In China, people talk about “Shuxiang”, which is very interesting. For example, 2006 is a “dog year”, and when a baby is born in this year, we say he or she is a little dog. Shuxiang usually brings people good luck. There are 12 animals below.

 social, having rich feelings, friendly but complaining

 hard, ordered, but keeping old

 brave, confident, but careless

 peaceful, having a good manner, a business head but cold emotion

 active, outgoing, popular but selfish

 fascinating(迷人的), thoughtful, but doubtful

 active, self-confident, wise but proud and angry

 kind, helpful, elegant but sad

 wide, clever, warm, unsatisfied but slick(圆滑的)

 confident, helpful, happy, but dressy

 realistic, loyal(忠诚的), practical

 hard, honest, simple, lucky but careless

6. When a baby is born in 2008, we can say he or she is a little     .

A. pig              B. rat              C. tiger        D. snake

7. If we call a boy a little horse, when was he born?

 A. In 1998.        B. In 2000.     C. In 2002.     D. In 2004.

8. Mr Lu, our English teacher, was born in 1976, a dragon year. Can you choose the right description of his characteristics?

 A. He is a active, self-confident, resourceful but proud and angry

 B. He is kind, helpful, artistic but sad

 C. He is active, outgoing, popular but selfish

 D. He is fascinating, thoughtful but dressy and doubtful

9. If someone is brave, confident but careless, we can guess he was born in a    year.

 A. rat             B. dog          C. horse        D. tiger

10. Which of the following is not true?

 A. In China, when me talk about “Shuxiang”, it means twelve animals.

 B. From the passage, we can know 2010 is a hare year.

 C. Shuxiang perhaps brings you good luck, but we shouldn’t believe it.

 D. A cock year always comes after a monkey year.

What is your zodiac（生肖） animal? According to the Chinese lunar calendar（农历）, 12 animals mark 12 different years. It is the basis of the Chinese zodiac. Nowadays, Chinese zodiac animals have worldwide fame and are increasingly popular among western people.
The zodiac is an important part of Chinese culture. People believe that the characteristics of a zodiac animal influence the personality of every person born in that year. For example, people born in the Year of the Tiger are considered powerful and brave.
Zodiac animals also have some social functions. When people think it is not proper to ask: “How old are you”, they may change their question to “What is your zodiac animal?” With this question, you can figure out roughly which year someone was born and the person’s age.
Zodiac animals are not special to China. Many countries share a similar zodiac culture with China. For example, in the Japanese Zodiac, a wild boar（野猪）takes the place of a pig and the Vietnamese（越南的）zodiac has a cat instead of a rabbit.
But have you ever wondered how these 12 animals were chosen to represent each year? According to legend, the Jade Emperor（玉皇大帝）invited all the animals to join him for Chinese New Year. Only 12 animals went to see him. As a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The ox would have been the first to arrive, but the rat sat on his back and jumped off just before they arrived to come in first place.
【小题1】The characteristics of a zodiac animal may influence the _____ of every person
born in that year.

What is your zodiac（生肖） animal? According to the Chinese lunar calendar（农历）, 12 animals mark 12 different years. It is the basis of the Chinese zodiac. Nowadays, Chinese zodiac animals have worldwide fame and are increasingly popular among western people.

The zodiac is an important part of Chinese culture. People believe that the characteristics of a zodiac animal influence the personality of every person born in that year. For example, people born in the Year of the Tiger are considered powerful and brave.

Zodiac animals also have some social functions. When people think it is not proper to ask: “How old are you”, they may change their question to “What is your zodiac animal?” With this question, you can figure out roughly which year someone was born and the person’s age.

Zodiac animals are not special to China. Many countries share a similar zodiac culture with China. For example, in the Japanese Zodiac, a wild boar（野猪）takes the place of a pig and the Vietnamese（越南的）zodiac has a cat instead of a rabbit.

But have you ever wondered how these 12 animals were chosen to represent each year? According to legend, the Jade Emperor（玉皇大帝）invited all the animals to join him for Chinese New Year. Only 12 animals went to see him. As a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The ox would have been the first to arrive, but the rat sat on his back and jumped off just before they arrived to come in first place.

1.The characteristics of a zodiac animal may influence the _____ of every person

born in that year.

A．appearance        B．personality        C．hobby            D．education

2.“What is your zodiac animal?” is a question used to find out a person’s______.

A．age              B．name             C．job              D．weight

3.In the Japanese zodiac, we don’t see the zodiac animal：_______

A．wild boar          B．rabbit            C．dragon           D．pig

4.According to the last paragraph, we know that ____ was the first animal to arrive.

A．ox               B．rat               C．pig               D．cat

What is your zodiac（生肖） animal? According to the Chinese lunar calendar（农历）, 12 animals mark 12 different years. It is the basis of the Chinese zodiac. Nowadays, Chinese zodiac animals have worldwide fame and are increasingly popular among western people.

The zodiac is an important part of Chinese culture. People believe that the characteristics of a zodiac animal influence the personality of every person born in that year. For example, people born in the Year of the Tiger are considered powerful and brave.

Zodiac animals also have some social functions. When people think it is not proper to ask: “How old are you”, they may change their question to “What is your zodiac animal?” With this question, you can figure out roughly which year someone was born and the person’s age.

Zodiac animals are not special to China. Many countries share a similar zodiac culture with China. For example, in the Japanese Zodiac, a wild boar（野猪）takes the place of a pig and the Vietnamese（越南的）zodiac has a cat instead of a rabbit.

But have you ever wondered how these 12 animals were chosen to represent each year? According to legend, the Jade Emperor（玉皇大帝）invited all the animals to join him for Chinese New Year. Only 12 animals went to see him. As a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The ox would have been the first to arrive, but the rat sat on his back and jumped off just before they arrived to come in first place.

1.The characteristics of a zodiac animal may influence the _____ of every person born in that year.

A．appearance        B．personality        C．hobby            D．education

2.“What is your zodiac animal?” is a question used to find out a person’s______.

A．age              B．name             C．job              D．weight

3.In the Japanese zodiac, we don’t see the zodiac animal：_______

A．wild boar          B．rabbit            C．dragon           D．pig

4.According to the last paragraph, we know that ____ was the first animal to arrive.

A．ox               B．rat               C．pig               D．cat

In China, people talk about “Shuxiang”, which is very interesting. For example, 2006 is a “dog year”, and when a baby is born in this year, we say he or she is a little dog. Shuxiang usually brings people good luck. There are 12 animals below.
 social, having rich feelings, friendly but complaining
 hard, ordered, but keeping old
 brave, confident, but careless
 peaceful, having a good manner, a business head but cold emotion
 active, outgoing, popular but selfish
 fascinating(迷人的), thoughtful, but doubtful
 active, self-confident, wise but proud and angry
 kind, helpful, elegant but sad
 wide, clever, warm, unsatisfied but slick(圆滑的)
 confident, helpful, happy, but dressy
 realistic, loyal(忠诚的), practical
 hard, honest, simple, lucky but careless
6. When a baby is born in 2008, we can say he or she is a little     .
A. pig             B. rat             C. tiger       D. snake
7. If we call a boy a little horse, when was he born?
A. In 1998.       B. In 2000.    C. In 2002.    D. In 2004.
8. Mr Lu, our English teacher, was born in 1976, a dragon year. Can you choose the right description of his characteristics?
A. He is a active, self-confident, resourceful but proud and angry
B. He is kind, helpful, artistic but sad
C. He is active, outgoing, popular but selfish
D. He is fascinating, thoughtful but dressy and doubtful
9. If someone is brave, confident but careless, we can guess he was born in a    year.
A. rat            B. dog         C. horse       D. tiger
10. Which of the following is not true?
A. In China, when me talk about “Shuxiang”, it means twelve animals.
B. From the passage, we can know 2010 is a hare year.
C. Shuxiang perhaps brings you good luck, but we shouldn’t believe it.
D. A cock year always comes after a monkey year.