Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension

　　SectionA

　　Directions: There are 4 passages in this part .Each of the passages is followed by 5 questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best one and mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET。(40points)

　　Passage One

　　While popular in the U. S., the April Fool’s Day tradition is even more prevalent in European countries, such as France and Great Britain. Although the roots of the traditional tricking are unclear, the French and the British both have claims on the origin of the celebration。

　　One theory holds that the first April Fool’s Day was on April 1 of the year when King of France instituted the new calendar. This new system placed the day that had formerly been the first day of a new year on April 1. Many people were reluctant to adjust to the new calendar and continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on what had become the first day of April. Thus, they became the first April Fools。

　　An English story about the day, however, holds that it began sometime during the 1200s. At the time, King John of England was in the habit of making a road out of nearly every path he walked regularly. The citizens of one particular farm village were aware of this. To avoid having their green meadows and pastures disturbed with one of the king’s roads, they built a fence that prevented the king from walking through their countryside. The king sent a group of messengers to inform that they must remove the barrier. Upon hearing that the King was planning to do this, however, the villagers developed a plan of their own. When the messengers arrived, they found what appeared to be a community of lunatics, with people behaving in a bizarre manner, throwing things and running around wildly. The messengers, alarmed at what they had found, reported to King John that these people were so mad as to be beyond punishment. So, the villagers saved their farmland by tricking the King. In Great Britain, tradition only allows April Fool’s tricks from midnight to moon on April 1. Those who try to play tricks in the afternoon become the fools themselves。

　　21. The word “prevalent” in the first sentence is nearest in meaning to “”。

　　A. unusual                 B. traditional

　　C. prevailing                               D. prosperous

　　22. As indicated in the passage, the first French April Fools were 。

　　A. people who supported the new calendar

　　B. people who opposed the new calendar

　　C. King of France

　　D. all the people in France

　　23. In the French story, some people were regarded as the first April Fools because 。

　　A. they celebrated New Year’s Day on Jan. 1st of the old calendar

　　B. they celebrated New Year’s Day on April 1st of the old calendar

　　C. they celebrated April Fool’s Day on Jan. 1st of the old calendar

　　D. they celebrated April Fool’s Day on April 1st of the old calendar

　　24. The villagers in the English story can be best described as 。

　　A. crazy                           B. brave

　　C. intelligent                       D. hard-working

　　25. The readers can learn from the last paragraph that the villagers built a fence 。

　　A. to show the king the way to their farmland

　　B. because their farmland had been ruined by their king

　　C. because their king often walked on their farmland

　　D. to prevent their king from turning their farmland into roads

　　Passage Two

　　When families gather for Christmas dinner, some will stick to formal traditions dating back to Grandma’s generation. Their tables will be set with the good dishes and silver, and the dress code will be Sunday-best。

　　But in many other homes, this china-and-silver elegance has given way to a stoneware-and-stainless informality, with dresses assuming an equally casual-Friday look. For hosts and guests, the change means greater simplicity and comfort. For makers of fine china in Britain, it spells economic hard times。

　　Last week Royal Doulton, the largest employer in Stoke-on-Trent, announced that it is eliminating 1,000 jobs—one—fifth of its total workforce. That brings to more than 4,000 the number of positions lost in 18 months in the pottery (陶瓷) region. Wedgwood and other pottery factories made cuts earlier。

　　Although a strong pound and weak markets in Asia play a role in the downsizing, the layoffs in Stoke have their roots in earthshaking social shifts. A spokesman for Royal Doulton admitted that the company “has been somewhat slow in catching up with the trend” toward casual dining. Families eat together less often, he explained, and more people eat alone, either because they are single or they eat in front of television。

　　Even dinner parties, if they happen at all, have gone casual. In a time of long work hours and demanding family schedules, busy hosts insist, rightly, that it’s better to share a takeout pizza on paper plates in the family room than to wait for the perfect moment or a “real” dinner party. Too often, the perfect moment never comes. Iron a fine-patterned tablecloth? Forget it. Polish the silver? Who has time?

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