Every year, as Spring Festival draws near, most Chinese people will get excited to make preparation for the most important festival and make plan for the winter break. It is a little like Christmas in the United States, but there are some differences between the two festivals.
Both the major Chinese and the major Western holidays come during the cold season, and special food is expected. In western countries, cookies and cakes begin just after Thanksgiving in November and show up everywhere. Turkey, potatoes and other food come later. Similar thing happens in China. Entering lunar December, most families will make shopping plans for the coming big day and food is certainly one of the most important things to be considered. At the end of the month, both parents in each family will be very busy---the father is busy buying food while the mother is busy cooking.
A deeper similarity (相似处) is tradition. Christmas, as the letters “Christ” suggests, began as a holiday to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. Many people pray (祈祷) on this day. In China, people living in cities or towns, though they don’t plan to sow seeds（播种） this month, still celebrate on the big day for farmers.
Followers of both holidays are also different from each other. While Chinese people travel to the homes of elder relatives, Americans usually call or send cards. Westerners prefer Christmas carols to fireworks. In Christmas, many family gifts come together instead of one by one, since adults may have only one day free to celebrate.
But the most curious difference is about students. Chinese students going home for Spring Festival sometimes report that they get bored by the end of vacation, yet American students seldom get bored around Christmas and western New Year.
Not everyone enjoys classic holiday traditions. Students in western countries may get upset, as too much homework, travel or bad family relations may destroy the short holiday season. In China, more and more college students choose to travel or work during the winter holiday instead of going home to stay with their families. It’s against the tradition but many people accept it.
【小题1】What does “the coming big day” (Paragraph 2) refer to?

Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in the numbered blanks by using the information from the passage. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
Garlic (大蒜) is one of the most common spices of the kitchen, and the good news is that growing garlic indoors is simple. Garlic can be easily grown at home from individual cloves (瓣), which is the most commonly used form of cultivating garlic than growing garlic from seeds. Here are some useful tips on growing garlic indoors.
Autumn is the best time to plant garlic. Garlic requires enough time to develop strong roots. In warmer climate, it can be delayed to late winter or early spring.
Ensure the container used to grow garlic is large enough for the roots to have enough space to grow. The larger the size of the container, the healthier and bigger the garlic bulbs (鳞茎) will be. The container should also have holes at the bottom so that the water can drain (流走) out easily.
Sow each clove vertically into the soil at a depth of one inch. Ensure that the bluntend (平端) is facing downward. In case of container gardening, the number of cloves to be sowed in each container depends on the size of the container. In case you are planning to sow more than one clove in each container, make sure that each clove is at least 5 inches apart from others.
For the best growth of the garlic plant, choose a sunny spot where there is enough air circulation (流通). This will aid evaporation (蒸发) of too much amount of water and prevent the soil from becoming too damp in case too much watering does occur. Window sill (窗台) is a good place to put your container of garlic plant.
Once the clove has been sowed, cover the soil with a layer of mulch (覆盖物) to protect the roots from extreme cold. Provide fertilizer at the correct time in right amounts, and proper watering. Once the garlic tips start appearing in the spring season, pull back the layer of mulch. Feed the plants once or twice every month with fertilizer.

Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in the numbered blanks by using the information from the passage. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Garlic (大蒜) is one of the most common spices of the kitchen, and the good news is that growing garlic indoors is simple. Garlic can be easily grown at home from individual cloves (瓣), which is the most commonly used form of cultivating garlic than growing garlic from seeds. Here are some useful tips on growing garlic indoors.

Autumn is the best time to plant garlic. Garlic requires enough time to develop strong roots. In warmer climate, it can be delayed to late winter or early spring.

Ensure the container used to grow garlic is large enough for the roots to have enough space to grow. The larger the size of the container, the healthier and bigger the garlic bulbs (鳞茎) will be. The container should also have holes at the bottom so that the water can drain (流走) out easily.

Sow each clove vertically into the soil at a depth of one inch. Ensure that the bluntend (平端) is facing downward. In case of container gardening, the number of cloves to be sowed in each container depends on the size of the container. In case you are planning to sow more than one clove in each container, make sure that each clove is at least 5 inches apart from others.

For the best growth of the garlic plant, choose a sunny spot where there is enough air circulation (流通). This will aid evaporation (蒸发) of too much amount of water and prevent the soil from becoming too damp in case too much watering does occur. Window sill (窗台) is a good place to put your container of garlic plant.

Once the clove has been sowed, cover the soil with a layer of mulch (覆盖物) to protect the roots from extreme cold. Provide fertilizer at the correct time in right amounts, and proper watering. Once the garlic tips start appearing in the spring season, pull back the layer of mulch. Feed the plants once or twice every month with fertilizer.

Garlic (大蒜) is one of the most common spices of the kitchen, and the good news is that growing garlic indoors is simple. Garlic can be easily grown at home from individual cloves (瓣), which is the most commonly used form of cultivating garlic than growing garlic from seeds. Here are some useful tips on growing garlic indoors.

Autumn is the best time to plant garlic. Garlic requires enough time to develop strong roots. In warmer climate, it can be delayed to late winter or early spring.

Ensure the container used to grow garlic is large enough for the roots to have enough space to grow. The larger the size of the container, the healthier and bigger the garlic bulbs (鳞茎) will be. The container should also have holes at the bottom so that the water can drain (流走) out easily.

Sow each clove vertically into the soil at a depth of one inch. Ensure that the blunt end (平端) is facing downward. In case of container gardening, the number of cloves to be sowed in each container depends on the size of the container. In case you are planning to sow more than one clove in each container, make sure that each clove is at least 5 inches apart from others.

For the best growth of the garlic plant, choose a sunny spot where there is enough air circulation (流通). This will aid evaporation (蒸发) of too much amount of water and prevent the soil from becoming too damp in case too much watering does occur. Window sill (窗台) is a good place to put your container of garlic plant.

Once the clove has been sowed, cover the soil with a layer of mulch (覆盖物) to protect the roots from extreme cold. Provide fertilizer at the correct time in right amounts, and proper watering. Once the garlic tips start appearing in the spring season, pull back the layer of mulch. Feed the plants once or twice every month with fertilizer.