Could you imagine your parents choosing your husband or wife for you? And can you imagine not setting eyes on him or her until your wedding day? This situation is common in India, the Middle East and many parts of Africa．Marriage customs around the world often differ from our own．We don’t realize that people in other places often get married in very different ways and with different motives．

       In many countries, marriage is a practical matter．A marriage provides a safe and stable home for the husband and wife．It also joins two families, which benefits the couple’s parents and makes them happy．Marriage also brings children, making sure the couple will be taken care of in old age．Because a marriage is important for the whole family, some cultures don’t let young people choose whom to marry．

       Just as there are many different reasons for marriage, there are also many different wedding rituals．Every culture has its own ways of bringing good luck to the happy couple．In a typical Western wedding, the bride seeks good luck by wearing “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue”．Something old represents the past．Something new represents success in the future．Something borrowed reminds the bride she can get help from her friends and family．And something blue reminds her to be true to her husband．

       In Poland, one wedding tradition is not only lucky, but also very practical．The wedding guests pin money to the bride’s dress while she is dancing．The money is meant to bring luck and to help the young couple build their new life．In Bermuda, the young couple plants a tree in the yard of their new home．Once they move in, they take good care of the tree and make it grow．The planting of the tree is a good metaphor（比喻） for marriage．A truly good marriage is something that grows with care．

1.Which of the following statements does NOT support the idea that marriage is a practical matter?

       A．The couple may have a safe home through their marriage．

       B．The parents had better help their children choose whom to marry．

       C．A marriage benefits the couple’s parents and makes them happy．

       D．A marriage brings children who will take care of the couple when they are old．

2.The underlined word “rituals” （Para．3） means 　　　．

       A．forms　   B．customs   C．traditions　      D．ceremonies

3.Although cultures differ in different countries, one thing in common when a young couple gets married is that 　　　．

       A．people wish them to take care of each other

       B．people wish them to get practical benefits from the marriage

       C．people wish them to have good luck in their new life

       D．people wish them to make money at the wedding ceremony

4.Which of the following statements best summarizes（总结） the subject of this passage?

       A．People across the world get married in different ways and for different reasons．

       B．Every culture has its own ways of bringing good luck to the young couple．

       C．A truly good marriage is something that grows with care．

       D．In many countries, marriage is a practical matter．

The young couple had another quarrel. They were sitting silently when the landlady came in and asked, “You don’t   31   the house any more?” He kept silent and she   32   shook her head.

The landlady began   33   the house. After looking around, the landlady screamed, “See how you have   34   my house? The walls are full of nails! How could I rent it to others?”

She began looking around her   35  room. Four years ago on the wedding night, he felt deeply   36   to her, saying, “I feel so sorry to you for   37   you live in this small room. In the future I will buy our own big house.”

This tiny room has two nails on the wall next to the door, one for her bag and the other   38  . At that time, she threw all her stuff such as her bag and umbrella on the   39   once she entered the room, staring at the whole   40   and feeling terribly upset. Then he began   41   more nails into the wall. There were three nails on the left, on which   42   his clothes yesterday and four on the right used to   43   their wedding photo frame.

 The landlady started to pull the nails out with a tool. After the nails were   44  , the walls were left with countless holes. Suddenly, she felt heartbroken as if she were   45   nonstop through these holes.

　　She   46   to her feet and exclaimed, “Stop removing the nails! We will rent the house   47   we buy our own!” He gazed at her surprised, and then turned round, tears over his cheek.

She   48  realized that marriage was like a wall and that all   49   and “cold wars” were like the nails on the wall.  50  , when they were removed, only a wall with holes would remain. But if all the nails were still in their own places, the wall was still complete and reliable.

1.A. like                   B. clean                C. rent                 D. keep

2.A. simply                B. barely          C. coldly               D. proudly

3.A. observing             B. examining       C. watching             D. spotting

4.A. shared                 B. ruined               C. kept                 D. decorated

5.A. familiar              B. dirty                C. empty            D. bright

6.A. devoted                B. attached             C. optimistic      D. guilty

7.A. leaving               B. having          C. asking           D. getting

8. A. clothes                   B. pictures             C. umbrellas       D. hats

9. A. floor                     B. wall            C. ceiling              D. door

10.A. trouble                   B. mess             C. confusion            D. order

11.A. putting                   B. striking             C. driving              D. beating

12.A. hung                 B. fastened        C. dropped         D. swung

13.A. connect                   B. fix                  C. hang            D. put

14. A. replaced                 B. separated       C. unfastened           D. removed 

15.A. crying                    B. aching           C. bleeding        D. disturbing

16.A. jumped               B. held             C. stuck           D. got

17.A. if                   B. unless          C. as              D. until

18. A. especially               B. eventually      C. fortunately          D. sadly

19.A. chaos                B. troubles             C. quarrels             D. challenges

20.A. Therefore                 B. Besides         C. Thus            D. However

The young couple had another quarrel. They were sitting silently when the landlady came in and asked, “You don’t   31  the house any more?” He kept silent and she   32  shook her head.
The landlady began   33  the house. After looking around, the landlady screamed, “See how you have   34  my house? The walls are full of nails! How could I rent it to others?”
She began looking around her   35 room. Four years ago on the wedding night, he felt deeply   36  to her, saying, “I feel so sorry to you for   37  you live in this small room. In the future I will buy our own big house.”
This tiny room has two nails on the wall next to the door, one for her bag and the other   38  . At that time, she threw all her stuff such as her bag and umbrella on the   39  once she entered the room, staring at the whole   40  and feeling terribly upset. Then he began   41  more nails into the wall. There were three nails on the left, on which   42  his clothes yesterday and four on the right used to   43  their wedding photo frame.
The landlady started to pull the nails out with a tool. After the nails were   44 , the walls were left with countless holes. Suddenly, she felt heartbroken as if she were   45  nonstop through these holes.
　　She   46  to her feet and exclaimed, “Stop removing the nails! We will rent the house   47  we buy our own!” He gazed at her surprised, and then turned round, tears over his cheek.
She   48 realized that marriage was like a wall and that all   49  and “cold wars” were like the nails on the wall.  50 , when they were removed, only a wall with holes would remain. But if all the nails were still in their own places, the wall was still complete and reliable.

The young couple had another quarrel. They were sitting silently when the landlady(女房东) came in and asked, “You don’t   36  the house any more?” He kept silent and she   37  shook her head.
The landlady began   38  the house. After looking around, the landlady screamed, “See how you have   39  my house? The walls are full of nails(铁钉)! How could I rent it to others?”
She began looking around her   40  room. Four years ago on the wedding night, he felt deeply   41  to her, saying, “I feel so sorry to you for   42  you live in this small room. In the future I will buy our own big house.”
This tiny room has two nails on the wall next to the door, one for her bag and the other   43  . At that time, she threw all her stuff(填充物)such as her bag and umbrella on the   44  once she entered the room, staring at the whole   45  and feeling terribly upset. Then he began   46  more nails into the wall. There were three nails on the left, on which   47  his clothes yesterday and four on the right used to   48  their wedding photo frame.
The landlady started to pull the nails out with a tool. After the nails were   49 , the walls were left with countless holes. Suddenly, she felt heartbroken as if she were   50  nonstop through these holes.
　　She   51  to her feet and exclaimed, “Stop removing the nails! We will rent the house   52  we buy our own!” He gazed at her surprised, and then turned round, tears over his cheek.
She   53  realized that marriage was like a wall and that all   54  and “cold wars” were like the nails on the wall.  55  , when they were removed, only a wall with holes would remain. But if all the nails were still in their own places, the wall was still complete and reliable.

The young couple had another quarrel. They were sitting silently when the landlady came in and asked, “You don’t   31  the house any more?” He kept silent and she   32  shook her head.
The landlady began   33  the house. After looking around, the landlady screamed, “See how you have   34  my house? The walls are full of nails! How could I rent it to others?”
She began looking around her   35 room. Four years ago on the wedding night, he felt deeply   36  to her, saying, “I feel so sorry to you for   37  you live in this small room. In the future I will buy our own big house.”
This tiny room has two nails on the wall next to the door, one for her bag and the other   38  . At that time, she threw all her stuff such as her bag and umbrella on the   39  once she entered the room, staring at the whole   40  and feeling terribly upset. Then he began   41  more nails into the wall. There were three nails on the left, on which   42  his clothes yesterday and four on the right used to   43  their wedding photo frame.
The landlady started to pull the nails out with a tool. After the nails were   44 , the walls were left with countless holes. Suddenly, she felt heartbroken as if she were   45  nonstop through these holes.
　　She   46  to her feet and exclaimed, “Stop removing the nails! We will rent the house   47  we buy our own!” He gazed at her surprised, and then turned round, tears over his cheek.
She   48 realized that marriage was like a wall and that all   49  and “cold wars” were like the nails on the wall.  50 , when they were removed, only a wall with holes would remain. But if all the nails were still in their own places, the wall was still complete and reliable.