People around the world take celebrating seriously, and many of them are willing to go to great effort and expense to plan and participate in public celebrations.
Exactly when and where human beings began coming together in public to celebrate as a group can date back to hunter-gatherer societies, when success in the never-ending search for food, clothing, and shelter must have aroused the need to celebrate together.
Besides the need for food and survival, there are records of religious parades dating back to 3000 B.C. Parades were also used to demonstrate military power and celebrate military victories; to attract customers to events such as the circus by giving the public a sample of the entertainment; or to celebrate ethnic (民族的) connection and holidays. The New York Times of October 28, 1917, summed it up by saying, “If you take the parades out of history, you have precious little history left.”
Of course, many modern celebrations are not connected to any religion. In the Internet era, electronic communication makes it possible to organize celebrations almost instantly. “Flash mobs” are a new way of gathering and celebrating. Secretly planned online, they bring together tens, hundreds, or thousands of individuals to perform some unusual or funny act in a public place. Flash mobs not only reflect the increased speed of communication but also a lighter attitude to celebration. No longer is public celebrating something necessarily linked to human survival, religion, or deep traditions.
This does not mean, however, that modern celebrations are not socially conscious. One striking image inspiring community spirit is Edwards’ photograph of crowds in Australia, who were gathering in the rain for a music festival to raise funds for wildfire relief. Throughout history, across countries and cultures, celebrations are always worth significant amount of time and money spent planning, preparing, organizing, and carrying out an event. The priority given to celebrating seems to put it alongside food, shelter, love, and freedom as a basic need of humanity.
【小题1】According to the passage, which one of the following events can make celebrations happen?| A．A business has made a huge profit. | B．It has been sunny for a week. |
| C．Farmers harvest in the autumn. | D．A new museum opens in the city center. |
| A．If there is no parade, human history will be more precious. |
| B．Students should be taught the importance of parades in history class. |
| C．Only parades can be recorded in history books. |
| D．Many significant historic moments featured a parade. |
| A．Four strangers meet at a concert and then decide to perform together in a public square. |
| B．Someone announces openly a series of performances to take place at school. |
| C．An online group plans and performs a dance in a crowded train station. |
| D．The number of people watching a street performer grows to several hundred. |
| A．Why We Celebrate? | B．Celebration and Social Responsibility |
| C．Planning a Parade | D．The Origin of Celebration |
