say there is no single diet plan that works best for everyone. Many experts agree on one thing: you must use or burn off more calories than you take in to lose weight. When you eat more calories than your body needs, it stores that extra energy as fat.
4. A pound of fat is equal to about 453 grams or 3,500 calories. To lose that fat in a week, you have to burn off at least that amount in calories or eat that much less.
5. Eat fewer calories and increase physical activity so that you burn off more.
A. Then there is the tapeworm diet.
B. Calories are a measure of energy in food.
C. But no plan has come out as a clear winner.
D. The best thing to do is to combine both ideas.
E. These lead to a big industry — weight loss industry.
F. But experts say exercise alone is not enough if your goal is to lose weight.
G. Each one promises to help people lose weight and get a beautiful body.
“One thing I enjoy about my job is that I can work on something that is actually active,” says Game McGimsey, an American volcanologist (火山学家). Part of his job includes keeping an eye on Alaska's many active volcanoes and giving people a heads-up when a volcano might erupt (喷发).
Like most jobs in the sciences, volcanology requires a lot of education. McGimsey received an undergraduate degree in geology at the University of North Carolina, then landed an internship (实习期) with a geologist at the USGS (美国地质勘探局) whose area of expertise was volcanoes. After earning a graduate degree at the University of Colorado, McGimsey accepted a job with the USGS and has been with the Alaska Volcano Observatory for 25 years.
Volcanoes can influence the world in ways we might not think about. For example, on Dec. 15, 1989, a 747 jetliner (a large airplane) flew through a thick ash (灰) cloud produced by Mount Redoubt, an Alaskan volcano that hadn't erupted in 25 years. The ash caused all four engines to die, and the plane's electronics went dead.
“The plane was within several thousand feet of flying into the mountains below when the pilots got a couple of the engines restarted and landed safely in Anchorage,” McGimsey says. It cost nearly $80 million to repair the damage to the plane.
Such situations show just how dangerous volcanoes can be. However, volcanologists know the risks and are prepared to protect themselves.
“There is certainly a higher danger level in volcanology than some other jobs,” McGimsey admits. “We understand how serious the danger is, and we don't like taking unnecessary chances. We avoid getting too close to an erupting volcano, because it's not worth injury or death simply to get a rock or a photograph.”
1.Before working for the USGS, McGimsey _____.
A. had been a pilot for 25 years
B. knew nothing about the organization
C. had taught at the University of North Carolina
D. had studied at the University of Colorado
2.On Dec. 15, 1989, a 747 jetliner _____.
A. had all its engines restarted
B. flew into a volcano in Europe
C. survived an air accident luckily
D. disappeared in a huge ash cloud
3.What McGimsey says in the last paragraph shows his _____.
A. pride B. carefulness
C. loneliness D. doubt
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Game McGimsey: a man of his word
B. Game McGimsey: a volcano watcher
C. The eruption of Mount Redoubt
D. Lost land of the volcano
In Britain, many theatres put on shows for children at Christmas and many theatres have a theatre-in-education team working there. This team, made up of actors and teachers, writes plays for children, usually performing them in schools. They do different plays for different age groups and the children often take part in the play in some way.
Pantomime is a special kind of Christmas show for children. It is loved by people and also allows the audience (观众) to join in. “Pantomime” was the name of the Roman actor who performed shows without speaking — this is where the English word “mime” comes from.
A pantomime is always based on a well-known children's story. But there are always certain types of characters in the show and certain situations and events. For example, a pantomime must always include a hero, known as the “principal boy” and this principal boy is always played by a pretty girl wearing a short costume (服装). Then there is the comic older woman, known as the “dame” who is played by a man. There is always a group of men and women who sing and dance and often there is a pantomime horse. The horse is played by two men who form the “front” and “back” ends inside a “horse” costume. It is funny and it usually kicks the dame when she isn't looking.
Members of the audience have to shout a warning to one of the characters and argue with the character (usually the dame) when she does not believe them. When she shouts, “Oh no, it isn't,” the audience always responds with “Oh yes, it is!” The audience also learns and sings a simple song and a few children are sometimes invited to help one of the characters during the show.
1.The theatre-in-education teams _____.
A. are made up of famous local actors
B. write plays for the same age group
C. often give plays in their own theatres
D. usually allow children to join in a play
2.According to the text, a pantomime _____.
A. is designed to make people laugh
B. is made up of three characters
C. is especially popular with grown-ups
D. can be watched all year round in Britain
3.When the dame says, “Yes, it is”, the audience should _____.
A. follow her and sing
B. stand up and dance
C. repeat what she says
D. disagree with her loudly
With a growing number of people in San Francisco choosing not to own a car, German carmaking company BMW has decided to branch out into car-sharing services with 70 cars spread around the city, first in 14 locations, with a further 100 being added gradually.
“This is not an A-to-A service — it is A-to-B,” says Richard Steinberg, chief executive of the DriveNow scheme (方案), pointing out that members can pick up a car downtown for the half-hour drive to the airport for only $12, compared with about $40-50 for a taxi.
Whether that is possible in real life depends on traffic, of course. A midmorning drive from Union Square down Highway 101 to the airport takes just 22 minutes; however, driving back during the rush hour takes twice as long.
Most of the cars that are stuck in San Francisco's traffic jams (交通阻塞) are giving off all sorts of harmful gas. But not DriveNow's BMW ActiveE cars.
“All the cars in San Francisco are electric,” Mr Steinberg says.
In San Francisco, handing back the car to DriveNow is easy — just pick one of its drop-off points, park and walk away. There are no forms to fill in, no time-consuming (耗时的) rules.
Several other carmakers and other players within the motor industry are experimenting with similar schemes, for example Daimler's Car2go scheme, which is operated in many cities around the world.
“We picture a future where car-sharing members outnumber car owners in big cities around the world,” says Car2go spoke
sman Andreas Leo.
Franck Leveque, from company Frost & Sullivan, agrees.
“Car sharing is growing at a pace we have not seen before,” he says. “By 2020 we believe there will be 15 million members of car-sharing schemes in Europe alone, with 140,000 vehicles in operation.”
1.What does the underlined part “branch out into” probably mean?
A. Start offering. B. Stop improving.
C. Make use of. D. Take control of.
2.The DriveNow scheme _____.
A. works better in rush-hour traffic
B. makes city driving less dangerous
C. encourages people to buy a cheap car
D. allows drivers to pay money to use a car
3.What's special about BMW ActiveE cars?
A. They drive much faster than other cars.
B. They never get stuck in heavy traffic.
C. They don't harm the environment.
D. They need less gas to run.
4.What does Franck think of the future of car sharing?
A. Worrying. B. Hopeful.
C. Uncertain. D. Disappointing.
