What does Thanksgiving mean to you? I hear one boy say, “It means a big dinner.” I think we all agree with him. Who does not welcome and enjoy a good dinner! I hear Mary say, “Thanksgiving means a day off from school.” I guess you are right too. School is not such a charming place that girls and boys are unwilling to have an occasional holiday.
Now I am going to ask some of the older people what the day means to them. There is a young woman. She is a stenographer (速记员). She says, “Thanksgiving means a day away from the office. I am at the office every day except Sunday, and I do appreciate, now and then, a day that is really my own.” Yonder is a traveling salesman. What does Thanksgiving mean to you? He says, “It means a day at home. Last year I spent one hundred and sixty-nine nights away from home. I have three children. I should like to see them every day. There are times when many days pass and I do not see them. Thanksgiving week I plan to be at home.”
There are others I could ask. Each has his answer. But Thanksgiving has a special meaning for us. It is the Harvest time. I have here an apple. Isn’t this a beautiful apple? What color! Who mixed the paints, who handled the brush to give such color to this apple? God. He, in his infinite love and wisdom, has provided, through the unfailing laws of nature, for the growth, sweetness, coloring and beautifying of all the products of the fields. This apple is but one of many kinds of fruits.
Praise, then, is the great meaning of Thanksgiving. God, our heavenly Father, sends us every good gift. From his generous hand come our daily and nightly mercies. We should praise him every day. But the day for the united chorus of praise is Thanksgiving.
1.The first two paragraphs want to tell us .
A. people have different ways to celebrate Thanksgiving
B. Thanksgiving has a different meaning for different people
C. how people celebrate their Thanksgiving
D. what Thanksgiving really means to most people
2.If the writer continued to ask an orphan what Thanksgiving means to him, he would most probably say, “It means ”.
A. a longer holiday at home
B. a delicious dinner with his friends
C. a beautiful song from a famous singer
D. a good day together with his parents
3.In the writer’s opinion, on Thanksgiving everyone should feel .
A. grateful for what they have
B. satisfied with what God gave us
C. amazed at how perfect an apple is
D. excited about how differently Thanksgiving means
That old saying “Never say never” came to mind when I read that Harper Lee, the author of the beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has a new book coming out in July, 2015—55 years after Mockingbird was published! The very private Ms. Lee had never followed up her highly praised first book, with a second novel. Instead, she’s following it up with a first novel. Confused? So was I! Allow me to explain.
Go Set a Watchman, was actually written before that classic volume. In the mid-1950s, Lee had completed Watchman, which features Scout Finch as a young woman from Alabama living in New York. The story follows Scout as she returns to visit her father, Atticus, the lawyer who fought racial injustice in Mockingbird.
But as Lee herself put it in a recent announcement through her publisher, “my editor, who was taken by the flashback (倒叙) to Scout’s childhood, persuaded me to write a novel from the point of view of the young Scout. I was a first-time writer, so I did as I was told.” That book was, of course, To Kill a Mockingbird, and after it was released to great praise, Lee never returned to Go Set a Watchman. In fact, that earlier work was considered lost until Lee’s lawyer found a manuscript (手稿) of it.
“After much thought and hesitation I considered it worthy of publication.” said Lee. “I am amazed that this will now be published after all these years.” So the book that gave birth to To Kill a Mockingbird will now serve as its sequel (续集).
It’s safe to say that, decades after the publication of Mockingbird, millions of readers who were so touched by Ms. Lee’s second novel will be counting the days until the release of her first one.
1.When was Mockingbird published according to the text?
A. In 1950. B. In 1960.
C. In 1970. D. In 1980.
2.What can we know about the book of Watchman?
A. Atticus found a manuscript of the writer.
B. Atticus was a lawyer fighting racial injustice.
C. Scout Finch got to Alabama to see Atticus.
D. Scout Finch lost one of Atticus’ manuscripts.
3.What does “the book” in the fourth paragraph refer to in the writer’s opinion?
A. To Kill a Mockingbird. B. Go Set a Watchman.
C. The classic volume. D. Ms. Lee’s second novel.
4.The text mainly talks about .
A. why Ms. Lee’s first novel will become her second one
B. how Ms. Lee’s first novel differs from her second one
C. when Go Set a Watchman was actually written
D. what Ms. Lee’s two great novels really deal with
He will be treated as an official of the senior ____________.
A. post B. rank
C. line D. status
（题文）Peter phoned to say they had arrived safely, so put your mind ______
A. with ease B. by heart
C. in peace D. at ease
_____ into English, the sentence was found to have an entirely different word order.
A. Translated B. Translating
C. To translate D. Having translated
（题文）Don’t run ____in the classroom.It may disturb other students.
A. more or less B. up and down
C. sooner or later D. to and from
