主题二 节日与庆祝

Ⅰ. 阅读理解

Edinburgh is the worlds“festival city”. The city holds 12 festivals throughout theyear， half of which are celebrated during the months of July and August. Hundreds of thousandsof people visit the Scottish capital during the summer to enjoy the very best of art andliterature. Below are some of the events you can enjoy.

The Edinburgh International Festival

This is the original Edinburgh festival， which began in 1947. Actors， musicians， dancersand opera singers from all over the world perform for large audiences. You need to buytickets for most of the festivals events， which take place in theaters around the city.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe

This is the largest art festival in the world，with thousands of performances. Anyonecan perform at the festival， and over 20，000 artists can take part. Go to the Royal Mile， oneof Edinburghs main streets， to watch performers such as magicians， acrobats （杂技演员），and comedians.

You will meet various performance artists walking from one side of the city to the otherduring this festival season. However， it can get very busy， as thousands of tourists and localpeople will fill the city streets to enjoy the shows.

The Edinburgh International Book Festival

Beginning in 1983， this is the largest book festival in the world and takes place everyyear in Charlotte Square Gardens in the center of Edinburgh. There are over 700 events forchildren and adults. You can meet many authors， talk to them， ask them to sign a book orlisten to them talking about their stories.

The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

Music lovers come to this festival to enjoy musical performances all over the city. Artistsperform street theater， dance and circus shows in amazing costumes. Everyone can enjoythe music and dance performances.

1. Which festival of Edinburgh will be enjoyed by payment？

A. The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival.

B. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

C. The Edinburgh International Festival.

D. The Edinburgh International Book Festival.

2. Tommy who loves reading is most likely to go to .

A. the Royal Mile

B. streets all over the city

C. theaters around the city

D. Charlotte Square Gardens

3. Which performance will be excluded at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival？

A. Circus shows. B. Magic shows.

C. Street theater. D. Dance performances.

4. Where is this text most likely to be taken from？

A. A tourism brochure about Edinburgh.

B. A book about the history of Edinburgh.

C. A magazine introducing theaters in Edinburgh.

D. A poster to promote Edinburghs musical culture.

Ⅱ. 补全信息

The Lantern Festival， a traditional Chinese festival， is celebrated on the 15th day ofthe first lunar month. And it fell on Sunday this year. 1 The day leads to the firstfull moon night of the year.

It was also a romantic festival in ancient China， providing an opportunity for unmarriedmen and women to meet. 2 But during the Lantern Festival， it was a traditionthat all people， including those young women， came out for lantern shows. People hung lanternseverywhere， in their houses or in the streets， which featured various characters， likeflying birds， leaping fishes， and shining fireworks， showing an atmosphere of joy.

Another activity， guessing the answers to lantern riddles， gives young people a chanceto interact with each other and know more about each other. For thousands of years， therehave been numerous love stories originating during the Lantern Festival.

Besides watching lanterns and guessing the answers to lantern riddles，there are manyother traditions for the festival.

Dragon lantern dances

At the festival， people perform dragon lantern dances and look forward tothis years good weather and peace.

Lion dances

The lion dance is similar to the dragon lantern dance， delivering good wishes and good luck.

Eating yuanxiao

Eating yuanxiao on the Lantern Festival is another tradition. 5 The stuffingincludes bean paste， sugar， hawthorn， various kinds of fruit and so on. It can be boiled，fried or steamed to eat.

A. Chinese people regard the dragon as a symbol of good luck.

B. Here is a guide for you to spend a happy Lantern Festival.

C. Yuanxiao is made of glutinous rice， either solid or stuffed.

D. Almost all people will come out and appreciate the beautiful scene.

E. As a traditional food， yuanxiao appeals to a lot of people.

F. In ancient times， young women， especially daughters of respected families， hardly stepped out of their houses.

G. It is a continuation of celebrating the Spring Festival.

Ⅲ. 完形填空

There are two things I hate about this time of year： out‑of‑tune caroling （圣诞颂歌）and bad Christmas cards. Or rather， holiday cards—bad taste isnt limited to Christmas.

Why？ I'll get to that. But first， a little 1 . In the winter of 1843， Sir HenryCole， a well‑known English activist who helped reform the British postal system， 2himself with a very large stack （堆） of letters and very little time. Rather than spending hisdays 3 over each response， Cole 4 a new idea： Why not send a small，decorated card instead？ He enlisted the help of a friend to create a（n） 5 for thefront of the card and then had a London printer make a thousand copies. Cole 6had to fill in the“to”and“from”lines， and—ta‑da！—the first Christmas card was com‑plete.