National Holidays
Countries around the world have national holidays. Of course, the holidays are on different days. The ways people celebrate national holidays are sometimes the same, though.
In the United States, the national holiday is on July 4th. There are many parades of all kinds of people and jobs on that day. People cook food outside and eat outdoors. In France, national holiday is on July 14th. There are big parades, too. Planes fly overhead in the sky to give a show sometimes. People dance in the streets. Many events such as concerts and films are free on that day.
Mexican Independence Day is on May 5th. There are big parades, too. In Mexico City, people put on play every year. The play shows how Mexico won its independence. Everywhere around the city is mariachi (墨西哥流浪乐队) music and dancing. People eat their favorite Mexican dish Mole Poblano (chocolate chicken) on that day.
【小题1】The national holidays in different countries are on the same day.【小题2】Mexico’s Independence Day is on July 14th.
【小题3】In the United States, people have all kinds of parades on July 4th.
【小题4】In France, you don’t need to pay any money if you go to the concerts on their national holiday.
【小题5】In France, people play mariachi music on their Independence Day.
| The history of Talk Like a Pirate Day John Baur and Mark Summers started the holiday in 1995. The idea came to them when one of them got hurt (受伤) in a game and cried out “Arrrr!”. They thought it would be fun if people talked like pirates (海盗) in a whole day. They chose September 19th because it was Mark’s wife’s birthday and he thought it would be easy for him to remember. At first it was just something they did for fun. In 2002, the columnist (专栏作家) Dave Berry wrote something about it and the day became famous. Now a lot of people celebrate the day because it’s fun. |
| How to talk like a pirate You need to speak a lot of words loudly with a scowl (怒容) on your face. Say “Arrrrr!” every now and then. Here are some pirate words you can use on that day: ◆ Ahoy! ～ Hello ◆Aye! ～ Yes ◆Colors ～ Flag ◆Matey ～ Friends ◆Avast! ～ Stop ◆Savvy? ～ Do you understand? ◆Yo-ho-ho ～ Feel good ◆Ye ～ Use this instead of “you” ◆Aft ～ The back of the ship ◆Bilge ～ Bottom of the ship ◆Fore ～ Front of the ship ◆Port ～ Left side of the ship |
【小题1】John and Mark started the holiday years ago.
| A．7 | B．10 | C．15 | D．17 |
| A．learn some pirate words | B．learn to sail on the sea |
| C．dress up like pirates | D．have their own ships |
| A．a game | B．a pirate | C．a song | D．an article |
| A．angry | B．happy | C．surprised | D．sad |
| A．Mark’s wife was born on September 19th. |
| B．John and Mark started the holiday because it was fun. |
| C．“Bilge is broken” means there’s something wrong with the front of the ship. |
| D．If you want to say hello to your friends on the day, you can say “Ahoy, matey! |
The Spring Festival is our Chinese people’s special festival. It comes in January or February. There are twelve different animal names in Chinese year. They are mouse, tiger, rabbit, chicken, dragon and so on.
Before the Spring Festival, people are busy shopping and cleaning their houses. Every family prepare for many kinds of food and drinks. On the eve of the festival, there is always a big family dinner. People like eating jiaozi—dumplings. It means ‘‘reunion (团聚)” and “good luck”. After dinner, all the family stay up to welcome the New Year. They often watch TV and play games.
On the first day of the lunar New Year, people put on their new clothes and go to visit relatives (亲戚) and friends. They say “Happy New Year” and give the best wishes to each other. Everyone has a great time.
【小题1】How many different animal names in Chinese year?| A．Five. | B．Seven. | C．Twelve. | D．Ten. |
| A．They are busy shopping and cleaning their houses. |
| B．Every family prepare for many kinds of food and drinks. |
| C．They have a big family dinner. |
| D．A and B. |
| A．It means reunion and good luck. | B．It means friendship. |
| C．It means happiness. | D．A and C. |
| A．People put on their new clothes. |
| B．People go to visit relatives (亲戚) and friends. |
| C．People often watch TV and play games. |
| D．People say “Happy New Year” and give the best wishes to each other. |
| A．The family stay up to welcome the New Year after dinner. |
| B．People like eating jiaozi on the first day of the lunar New Year. |
| C．The Spring Festival comes in January or February. |
| D．People enjoy themselves on the first day of the lunar New Year. |
In the past, most people stopped eating meat and eggs for Lent (大斋期), the 40-day period before Easter. So, on Shrove Tuesday, the last day before Lent, they had a big celebration.
The French call this day “Mardi Gras”, which means “Fat Tuesday”, because they had to use up any fatty food such as milk, eggs and butter before Lent. To do this, they made crepes. Today they still celebrate Mardi Gras by eating crepes.
In the UK, people call it Pancake Tuesday, and they eat pancakes with lemon and sugar. They also have pancake races, where people run along the street, throwing a pancake in the air and catching it in a frying pan!
In Italy , Shrove Tuesday is called “Carnevale”, which means “goodbye to meat” and it also gives us the word Carnival (嘉年华). In many Italian cities, Carnival celebrations start weeks before Lent and people eat fritters. In Naples, a southern Italian city, people have a pasta dish called Grande Lasagne di Carnevale.
In New Orleans, USA, the whole carnival season is called Mardi Gras, because it ends on Shrove Tuesday—but it starts on 6 January! There-are fancy-dress parties, street parades and food. Traditionally, everyone eats King cakes.
Pancake Tuesday, Mardi Gras or Carnival—the name doesn’t matter, because it’s always a great chance to have fun and enjoy some delicious food.
【小题1】Lent usually lasts for ________ before Easter.| A．one day | B．two weeks | C．one month | D．forty days |
| A．France and Italy. | B．The UK and The USA. | C．Italy and the USA. | D．France and the UK. |
| A．Crepes. | B．King cakes. | C．Pancakes. | D．Fritters. |
| A．To say goodbye to Lent. | B．To welcome Lent. |
| C．To have a family get-together. | D．To keep healthy. |
| A．Health and sport. | B．History and culture. |
| C．Science and technology. | D．Travel and environment. |
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