The mistletoe and holly are important symbols of ______.

The mistletoe and holly are important symbols of ______. A: fertility B: good luck C: love D: ad luck

At Christmas,the home is decorated with the following except（） A: colorful paper chains B: leaves of holly and mistletoe C: a young fir-tree D: firecracker

‏美国的第一个诺贝尔奖获得者是（）‏ A: Albert Abraham Michelson B: Joseph John Thomson C: John William Strutt D: Arthur Holly Compton

美国的第一个诺贝尔奖获得者是（ ） A: Albert Abraham Michelson B: John William Strutt C: Joseph John Thomson D: Arthur Holly Compton

Part 5: DictationDirections： In this section, you will hear 1 passage. The passage will be spoken THREE TIMES. Please fill the blanks.​浏览器不支持音频​The Irish New Year Festival is known as Samhain which means summer ends and is celebrated on 31 October. The festival has ______ as Halloween. This day was considered of great danger for it is when the spirits of the dead return to earth. It was believed the spirits could do harm unless ______ were taken. The Celtic priests went into the woods on New Year's Eve to gather bunches of mistletoe which they ______ to people to protect them from any harm. Also bonfires were lit to ______ evil forces. They also believed that it was safer to stay indoors as ______ were abroad on New Year's Eve. In Ireland the girls would go to bed with twigs of mistletoe, or holly and ivy leaves under their ______ so they would go to bed dreaming of their future husbands. They might also chant: "Oh, ivy green and holly red. Tell me, tell me whom I shall wed!" In West Ireland the direction of the wind blowing at New Year would indicate the ______ of politics in the coming year. If it blew from the west it would flourish; if from the east the English would have the upper hand. Also if they ate a very large New Year's Eve dinner they would have plenty of food for the coming year. One custom that was ______ on New Year's Eve was to take a large loaf of Christmas bread or cake outside the house and ______ it against the closed doors and windows. This was done so as to drive out any misfortune and ______ .

9. The Colors of Christmas There are several colors which are traditionally associated with Christmas, such as green, red and gold. But why do people have them and what do the colors represent?Most the colors and their meanings come from the western/northern European traditions and customs, when Christmas is in the middle of winter and it's dark and cold.1）GreenEvergreen plants, like Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe have been used for thousands of years to decorate and brighten up buildings during the long dark winter. They also reminded people that spring would come and that winter wouldn't last forever!The Romans would exchange evergreen branches during January as a sign of good luck. The ancient Egyptians used to bring palm branches into their houses during the mid winter festivals.In many parts of Europe during the middle ages, Paradise plays were performed, often on Christmas Eve. They told Bible stories to people who couldn't read. The “Paradise Tree” in the garden of Eden in the play was normally a pine tree with red apples tied to it.Now the most common use of green at Christmas are Christmas Trees.2）RedAs mentioned above, an early use of red at Christmas were the apples on the paradise tree. They represented the fall of Adam in the plays. Red is also the color of Holly berries, which is said to represent the blood of Jesus when he died on the cross. And red is the color of Bishops robes. These would have been worn by St. Nicholas and then also became Santa's uniform!3）GoldGold is the color of the Sun and light - both very important in the dark winter. And both red and gold are the colors of fire that you need to keep you warm. Gold was also one of the presents brought to the baby Jesus by one of the wise men and traditionally it's the color used to show the star that the wise men followed. Silver is sometimes used instead of (or with) gold. But gold is a “warmer” color.4）WhiteWhite is often associated with purity and peace in western cultures. The snow of winter is also very white! White paper wafers were also sometimes used to decorate paradise trees. The wafers represented the bread eaten during Christian Communion or Mass, when Christians remember that Jesus died for them. White is used by most churches as the color of Christmas, when the altar is covered with a white cloth (in the Russian Orthodox Church Gold is used for Christmas).5）BlueThe color blue is often associated with Mary, the mother of Jesus. In medieval times blue dye and paint was more expensive than gold! So it would only be worn by Royal families and very rich people. Mary was often painted wearing blue to show she was very important. Blue can also represent the color of the sky and heaven.18. Which one of the following colors is used to represent the star according to the passage? A: White. B: Yellow. C: Silver. D: Gold.

9. The Colors of Christmas There are several colors which are traditionally associated with Christmas, such as green, red and gold. But why do people have them and what do the colors represent?Most the colors and their meanings come from the western/northern European traditions and customs, when Christmas is in the middle of winter and it's dark and cold.1）GreenEvergreen plants, like Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe have been used for thousands of years to decorate and brighten up buildings during the long dark winter. They also reminded people that spring would come and that winter wouldn't last forever!The Romans would exchange evergreen branches during January as a sign of good luck. The ancient Egyptians used to bring palm branches into their houses during the mid winter festivals.In many parts of Europe during the middle ages, Paradise plays were performed, often on Christmas Eve. They told Bible stories to people who couldn't read. The “Paradise Tree” in the garden of Eden in the play was normally a pine tree with red apples tied to it.Now the most common use of green at Christmas are Christmas Trees.2）RedAs mentioned above, an early use of red at Christmas were the apples on the paradise tree. They represented the fall of Adam in the plays. Red is also the color of Holly berries, which is said to represent the blood of Jesus when he died on the cross. And red is the color of Bishops robes. These would have been worn by St. Nicholas and then also became Santa's uniform!3）GoldGold is the color of the Sun and light - both very important in the dark winter. And both red and gold are the colors of fire that you need to keep you warm. Gold was also one of the presents brought to the baby Jesus by one of the wise men and traditionally it's the color used to show the star that the wise men followed. Silver is sometimes used instead of (or with) gold. But gold is a “warmer” color.4）WhiteWhite is often associated with purity and peace in western cultures. The snow of winter is also very white! White paper wafers were also sometimes used to decorate paradise trees. The wafers represented the bread eaten during Christian Communion or Mass, when Christians remember that Jesus died for them. White is used by most churches as the color of Christmas, when the altar is covered with a white cloth (in the Russian Orthodox Church Gold is used for Christmas).5）BlueThe color blue is often associated with Mary, the mother of Jesus. In medieval times blue dye and paint was more expensive than gold! So it would only be worn by Royal families and very rich people. Mary was often painted wearing blue to show she was very important. Blue can also represent the color of the sky and heaven.17. Which one of the following is TRUE according to the passage? A: In many parts of Europe during the middle ages, Paradise plays were performed, often on December 25th . B: Red is the color of Santa's uniform. C: Gold is used as one of the colors of Christmas because it stands for royalty. D: Mary was often painted wearing blue because she was very rich.