填空题Questions on the Origins of Christmas
1. Why do we celebrate on December 25th
A The Bible makes no mention of Jesus being born on December 25th and, as more than one historian has pointed out, why would shepherds be tending to their flock in the middle of winter So why is that the day we celebrate Well, either Christian holidays miraculously fall on the same days as pagan ones or the Christians have been crafty in converting pagan populations to religion by placing important Christian holidays on the same days as pagan ones. And people had been celebrating on December 25th (and the surrounding weeks) for centuries by the time Jesus showed up.
B The Winter Solstice, falling on or around December 21st, was and is celebrated around the world as the beginning of the end of winter. It is the shortest day and longest night and its passing signifies that spring is on the way. In Scandinavian countries, they celebrated the solstice with a holiday called Yule last from the 21st until January and burned a Yule log the whole time. In Rome, Saturnalia—a celebration of Saturn, the God of agriculture—lasted the entire end of the year and was marked by mass intoxication. In the middle of this, the Romans celebrated the birth of another God, Mithra (a child God), whose holiday celebrated the children of Rome.
C When the Christianity became the official religion of Rome, there was no Christmas. It was not until the 4th century that Pope Julius I declared the birth of Jesus to be a holiday and picked December 25th as the celebration day. By the middle ages, most people celebrated the holiday we know as Christmas.
2. How did Americans come to love the holiday
D The American Christmas is, like most American holidays, a mishmash of Old World customs mixed with American inventions. While Christmas was celebrated in America from the time of the Jamestown settlement, our modem idea of the holiday didn"t take root until the 19th century. The History Channel credits Washington Irving with getting the ball rolling. In 1819 he published
The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent.
, an account of a Christmas celebration in which a rich family invites poor folk into their house to celebrate the holiday.
E The problem was that many of the activities described in Irving"s work, such as
Crowning a Lord of Misrule
, were entirely fictional. Nonetheless, Irving began to steer Christmas celebrations away from drunken
debauchery
(放荡) and towards wholesome, charitable fun. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, Christmas gained popularity and Americans adopted old customs or invented new ones, such as Christmas trees, greeting cards, giving gifts and eating a whole roasted pig.
3. Who popularized Christmas trees
F Since time immortal, humans have been fascinated with the color green and plants that stay green through winter. Many ancient societies—from Romans to Vikings—would decorate their Homes and temples with evergreens in the winter as a symbol of the returning growing season. But the Christmas tree didn"t get going until some
intrepid
(无畏的) German dragged home and decorated a tree in the 16th century. Legend has it that Martin Luther himself added lighted candles to his family"s tree, starting the trend (and leading to countless fires through the years). In America, the Christmas tree didn"t catch on until 1846 when the British royals, Queen Victoria and the German Prince Albert, were shown with a Christmas tree in a newspaper. Fashionable people in America mimicked the Royals and the tree thing spread outside of German
enclaves
(被为领土) in America.
Ornaments, courtesy of Germany, and electric lights, courtesy of Thomas Edison"s assistants, were added over the years and we haven"t changed much since.
4. What"s the deal with Santa Claus
G The jolly, red-suited man who sneaks into your home every year to leave you gifts hasn"t always been so jolly. The real Saint Nick was a Turkish monk who lived in the 3rd century. According to legend, he was a rich man thanks to an inheritance from his parents, but he gave it all away in the form of gifts to the less-fortunate. He eventually became the most popular saint in Europe and, through his alter ego, Santa Claus, remains so to this day. But how did a long-dead Turkish monk become a big, fat, reindeer-riding pole dweller The Dutch got the ball rolling by celebrating the saint—called Sinter Klaas—in New York in the late-18th century. Our old friend, Washington Irving, included the legend of Saint Nick in his seminal History of New-York as well, but at the turn of the 18th century, Saint Nick was still a rather obscure figure in America.
H On December 23, 1823, though, a man named Clement Clarke Moore published a poem he had written for his daughters called "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," better known now as "T" was the Night Before Christmas." Nobody knows how much of the poem Moore invented, but we do know that it was the spark that eventually lit the Santa fire. Many of the things we associate with Santa—a sleigh, reindeer, Christmas Eve visits—came from Moore"s poem. From 1863 to 1886, Thomas Nast"s illustrations of Santa Claus appeared in Harper"s Weekly—including a scene with Santa giving gifts to Union soldiers. Not much has changed since the second half of the 19th century: Santa still gets pulled in a sleigh by flying reindeer, he Still wears the big red suit and he still sneaks down chimneys to drop off presents.
5. Who invented Rudolph
I Santa did get one more friend in 1939. Robert May, a copywriter for the Montgomery Ward department store chain, wrote a little story about a 9th reindeer with a disturbing red nose for a booklet to give customers during the holiday season. Ten years later, May"s brother would put the story to music, writing the lyrics and melody.Evergreens were used to decorate home as a symbol of the returning growing season in many ancient societies.
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1.填空题Looking back on my childhood, I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made. Although we were all brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon
1
their pressed flowers and insects. Unlike them, I had no ear for music and languages. I was not an
2
reader and I could not do mental arithmetic.
Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary. I have only the
3
memory of the house we lived in and of my room and my toys. But I do have a crystal-clear memory of the dogs, the farm animals, the local birds, and above all, the insects.
I am a naturalist, not a scientist. I have a strong love of the natural world and my
4
had led me into varied investigations. I love discussing my
5
topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil while reading about other people"s observations and
6
Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious mind. Suddenly you fancy you see the answer to the riddle, because it all seems to fit
7
together. This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books, which some might
8
with the title of scientific research.
But curiosity, a keen eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist. A scientist requires not only
9
but hard training, determination and a goal. A scientist, up to a point, can be made. A naturalist is born. If you can
10
the two, you get the best of both worlds.
A. combine B. connect C. serf-discipline D. enthusiasm
E. regulations F. discoveries G. dim H. eventually
I. abandoned J. honor K. disposed L. modest
M. favorite N. early O. perfectly 参考答案：J[解析] 此处需要及物动词，而且是动词原形，作谓语。从下一句But后的内容看，此处需要一个积极意义的动词，所以hono... 2.填空题Questions on the Origins of Christmas
1. Why do we celebrate on December 25th
A The Bible makes no mention of Jesus being born on December 25th and, as more than one historian has pointed out, why would shepherds be tending to their flock in the middle of winter So why is that the day we celebrate Well, either Christian holidays miraculously fall on the same days as pagan ones or the Christians have been crafty in converting pagan populations to religion by placing important Christian holidays on the same days as pagan ones. And people had been celebrating on December 25th (and the surrounding weeks) for centuries by the time Jesus showed up.
B The Winter Solstice, falling on or around December 21st, was and is celebrated around the world as the beginning of the end of winter. It is the shortest day and longest night and its passing signifies that spring is on the way. In Scandinavian countries, they celebrated the solstice with a holiday called Yule last from the 21st until January and burned a Yule log the whole time. In Rome, Saturnalia—a celebration of Saturn, the God of agriculture—lasted the entire end of the year and was marked by mass intoxication. In the middle of this, the Romans celebrated the birth of another God, Mithra (a child God), whose holiday celebrated the children of Rome.
C When the Christianity became the official religion of Rome, there was no Christmas. It was not until the 4th century that Pope Julius I declared the birth of Jesus to be a holiday and picked December 25th as the celebration day. By the middle ages, most people celebrated the holiday we know as Christmas.
2. How did Americans come to love the holiday
D The American Christmas is, like most American holidays, a mishmash of Old World customs mixed with American inventions. While Christmas was celebrated in America from the time of the Jamestown settlement, our modem idea of the holiday didn"t take root until the 19th century. The History Channel credits Washington Irving with getting the ball rolling. In 1819 he published
The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent.
, an account of a Christmas celebration in which a rich family invites poor folk into their house to celebrate the holiday.
E The problem was that many of the activities described in Irving"s work, such as
Crowning a Lord of Misrule
, were entirely fictional. Nonetheless, Irving began to steer Christmas celebrations away from drunken
debauchery
(放荡) and towards wholesome, charitable fun. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, Christmas gained popularity and Americans adopted old customs or invented new ones, such as Christmas trees, greeting cards, giving gifts and eating a whole roasted pig.
3. Who popularized Christmas trees
F Since time immortal, humans have been fascinated with the color green and plants that stay green through winter. Many ancient societies—from Romans to Vikings—would decorate their Homes and temples with evergreens in the winter as a symbol of the returning growing season. But the Christmas tree didn"t get going until some
intrepid
(无畏的) German dragged home and decorated a tree in the 16th century. Legend has it that Martin Luther himself added lighted candles to his family"s tree, starting the trend (and leading to countless fires through the years). In America, the Christmas tree didn"t catch on until 1846 when the British royals, Queen Victoria and the German Prince Albert, were shown with a Christmas tree in a newspaper. Fashionable people in America mimicked the Royals and the tree thing spread outside of German
enclaves
(被为领土) in America.
Ornaments, courtesy of Germany, and electric lights, courtesy of Thomas Edison"s assistants, were added over the years and we haven"t changed much since.
4. What"s the deal with Santa Claus
G The jolly, red-suited man who sneaks into your home every year to leave you gifts hasn"t always been so jolly. The real Saint Nick was a Turkish monk who lived in the 3rd century. According to legend, he was a rich man thanks to an inheritance from his parents, but he gave it all away in the form of gifts to the less-fortunate. He eventually became the most popular saint in Europe and, through his alter ego, Santa Claus, remains so to this day. But how did a long-dead Turkish monk become a big, fat, reindeer-riding pole dweller The Dutch got the ball rolling by celebrating the saint—called Sinter Klaas—in New York in the late-18th century. Our old friend, Washington Irving, included the legend of Saint Nick in his seminal History of New-York as well, but at the turn of the 18th century, Saint Nick was still a rather obscure figure in America.
H On December 23, 1823, though, a man named Clement Clarke Moore published a poem he had written for his daughters called "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," better known now as "T" was the Night Before Christmas." Nobody knows how much of the poem Moore invented, but we do know that it was the spark that eventually lit the Santa fire. Many of the things we associate with Santa—a sleigh, reindeer, Christmas Eve visits—came from Moore"s poem. From 1863 to 1886, Thomas Nast"s illustrations of Santa Claus appeared in Harper"s Weekly—including a scene with Santa giving gifts to Union soldiers. Not much has changed since the second half of the 19th century: Santa still gets pulled in a sleigh by flying reindeer, he Still wears the big red suit and he still sneaks down chimneys to drop off presents.
5. Who invented Rudolph
I Santa did get one more friend in 1939. Robert May, a copywriter for the Montgomery Ward department store chain, wrote a little story about a 9th reindeer with a disturbing red nose for a booklet to give customers during the holiday season. Ten years later, May"s brother would put the story to music, writing the lyrics and melody.Thanks to American writer Washington Irving, Christmas began to take root in America in the 19th century. 参考答案：D[解析] 本题与圣诞节在美国的情况有关，故定位锁定在2. How did Americans come to love... 3.填空题Looking back on my childhood, I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made. Although we were all brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon
1
their pressed flowers and insects. Unlike them, I had no ear for music and languages. I was not an
2
reader and I could not do mental arithmetic.
Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary. I have only the
3
memory of the house we lived in and of my room and my toys. But I do have a crystal-clear memory of the dogs, the farm animals, the local birds, and above all, the insects.
I am a naturalist, not a scientist. I have a strong love of the natural world and my
4
had led me into varied investigations. I love discussing my
5
topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil while reading about other people"s observations and
6
Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious mind. Suddenly you fancy you see the answer to the riddle, because it all seems to fit
7
together. This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books, which some might
8
with the title of scientific research.
But curiosity, a keen eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist. A scientist requires not only
9
but hard training, determination and a goal. A scientist, up to a point, can be made. A naturalist is born. If you can
10
the two, you get the best of both worlds.
A. combine B. connect C. serf-discipline D. enthusiasm
E. regulations F. discoveries G. dim H. eventually
I. abandoned J. honor K. disposed L. modest
M. favorite N. early O. perfectly 参考答案：O[解析] 此处需要副词作状语，修饰谓语部分seems to fit together。从上下文语义看，perfectl... 4.单项选择题There seems never to have been a civilization without toys, but when and how they developed is unknown, They probably came about just to give children something to do,
In the ancient world, as is today, most boys played with some kinds of toys and most girls with another, In societies where social roles are rigidly determined, boys pattern their play after the activities of their fathers and girls after the tasks of their mothers, This is true because boys and girls are being prepared, even in play, to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world,
What is remarkable about the history of toys is not so much how they changed over the centuries but how much they have remained the same, The changes have been mostly in terms of craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology, It is the universality of toys with regard to their development in all parts of the world and their persistence to the present that is amazing. In Egypt, the Americas, China, Japan and among the
Arctic
(北极的) peoples, generally the same kinds of toys appeared. Variations depended on local customs and ways of life because toys imitate their surroundings. Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles.
Because toys can be generally regarded as a kind of art form, they have not been subject to technological leaps that characterize inventions for adult use. The progress from the wheel to the oxcart to the automobile is a direct line of
ascent
(进步). The progress from a
rattle
(拨浪鼓) used by a baby in 3000 BC to one used by an infant today, however, is not characterized by inventiveness. Each rattle is the product of the artistic tastes of the times and subject to the limitations of available materials.The author uses the example of a rattle to show that ______.A．in toy-making there is a continuity in the use of materials
B．even the simplest toys can reflect the progress of technology
C．it often takes a long time to introduce new technology into toy-making
D．even a simple toy can mirror the artistic tastes of the time
5.单项选择题Some Americans are a little nervous about the nation"s future, but others feel secure, knowing that the man they consider the most powerful person in the world isn"t going anywhere.
Just who is this behind-the-scenes guy they think has more power than George W. Bush ever will He"s Alan Greenspan, a 74-year-old expert economist who heads the Federal Reserve, commonly known as the Fed. Unlike the president, who has to please the voters and compromise with Congress, Greenspan doesn"t have to answer to anyone.
But that doesn"t mean his job is easy.
Basically, Greenspan is in charge of keeping the nation"s economy stable. The economy is sort of like a balloon: blow in too much air, and it pops. But with too little air, it falls to the floor. Greenspan helps decide when to blow more air into the economy, In this case, the air in a balloon is the amount of money in the economy. Greenspan can make the economy grow by increasing the money supply, or keep the economy from inflating too much by decreasing the money supply. His goal is for the economy to grow and contract gradually. Rapid changes can harm businesses and consumers.
After years of very high growth, the American economy is starting to slow down. Recently, corporations have been making less money and people are starting to have a harder time finding jobs. Greenspan is hoping to ease the economy into a soft landing. It"s just like to make the car come to a gentle stop instead of hitting a brick wall. If he succeeds, the country will avoid two possible problems: rising prices and high unemployment.
At the Fed"s meeting, Greenspan and the other members decided that the economy was growing at an OK rate, but that there is a possibility of a serious slowdown, and in order to solve that, they could lower interest rates at the next meeting in an attempt to encourage people to borrow and spend,
While there"s no way to know what they will decide, one thing is certain: the decisions that Greenspan and the Federal Reserve Board make will affect everyone who earns, borrows or spends money.The passage mainly discusses ______.A．why Greenspan is respected by many people in the United States
B．what Greenspan does to affect everybody"s life
C．what Greenspan does to balance the economy in the United States
D．how Greenspan became the director of the Fed
6.填空题Questions on the Origins of Christmas
1. Why do we celebrate on December 25th
A The Bible makes no mention of Jesus being born on December 25th and, as more than one historian has pointed out, why would shepherds be tending to their flock in the middle of winter So why is that the day we celebrate Well, either Christian holidays miraculously fall on the same days as pagan ones or the Christians have been crafty in converting pagan populations to religion by placing important Christian holidays on the same days as pagan ones. And people had been celebrating on December 25th (and the surrounding weeks) for centuries by the time Jesus showed up.
B The Winter Solstice, falling on or around December 21st, was and is celebrated around the world as the beginning of the end of winter. It is the shortest day and longest night and its passing signifies that spring is on the way. In Scandinavian countries, they celebrated the solstice with a holiday called Yule last from the 21st until January and burned a Yule log the whole time. In Rome, Saturnalia—a celebration of Saturn, the God of agriculture—lasted the entire end of the year and was marked by mass intoxication. In the middle of this, the Romans celebrated the birth of another God, Mithra (a child God), whose holiday celebrated the children of Rome.
C When the Christianity became the official religion of Rome, there was no Christmas. It was not until the 4th century that Pope Julius I declared the birth of Jesus to be a holiday and picked December 25th as the celebration day. By the middle ages, most people celebrated the holiday we know as Christmas.
2. How did Americans come to love the holiday
D The American Christmas is, like most American holidays, a mishmash of Old World customs mixed with American inventions. While Christmas was celebrated in America from the time of the Jamestown settlement, our modem idea of the holiday didn"t take root until the 19th century. The History Channel credits Washington Irving with getting the ball rolling. In 1819 he published
The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent.
, an account of a Christmas celebration in which a rich family invites poor folk into their house to celebrate the holiday.
E The problem was that many of the activities described in Irving"s work, such as
Crowning a Lord of Misrule
, were entirely fictional. Nonetheless, Irving began to steer Christmas celebrations away from drunken
debauchery
(放荡) and towards wholesome, charitable fun. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, Christmas gained popularity and Americans adopted old customs or invented new ones, such as Christmas trees, greeting cards, giving gifts and eating a whole roasted pig.
3. Who popularized Christmas trees
F Since time immortal, humans have been fascinated with the color green and plants that stay green through winter. Many ancient societies—from Romans to Vikings—would decorate their Homes and temples with evergreens in the winter as a symbol of the returning growing season. But the Christmas tree didn"t get going until some
intrepid
(无畏的) German dragged home and decorated a tree in the 16th century. Legend has it that Martin Luther himself added lighted candles to his family"s tree, starting the trend (and leading to countless fires through the years). In America, the Christmas tree didn"t catch on until 1846 when the British royals, Queen Victoria and the German Prince Albert, were shown with a Christmas tree in a newspaper. Fashionable people in America mimicked the Royals and the tree thing spread outside of German
enclaves
(被为领土) in America.
Ornaments, courtesy of Germany, and electric lights, courtesy of Thomas Edison"s assistants, were added over the years and we haven"t changed much since.
4. What"s the deal with Santa Claus
G The jolly, red-suited man who sneaks into your home every year to leave you gifts hasn"t always been so jolly. The real Saint Nick was a Turkish monk who lived in the 3rd century. According to legend, he was a rich man thanks to an inheritance from his parents, but he gave it all away in the form of gifts to the less-fortunate. He eventually became the most popular saint in Europe and, through his alter ego, Santa Claus, remains so to this day. But how did a long-dead Turkish monk become a big, fat, reindeer-riding pole dweller The Dutch got the ball rolling by celebrating the saint—called Sinter Klaas—in New York in the late-18th century. Our old friend, Washington Irving, included the legend of Saint Nick in his seminal History of New-York as well, but at the turn of the 18th century, Saint Nick was still a rather obscure figure in America.
H On December 23, 1823, though, a man named Clement Clarke Moore published a poem he had written for his daughters called "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," better known now as "T" was the Night Before Christmas." Nobody knows how much of the poem Moore invented, but we do know that it was the spark that eventually lit the Santa fire. Many of the things we associate with Santa—a sleigh, reindeer, Christmas Eve visits—came from Moore"s poem. From 1863 to 1886, Thomas Nast"s illustrations of Santa Claus appeared in Harper"s Weekly—including a scene with Santa giving gifts to Union soldiers. Not much has changed since the second half of the 19th century: Santa still gets pulled in a sleigh by flying reindeer, he Still wears the big red suit and he still sneaks down chimneys to drop off presents.
5. Who invented Rudolph
I Santa did get one more friend in 1939. Robert May, a copywriter for the Montgomery Ward department store chain, wrote a little story about a 9th reindeer with a disturbing red nose for a booklet to give customers during the holiday season. Ten years later, May"s brother would put the story to music, writing the lyrics and melody.Santa Claus was based on a monk named Saint Nick, who was from Turkey. 参考答案：G[解析] 本题与圣诞老人有关，定位锁定在4. What"s the deal with Santa Claus标题下，... 7.填空题Looking back on my childhood, I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made. Although we were all brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon
1
their pressed flowers and insects. Unlike them, I had no ear for music and languages. I was not an
2
reader and I could not do mental arithmetic.
Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary. I have only the
3
memory of the house we lived in and of my room and my toys. But I do have a crystal-clear memory of the dogs, the farm animals, the local birds, and above all, the insects.
I am a naturalist, not a scientist. I have a strong love of the natural world and my
4
had led me into varied investigations. I love discussing my
5
topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil while reading about other people"s observations and
6
Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious mind. Suddenly you fancy you see the answer to the riddle, because it all seems to fit
7
together. This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books, which some might
8
with the title of scientific research.
But curiosity, a keen eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist. A scientist requires not only
9
but hard training, determination and a goal. A scientist, up to a point, can be made. A naturalist is born. If you can
10
the two, you get the best of both worlds.
A. combine B. connect C. serf-discipline D. enthusiasm
E. regulations F. discoveries G. dim H. eventually
I. abandoned J. honor K. disposed L. modest
M. favorite N. early O. perfectly 参考答案：F[解析] 此处需要名词作宾语。能与observations构成并列关系的名词是discoveries。 8.单项选择题There seems never to have been a civilization without toys, but when and how they developed is unknown, They probably came about just to give children something to do,
In the ancient world, as is today, most boys played with some kinds of toys and most girls with another, In societies where social roles are rigidly determined, boys pattern their play after the activities of their fathers and girls after the tasks of their mothers, This is true because boys and girls are being prepared, even in play, to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world,
What is remarkable about the history of toys is not so much how they changed over the centuries but how much they have remained the same, The changes have been mostly in terms of craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology, It is the universality of toys with regard to their development in all parts of the world and their persistence to the present that is amazing. In Egypt, the Americas, China, Japan and among the
Arctic
(北极的) peoples, generally the same kinds of toys appeared. Variations depended on local customs and ways of life because toys imitate their surroundings. Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles.
Because toys can be generally regarded as a kind of art form, they have not been subject to technological leaps that characterize inventions for adult use. The progress from the wheel to the oxcart to the automobile is a direct line of
ascent
(进步). The progress from a
rattle
(拨浪鼓) used by a baby in 3000 BC to one used by an infant today, however, is not characterized by inventiveness. Each rattle is the product of the artistic tastes of the times and subject to the limitations of available materials.Regarded as a kind of art form, toys ______.A．follow a direct line of ascent
B．also appeal greatly to adults
C．are not characterized by technological progress
D．reflect the pace of social progress
9.单项选择题Some Americans are a little nervous about the nation"s future, but others feel secure, knowing that the man they consider the most powerful person in the world isn"t going anywhere.
Just who is this behind-the-scenes guy they think has more power than George W. Bush ever will He"s Alan Greenspan, a 74-year-old expert economist who heads the Federal Reserve, commonly known as the Fed. Unlike the president, who has to please the voters and compromise with Congress, Greenspan doesn"t have to answer to anyone.
But that doesn"t mean his job is easy.
Basically, Greenspan is in charge of keeping the nation"s economy stable. The economy is sort of like a balloon: blow in too much air, and it pops. But with too little air, it falls to the floor. Greenspan helps decide when to blow more air into the economy, In this case, the air in a balloon is the amount of money in the economy. Greenspan can make the economy grow by increasing the money supply, or keep the economy from inflating too much by decreasing the money supply. His goal is for the economy to grow and contract gradually. Rapid changes can harm businesses and consumers.
After years of very high growth, the American economy is starting to slow down. Recently, corporations have been making less money and people are starting to have a harder time finding jobs. Greenspan is hoping to ease the economy into a soft landing. It"s just like to make the car come to a gentle stop instead of hitting a brick wall. If he succeeds, the country will avoid two possible problems: rising prices and high unemployment.
At the Fed"s meeting, Greenspan and the other members decided that the economy was growing at an OK rate, but that there is a possibility of a serious slowdown, and in order to solve that, they could lower interest rates at the next meeting in an attempt to encourage people to borrow and spend,
While there"s no way to know what they will decide, one thing is certain: the decisions that Greenspan and the Federal Reserve Board make will affect everyone who earns, borrows or spends money.Greenspan may help the country to avoid the problems EXCEPT ______.A．rising prices
B．high unemployment
C．economic slowdown
D．bank loans
10.填空题Questions on the Origins of Christmas
1. Why do we celebrate on December 25th
A The Bible makes no mention of Jesus being born on December 25th and, as more than one historian has pointed out, why would shepherds be tending to their flock in the middle of winter So why is that the day we celebrate Well, either Christian holidays miraculously fall on the same days as pagan ones or the Christians have been crafty in converting pagan populations to religion by placing important Christian holidays on the same days as pagan ones. And people had been celebrating on December 25th (and the surrounding weeks) for centuries by the time Jesus showed up.
B The Winter Solstice, falling on or around December 21st, was and is celebrated around the world as the beginning of the end of winter. It is the shortest day and longest night and its passing signifies that spring is on the way. In Scandinavian countries, they celebrated the solstice with a holiday called Yule last from the 21st until January and burned a Yule log the whole time. In Rome, Saturnalia—a celebration of Saturn, the God of agriculture—lasted the entire end of the year and was marked by mass intoxication. In the middle of this, the Romans celebrated the birth of another God, Mithra (a child God), whose holiday celebrated the children of Rome.
C When the Christianity became the official religion of Rome, there was no Christmas. It was not until the 4th century that Pope Julius I declared the birth of Jesus to be a holiday and picked December 25th as the celebration day. By the middle ages, most people celebrated the holiday we know as Christmas.
2. How did Americans come to love the holiday
D The American Christmas is, like most American holidays, a mishmash of Old World customs mixed with American inventions. While Christmas was celebrated in America from the time of the Jamestown settlement, our modem idea of the holiday didn"t take root until the 19th century. The History Channel credits Washington Irving with getting the ball rolling. In 1819 he published
The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent.
, an account of a Christmas celebration in which a rich family invites poor folk into their house to celebrate the holiday.
E The problem was that many of the activities described in Irving"s work, such as
Crowning a Lord of Misrule
, were entirely fictional. Nonetheless, Irving began to steer Christmas celebrations away from drunken
debauchery
(放荡) and towards wholesome, charitable fun. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, Christmas gained popularity and Americans adopted old customs or invented new ones, such as Christmas trees, greeting cards, giving gifts and eating a whole roasted pig.
3. Who popularized Christmas trees
F Since time immortal, humans have been fascinated with the color green and plants that stay green through winter. Many ancient societies—from Romans to Vikings—would decorate their Homes and temples with evergreens in the winter as a symbol of the returning growing season. But the Christmas tree didn"t get going until some
intrepid
(无畏的) German dragged home and decorated a tree in the 16th century. Legend has it that Martin Luther himself added lighted candles to his family"s tree, starting the trend (and leading to countless fires through the years). In America, the Christmas tree didn"t catch on until 1846 when the British royals, Queen Victoria and the German Prince Albert, were shown with a Christmas tree in a newspaper. Fashionable people in America mimicked the Royals and the tree thing spread outside of German
enclaves
(被为领土) in America.
Ornaments, courtesy of Germany, and electric lights, courtesy of Thomas Edison"s assistants, were added over the years and we haven"t changed much since.
4. What"s the deal with Santa Claus
G The jolly, red-suited man who sneaks into your home every year to leave you gifts hasn"t always been so jolly. The real Saint Nick was a Turkish monk who lived in the 3rd century. According to legend, he was a rich man thanks to an inheritance from his parents, but he gave it all away in the form of gifts to the less-fortunate. He eventually became the most popular saint in Europe and, through his alter ego, Santa Claus, remains so to this day. But how did a long-dead Turkish monk become a big, fat, reindeer-riding pole dweller The Dutch got the ball rolling by celebrating the saint—called Sinter Klaas—in New York in the late-18th century. Our old friend, Washington Irving, included the legend of Saint Nick in his seminal History of New-York as well, but at the turn of the 18th century, Saint Nick was still a rather obscure figure in America.
H On December 23, 1823, though, a man named Clement Clarke Moore published a poem he had written for his daughters called "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," better known now as "T" was the Night Before Christmas." Nobody knows how much of the poem Moore invented, but we do know that it was the spark that eventually lit the Santa fire. Many of the things we associate with Santa—a sleigh, reindeer, Christmas Eve visits—came from Moore"s poem. From 1863 to 1886, Thomas Nast"s illustrations of Santa Claus appeared in Harper"s Weekly—including a scene with Santa giving gifts to Union soldiers. Not much has changed since the second half of the 19th century: Santa still gets pulled in a sleigh by flying reindeer, he Still wears the big red suit and he still sneaks down chimneys to drop off presents.
5. Who invented Rudolph
I Santa did get one more friend in 1939. Robert May, a copywriter for the Montgomery Ward department store chain, wrote a little story about a 9th reindeer with a disturbing red nose for a booklet to give customers during the holiday season. Ten years later, May"s brother would put the story to music, writing the lyrics and melody.What Santa Claus does nowadays can be traced back to one of Clement Clarke Moore"s poems. 参考答案：H[解析] 根据Clement Clarke Moore"s poem可定位到H段第2、3句，这两句说很多有关圣诞老人的...