It’s the Year of the Rat!

Millions of people crowded onto trains and buses across China on Wednesday. They were hurrying home to be with their families for the country’s most important holiday, the Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival. Thursday marked the end of the Year of the Pig, and the beginning of the Year of the Rat. But for a while, it looked as if severe winter weather in some regions of China would put a deep freeze on the celebrations. Due to dangerous conditions, airlines, railways and highways across the country were forced to shut down for the past few weeks. Many travelers were worried that they would not make it home for the holidays. Luckily, the crisis started winding down just in time for some roads and railways to reopen on Lunar New Year’s Eve.

More than one billion people worldwide celebrate the Lunar New Year. In China, people from Beijing to Guangzhou enjoy a holiday. Businesses and government offices are closed. Many people go to temples to pray for good fortune for the future. The Lunar New Year is celebrated at the second new moon after the winter solstice（冬至）.

On Lunar New Year’s Eve, the Chinese celebrate with fireworks, family gatherings, and festivals. One of the most popular ways to celebrate the holiday is with the lion dance. The lion is considered a holy animal. During celebrations, dancers dressed as lions（or holding up elaborate paper lions in the air）perform to bring good luck to the people they visit at their homes or businesses. People often wear red, which symbolizes fire. Legend has it that fire can drive away bad luck. The 15-day New Year season is celebrated with firecrackers, dragon dances and visits to friends and families. The celebrations end with the Lantern Festival, when brightly colored lamps are hung in parks around China.

49. When the Spring Festival comes, trains and buses are usually crowed because________.

A. millions of people hurried to go abroad for travelling

B. millions of people are hurrying home to get together with their folks

C. at this time the transportation cost is at the lowest point

D. million of people hurried to send firecrackers to their home

50. Why were many travellers worried whether they would go home for the Year of the Rat?

A. Because a deep freeze hit some regions of China.

B. Because many transportation companies have a holiday

C. Because some roads and railways won’t reopen in a long time.

D. Because businesses and government offices are closed.

51. Where do people usually go to beg for their good luck?

A. Government offices                      B. Business offices

C. Temples                                             D. Beijing

52. In order to bring good luck to the people they visit, dancers dress themselves________.

A. as lions to have a dance  　　B. as tigers to have a dance

C. as rats to have a dance   　　D. as cats to have a dance

 

　　Rats eat our food or make it so dirty that it isn't fit for people at all. That's why people often kill them by laying down poison. After a day or two, they find the poison still there. The rats haven't touched it, even though it is near the food which they eat. People think they must be clever and cunning. Some scientists have been trying to find the best way to poison rats. They have watched to see just what a rat does day and night. They have found out that rats aren't so clever. They are just very shy.

　　Rats usually live in holes. They run from these holes to the places where they eat and drink. They have special paths on which they travel each time. So they know their paths quite well.

　　If anything new, such as stone or wood, is put in the path, the rats won't go near it at first as they are too frightened. It will take them many days to get over the fear. They are also frightened to go near a place that they know, where something has been taken away. If a path goes around a rock, the rats follow the same path around the rock each time. If the rock is taken away, they will still run round the place where the rock was! They won't cross the empty place, which is now open to them, even though it would be quicker.

　　Rats will always keep away from anything unusual to them. That's why they won't eat poison on the first or second night. They usually won't go anywhere near it for about four days until they get used to being there. Even then they only eat a little at a time.

　　If people want to kill rats with poison, all they have to do is to leave it out for a few days. Once the rats have got used to it, they will eat it and die.

　　1．This passage mainly tells us

　　　　A. how a rat destroys our food

　　　　B. how to poison a rat

　　　　C. what's a rat's habit

　　　　D. poisoning a rat is not easy

　　

　　2．How does the writer feel about rats?

　　　　A. They are clever and cunning.

　　　　B. They are the most dangerous enemy.

　　　　C. They are smart and shy.

　　　　D. It's easy for them to get close to an unknown object.

　　

　　3．________ rats have special paths to travel each time.

　　　　A. Because they live in holes most of the time

　　　　B. To find more food to eat and water to drink

　　　　C. In order not to eat anything poisonous

　　　　D. To protect themselves

　　

　　4．If you want to kill a rat, ________.

　　　　A. you should make it get used to the poison

　　　　B. you should drive it out of the hole

　　　　C. you should place a rock on the path along which it runs

　　　　D. you should make it get over the fear to cross the empty place

 

阅读理解

Native Tongue

　　At first Kate thought the Romanian girl could not speak and understand English. Nadia would not reply to anything Kate said. Kate was in charge of showing Nadia around on her first day at Buckminster Grade School. Kate could not figure out why the school had put Nadia in a class where she could not understand what the people were saying.

　　“Why did they do this?”Kate wondered aloud. “I mean, you can't learn if you can't understand the teacher.”

　　Nadia's voice was a whisper, “I understand English. I will learn.” Nadia's English was perfect.

　　Kate was perplexed. She couldn't understand why Nadia did not like to speak. Then she realized that moving to a new country probably wasn't the easiest thing to do. There were hundreds of unfamiliar and unusual think to learn —-all at the same time.

　　Nadia nodded quickly. In a quiet voice she replied, “Many things people say, I do rat understand. I have been speaking English and Romanian all my life, but I do not know what some children are saying. For example, yesterday a boy asked if I could help him find the USB port on a thin black box he was carrying. Isn't a port a place for ships? It made no sense to me.”“Don't worry. ”said Kate. “You'll figure everything out in time. You see, that thin black box was a computer. A USB is a place where you can connect other machines to a computer. ”

　　Nadia and Kate were quiet after that. They took notes while the teacher gave a maths lesson . To Kate's surprise , Nadia put up her hand and offered to answer questions at the blackboard.

　　Nadia handled every question the teacher gave her. Sane of the questions were really difficult, and no one understood what was going on except Nadia and the teacher. When the teacher-said that Nadia answered everything correctly, the whole class clapped their hands.

　　Nadia was smiling when she sat back down next to Kate. “Some things,”she said in a normal voice, “are the same all over the world.”

1．At the beginning of Nadia's first day at school , she was ________.

[　　]

2．The underlined word “perplexed” probably means ________.

[　　]

3．We can infer from the passage that ________.

[　　]

A．Nadia did not like Kate

B．Nadia had lived by the sea before

C．Nadia had never seen a computer before

D．Nadia spoke in a soft voice out of politeness

4．Which of the following statements is true?

[　　]

A．Nadia was better at maths than other students.

B．Nadia found some of the maths questions difficult.

C．Nadia was encouraged to answer questions in class.

D．Nadia understood the maths teacher better than other teachers.

5．What is the message of the story?

[　　]

A．Talking about something familiar gives you confidence in communication.

B．Answering questions in class makes you better understood by classmates.

C．Language plays an important role in communication between cultures.

D．Mathematics helps to improve communication between cultures.

It’s the Year of the Rat!

Millions of people crowded onto trains and buses across China on Wednesday. They were hurrying home to be with their families for the country’s most important holiday, the Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival. Thursday marked the end of the Year of the Pig, and the beginning of the Year of the Rat. But for a while, it looked as if severe winter weather in some regions of China would put a deep freeze on the celebrations. Due to dangerous conditions, airlines, railways and highways across the country were forced to shut down for the past few weeks. Many travelers were worried that they would not make it home for the holidays. Luckily, the crisis started winding down just in time for some roads and railways to reopen on Lunar New Year’s Eve.

More than one billion people worldwide celebrate the Lunar New Year. In China, people from Beijing to Guangzhou enjoy a holiday. Businesses and government offices are closed. Many people go to temples to pray for good fortune for the future. The Lunar New Year is celebrated at the second new moon after the winter solstice（冬至）.

On Lunar New Year’s Eve, the Chinese celebrate with fireworks, family gatherings, and festivals. One of the most popular ways to celebrate the holiday is with the lion dance. The lion is considered a holy animal. During celebrations, dancers dressed as lions（or holding up elaborate paper lions in the air） perform to bring good luck to the people they visit at their homes or businesses. People often wear red, which symbolizes fire. Legend has it that fire can drive away bad luck. The 15-day New Year season is celebrated with firecrackers, dragon dances and visits to friends and families. The celebrations end with the Lantern Festival, when brightly colored lamps are hung in parks around China.

44. When the Spring Festival comes, trains and buses are usually crowed because________.

A. millions of people hurried to go abroad for travelling

B. millions of people are hurrying home to get together with their folks

C. at this time the transportation cost is at the lowest point

D. millions of people hurried to send firecrackers to their home

45. Why were many travellers worried whether they would go home for the Year of the Rat?

A. Because a deep freeze hit some regions of China.

B. Because many transportation companies have a holiday.

C. Because some roads and railways won’t reopen in a long time.

D. Because businesses and government offices are closed.

46. Where do people usually go to beg for their good luck?

A. Government offices                B. Business offices

C. Temples                                 D. Beijing

47. In order to bring good luck to the people they visit, dancers dress themselves________.

A. as lions to have a dance  　　B. as tigers to have a dance

C. as rats to have a dance   　　D. as cats to have a dance

It’s the Year of the Rat!

Millions of people crowded onto trains and buses across China on Wednesday. They were hurrying home to be with their families for the country’s most important holiday, the Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival. Thursday marked the end of the Year of the Pig, and the beginning of the Year of the Rat. But for a while, it looked as if severe winter weather in some regions of China would put a deep freeze on the celebrations. Due to dangerous conditions, airlines, railways and highways across the country were forced to shut down for the past few weeks. Many travelers were worried that they would not make it home for the holidays. Luckily, the crisis started winding down just in time for some roads and railways to reopen on Lunar New Year’s Eve.

More than one billion people worldwide celebrate the Lunar New Year. In China, people from Beijing to Guangzhou enjoy a holiday. Businesses and government offices are closed. Many people go to temples to pray for good fortune for the future. The Lunar New Year is celebrated at the second new moon after the winter solstice（冬至）.

On Lunar New Year’s Eve, the Chinese celebrate with fireworks, family gatherings, and festivals. One of the most popular ways to celebrate the holiday is with the lion dance. The lion is considered a holy animal. During celebrations, dancers dressed as lions（or holding up elaborate paper lions in the air）perform to bring good luck to the people they visit at their homes or businesses. People often wear red, which symbolizes fire. Legend has it that fire can drive away bad luck. The 15-day New Year season is celebrated with firecrackers, dragon dances and visits to friends and families. The celebrations end with the Lantern Festival, when brightly colored lamps are hung in parks around China.

49. When the Spring Festival comes, trains and buses are usually crowed because________.

A. millions of people hurried to go abroad for travelling

B. millions of people are hurrying home to get together with their folks

C. at this time the transportation cost is at the lowest point

D. million of people hurried to send firecrackers to their home

50. Why were many travellers worried whether they would go home for the Year of the Rat?

A. Because a deep freeze hit some regions of China.

B. Because many transportation companies have a holiday

C. Because some roads and railways won’t reopen in a long time.

D. Because businesses and government offices are closed.

51. Where do people usually go to beg for their good luck?

A. Government offices                B. Business offices

C. Temples                                 D. Beijing

52. In order to bring good luck to the people they visit, dancers dress themselves________.

A. as lions to have a dance  　　B. as tigers to have a dance

C. as rats to have a dance   　　D. as cats to have a dance