In Britain, the first day of the month of May is known as May Day. May day marks the end of the harsh(严酷的) winter months, welcomes the beginning of Summer, and optimistically looks forward to the bright and productive months.


For their ancestors, largely in rural areas, it was a major annual festival and was celebrated(庆祝) through out the country, especially on the first day of May with music, dancing and games.
How was May Day Celebrated in the past?


May Day began early in the morning. People went out before sunrise in order to gather flowers and plants to make their houses and villages beautiful in the belief that the vegetation spirits(神灵) would bring good luck.
A traditional May Day dance is Maypole Dancing，On May Day, people used to cut down young trees and stick them in the ground in the village to mark the arrival of summer.People danced around the tree poles in celebration of the end of winter and the start of the fine weather that would allow planting to begin. Maypoles are still a part of some
village life and on May Day the villagers dance around it.


May Day celebrations have their origins(起源) in the Roman festival of Flora, goddess(女神) of fruit and flowers, which marked the beginning of summer. So the highlight of the day was the crowning(为…加冕) of the May Queen(女皇), the human replica (模型) of Flora. By tradition she took no part in the games or dancing, but sat like a queen in a flower-decked chair to watch her 'subjects'.
Ever since 1978, for the convenience of the general public, many May Day activities have now been moved to the new May Day holiday on the first Monday of the month. This Monday is a bank holiday, a day off school and work. There are more intereting celebrations on this day.
【小题1】In the old days, most people in Britain made their living by             .
A. fishing                B. farming                 C. working in factories
【小题2】People in Britain celebrate May Day is to express their         
A. pleasure and hope       B. thanks and harvest       C. freedom and new life
【小题3】Britain’s May Day holiday is on          in 2010.
A. May 1^st               B. May 3^rd                 C. May 5^th
【小题4】What is not mentioned in this passage?
A. Special food.          B. Special custom.           C. Special activity.
【小题5】Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Only children can take part in the Maypole Dancing.
B. The queen of the UK came to watch her “subjects”.
C. Children needn’t go to school on May Day holiday now.

In the past, people who graduated from college felt proud of their academic(学业的) achievements and felt confident that their degree（学位）would help them to find a good job.

However, in the past four years the job market has changed greatly. This year’s college graduates are facing one of the worst job markets. For example, Ryan Stewart, a graduate of San Jose State University, got a degree in religious（宗教）studies, but no job prospects. He points out that many people already working are getting laid off（解雇） and don’t have jobs, so it’s even harder for new college graduates to find jobs.

Four years ago, the future looked bright for the class of 2006. There were many high-tech job chances. Graduates received many job offers, and they were able to get jobs with high salaries（薪水）and benefits such as insurance(保险) and paid vacations. However, "Times have changed and it's a new market," according to an officer of the San Jose State Career Center.

The officer says students who do find jobs started preparing two years ago. They worked during summer vacations, they have had several short-time jobs, and they’ve majored in one of the few fields that are still hot, like chemical engineering, accounting, or nursing, where average（平均的）starting salaries have actually increased over last year. Other popular fields (like information system management, computer science, and political science) have seen big declines(下降) in starting salaries.

Ryan Stewart (he had hoped to become a teacher) may go back to school in order to become a college teacher. He thinks college teaching could be a good career even in a bad economy.

In conclusion, these days a degree may not be a ticket to instant wealth for some students. For now, they can only hope the value of their degree will increase over time.

51.The underlined word in the second paragraph probably means _____.

A. skills　　　　 B. interests　　　 C. chances　　　　 D. ideas

52. Which of the following majors has the best job offers?

A. teaching　　 B. accounting　　 C. political science　　 D. computer science

53. Ryan Stewart will have to _________.

A. change his major　　　　　　 B. get a job teaching

C. go back to school　　　　　　 D. become a religious leader

54. The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means ____________.

A. the best way to get rich is not to get a college degree

B. most students with degrees will not be able to find jobs

C. having a college degree does not mean that one has money for travelling

D. a college degree does not mean that one will find a well-paid job

55. The main idea of the passage is that _________.

A. a lot of graduates are losing their jobs　

B. Ryan Stewart has been able to find a job

C. salaries in some fields have increased in the past year

D. the job market has changed greatly over the past four years