St.Patrick's Day is Ireland's greatest national holiday as well as a holy(神圣的) day.Each year, millions of people world－wide celebrate this __1__on March 17, the date of St.Patrick's death.It is a happy holiday for the Irish living in Ireland and __2__.The day is celebrated with parades(游行), speeches, festival dinners, and dances.__3__ is the colour of the day, with thousands of little cloth shamrocks(三叶草) on.

   St.Patrick was born in Britain to __4__ parents near the end of the fourth century.At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders(入侵者)  __5__ his family's wealth.So he had to __6__ a shepherd, outdoors and away from people.__7__lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion(宗教) and became a Christian.

The first St.Patrick's Day parade  __8__ not in Ireland, but in the United States.Irish soldiers in the British army __9__ through New York City on March 17, 1762 with Irish music.Since then, St.Patrick's Day parades have become a way for Irish Americans to show their  __10__every year.In 1948, President Truman  __11__the New Year City's St.Patrick's Day parade, which was a __12__moment for many Irish people whose fathers and grandfathers had to fight against people who disliked them to find  __13__ in America.

It was in Boston where the Day was first celebrated in a public way. __14__ since 1762, the New York City's parade on St.Patrick's Day has __15___ more than one million people each year.

Meanwhile, the city of Chicago has __16__ a special tradition of colouring the river water green.It started in 1962 when 100 pounds of green paint was __17__ its rivers, enough to keep them green for a week.The __18__ has continued till today.Now, 40 pounds of a green food colouring keeps the rivers green for only a few hours.Historically, __19__the shamrocks and things green has become a __20__ symbol of declaring the Irish national and cultural identity(特性)．

1．A.holiday　　B．festival　　　C．honor　　　D．date

2．A.places    B．abroad       C．England    D．aboard

3．A.Green    B．Blue        C．Grass       D．Red

4．A.poor     B．cruel       C．unhealthy      D．wealthy

5．A.giving   B．stealing      C．attacking      D．processing

6．A.serve in  B．stand for     C．work as       D．act for

7．A.Feeling  B．Keeping     C．Remaining     D．performing

8．A.held up   B．took place  C．was occurred   D．happened

9．A.advanced  B．marched  C．processed  D．progressed

10．A.existence   B．anger  C．struggle  D．importance

11．A.led        B．attended  C．joining  D．acting

12．A.responsible  B．forgettable  C．proud  D．unthinkable

13．A.reception  B．acceptance  C．refusal  D．resistance

14．A.Celebrated          B．Completed

C．Held             D．Performed

15．A.attempted  B．drawn   C．driven   D．employed

16．A.developed  B．created   C．built   D．invented

17．A.added up  B．added up to  C．added to  D．risen to

18．A.custom   B．tradition   C．habit  D．practice

19．A.making up          B．dressing in

C．wearing           D．having

20．A.abstract  B．practical  C．false  D．powerful

Never ???? to him that he could be admitted to the famous university.

A. occurred it???????? ????????????? B. it did occur?????? ????????????? C. did it occur??????? ????????????? 　D. it occurred

It suddenly　　  to me that we could use a computer to do the job.

A.took place　　　　　　　　　　　　B.happened

C.occurred　　　　　　　　　　　　　D.was occurred

The first people who gave names to hurricanes were those who knew them best — the people of Puerto Rico. The small island of Puerto Rico is in the West Indies, off the coast of Florida. This is where all the hurricanes begin that strike the east coast of the United States. Often they pass near Puerto Rico or cross it on their way north. The people of Puerto Rico expect some of these unwelcome visitors every year. Each one is named after the Saint’s Day on which it arrives. Two of the most destructive storms were the Santo Ana in 1840 and the San Ciriaco in 1899.

Giving girls’ names to hurricanes is a fairly new idea. It all began with a story called “Storm”, written by George Stewart in 1941. In it a weatherman amused himself by naming storms after girls he knew. He named one Maria. The story describes how she Maria grew and developed, and how she changed the lives of people when she struck the United States.

Weathermen of the U.S. Army and Navy used the same system during World WarⅡ. They were studying weather conditions over the Pacific Ocean. One of their duties was to warn American ships and planes when a storm was coming. Whenever they spotted one, they gave it a girl’s name. The first one of the year was given a name beginning with [A]. The second one got a name beginning with [B]. They used all the letters from A to W, and still the storms kept coming. They had to use three lists from A to W to have enough names to go around. This was the first list of hurricane names that followed the alphabet. It served as a model for the system the Weather Bureau (局) introduced in 1942.

　　Before 1950 the Weather Bureau had no special system for naming hurricanes. When a hurricane was born down in the West Indies, the Weather Bureau simply collected information about it. It reported how fast the storm was moving and where it would go next. Weather reports warned people in the path of the hurricane, so that they could do whatever was necessary to protect themselves.

　　This system worked out fine as long as weather reports talked about only one hurricane at a time. But one week in September 1950 there were three hurricanes at the same time. The things began to get confused. Some people got the hurricanes mixed up and didn’t know which was which. This convinced the Weather Bureau that it needed a code for naming the storms in order to avoid confusion in the future.

Hurricanes were first named after the _________.

       A. date on which they occurred　 B. place where they began

　    C. amount of destruction they did　     D. particular feature they have

The practice of giving girls’ names to hurricanes was started by _________.

　    A. a radio operator       B. an author                 C. a sailor              D. local people

The purpose for which weathermen of the army and navy began using girls’ names for hurricanes was ________.

　    A. to keep information from the enemy      B. to follow the standard method of the United States

　    C. not given in the article　  D. to remember a certain girl

The Weather Bureau began naming hurricanes because it would help them _________.

　    A. collect information more rapidly　  B. warn people more efficiently

　    C. make use of military (军事的) records　 D. remember them

My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game from the time they had met each other. The goal of their 36 was to write the word "shmily" in a surprising place for the other to find. They 37  leaving "shmily" around the house, and 38 one of them discovered it, it was their turn to hide it once more.

Little notes with "shmily" written hurriedly were 39 on dashboards and car seats, or taped to steering wheels.

It took me a long time before I was able to 40 appreciate my grandparents' game. Skepticism （怀疑论）has 41 me from believing in true love---one that is pure and lasting. However, I never doubted my grandparents' 42 . It was more than their funny little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship was based on a devotion and passionate affection which not everyone is 43 to experience.　　
　　But there was a dark 44 in my grandparents' life: my grandmother had breast cancer. As always, Grandpa was 45 her every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that way so that she could always be surrounded by sunshine.
    Now the cancer was again 46 her body. With the help of a cane and my grandfather's steady hand, they went to church every morning.47 my grandmother grew steadily weaker until, 48, she could not leave the house anymore. For a while, Grandpa would go to church alone, praying to God to watch over his wife.
    Then one day, what we all feared finally 49. Grandma was gone. "Shmily." It was 50 in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother's funeral banquet. As the crowd 51and the last mourners turned to leave, Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother's casket and, taking a deep 52, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song 53 as a deep and throaty lullaby(催眠曲).

Shaking with my own sorrow, I will never forget that 54, for I knew that, although I couldn't begin to understand the depth of their love, I had been55 to witness its unmatched beauty. SHMILY: See how much I love you.

36．A. game                B. note                  C. action               D. life

37．A. shook hands      B. played tricks      C. take turns          D. made comments

38．A. even if                     B. as soon as         C. as far as            D. if only

39．A. found                B. searched            C. sought                     D. looked

40．A. accurately         B. nearly                C. fully                  D. deeply

41．A. resulted             B. promised           C. influenced         D. kept

42．A. relationship        B. game                 C. significance              D. performance

43．A. lucky                B. wise                  C. modest              D. exact

44．A. occasion           B. cloud                C. trick                 D. separation

45．A. for                    B. on                     C. with                  D. in

46．A. sheltering          B. catching            C. knocking         D. attacking

47．A. But                   B. So                C. Thus             D. And

48．A. completely         B. finally                C. unfortunately     D. personally

49．A. worked             B. crashed             C. happened                D. paused

50．A. possessed          B. organized           C. formed           D. written

51．A. thinned              B. surrounded        C. hesitated          D. marched

52．A. measure            B. breath               C. decision         D. risk

53．A. occurred           B. came                 C. disappeared              D. poured

54．A. moment            B. panic             C. offer                 D. occasion

55．A. absorbed           B. disappointed       C. privileged          D. occupied