Most people buy a lot of gifts just before Christmas. But some people think we buy too much. They have started a special day called “Buy Nothing Day”. They don't want anyone to go shopping on that day.
Buy Nothing Day is November 29. It's 25 days before Christmas. It's after Thanksgiving and often the first day of Christmas shopping. At this we see ads in newspapers and on TV telling us to “buy buy, buy!”.
The idea of Buy Nothing Day started in Vancouver, British Columbia. Now people all over the world celebrate Buy Nothing Day. In California, parents and children get together to read stories, sing songs and paint pictures. This year, in Manchester, England, people dressed up to tell people that we buy too much.
In Albuquerque. New Mexico, high school students wanted to tell other students about Buy Nothing Day. They organized a Spaghetti dinner to give people information about Buy Nothing Day. They asked restaurants in the neighborhood to donate the food. They made posters and talked to other students about it. The dinner was a big success, and many students agreed not to buy anything on November 29. The students at the high school like the idea of this new tradition. Next year, they want have another dinner to tell more people about “Buy Nothing Day”.
【小题1】Which of the following is NOT the day for people to celebrate Buy Nothing Day?| A．November | B．days before Christmas. |
| C．After Thanksgiving. | D．The first day after Christmas. |
| A．In California, parents and children get together to play games. |
| B．In England, people celebrated by performing plays. |
| C．In Mexico, high school students dressed up. |
| D．They bought nothing and persuaded others not to buy things |
| A．They donated the food of their own. | B．They talked to others about it. |
| C．They made some slogans for it. | D．They organized a luxurious dinner. |
| A．A Free Dinner | B．A Big Success |
| C．Buy Nothing Day | D．A New Christmas Day |
It's October and you know what that means —the return of pumpkin Kit Kats, spooky (幽灵般的，怪异的)costumes for the kids and, of course, homemade Halloween treats. The whole spooky season leads up to tricks on October 31, but Halloween as we know it may be changing.
It's pretty common knowledge that Halloween takes place on October 31. For a lot of parents, it's a night of headaches. Sure enough, parents are fully occupied with an unforgettable Halloween party and have no time to be with the kids. Then the kids have to be dressed and out the door for two hours of trick-or-treating time, which can be tough to manage. Most remarkably, it's hard to pack all the holiday fun into a school night. Eating all that candy right before bed won't make for an easy school day the next morning.
Last year, a nonprofit organization called the Halloween and Costume Association(HCA) began a petition (请愿)to change the date of Halloween. They proposed that Halloween take place on the last Saturday of the month. Thus, parents can have time to celebrate it with their kids.
Though the petition started in 2018, it has really picked up steam this year. Right now, more than 148, 000 people have signed. When a quota(限额) of 150,000 signatures is met, the petition will be delivered to the President of the States, and the government will be making the final call.
Really, the petition isn't about breaking tradition but about making Halloween more family-friendly. It technically makes Halloween longer, so who wouldn't be taking about all-day spooks? If you'd like to sign the petition and make your voice heard before October, you can find it here.
【小题1】What troubles parents most on Halloween?| A．They can't find the kids in the night. | B．They have little time to prepare for it. |
| C．It's hard for kids to behave themselves. | D．Halloween may take place on a school day. |
| A．help kids gain more freedom | B．create more parent-child time |
| C．allow parents to have a day off | D．promote the event to a new level |
| A．No one desired to sign their name at first. | B．It has been put aside by the government. |
| C．The US president thinks nothing of it. | D．It has gained increasing favor. |
| A．Break the traditional barriers? | B．Make Halloween Much Longer? |
| C．Celebrate it in another manner? | D．Necessary to observe Halloween? |
This attitude toward manual (体力的) labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously (豪华地) furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward, furthermore the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.
【小题1】From paragraph 1, we can know that in America _____.
| A．people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man |
| B．people can always rise to the top through their own efforts |
| C．college professors win great respect from common workers |
| D．college professors feel it painful to mention their fathers as labors |
| A．servants in American are hard to get |
| B．she takes pride in what she can do herself |
| C．she can hardly afford servants |
| D．It is easy to prepare a meal with canned food |
| A．wait for others on a table | B．keep accounts in a restaurant |
| C．wait to lay the table | D．serve customers in a restaurant |
| A．By analyzing causes and effects | B．By giving examples |
| C．By reasoning and concluding | D．By telling stories |
Here’s a selection of festivals for tourists to the United States in summer.
San Francisco Silent Film Festival
Films at this odd cinematic event have a variety of musical accompaniments, including piano and violin. It includes some classic silent movies. If you want to see them all, you can buy a festival pass.
May 29 to June 1; www.silent film.org
Union Street Festival
This popular street fair stretches out over six blocks of the city, in the fashionable shopping area of Union Street. This year, there’s beer, wine, biscuits tasting and more separate themes-fashion, cuisine, tech, local, craft, and health and fitness.
June 7 to 10; www.unionstreetfestival.com
North Beach Festival
This is San Francisco’s oldest street party, with live entertainment, delicious food and arts and crafts. Situated in the Little Italy district, known for its associations with the “Beat Generation”, festival goers are guaranteed plenty of good Italian food. There is also as the “blessing of the animals”, a San Francisco tradition which takes place at the National Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi (610 Vallejo Street) at 2 pm on both days of the festival.
June 14 to 16; www.sfnorthbeach.org
Stern Grove Festival
This is the oldest free summer arts festival of its kind in the United States. It includes a wide variety of acts, from the local symphony orchestra to well known artists such as Smokey Robinson.
Sundays from June 22 to Aug 24; www.stemgrove.org
【小题1】Which of the following festivals contains the most themes?| A．Union Street Festival. | B．San Francisco Silent Film Festival. |
| C．North Beach Festival. | D．Stem Grove Festival. |
| A．Festival goers can enjoy food in it. | B．It lasts the shortest time. |
| C．It has the longest history of food. | D．Some foreign culture is presented in it. |
| A．Saturdays in July. | B．Saturdays in May. |
| C．Sundays in May. | D．Sundays in July. |
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