13．The first day of the month of May is known as May Day．It is the time of year when warmer weather begins．People celebrate the coming of summer with customs that are expressions of joy and hope after a long winter．Today，May Day activities have been moved to the May Day holiday on the first Monday of the month．It is a public holiday when families take advantage of the time off to visit some of the UK's many attractions，including parks，zoos，historic buildings，ancient towns and villages and beautiful countryside．
May Day celebrations have their origins in the Roman festival of Flora，the goddess of fruit and flowers，which marked the beginning of summer．People would decorate their houses and villages with leaves and flowers they picked at daybreak in the belief that the vegetation spirits would bring good luck．In the very early morning，young girls went into the fields and washed their faces with dew （露水）．They believed this made them very beautiful for the following year．
May Day was an important day in the Middle Ages and was a favorite holiday of many English villages．People of the time used to cut down young trees and stick them in the ground in the village to mark the arrival of summer．This is the origin of the maypole （五月柱）．People danced around them in celebration of the end of winter．Maypoles were once common all over England and were kept from one year to the next．The tallest maypole is said to have been put up in London on the Strand in 1661．It stood more than 143feet high and was cut down in 1717，when it was used by Newton to support a new reflecting telescope （反射式望遠鏡） invented by Dutch scientist Huygens．
21．How do British people celebrate May Day？B
A．They visit friends and family members．
B．They celebrate it on the first Monday of May．
C．They spend a lot of time shopping around．
D．They show great love for the long winter．
22．The underlined word"this"in Paragraph 2refers toA．
A．washing the face with dew
B．going into the fields
C．picking flowers at daybreak
D．getting up early in the morning
23．What can we learn about the maypole？C
A．People climb it on May Day．
B．It was usually found in the cities．
C．It dates from the Middle Ages．
D．People used old，tall trees to make it．
24．The purpose of the text is toD．
A．describe Roman customs
B．suggest spring family activities
C．explain the origins of maypoles
D．introduce a British festival．
分析 本文是一篇介紹說明類文章，介紹了英國歷史上和今天的人們?nèi)绾螒c祝May Day．
解答 21B 22A 23C 24D
21．B 細節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)文章第一段"Today，May Day activities have been moved to the May Day holiday on the first Monday of the month．"可知May Day活動現(xiàn)在已挪至五月的第一個星期一．選項B表述與原文一致，故選B．
22．A 代詞指代題．根據(jù)this所在句的上一句，即文章第二段中"In the very early morning，young girls went into the fields and washed their faces with dew （露水）"可知，女孩子們會在早上去田里用露水洗臉．因為她們相信這（this）會使她們來年很漂亮．所以代詞this指代的就是上一句的內(nèi)容．故選A．
23．C 細節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)倒數(shù)第一段中的"May Day was an important day in the Middle Ages and was a favorite holiday of many English villages．People of the time used to cut down young trees and stick them in the ground in the village to mark the arrival of summer．"可知，關(guān)于五月柱的習俗從中世紀就開始．選項C表述與原文一致．故選C．
24．D 主旨大意題．本文介紹了英國節(jié)日May Day（五月節(jié)），以及歷史上和今天的人們是如何慶祝這一節(jié)日的．故選D．
點評 閱讀理解題測試考生在閱讀基礎(chǔ)上的邏輯推理能力，要求考生根據(jù)文章所述事件的邏輯關(guān)系，對未說明的趨勢或結(jié)局作出合理的推斷；或根據(jù)作者所闡述的觀點理論，對文章未涉及的現(xiàn)象、事例給以解釋．考生首先要仔細閱讀短文，完整了解信息，準確把握作者觀點．
