Since long ago,greeting cards have been considered a time-saver.More than 150 years ago,a busy Englishman,Sir Henry,asked a friend to design a card so that he didn't have to labour to write holiday letters to his friends at the end of the year.Those paper cards are now the tradition.

But time,like sunlight,is still in short supply for December.That's why the Internet is ready to make a change in holiday greeting customs.Already,those,who are always busy,like sending video greetings by e-mail.So,don't be surprised to find a lively card in your electronic mail box at the end of the year or at any time you should have one.

A recent survey by the Shared Greetings Company found 50 percent of all the Internet users will send online cards especially during the holiday seasons.“That is a lot easier,and it is lively,”said Carol,a New Yorker,who had stopped at the Shared Greetings Company demonstration() online.With her children's help,she sent her first e-card before Thanksgiving Day.“It was the first time I had done something like this;it's quite enjoyable,”she said.

“I will send online Christmas cards to my friends,”said Marcos,a 22-year-old student.“It costs so little and you can even send numbers of greetings at a time.”But he added “the e-card also has its limits,and I don't think it is ready to replace the paper card for the more formal or traditional occasions.For some people,I would rather buy paper cards and mail them traditionally.I believe it is more personal and respectful in that way,”he said.

Well,for those who are very busy but still prefer to do a lot of greetings to different receivers in the holiday season,the Internet may have another way.“Now you can use the Net to decide and send as many as 50 beautiful cards,which allows the buyer to choose the inside saying,as well as the ink colour and typeface,only costing about 30 minutes,”said Julie,vice-president of marketing for an electronic card company-Hallmark Company.“And if you are in less of a hurry,you can spend another 30 minutes sitting in your home or office to create a photo card,showing off your kids,your pets or even your new house-anything as your favorite design for your relatives and friends.”

How can we understand “But time,like sunlight,is still in short supply for December”in Paragraph 2?

A.December cannot supply enough time for people because the sunlight in this month is short.

B.People are always busy at the end of the year,so time is precious like the sunlight in winter.

C.Time is short at the end of the year,like the sunlight in December.

D.Time passes quickly like the sunlight in winter as December comes.

According to the 22-year-old student,he would probably mail e-cards to everyone except_________.

A.the members of his family

B.his girlfriend

C.the teachers who have taught him

D.his schoolmates

If you are quite busy,but having many greetings to send,which of the following is your best choice?

A.Ordering a lot of cards you like online and sending them from the post office.

B.Getting as many cards from your electronic mail box and mailing them on the Net.

C.Sitting and writing lots of beautiful cards at home and sending them just in a traditional way.

D.Choosing personalized cards in numbers and mailing them directly on the Net.

         I was a single parent of four small children, working at a low-paid job. Money was always tight, but we had a   36   over our heads, food on the table, clothes on our backs, and if not a lot, always   37  . Not knowing we were poor, my kids(孩子们) just thought I was   38  . I’ve always been glad about that.

         It was Christmas time, and although there wasn’t   39   for a lot of gifts, we planned to celebrate with a family party. But the big   40   for the kids was the fun of Christmas   41  .

They planned weeks ahead of time, asking   42   what they wanted for Christmas. Fortunately, I had saved $120 for   43   to share by all five of us.

The big   44   arrived. I gave each kid a twenty-dollar bill and   45   them to look for gifts of about four dollars each. Then everyone scattered(散开). We had two hours to shop; then we would   46   back at the “Santa’s Workshop”.

Driving home, everyone was in high Christmas spirits,   47   my younger daughter, Ginger, who was unusually   48  . She had only one small, flat bag with a few candies　— fifty-cent candies! I was so angry, but I didn’t say anything   49   we got home. I called her into my bedroom and closed the door,  50   to be angry again. This is what she told me.

         “I was looking   51   thinking of what to buy, and I   52   to read the little cards on the ‘Giving Trees.’ One was for a little girl, four years old, and all she   53   for Christmas was a doll(玩具娃娃). So I took the card off the tree and   54   the doll for her. We have so much and she doesn’t have anything.”

         I never felt so   55   as I did that day.

36. A. roof                                    B. hat                                   C. sky                          D. star

37. A. little                                   B. less                                  C. enough                  D. more

38. A. busy                                   B. serious                            C. strict                      D. kind

39. A. effort                                 B. room                                C. time                        D. money

40. A. improvement                     B. problem                     C. surprise               D. excitement

41. A. shopping                           B. travelling                        C. parties                            D. greetings

42. A. the other                          B. each other            C. one by one            D. every other one

43. A. toys                       B. clothes                            C. presents       D. bills

44. A. day                                     B. chance                            C. cheque                            D. tree

45. A. forced                          B. reminded                   C. invited                   D. begged

46. A. draw                                  B. stay                                  C. move                      D. meet

47. A. including                           B. besides                           C. except          D. regarding

48. A. quiet                                  B. excited                            C. happy                     D. ashamed

49. A. since                                  B. after                                C. while                      D. until

50. A. waiting                     B. ready                               C. hoping          D. afraid

51. A. out                                      B. over                                 C. forward                 D. around

52. A. forgot                                B. stopped                          C. failed                      D. hated

53. A. wanted                    B. did                                    C. got                                   D. played

54. A. made                                 B. searched                        C. bought                            D. fetched

55. A. angry                                 B. rich                                   C. patient                            D. bitter

         How to say hello in Japanese depends on when you say it. This is very much like different greetings used in English at different times of the day or night. In Japanese culture, it also depends on whether you are on the phone or meeting somebody or whether you are close to the person you are greeting. We don`t get formal with our close friends. We seldom greet them with “Good morning” or “Good evening”. A “Hi” is enough.

         Although the most popular and most well-known translation for “Hello” is still “Konniqiwa” , it is not exactly how to say hello in Japanese. Perhaps it is not the most suitable word for it. Actually, the correct greeting in English for “Konniqiwa” is “Good day” or “Good noon”, and I am sure you wouldn`t like greeting people with a “Good day” at any time, and neither do Japanese like saying “Konniqiwa” when they want to say “Hello” .

         So what to do? Let`s do it the way the Japanese do. Use “Ohaiyo Gonzaimasu” for “Good morning”, “Konniqiwa” when it`s noon and “Konbanwa” to greet somebody in the afternoon. Things differ when you are on the phone. Just say “Moshi, Moshi”, which is actually similar to saying “Hello” over the phone, because one hardly ever uses “Good morning” or “Good afternoon” or “Good evening” right after picking up the phone. It is invariably the sweet old “Hello”.

         Next time, I`ll tell something about my life in Japan.

51. What’s the best title for this passage?

    A. How to say hello

    B. How to greet close friends in Japanese

C. How to greet people in Japanese

    D. Some differences between English and Japanese

52. Japanese people greet each other by saying “_________” in the afternoon.

    A. Moshi, Moshi         B. Konniqiwa    C. Ohaiyo Gonzaimasu    D. Konbanwa

53. In the writer`s opinion, ___________.

    A. Japanese culture is similar to American culture

    B. Jpanese people don`t like using “Konniqiwa” as a greeting for the whole day

    C. people don`t need to be polite to their close friends

    D. Japanese people are very friendly to each other

54. What does the underlined word “invariably” in the last paragraph mean?

    A. probably         B. always                        C. sometimes       D. likely

America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending sometimes deeply into both families.
ericans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily. Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home.
【小题1】In which part of a newspaper can this article be found?

A．Culture.

B．News.

C．Story.

D．Travel.

【小题2】Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families.

B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives.

C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy.

D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break.

【小题3】The underlined words “flower”(in Line 5) probably means ___________.

A．weaken

B．develop

C．stretch

D．disappear

【小题4】From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be___________.

A．treated hospitably at his home	B．offered a ride to his home
C． warmly welcomed at the airport	D．treated to dinner in a restaurant

【小题5】The writer mainly talks about ___________ in the text.

A．friendships between Chinese	B．Americans’ hospitality
C．different views of friendship	D．friendships between Americans