They were fresh，cheap，and big enough to feed a group of people．Americans like having large poultry(家禽) for celebrations because they don't need to pay a lot for the birds．Cows were more useful alive than dead，and beef wasn't widely offered until the late 19th century．Chicken was more highly regarded than it is today．Venison(鹿肉) would have been another choice，especially during the 17th and 18th centuries．Eating turkey was also a British holiday custom(风俗，习惯) people brought to the New World．
Among the big birds，turkey is the most suitable for Thanksgiving．Turkeys were born in the spring．They spend about seven months eating insects on the farm．By Thanksgiving，they have grown to about 10 pounds．Turkeys are cheaper than geese，which are more difficult to
raise，and cheaper by the pound than chickens．Cost is an important factor for holiday shoppers，because people will not prepare just one meal．Thanksgiving Day is the time to bake meal and other types of pies．The foods can last through the winter．
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。
( ) 1．The underlined word "savour" in Paragraph 1 probably means "________" in Chinese．
A．享用 B．欣赏 C．饲养 D．清洁
( ) 2．Why do Americans enjoy eating turkey on Thanksgiving day?
A．Turkeys were fresh．
B．Turkeys were big．
C．Turkeys were cheap．
D．All of the above．
( ) 3．How long do turkeys grow to about 10 pounds?
A．About three months．
B．About eight months．
C．About one year．
D．About eleven months．
( ) 4．What were more useful alive than dead?
A．Turkeys． B．Chicken． C．Cows． D．Geese．
( ) 5．The underlined word "factor" can be replaced by "________"．
A．opinion B．reason C．thought D．thing
答案：
1．A 根据第一段的内容可以推测是“吃，享用”的意思，所以选 A。
2．D 根据第二段内容可知，火鸡味道鲜美，价格低廉，个大，所以人们喜欢吃，即选 D。
3．B 根据第三段的内容可知，火鸡在春天出生，感恩节在 11 月份，所以应该是 8 个月左右的时间长成十磅。
4．C 根据短文内容可知，活着的奶牛比死的更有用，所以选 C。
5．D 由文中 Cost is an important factor for holiday shoppers，可知成本对于销售商来说是重要的事情(因素)，所以选 D。
六
The New Year is one of the happiest holidays in Russia．Christmas was a very important Russian holiday before．However，in the past one hundred years，the New Year has taken its place．
The New Year is also celebrated with a Christmas tree that has begun to be called a New Year tree．Russian people regard the coming year as the beginning of new life，a chance to make dreams come true．There is a tradition to make a wish while drinking champagne(香槟
酒)．Actually，champagne is the traditional drink of the first half hour of the New Year．And then beer or vodka(伏特加酒) takes its place．People make a lot of preparations before New Year's Day．They clean their houses and cook a lot of food．
Russian New Year is different from American Christmas．It is usually celebrated with friends while in America Christmas is usually celebrated with family．The New Year party is usually a very happy party with a lot of toasts(干杯，敬酒)，changing clothes，exchanging presents and congratulating each other．
Russians can have a lot of fun on New Year's Day．December 31st is working day，but
January 1st and 2nd are holidays，so it is a tradition for people to stay awake all night on New Year's Eve．And even children try not to go to sleep for as long as they can．People go out into the streets at night，light New Year trees and put them all around the town．
阅读短文，根据文章内容判断下列句子正(T)误(F)。
( ) 1．New year's Day is not as important as Christmas in Russia．
( ) 2．Russians usually drink beer or vodka first，and then drink champagne．
( ) 3．Russians usually exchange presents during the New Year party．
( ) 4．New Year holidays usually last from December 30th to January 2nd．
( ) 5．Russian New Year is not the same as American Christmas．
答案：
1．F 根据文章第一段的内容可知，以前圣诞节很重要，可是现在新年更重要，所以错误。
2．F 根据第二段内容可知，他们先是喝 champagne，后来又习惯于喝 beer or vodka，确定本句是错误的。
3．T 根据第三段的内容可知，在新年人们通常交换礼物，所以本句正确。
4．F 根据最后一段内容可知，12 月还在工作，1 月 1 — 2 号是新年，所以该题是错误的。
5．T 根据第一段的内容可以确定本句是正确的。
七
Whenever the sun dropped and the blue sky came up，my father and I used to climb the
mountain near my house．Walking together，my father and I used to have a lot of conversations through which I learned lessons from his experiences．He always told me，"You should have goals like climbing the mountain．" Without the mountain-climbing that we both enjoyed，we couldn't have enough time to spend together because my father was very busy．I really got a lot from mountain-climbing．It gave me time to talk with my father and to be in deep thought as well as develop my patience(耐力)．