七年级期末试卷2017:英文高手进来

Spring Festival

The Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Chinese people and is when all family members get together, just like Christmas in the West. All people living away from home go back, becoming the busiest time for transportation systems of about half a month from the Spring Festival. Airports, railway stations and long-distance bus stations are crowded with home returnees.

The Spring Festival falls on the 1st day of the 1st lunar month, often one month later than the Gregorian calendar. It originated in the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 BC-c. 1100 BC) from the people's sacrifice to gods and ancestors at the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one.

Strictly speaking, the Spring Festival starts every year in the early days of the 12th lunar month and will last till the mid 1st lunar month of the next year. Of them, the most important days are Spring Festival Eve and the first three days. The Chinese government now stipulates people have seven days off for the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Many customs accompany the Spring Festival. Some are still followed today, but others have weakened.

On the 8th day of the 12th lunar month, many families make laba porridge, a delicious kind of porridge made with glutinous rice, millet, seeds of Job's tears, jujube berries, lotus seeds, beans, longan and gingko.

The 23rd day of the 12th lunar month is called Preliminary Eve. At this time, people offer sacrifice to the kitchen god. Now however, most families make delicious food to enjoy themselves.

After the Preliminary Eve, people begin preparing for the coming New Year. This is called "Seeing the New Year in".

Store owners are busy then as everybody goes out to purchase necessities for the New Year. Materials not only include edible oil, rice, flour, chicken, duck, fish and meat, but also fruit, candies and kinds of nuts. What's more, various decorations, new clothes and shoes for the children as well as gifts for the elderly, friends and relatives, are all on the list of purchasing.

Before the New Year comes, the people completely clean the indoors and outdoors of their homes as well as their clothes, bedclothes and all their utensils.

Then people begin decorating their clean rooms featuring an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. All the door panels will be pasted with Spring Festival couplets, highlighting Chinese calligraphy with black characters on red paper. The content varies from house owners' wishes for a bright future to good luck for the New Year. Also, pictures of the god of doors and wealth will be posted on front doors to ward off evil spirits and welcome peace and abundance.

The Chinese character "fu" (meaning blessing or happiness) is a must. The character put on paper can be pasted normally or upside down, for in Chinese the "reversed fu" is homophonic with "fu comes", both being pronounced as "fudaole." What's more, two big red lanterns can be raised on both sides of the front door. Red paper-cuttings can be seen on window glass and brightly colored New Year paintings with auspicious meanings may be put on the wall.

People attach great importance to Spring Festival Eve. At that time, all family members eat dinner together. The meal is more luxurious than usual. Dishes such as chicken, fish and bean curd cannot be excluded, for in Chinese, their pronunciations, respectively "ji", "yu" and "doufu," mean auspiciousness, abundance and richness. After the dinner, the whole family will sit together, chatting and watching TV. In recent years, the Spring Festival party broadcast on China Central Television Station (CCTV) is essential entertainment for the Chinese both at home and abroad. According to custom, each family will stay up to see the New Year in.

Waking up on New Year, everybody dresses up. First they extend greetings to their parents. Then each child will get money as a New Year gift, wrapped up in red paper. People in northern China will eat jiaozi, or dumplings, for breakfast, as they think "jiaozi" in sound means "bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new". Also, the shape of the dumpling is like gold ingot from ancient China. So people eat them and wish for money and treasure.

Southern Chinese eat niangao (New Year cake made of glutinous rice flour) on this occasion, because as a homophone, niangao means "higher and higher, one year after another." The first five days after the Spring Festival are a good time for relatives, friends, and classmates as well as colleagues to exchange greetings, gifts and chat leisurely.

Burning fireworks was once the most typical custom on the Spring Festival. People thought the spluttering sound could help drive away evil spirits. However, such an activity was completely or partially forbidden in big cities once the government took security, noise and pollution factors into consideration. As a replacement, some buy tapes with firecracker sounds to listen to, some break little balloons to get the sound too, while others buy firecracker handicrafts to hang in the living room.

The lively atmosphere not only fills every household, but permeates to streets and lanes. A series of activities such as lion dancing, dragon lantern dancing, lantern festivals and temple fairs will be held for days. The Spring Festival then comes to an end when the Lantern Festival is finished.

China has 56 ethnic groups. Minorities celebrate their Spring Festival almost the same day as the Han people, and they have different customs.
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Valentine’s Day 情人节

It’s that time of the year when couples show their love for each other by
sending cards, flowers and chocolates. But Valentine’s Day is not only about
public displays of affection, in recent years it has also become big business.
In the UK alone, more than £20 million is spent on flowers, whilst in the United
States over $1 billion is forked out on chocolates.
Although Valentine’s Day has become a global industry with more than 80
million roses sold worldwide, the origins of the day are unclear and hidden in
the mists of time. Nobody knows exactly who St Valentine was, although
some historians suggest he was a Roman martyred in the third century AD
by a Roman Emperor.
It is said that the first recorded Valentine’s card was sent by the imprisoned
Duke of Orleans in 1415. It is believed that he sought solace from his
confinement by writing love poems to his wife.
Valentine’s Day, or its equivalent, is now celebrated in many countries around
the world. However, the traditions often differ from place to place. In Japan,
for example, it is customary for the woman to send chocolates to the man,
whilst in Korea April 14th is known as ‘Black Day’ and is when the unfortunate
men who received nothing on Valentine’s Day gather to eat noodles and
commiserate with each other.
Technological developments have also played their part in keeping Valentine’s
Day relevant in the 21st century. Valentine’s e-cards have been all the rage
in recent years. However, internet security experts urge web users to be wary
as malicious hackers could use e-cards to spread viruses and spyware.
Valentine’s cards can also be used for less than romantic purposes. This year
police in the UK city of Liverpool sent Valentine’s cards to criminals who failed
to appear in court or have not paid fines. The cards contained the verse,
“Roses are red, violets are blue, you’ve got a warrant, and we’d love to see
you.”
Who says romance is dead?

New Year
New Year in the UK usually starts with a celebration on
New Year’s Eve (31stDecember). Some people spend the evening at home with their family, or have
a party for friends at their house.
Others go to a pub to celebrate, or spend the evening in a large public space,
for example Trafalgar Square in London.
The beginning of the New Year is signified by the chiming of Big Ben, the
famous London clock, at midnight, which is also shown on TV for those who are
staying in.
In Scotland, New Year is called Hogmanay, and for some people, it’s a bigger
celebration than Christmas. In big cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow there are
street parties with around 100,000 people, enjoying music, entertainment
and fireworks at midnight.
One Scottish tradition which is now popular throughout the UK as well as in the
USA, is the singing of a traditional folk song. ‘Auld lang syne’, reminds us to
think of old friends and remember the good times of the past, as we look to
the future.
Although New Year’s Eve involves drinking alcohol for many people, New
Year’s Day signals the start of a healthier life, as some people make New
Year’s resolutions.
Often these are connected with fitness and health, for example giving up
smoking or drinking, taking more exercise or losing weight. Other people make
a resolution to improve their life in other ways, such as spending more time
with family, learning something new, or getting out of debt.
Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to stick to your resolutions, especially if
they are related to saving money. The January sales can provide shopaholics
with far too much temptation.
Almost every shop is full of special offers and bargains, which can make it
hard to just go window shopping.