You may know your mother, but how well do you really know Mother’s Day? Cards, flowers, sales, TV specials, and a day off for someone who really deserves it —those are what probably come to mind for many people when they think of Mother’s Day. But there’s more about the story.

The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations were held during spring in Ancient Greece. The celebrations honored Rhea, the Mother of the gods. During the 1600s, England celebrated a day called Mothering Sunday. On this day even servants (仆人) were given the day off to spend with their families. A mothering cake was even served with the family meal.

In the U.S., Mother’s Day began in 1872 when Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the words of the famous song The Battle Hymn of the Republic, suggested it as a day devoted to peace. But it didn’t really become popular until 1907 when Anna Jarvis started a campaign (運(yùn)動) to honor her own mother. She believed that mothers could help people get over the pain they experienced during the Civil War. The U.S. isn’t alone in devoting a day to its mothers. Many other countries including Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Japan, and Belgium also celebrate their Mother’s Day in May. Other countries honor their mothers at different times of the year.

Learning more about Mother’s Day and celebrating Mother’s Day is important, but probably not as important as understanding what your own mother, or grandmother, or aunt has really done for you. And that should certainly be appreciated more than one day in a year.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A．The reason why people celebrate Mother’s Day.

B．How people honor mothers.

C．The history of Mother’s Day.

D．Mother’s Day in different countries.

2.Where was the earliest Mother’s Day celebrated?

A．In Ancient Greece.                      B．In the U.S.

C．In England.                            D．In Italy.

3.According to the third paragraph, we know that _____.

A．Julia Ward Howe composed a song about Mother’s Day

B．American people started to celebrate Mother’s Day in 1907

C．Anna Jarvis attached great importance to mothers

D．Mother’s Day celebrations are held in different times in the U.S. every year

4.The last paragraph tells us that ______.

A．a(chǎn)ll the people should celebrate Mother’s Day

B．only mothers are honored on Mother’s Day

C．understanding mothers’work is more important than just celebrating Mother’s Day

D．people should make every day a Mother’s Day

 

“What about ______ school?” “It is as good, as anybody can see, _____ school as No 1 Middle School Attached to Hunan Normal University.”

    A. a; the     B. the; a      C. a; a      D. the; the

“Neal, listen，” she said, looking straight at him. “I ask you not to get ________ in this kind of matter. It's none of your business.”

A．caught	B．involved
C．a(chǎn)ttached	D．connected

 

BEIJING – Alarmed by the overreaching ambitions of many Chinese provinces to grow at all cost, China’s top economic chief is calling on officials to calm down and spare a thought for the environment.

Zhang Ping, who heads China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the central economic planning agency, said only five or six of China’s 30 provinces are targeting annual economic growth of 8 percent or 9 percent.

The remaining provinces are aiming for growth rates of more than 10 percent this year, with some wanting to double economic output in the coming five years.

“China has a planned energy supply of about 4 billion cubic tons of coal equivalent (等量的) for the next five years, and this is not enough to meet demands for economic growth to double,” he was quoted as saying on the news portal Sina. com.

Beijing is increasingly concerned with the ambitions of Chinese provinces across the country to chase high growth despite the central government’s urgent request for a more moderate and sustainable (可持續(xù)的) pace of expansion.

Years of rapid economic growth have taken a toll on China’s environment, with Beijing trying to remove some of the damage now. It has an annual growth target of 7 percent for the next five years, well down from last year’s 10 percent.

Zhang said Beijing has asked local governments to take into account the supply of “energy, environment, water and land” to set more reasonable growth target.

1.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The supply of the coal in China is not sufficient for the next five years.

B．Zhang Ping is an expert and economic chief from www. sina.com.

C．Few Chinese provinces are aiming for economic growth rates of less than 10%.

D．Many Chinese provinces are alarmed by Beijing.

2.The underlined phrase “taken a toll on” in the sixth paragraph means “_______”.

A．improved         B．done damage to     C．restored          D．a(chǎn)ttached importance to

3.The general idea of the whole passage can be that _________.

A．China’s economy is increasing at a fast speed.

B．China’s top chief lays more emphasis on the environment

C．economic high growth should go hand in hand with environment concern.

D．a(chǎn)ll Chinese provinces should slow down their economic growth rates

4.What could be the best title for the news?

A．Economic Development                  B．Energy Supply

C．Environment                           D．Sustainable Development

 

For years I wanted a flower garden．But then we had Matthew．And Marvin．And the twins, Alisa and Alan．And then Helen．Five children．I was too busy raising them to grow a garden．

Money was tight, as well as time．Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I' d have to say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you now．”

Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own．

One spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen．Suddenly, I realized that cars were tooting their horns as they drove by．I looked out the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard．I thought it must be a weeping willow, because I saw things blowing around on all its branches．Then I put my glasses on－and I couldn't believe what I saw．

There was a money tree in my yard!

I went outside to look．It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree．Think of' all the garden flowers I could buy with one hundred dollars! There was also a note attached: ‘‘IOU eight hours of digging time．Love, Marvin．"

Marvin kept his promise, too．He dug up a nice ten－by－fifteen foot bed for me And my other children bought me tools, ornaments , a trellis（格架）, a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books．

That was three years ago．My garden's now very pretty, just like I wanted．When I go out and tend my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did．I feel like they're right there with me．

I'm still not sure that money grows on trees．But I know love does!

1.Why did the mother say "Money doesn't grow on trees"?       .

A．She wanted them not to spend extra money

B．She was too sad to say anything else

C．She told them a truth on money

D．she just played a joke with them

2.What do we know about the mother according to the text?       ．

A．She is a bad-tempered woman

B．She believes money can grow on a tree now

C．She is a writer

D．She is hard-working in housekeeping

3.What can be inferred from the text?      ．

A．The author raised five children

B．The money tree was a Mother Day's gift

C．It cost Marvin eight hours to dug up the bed

D．Children planted a weeping willow in the yard

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?  ___    ．

A．My Money Tree                        B．The Garden of My Children

C．Mother's Love                          D．Marvin's Promise