Wall Street is a famous street in New York City. It got its name from the wooden wall that used to stand where the street now runs. The wall was built in the 1600s. New York was then a Dutch city set up by people coming from Holland in Europe: it was called Amsterdam. The American Indians were not always friends of the Dutch; nor were the English. So the Dutch built the wooden wall to protect their town. The wall is gone now. But Wall Street reminds the people of New York of the Dutch who settled（定居）there. 

(1) In New York City there is a________.

[　　]

A．crowded street called Dutch

B．famous wooden wall

C．busy river which runs through the wall

D．well-known street called Wall Street

(2) Who built the wooden wall?

[　　]

A．The Americans.	B．The Europeans.
C．The Indians.	D．The English people.

(3) How old is Wall Street? It's ________.

[　　]

A．about 400 years old.	B．more than 600 years old.
C．only 200 years old.	D．as old as London.

(4) In the seventeenth century ________.

[　　]

A．the American Indians were always friendly to the Dutch

B．the Englishmen in New York were kind to the Dutch all the time

C．sometimes there was trouble between the Dutch and the other peoples in the city

D．all the foreigners were welcome in New York City

(5) What do you know about Amsterdam? It's ________.

[　　]

A．the capital of Holland

B．one of the biggest cities of America

C．a British general

D．a beautiful European country

　　People celebrate (庆祝) birthdays in almost every country on Earth. And they celebrate them in many different ways.

　　In China and in Japan, for example, the arrival of the New Year is more important than a person's birthday. So everyone adds a year to their ages on New Year's Day, instead of on their birthdays.

　　In Brazil, the special birthday food isn't cake, but special candies. In China, it's long noodles－for long life. In Iceland, people have pancakes with candies rolled inside them on birthdays.

　　In Britain, a birthday is an all-day celebration. At school, the birthday child is lifted up and “bumped” by his classmates. This means the child is lifted by the feet and arms and bumped to the ground, once for each year and once for good growth. In Israel, the same custom (风俗) is followed, except the birthday person is lifted and lowered while sitting in a chair.

　　In Holland, children not only get presents, but they give things out, too. They give cakes, cookies and candies to their classmates and teachers on their birthday.

　　In Mexico, it's good luck to give birthday greetings as early in the day as possible. So it's usual for the birthday child to be woken up at mid-night by friends singing birthday songs.

　　In India, birthday celebrations also begin before dawn (黎明) . Prayers (祈祷) and blessings must be said before morning comes.

　　In Thailand, two tall candles are lighted the night before a birthday. One is as tall as the birthday person. If it goes out early, it's bad luck. Another custom of Thailand is that they buy live (活的) fish and birds for the birthday person and then the birthday person frees the animals, and it brings good luck.

　　In Nigeria, everyone in a certain age group celebrate their birthdays together, on a certain day.

　　In many countries birthday customs are changing. Old customs are giving way to western style birthdays, with candle-topped cakes. But one thing never changes－birthdays are special days for everyone!

1．It's custom to lift and lower the birthday person in a chair in ________ .

[　　]

2．In Mexico the birthday greetings are usually given at mid-night

because ________ .

[　　]

A．birthday celebrations must begin before dawn

B．prayers must be said before dawn

C．the birthday person must be woken up at mid-night

D．it will bring good things to the birthday person

3．According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

[　　]

A．In Thailand people give fish and birds to the birthdays person as presents.

B．In Holland people give presents to unbirthday persons.

C．In Nigeria people who were born in the same period (期间) may celebrate their birthdays on the same day.

D．In Thailand a candle will be lighted on the birthday night.

4．How many countries are mentioned (提及) in this passage?

[　　]

China and the Netherlands (荷兰) are long-time friends. The Netherlands is more than 41,500 square kilometres in area. It is a bit larger than the size of Taiwan, China.
The Netherlands is rich in culture and art. It is home of many great artists, for example, Vincent van Gogh. Besides fine art, the Netherlands is also called the country of tulips (郁金香). It has the world’s largest tulip garden: Keukenhof garden.
Dutch people are very hard-working. There’s a saying: “God made the Earth, but the Dutch made Holland.” More than a quarter of the country is below sea level. So Dutch people build many dams (水坝) to protect the country from flooding. They have created almost one sixth of the country from seas and rivers!
Did you know?
◆ Rubber ducks are popular around the world. Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman created it in 2007. The yellow duck is 26 metres high.
◆ Wooden clogs (木底鞋) are traditional shoes in the Netherlands. They make good gifts for tourists.
◆ In the Netherlands, it is impolite to start eating at once. Dutch people will sometimes say “delicious” before eating.
◆ Like the UK, the Netherlands also has
kings and queens.
【小题1】Taiwan, China is 　　　 than the Netherlands in area.

A．a bit smaller

B．much larger

C．much smaller

D．a little larger

【小题2】Paragraph 3 mainly tells us about 　　　.

A．hard-working Dutch people

B．culture in the Netherlands

C．Dutch artists

D．size of the Netherlands

【小题3】What is not talked about in the reading?

A．Table manners.

B．Artists.

C．Weather.

D．Tulips.

【小题4】About 　　　 of the Netherlands is created from the seas and rivers.

A．16%

B．25%

C．60%

D．75%

【小题5】Which is NOT TRUE about the Netherlands?

A．China and the Netherlands have been neighouring countries for a long time.

B．Keukenhof garden is famous for tulips.

C．The Dutch may give foreign friends wooden clogs as small presents.

D．In the Netherlands, it’s good manners to praise (称赞) the food before eating.