Two Christmas traditions have come under attack in recent years from environmentalists: Christmas cards and Christmas trees.

Paper cards are seen as wasteful and, for some people, going card-free is another way of going green. They also argue that in a world of e-mail, Skype, Facebook and Twitter, people are in touch all the time anyway; they no longer need the yearly card that connects them with long lost friends. If you want to send Christmas greetings, there are free e-cards, which get the job done with no postage or wasted paper.

However, especially for people who didn’t grow up with e-mail, there is something missing from a Christmas e-mail. The first Christmas cards appeared in London in 1843 and were designed by the same man who had introduced the world’s first postage stamp three years earlier. His name was Sir Henry Cole.

They rose in popularity throughout the 20th century. Many people sent cards that were sold for charity. The most famous of these are the ones sold for UNICEF. In the UK this year, in the three weeks before Christmas, the post office expects to handle 100 million cards every day. Environmental awareness also means that nowadays many people recycle their cards; this helps raise money to plant more trees, as well as recreating more paper.

When we think of trees at Christmas, there is one that immediately springs(躍入)mind---the evergreen tree that people decorate with ornaments and place their presents under. The custom dates back almost a thousand years to Germany. Nowadays 33 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced in America and 50 to 60 million in Europe each year. Some trees are sold live with roots and soil so people can plant them later and reuse them next year.

Some people prefer artificial trees as they are reusable and much cheaper than their natural alternative. However, environmentalists point out that they are made from petroleum (石油) products and so have many pollution issues.

1.What is the main idea of the article?

A．To introduce the history of two typical Christmas traditions.

B．To explain the debate about some Christmas traditions.

C．To analyze how two Christmas traditions grew in popularity.

D．To point out the problems caused by celebrating Christmas.

2.What does the underlined word “They” in the fourth paragraph probably mean?

A．Many people       B．Christmas e-mails    C．Postage stamps     D．Christmas cards

3.Some people suggest getting rid of paper cards because     .

a. they cannot be recycled         b. they are not environmentally friendly

c. they are mostly sold for charity  d. the e-cards have many advantages over them

e. they are not as necessary as they used to be for people

A．a(chǎn), b, d            B．a(chǎn), c, d             C．b, d, e            D．b, c, e

4.What can we conclude from the article?

A．The first Christmas cards were designed earlier than the world’s first stamps.

B．This year has seen a dramatic drop in Christmas card sales.

C．Environmentalists advise people to buy cards that are sold for charity.

D．Growing environmental awareness is encouraging people to recycle their cards.

5.Which of the following statements in TRUE according to the article?

A．There is always a wider Christmas tree market in America than in Europe.

B．The custom of decorating Christmas trees first appeared in Britain.

C．Some people prefer to buy live trees that can be reused next year.

D．Artificial trees are better than natural ones in all aspects.

 

【答案】

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.D

5.C

【解析】

試題分析:本文是一篇說(shuō)明文，說(shuō)明了圣誕節(jié)習(xí)俗：圣誕卡片和圣誕樹(shù)，對(duì)其進(jìn)行討論，圣誕卡片浪費(fèi)紙，圣誕樹(shù)是由石油做成的，有很多的污染

1.推理題，由本文的主要意思“辯論圣誕節(jié)習(xí)俗，有圣誕卡片、圣誕樹(shù)等”，可以推出答案，故選B。

2.推理題，由第四段第一行Many people sent cards that were sold for charity.可以推出答案，所以選D。

3.細(xì)節(jié)題，由第二段第一行Paper cards are seen as wasteful第三行they no longer need the yearly card that connects them with long lost friends.和最后一句which get the job done with no postage or wasted paper可以知道答案，所以選C

4.細(xì)節(jié)題，由倒數(shù)第三段倒數(shù)第三行Environmental awareness also means that nowadays many people recycle their cards可以知道答案，所以選D

5.細(xì)節(jié)題，由最后一段第一句Some people prefer artificial trees as they are reusable and much cheaper than their natural alternative.可以知道答案，所以選C

考點(diǎn)：本篇是一篇說(shuō)明文

點(diǎn)評(píng)：本文說(shuō)明了辯論圣誕節(jié)習(xí)俗，有圣誕卡片、圣誕樹(shù)等。做細(xì)節(jié)題的關(guān)鍵是找出原文的根據(jù)，認(rèn)真核查題支和原文的異同，常犯錯(cuò)誤有：絕對(duì)化語(yǔ)言，范圍擴(kuò)大或縮小，以偏概全，張冠李戴等。推斷題測(cè)試考生在閱讀基礎(chǔ)上的邏輯推理能力，要求考生根據(jù)文章所述事件的邏輯關(guān)系，對(duì)未說(shuō)明的趨勢(shì)或結(jié)局作出合理的推斷；或根據(jù)作者所闡述的觀點(diǎn)理論，對(duì)文章未涉及的現(xiàn)象、事例給以解釋�？忌紫纫屑�(xì)閱讀短文，完整了解信息，準(zhǔn)確把握作者觀點(diǎn)。

 

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