Question

Many centuries ago, birthdays were considered a time when the bad spirits were able to harm you. It was believed that you should have your friends and family around you so that their good wishes and present-giving would keep the bad spirits away. People also believed that, by lighting candles, they were sending a signal or wishes to the gods.

Later on, candles started to be used on birthday cakes. One story about the beginnings of the birthday cake is that it started with the Greeks, who made round cakes standing for the full moon for their moon goddess（女神）. They also placed candles on the cake to make it light, again like the moon.

However, the Germans are said to have first used cakes and candles. They used a sweet cake and they put a large candle in the centre of the cake to mean “the light of life”.

The “Happy Birthday” song is more than a hundred years old. The music was written in 1893 by two sisters, Patty and Mildred Hill, who were schoolteachers in Louisville, Kentucky. The music was first used as a morning greeting to their students with the title, “Good Morning To All”. In 1935, the words legally belonged to the Hill sisters, and the copyright（版權）has been bought and sold for millions of dollars ever since. The present copyright is owned by Warner Communications. They bought it in 1989 for more than $22 million.

1. The text mainly talks about .

A. the ways of making cakes

B. the customs of lighting candles

C. the beginnings of birthdays

D. the history of the birthday song

2.People celebrated birthdays many centuries ago to .

A. have a great dinner

B. get birthday presents

C. light birthday candles

D. keep the bad spirits away

3.Why did the Greeks put candles on the cake?

A. To light up the dark room.

B. To make the cake beautiful.

C. To see where the cake was.

D. To make it look like the moon.

4.When was the music written?

A. In 1893. B. In 1913.

C. In 1935. D. In 1989.

5.Who is the present owner of the song “Happy Birthday”?

A. Patty and Mildred Hill.

B. Warner Communications.

C. A Greek cake company.

D. A German schoolteacher.

Answer 1

1.C

2.D

3.D

4.A

5.B

【解析】試題分析：本文講的是生日是為了驅除惡靈對人的傷害，生日蠟燭則是人們向上帝許愿的信號燈，后來，在希臘流傳著將蠟燭插在蛋糕上代表月亮，但據說德國人才是最先使用生日蠟燭的人，他們將蠟燭插在蛋糕上比喻生命之光。以及生日歌的來源和創(chuàng)作人。

1.慨括歸納題。文中全篇描述關于生日起源，以及有關生日的習慣的產生，其中包括三個主要方面，蛋糕的起源，插蠟燭德爾習俗和生日歌的發(fā)展，主題均是圍繞生日，故選C。

2. centuries ago, birthdays were considered a time when the bad spirits were able to harm you. It was believed that you should have your friends and family around you so that their good wishes and present-giving would keep the bad spirits away.講到很久以前，有人認為在生日那天會有許多惡靈傷害過生日的人，所以家人和朋友要陪在過生日的人身邊慶祝生日以此驅趕惡靈，故選D。

3. also placed candles on the cake to make it light, again like the moon.可知，希臘人吧蠟燭插在蛋糕上是為了讓蛋糕想月亮一樣閃閃發(fā)光，故選D。

4.理解題。文中第四段The music was written in 1893 by two sisters, Patty and Mildred Hill，可知生日歌是由兩姐妹在1893年創(chuàng)作，故選A。生日那天被e present copyright is owned by Warner Communications.可知這首歌現在的版權所有者是Warner Communications，故選B。

考點：考查社會知識類閱讀