Christmas Day is for eating，drinking，watching bad TV-and trying to cover up your embarrassment as you realize your husband's aunt Maud has spent her pension on your present while you bought her a set of Christmas cards．
Present-buying can be a minefield：from how much to spend，to whether to risk surprising receivers with a gift they don't want，to knowing if you should buy your neighbor you only say hello to a little something．
Here，F(xiàn)EMAIL has asked experts for their top tips on how to select present to ensure the only thing that's red this Christmas is Santa Claus' nose．
"If you've just started seeing someone you don't need to spend a fortune，" says dating advisor James Preece．
"It's much better to impress them with your imagination by choosing a gift that's a little bit different．￡20 is about the right amount，with a maximum of ￡50 if you can afford it．"
"Or you don't even need to go that far"，says relationship expert and founder of BeLoveCurious．com，Helen Rice．"Plan to spend a romantic evening together or have a fun day out．Feel free to give the person you're dating something thoughtful，just don't spend a lot of money．"
"If you're in a long-term relationship then your budget really reflects on your personal situation，" adds James．"You don't need to go crazy，but it's a great opportunity to show you love and appreciate them．"
"It's also best to buy a few cheaper presents rather than big one．Part of the fun is the mystery and unwrapping，so it will last longer if you give them several to enjoy．"
（1）What is the purpose of the first paragraph in this article？ AA
A．To arrest the attention of readers．
B．To criticize greed of mean couples．
C．To describe traditional customs of Christmas Day．
D．To express sympathies for embarrassed senior citizens．
（2）What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 imply？ DD
A．To accumulate red symbols for Christmas atmosphere．
B．To calculate how much paint they need to decorate the house．
C．To surprise their friends with their delicate intention．
D．To avoid unnecessary embarrassment when sending gifts．
（3）Which statement does James Preece agree？ CC
A．Only rare treasures can move a stone heart．
B．Diamonds are girls' best friends．
C．Curiosity to gifts adds to fun．
D．True friends need nothing but trust．
（4）Who are the target readers of this article？ CC
A．Those who cannot afford expensive eating．
B．Those who want to fix their broken friendship．
C．Those who have trouble in picking proper gifts．
D．Those who have once quarreled with their neighbors．
【答案】A；D；C；C
【解答】
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發(fā)布：2024/11/7 18:0:2組卷：43引用：2難度：0.5
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1．British children's writer Roald Dahl ate chocolates and sweets "pretty much every mealtime"，remembers daughter Ophelia Dahl．
After dinner，whether dining alone or entertaining guests，Dahl would pass around a little red plastic box full of Mars Bars，Milky Ways，Maltesers，Kit Kats and much more．
He knew the history of all the sweets and could tell you exactly when they were invented．1937 was a big year when Kit Kats （his favorite），Rolos and Smarties （his dog，chopper's favorite） were invented．He wrote a history of chocolate，lecturing schoolchildren to commit such dates to memory（熟記），such as 1928 when "Cadbury's Fruit and Nut Bar popped up on the scene"，saying． "Don't bother with the Kings and Queens of England．All of you should learn these dates instead．Perhaps the Headmistress（女校長）will see from now on that it becomes part of the major teaching in this school．"
According to Dahl，the Golden Years of Chocolate were 1930-1937．In 1930，Roald Dahl was 14 years old．He was a student at Repton，a famous boys' boarding school in England．It was a tough environment：those in authority were more interested in controlling than educating the students．
Ironically（諷刺地），it was at this difficult period that chocolate became Dahl's passion．Near Repton was a Cadbury chocolate factory．Every so often，Cadbury would send each schoolboy a sampler（樣品）box of new chocolates to taste and grade．They were using the students---"the greatest chocolate bar experts in the world to test out their new inventions．
This was when Dahl's imagination took flight．He pictured factories with inventing rooms with pots of chocolate and fudge（軟糖）and "all sorts of other delicious fillings bubbling away on the stoves"．
"It was lovely dreaming those dreams…when I was looking for a plot for my second book for children．I remembered those little cardboard boxes（紙盒）and the newly invented chocolates inside them，and I began to write a book called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory．"
For the record，Roald Dahl did not like chocolate cake or chocolate ice cream．He said， "I prefer my chocolate straight．"
（1）What's the purpose of the first paragraph？
A．To introduce the main topic---Roald Dahl．
B．To introduce Dahl's love for chocolate．
C．To introduce main character's daily life．
D．To introduce some important characters．
（2）What can we infer from the passage about Roald Dahl？
A．He treated himself with various chocolate after dinner secretly．
B．He has a good knowledge of chocolate，especially its history．
C．He used to lecture schoolchildren of a boys' boarding school．
D．He only wrote some books related to the history of chocolate．
（3）What happened during the Golden Years of Chocolate？
A．It was a great time for children to get educated．
B．Those years stopped Dahl's interest in chocolate．
C．Students could become chocolate experts then．
D．Roald Dahl's passion for chocolate was lit up then．
（4）gave Roald Dahl inspiration to write Charlie and Chocolate Factory．
A．the dream about chocolates．
B．Factories with chocolate and fudge．
C．Those boxes with chocolate．
D．Chocolate cakes and ice cream發(fā)布：2025/1/30 8:0:1組卷：0引用：1難度：0.5 -
2．Recently，a film star has been giving away free books on the London Underground．If you're a bookworm，a Harry Potter fan and a London Underground user，then it's been an exciting month for you．
Emma Watson，who starred in films based on the novels about a fictional schoolboy wizard，has been hiding books on the Tube for passengers to read through．
It's part of he Book On The Underground movement，which has a simple aim：to get more people burying themselves in literature．Books are left on trains for passengers to pick up，dip into and then leave for another lucky reader to skim．
The movement started in 2012 and drops off about 150 books a week in stations across London．Talking about Watson's participation in the project，the manager of Books On The Under ground，Cornelia Oxley，said， "The reaction has been great．It must be a mixture of how much everyone admires Emma，and how exciting it is to find something as wonderful as a new book on your journey．"
The 100 or so books Watson left for passengers to read were even more special because she left a hand-written inscription（題詞）．The books were Kaya Angelou's Mom & Me & Mom．
One person who discovered a copy of the book on the Tube said she felt like the character Charlie Bucket - a boy who finds a golden ticket to the world's greatest chocolate factory - in the Roald Dahl's classic，Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Watson became a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in the summer of 2014 and has since started reading as many books and essays on equality and feminism（饑荒） as possible．She has also started her own book club．
So．Why not take a leaf out of Emma Watson's book and leave a copy of your favorite book on a train？It could make a stranger's life richer．
（1）What does Books On The Underground aim to do？
A．To get more readers to buy their books．
B．To leave books on trains．
C．To find lucky readers．
D．To get more people to read．
（2）Which of the following statements is NOT true？
A．People's admiration for Emma Watson contributes to the success of the movement．
B．There is a golden ticket to the world's greatest chocolate factory in the book．
C．To find something wonderful on a journey is exciting．
D．Emma Watson left hand-written inscriptions on the books．
（3）What's the author's attitude towards Emma Watson's leaving books on the train？
A．critical
B．indifferent
C．supportive
D．pessimistic發(fā)布：2025/1/30 8:0:1組卷：0引用：1難度：0.5 -
3．It can be really hard to learn a new language．I had always enjoyed learning languages in school，but only recently did I start learning German．I found that I could understand and learn individual words easily，but when it came to literature，I really struggled．That was when my tutor at university suggested reading some children's books printed in the target language．
At first，I felt a bit silly going on a hunt for a book designed for someone half my age，but then I realised that everyone has to start somewhere．As children，we are given these basic texts to familiarise our brains with certain vocabulary and writing structures，and from there，we can learn and develop．I started with books which are taught to us as children in the UK．I managed to find Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl．
The beauty of reading books that were introduced to you as a child is that you are already familiar with the plot．Therefore you can work out some words with your knowledge of the story．At first，I used to read with the book in one hand and a dictionary in the other，but this did not work well．The method I would recommend is to read a chapter first and at the end of that chapter，highlight the new words and then look up the definitions．If you can wait a bit before using a dictionary，you may be surprised what you can understand merely from the context．Additionally，a lot of children's books have pictures which may give you a clue as to what or to whom the passage is referring．
If you can find a translation of the books you have read as a child，I would strongly advise reading those if you are a complete beginner．However，if you feel a bit more confident reading in English，I would personally recommend the series of 'Harry Potter' books by J．K．Rowling or any of the Roald Dahl children's books．
（1）What makes it hard for the author to learn German？
A．The author had a poor memory．
B．The author had no interest in it．
C．The author had no one to ask for help．
D．The author couldn't read books fluently．
（2）What did the author think of reading children's books in the target language at first？
A．Interesting．
B．Stupid．
C．Helpful．
D．Boring．
（3）What does the author try to express mainly in Paragraph 3？
A．How to deal with new words while reading．
B．Why it is helpful to read children's book at first．
C．How to choose a proper book to match your level．
D．How to form the habit of reading in the target language．
（4）Why does the author write this text？
A．To give tips on how to learn a new language．
B．To persuade the readers to learn a new language．
C．To stress the importance of reading in language learning．
D．To share the author's stories of learning a new language．發(fā)布：2025/1/30 8:0:1組卷：5引用：1難度：0.5