Mr Li: Sam, did you enjoy your first Spring Festival in China?
Sam: Yes, I did. During this festival, many family members get together.
Mr Li: Yes. I hear that at Thanksgiving Americans also get together for a special meal. It sounds similar.
Sam: Yes. It's similar. During these holidays, both the Chinese and Americans come home and have a big dinner. It's great fun.
Mr Li: What do you think are the main differences between the Spring Festival and Thanksgiving?
Sam: Well, we take part in different activities and eat different kinds of food. In China, people usually set off fireworks and eat dumplings. In the US, we usually watch a Thanksgiving parade and an American football game on TV. We also eat turkey.
Mr Li: That's interesting.
Who spent the first Spring Festival in China, Sam or Mr Li?
a. set off fireworks
b. watch a Thanksgiving parade
c. enjoy a football game on TV
d. get together for a special meal
阅读理解 The Information about Some Great Inventions
|
Invention |
|
|
|
|
|
Appearing Time |
A few thousand years ago |
In 1876 |
In 1879 |
Around 2,000 years ago |
|
Inventor |
Unknown |
Alexander BeIl |
Thomas Edison |
Cai Lun |
|
Inventor's Nationality |
Unknown |
American |
American |
Chinese |
|
Early Main Material |
Wood |
Plastic and metal |
Glass and metal |
Cotton or flax |
|
Main Use |
Making travelling faster |
Used for communicating over distances |
Giving light |
Used for recording information |
WordBox: lightbulb 灯泡 unknown 未知的 flax 亚麻
根据表格所提供的信息选择最佳答案。

For many in the United States, Arab-Americans are an invisible part of the population. Though Arab-Americans as a community have made great contributions to American society in fields from literature to politics to medicine, many Americans know very little about Americans of Arab backgrounds.
Arab history in the United States goes back to the late 1800's when large numbers of Arab immigrants first began making their journey to a land known simply as “Amreeka”.
Historians generally describe Arab immigration to America in two waves. The first wave took place between 1860 and 1924.The first wave consisted of Lebanese and Syrian, and some Egyptian immigrants. These new immigrants, who were mostly Christian, came to America in search of better opportunities. Even the doomed Titanic, which set sail for America in 1912,had close to a hundred Arab passengers aboard. The majority of Arab-Americans today are descendents of the first wave of immigrants; they are the third or more generation Americans.
The second wave of immigrants followed after World War Ⅱ,caused by political unrest in the Middle East. This second wave of immigrants consists of mainly Arab Muslims(穆斯林)and continues to this day.
Arab-Americans make up 3 million of the population in the United States, according to demographers. And quite different from popular belief, 64 percent of them are American-born. Eighty-two percent of Arab-Americans are US citizens.
Arab-Americans are beyond the national average in both education and income. Education is important among Arab-Americans; 82 percent have high school diplomas, 36 percent have bachelor's degrees or higher, and 15 percent have graduate degrees. The-median(中位数的)average income among Arab-Americans is $39,580, which is higher than the US average.
Flags have existed for over 3,000 years. The earliest flags were wooden or metal poles with a carving. About 2,000 years ago pieces of fabric were added to some poles for decoration. Over the next 500 years the free-flying part of the flag became more important.




Did you ever wonder how some of your favorite foods, products or toys came about? Believe it or not, they may have been an accident, or a failure of some other intention. Below, we found three mistakes we're thankful for turned out to be what they are.
1. Most historians hold that the Chinese invented fireworks in the 9th century when they discovered how to make gunpowder. Story has it that a Chinese cook accidentally mixed together what were then considered common kitchen items and noticed they burnt. When put tightly in a bamboo tube and lit, it blew up.
2. In May of 1886, a law led John Pemberton, a pharmacist(药剂师), to rewrite the formula(配方) for "Pemberton's French Wine Coca", his popular headache treatment. Containing sugar instead of wine as a sweetener, the outcome became something for Coke, which was later mixed with carbonated(碳酸) water. His bookkeeper suggested the name Coca-Cola because he thought the two C's would look good together, which is how what we call Coca-Cola, a world-wide drink came into being.
3. During World WarⅡ, scientists at the University of Birmingham invented the magnetron(磁控管)—an important heat-producing part of the microwave oven. While working for Raytheon Corporation after the war, the American engineer Percy Spencer was testing the magnetron when a chocolate bar in his pocket melted. He went on to test other foods including popcorn kernels(仁), and found it to be a much more efficient way to cook. In 1947 Raytheon came out with the first restaurant microwave oven, which was six feet tall and weighed 750 lbs.
The Double Ninth Festival

The Double Ninth Festival, also named the “Chong Yang Festival”, is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.
The festival began as early as the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). In ancient time, numbers were mysterious and were divided into yin and yang. Yin means something of darkness and yang means life and brightness. The number nine is regarded as yang. The ninth day of the ninth month is a double yang day, so it is called “Chong Yang Festival”. (Chong means “repeat” in Chinese)
People always climb mountains and drink chrysanthemum wine on the Double Ninth Festival. It is hard to say when the customs were created. But there are many stories which are closely related. As recorded in a historical book of the sixth century, in ancient times, there lived a man named Huang Jing. He was learning the magic arts from Fei Changfang. One day, they were climbing a mountain. Fei Changfang suddenly stopped and looked very upset. He said to Huang Jing, “On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, a big trouble will come to your hometown”. You must go home immediately. Remember to make a red bag for each one of your family members and leave home quickly and climb to the top of a mountain. Most importantly, you must all drink some chrysanthemum wine. Only by doing so can your family members avoid the big trouble.
On hearing this, Huang Jing rushed home and asked his family to do exactly as his teacher said. The whole family climbed a nearby mountain and did not return until the evening. When they got back home, they found all their animals dead, including chickens, sheep, dogs and so on.
Since then, climbing a mountain and drinking chrysanthemum wine became the traditional activities of the Double Ninth Festival, to avoid evil spirits and bad luck. Nowadays, the Double Ninth Festival is also a time for family get-togethers to do some exercise as well as enjoy the autumn scenery.
In Europe, small cars have always been more popular than large cars. In the United States, large cars and midsize cars are more popular than smaller cars. As a result, European automakers used to make different kinds of small cars while American automakers used to build bigger, heavier cars. However, these days, automakers in both America and Europe produce cars of different sizes. This is because most automakers export their cars all over the world.
The price of gasoline (汽油)is one reason for differences in car choices. Since gasoline is more expensive in Europe, many Europeans want smaller, lighter cars that will travel a long way on a gallon(加仑)of gasoline.
Other reasons also enter into the big or little car decision. Many European cities have narrow, winding(弯曲的) streets. In these cities a small car is easier to control than a large one.
For a long time, few Americans bought small cars. Instead they chose large cars, because these roomy cars were more comfortable for large families and long trips. Some people also liked the powerful engines(发动机) that large cars had. Since gasoline was cheap, drivers did not mind that the large cars used a lot of gasoline.
But in the 1970s, there were gasoline shortages in the United States. The price of gasoline went up. Though large cars were still more popular than smaller cars, sales of small cars increased. Some people also bought small cars because these cars caused less air pollution than larger cars.
Today, Americans' car preferences are still changing. Though Americans are still buying many small cars, the fastest growing sales are for certain kinds of large cars. These types of cars are called minivans and sport utility vehicles(SUV). They are very popular today. But of course, that could change tomorrow.
American people like to say “Thank you” when others help them or say something kind of them. People of many countries do so, too. It is a very good habit.
You should say “Thank you” when someone passes you the salt on the table, when someone walking ahead of you keeps the door open for you, when someone says you have done your work well, or you have bought a nice thing, or your city is very beautiful. “Thank you” is used not only between friends, but also between parents and children, brothers and sisters.
“Excuse me” is anther short sentence they use. When you hear someone stay behind you, you know that someone wants to walk to past you without touching you. It's not polite to break others when they are talking. If you want to speak to one of them, say “Excuse me” first, and then begin to talking. You should also do so when you begin to cough or make any noise before others.
When you speak to foreigners, what will you do if you can't understand their languages? Will you use your body language to help you, or just say sorry to them and then go away? Learning spoken language is very important, but learning local gestures(手势) is also very necessary.
I often use gestures to communicate with someone whose language I don't know. We use our hands to talk with each other. Although we don't understand the others' words, our hand movements make our conversation more necessary.
However, gestures aren't always clear. Different gestures may have different meanings in different countries and cultures.
In many countries, people move their hands at someone to call him to come near. In the United States, people usually move hands at somebody with their palms(手掌) up and sometimes move just one finger. But in many countries in Asia, hand movements like that would be impolite. In Asia, many people move hands at someone with their palms down using all fingers.
Do you use your thumb, your thick short finger to make gestures? In western countries, "thumbs-up" means agreement. But it is very rude in parts of Africa.
If you want to say "OK" in America, you can make a circle with the thumb and the second finger. But in France, it means "zero", and it is very rude in many other countries.
You can use your second finger to point at something but not at somebody in the United States. However, in some parts of Europe, Asia and Africa, pointing at anything with one's second finger is not polite.
"V" form is often used when people take photos. But using two fingers to make up the "V" shape means "peace" in the West.
The last example is that people in parts of Asia point to their noses to mean themselves, but people in western countries usually point to their chests.
Gestures are important, but also have different meanings.
Today there are policemen everywhere, but in 1700, London had no policemen at all. A few old men used to protect the city streets at night and they were not paid.
About 300 years ago, London was starting to get bigger and more and more people began to live there. The city was very dirty and many people were poor. There were so many thieves who stole money in the streets that people stayed in their houses as much as possible.
In 1749, Henry Fielding started to pay a group of people for stopping thieves. They were like policemen and were called "Bow Street Runners" because they worked near Bow Street.
Fifty years later, there were about 120"Bow Street Runners", but London had become very big and needed more policemen. So in 1829, the first Metropolitan (or London) Police Service was started with about 3, 000 officers. Most of the men worked on foot, but a few rode horses.
Today, London police are quite well—paid and for the few police officers who still ride horses, the pay is even higher than for the others.
When 4-year-old Prince George started his first day of school in September. Chinese language was on his curriculum(课程).
And he wasn't alone. It is reported that about 51 percent of the parents in the UK want their children to learn Chinese, as it's believed to be one of the most useful languages to know.
In the popularity of Chinese drove the UK government to start the Mandarin Excellence Programme in September last year. It aims to make at least 5.000 British state secondary school students be good at speaking Chinese by 2020.
Yet, the UK isn't the only country showing a growing interest in Chinese.
The language has become the second most spoken foreign language in the United States this year, after only Spanish, with over 2.1 million speakers.
Many US famous people such as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Malia Obama, former US president Barack Obama's daughter, study Chinese as a second language.
So far, 67 countries and regions have included Chinese in their national curriculum. So why are so many countries enthusiastic about learning Chinese?
One reason could be that as China continues to develop rapidly. Chinese is increasingly becoming a useful tool for people's personal and professional growth.
"I think everyone believes that Chinese will be the next great superpower…even if it's not a superpower like America. It's still very important." Aisling from Germany, who studied at the Renmin University of China, told Xinhua News Agency.
People in different countries have different ways of doing things. Something that is polite in one country may be quite impolite in another. In Britain, you mustn't lift your bowl to your mouth when you are having some liquid (液体) food. But it's different in China. And in Japan you even needn't worry about making noises when you have it. It shows that you are enjoying it. But it is regarded as bad manners in Britain. If you are a visitor in Mongolia, what manners do they wish you to have? They wish you to give a loud "burp" (打嗝) after you finish eating. Burping shows that you like the food.
In Britain, you should try not to put your hands on the table when you're having a meal. In Mexico, however, guests are expected to keep their hands on the table during a meal. But in Arab countries you must be very careful with your hands. You mustn't eat with your left hand. Arabs consider it very bad manners to eat with left hands. So, what should you do if you are on a visit in another country? Well, just do in Rome as the Romans do. You can ask the native (本土的) people to help you or just watch carefully and follow them.