A
(2019·合肥教学质检)May Day, the first day of May, is celebrated as a spring festival in many countries. It marks the approach of summer.
The English developed their May Day festival from the Roman festival called Floralia. In the festival of Floralia, the Romans gathered flowers to honor the goddess of spring, Flora. In the Middle Ages, May Day became the favorite holiday of many English villages. People gathered flowers to decorate their homes and churches, sang spring songs and chose a king and a queen of May. Villagers danced around a tall pole fixed upright in the ground, called a maypole, each holding the end of a ribbon attached to the top of the pole. They tied the ribbons around the pole until it was covered with bright colors. They collected dew(露水) on May Day morning and washed their faces with it because they believed that the dew on the day had the magic power to regain youth.
Nowadays in Britain people no longer attach great importance to the day, but in some towns and villages people still celebrate it by choosing the May Queen and dancing around the maypole. May Queen is a girl selected as the most beautiful girl on May Day. She is usually crowned with flowers and often driven in procession through the street. In the United States, the day has never been celebrated with the same enthusiasm as in Britain.
But in many American towns and cities, children celebrate the day with dancing and singing. They often gather flowers in handmade paper baskets and hang them on the doorknobs of the homes of their friends’ and neighbors’ on May Day morning. At May Day parties, children select May Queen, dance around the maypole, and sing May Day songs.
【解题导语】 本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了欧洲国家的传统节日——五朔节。
1．What do we know about the May Day in Britain in the Middle Ages?
A．People dressed in bright colors.
B．People celebrated it with enthusiasm.
C．People presented flowers to the goddess of spring.
D．People stayed at home instead of going to churches.
B 解析：细节理解题。根据第二段内容特别是第三、四句可知，在中世纪，英国人通过举行各种活动，热情地庆祝五朔节，故B项正确。
2．Why did people wash their faces with dew on May Day?
A．To bring good luck.
B．To become prettier.
C．To get magic power.
D．To get young again.
D 解析：细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句“They collected dew(露水)on May Day morning and washed their faces with it because they believed that the dew on the day had the magic power to regain youth.”可知，人们在五朔节用露水洗脸，是因为他们相信露水在当天有恢复青春的魔力，故D项正确。
3．Paragraph 3 is mainly developed ．
A．by comparison B．by space
C．by process D．by classification
A 解析：写作手法题。根据第三段第一句可知，如今在英国，在一些城镇和村庄，人们仍然通过选择 “五朔节女王”和围绕五月柱跳舞来庆祝五朔节；根据第三段最后一句可知，在美国，人们从来没有以像英国人那样的热情来庆祝这一节日。据此可以判断，该段是通过比较美国和英国如何庆祝该节日展开的，故A项正确。
4．Nowadays, many American children celebrate May Day with lots of activities EXCEPT ．
A．hanging flowers on the doorknobs of their friends’ homes
B．selecting May Queen and dancing around the maypole
C．gathering flowers in handmade paper baskets and singing May Day songs
D．collecting dew on May Day morning and washing faces
D 解析：细节理解题。根据第四段第二、三句可知，如今在美国，孩子们通过选择 “五朔节女王” 、围绕五月柱跳舞、将花篮挂在邻居家或朋友家的门把手上、演唱五朔节的歌曲来庆祝这一节日，故排除A、B、C项；根据第二段最后一句可知，用露水洗脸是中世纪英国人的做法，而不是现在美国儿童的做法，故选D项。
