Many of us already know about several American superstitions. Having a black cat cross your path, walking under a ladder, and breaking a mirror are all bad luck. In addition to these, there are many other superstitions that are worth knowing. Understanding them will keep you safe from evil spirits―if you believe in such things―and impress your American friends when you mention them.

Like the superstitions in other cultures, American superstitions often involve the things important in daily life, such as health, numbers, and marriage. For example, have you ever had a cough that would not go away? According to one American superstition, you should take a piece of your hair and put it between two slices of buttered bread. Next, feed this hair sandwich to a dog and say, “Eat well, you hound, may you be sick and I be sound.”This will trick the evil spirits and help your cough. It will also raise some eyebrows（眉毛） if you try it.

In American superstitions, the number three is very important. Often, Americans will say, “All things come in threes.” Three is lucky because it represents the traditional family: mother, father, and child. Therefore, gifts, letters, and guests will often arrive at your home in groups of three. However, it is also possible for bad events, like accidents and funerals, to come in threes as well.

Another time people pay attention to superstitions is when they get married. During a wedding, brides must wear or carry“something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.”The old and borrowed things will bring luck to the person who gives them to the bride. The new and blue things will bring good fortune to the bride herself. The next time someone you know is getting married, be sure to recite this phrase.

As it would be unlucky to discuss one more superstition, we will wind things up here. Keep your fingers crossed, and stay lucky!

 

73．The passage is most probably entitled(命名)“        ”.

A．American’s Bad Luck                    B．Cross-culture and Superstitions

C．American Superstitions                     D．Daily Life in Superstitions

74．The underlined sentence in the second paragraph“It will also raise some eyebrows if you try it”means:        .

A．When you try it, the dog will raise its eyebrows

B．You will make some people surprised when you try this trick

C．Only if you raise your eyebrows can the trick work

D．You will believe in the trick after you try it

75．In American’s view, the Number three is a(n)        number.

A．lucky                      B．unlucky                  C．special             D．ordinary

76．On the wedding, the bride often uses old and borrowed things so as to        .

A．save some money for the wedding

B．bring good luck to the people who give them to the bride

C．give the good luck to the bride herself

D．pass the bad luck to others

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This is the age of being busy. Many of us live in busy places and have busy lives. Even the roads are busy as we try to get from here to there. Adults are busy going to jobs and taking care of their families. Kids are busy, too, going to school and doing a lot of homework after school and on weekends.

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C. Raise the topic sentence

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下面短文中有10處語(yǔ)言錯(cuò)誤。請(qǐng)?jiān)谟绣e(cuò)誤的地方增加、刪除或修改某個(gè)單詞。
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Dear teacher,
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4.What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Working Is Happy

B．The Story of the Chicago Bulls

C．Good Choice

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C. asked some questions                    D. followed the delivery person out

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A. joyful          B. thankful            C. pitiful        D. fearful

 

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Holidays are really important. Many of us will have childhood memories of summer holidays where we were taken away from home to experience new environments and learn in different ways.

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In setting out its plans for a five-term year, Nottingham City Council (委員會(huì))is seeking to reduce the summer holiday down lo four and a half weeks, with a more balanced five terms of roughly eight weeks, each followed by a two-week break. We believe this will give real “down time" for school staff and pupils alike but will be short enough not to cause a real break in learning.

We acknowledge that this change may be difficult for some school staff, particularly whose own children are educated in other authorities. However, this must be weighed against the benefits for city children for whom we all have the greatest duty of care.

1.The passage is probably written by      .

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C. an inspired student        D. a working parent

2.The underlined word "they" in the second paragraph refers to "       ’.

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A.      obtain the cheapest holidays without additional costs

B.      get a chance to spend six weeks a term with teachers in school

C.      have more school days to receive free school meals

D.      benefit more from the caring and inspiring learning environment

5.It can be inferred from the passage that          _______.

A.      some school staff will say “ No" to the plans for a shorter summer holiday

B.      the suggested plans for a five-term school year can hardly be carried out

C.      the long summer holiday gives teachers and students real "down time"

D.      working parents can enjoy a five-week break to care for their children

 

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