1、课时分层作业(九) .阅读理解 A The origins of the Christmas traditions are the most fascinating of any holiday.All our favorite activities can be traced (追溯) back to specific points in history, and knowing how these things came about just makes celebrating Christmas much more wonderful. The original Nicholas was
2、 born in 280 AD in the small country of Lycia, which is now part of modern Turkey.Nicholas became first a priest (牧师) and then a bishop (主教) in the early Christian church.The first paintings of him show Nicholas wearing the clothes of a Christian bishopred decorated with white.When we see Santas sui
3、t today, were still seeing the two kinds of colors. Nicholas became famous for giftgiving.In the early fourth century, a legend began to spread about Nicholas coming at night to the home of three poor girls who did not have money and therefore could not get married.While the girls slept, Nicholas le
4、ft gold coins in their stockings, which were drying by the fire.Thats how the tradition of Santa filling stockings got its start. In 1841, Santa first appeared at a department store in Philadelphia.This Santa tried to climb down a chimney to impress the children who were watching, but he got stuck h
5、alfway down.In 1890, department store Santas began appearing all over America, especially on the East Coast around Boston.Parents in other countries joined together and hired passenger trains to take their families to see these Santas. At the same time, Ralph EMorris of the New England Telephone Com
6、pany suggested that strings of lights be hung on Christmas trees.After all, lights would be much safer than candles.Our modernday image of Santa as a fat man is based on ads of the CocaCola company in the 1930s.Artist Hans Sundblom used a retired salesman named Les Prentice as his model. 【语篇解读】 本文为记
7、叙文。 圣诞节传统的起源是所有节日中最吸引人的， 人们了解这些起源也是为了使圣诞节过得更美妙。 1What can we learn from Paragraph 1? AChristmas is the most important holiday. BThe traditions of Christmas are based on facts. CThere was not any record of Christmas in the past. DMore and more people begin to celebrate Christmas. B推理判断题。由第一段可知，我们喜欢的任
8、何圣诞节传统都可以追溯到 历史上特定的由来，并且知道这些活动是如何产生的。由此可推知，这些传统都 是建立在事实之上的。 2What do we know about Nicholas? AHe set up the first Christian church. BHe was called Santa Claus when he was born. CHis clothes are similar to Santas suit in color. DHis image is the same as the modernday Santa. C推理判断题。 由第二段“The first pai
9、ntings of him show Nicholas wearing the clothes of a Christian bishopred decorated with white.When we see Santas suit today, were still seeing the two kinds of colors.”可知，尼古拉斯第一批画像中穿 着基督教主教的衣服红色镶有白色的衣服。在如今圣诞老人的装扮中，我们 看到的仍然是这两种颜色。 3Three poor girls are mentioned to. Aprove that Nicholas used to be a
10、rich man Btell of the origin of Santa filling stockings Cshow Christmas was set up mainly for the poor Ddescribe a famous story in the early fourth century B细节理解题。由第三段“Thats how the tradition of Santa filling stockings got its start.”可知，提到三个穷苦女孩是为了讲述圣诞老人把礼物放进袜子这一 传统的由来。 4What can we infer from the l
11、ast two paragraphs? ASanta didnt become popular until the year 1890. BCandles have never been used on Christmas trees. CThe CocaCola company designed the image of Santa. DSanta began giving gifts by climbing down chimneys in 1841. A推理判断题。由倒数第二段可知，1890 年，圣诞老人百货商场盛行于 美国，尤其是在波士顿的东海岸。世界各地的家长一起带着家人，坐着租来的
12、旅 客列车观赏这些圣诞老人。由此可知，圣诞老人于 1890 年开始流行。 B Valentines Day Valentines Day is named for Saint Valentine， an early Christian churchman(牧师) who reportedly helped young lovers.Valentine was killed for his Christian beliefs on February 14 more than 1,700 years ago，but the day got its name even earlier than th
13、at. More than 2,000 years ago ， the ancient Romans celebrated a holiday for lovers.As part of the celebration，girls wrote their names on pieces of paper and put them in a large container.Boys reached into the container and pulled one out.The girl whose name was written on the paper became his lover
14、or sweetheart for a year. Lovers still put their names on pieces of paper and they send each other Valentines Day cards that tell of their love.Sometimes they also send gifts ，like flowers or chocolate candy.Americans usually send these gifts and cards through the mail system.But some use another wa
15、y to send this message.They have it printed in a newspaper.The cost is usually a few dollars.Some of the messages are simple and short，“Jane，I love you very much.”Others say more.This one，for example， “Don，roses are red.Violets(紫罗兰)are purple.I hope you love me as much as I love you.Forever，Mary.” M
16、ost of the newspapers that print such messages are local， but USA Today is sold throughout the United States and 90 other countries as well.This means someone can send a Valentine message to a lover in a faraway city or town almost anywhere in the world.These messages cost 80 dollars and more.An emp
17、loyee(职员)of USA Today says readers can have a small heart or rose printed along with their messages this year.Will this kind of Valentines Day message reach the one you love? Well，just make sure he or she reads the newspaper. 5What is the cost of printing a message to show ones love？Its. Aa few doll
18、ars Ba few dollars in a local newspaper and 80 dollars in USA Today C80 dollars and more Dvery expensive B由第三段中的“They have it printed in a newspaper.The cost is usually a few dollars.”和第四段中的“These messages cost 80 dollars and more.”这两处信 息可知 B 项正确。 6What can be inferred from the passage? AThe ancient
19、 Roman girls were more open and easygoing than boys. BValentine was killed for helping lovers. CReaders of USA Today can send roses to their lovers along with printed messages. DValentine was honoured by people for his firm Christian beliefs and warm heart. DA 项在原文中没有提及；根据第一段中“Valentine was killed f
20、or his Christian beliefs.”可知 B 项错误；C 项在文中有信息说明；只有 D 项的内容是 根据全文概括和推断出来的。 7What is the purpose of the passage? ATo briefly introduce the origin of Valentines Day and the modern style. BTo advertise for USA Today. CTo tell you that Americans are open to express their love. DTo sell roses on Valentines
21、Day. A文章第一段讲述了情人节的起源，接着主要介绍了现代情人节的情况。 .读后续写 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整 的短文。续写的词数应为 150 左右。 Twenty years ago，I drove a taxi for a living.One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2：30 am.When I arrived，I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. I walked
22、to the door and knocked， “Just a minute， ” answered a weak， elderly voice. After a long time，the door opened.A small woman in her eighties stood before me.By her side was a small suitcase. I took the suitcase to the car，and then returned to help the woman.She took my arm and we walked slowly towards
23、 the car. She kept thanking me for my kindness.“Its nothing，” I told her.“I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.” “Oh，youre such a good man.” She said.When we got into the taxi，she gave me an address，and then asked，“Could you drive through downtown？” “Its not the s
24、hortest way，” I answered quickly. “Oh，Im in no hurry，” she said.“Im on my way to a hospice(临终医院)I dont have any family left.The doctor says I dont have much time.” I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器)For the next two hours， we drove through the city.She showed me the building where she
25、 had once worked， the neighborhood where she had lived，and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes shed ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness，saying nothing. At dawn，she suddenly said，“Im
26、 tired.Lets go now.” We drove in silence to the address she had given. “How much do I owe you？” she asked. “Nothing，” I said. “You have to make a living ， ” she answered.“Oh ， there are other passengers，” I answered.She thanked me，but she looked so sad. Paragraph 1： Almost without thinking，I bent an
27、d gave her a hug. Paragraph 2： The next day，I was on my way to visit her. 【参考范文】 Paragraph 1： Almost without thinking ， I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.Before the woman left for the hospice，I said to her，“My mother treated everyone kindly and she is a person of great kindness，but
28、she passed away years ago.You are like my mother.” The woman said，“ Thank you.If you want to visit me， Ill tell you my story.” Then the weak woman left， after which I drove the taxi to go home. Paragraph 2： The next day，I was on my way to visit her.She told me she was the owner of a particular build
29、ing I saw last night.But she had no time to care about her family.Her only son died one year ago because of cancer.She sold everything to save him，but failed.How sad！At last，the old woman said to me，“Life is short，but please be in no hurry.Always remember that family is the most important thing to you.”After a long silence in the darkness，I nodded hard.
