Ⅰ.完形填空
(2022·广东省梅县东山中学高三上学期期中考试)
Many Western cultures measure their days with the solar calendar. Therefore, they __1.A__the coming of the New Year on January 1. Cultures in Asia use other calendars and celebrate the New Year at other times. Events and rituals __2.C__ from country to country. But in each place, New Year celebrations are a big __3.C__.
Most world cultures have been celebrating the New Year for centuries. The earliest New Year celebrations took place during spring or__4.B__ time. With __5.D__weather ahead, or plenty of food to eat, people __6.B__ felt like having a party! As the days became longer and as nature renewed itself, people also felt like they could have a new start. The New Year could bring better fortune, more opportunities and new challenges. Such __7.D__ ideas remain the same today.
Some cultures have__8.A__ New Year traditions. Italians throw old things out of their windows at midnight, symbolizing the __9.B__ of the old. People of the Philippines fire guns into the air to ward off __10.B__. Danes jump off chairs exactly as the clock __11.C__midnight, so they can jump into the New Year. Greek children leave their shoes by the fireplace on New Year’s Day. They hope someone will come and fill the shoes with __12.D__. In Vancouver, Canada, some people celebrate the New Year by jumping into the ocean. The weather is freezing cold! As you might expect, most people come to watch the swimmers __13.D__ swim themselves.
London hosts an annual New Year’s Day parade that __14.A__ nearly a million spectators. The largest parade in Europe, it features bands, floats and enormous balloons. These balloons are so huge that they __15.C__ over nearby buildings!
语篇解读：本文是一篇说明文。本文主要介绍了庆祝新年的时间、以及不同国家和文化特别的庆祝传统。
1．A.observe B．notice
C．expect D．decide
解析：考查动词词义辨析。由下文的“celebrate the New Year”和“New Year celebrations”可知，此处指1月1日庆祝(observe)新年的到来。故选A。
2．A.happen B．develop
C．vary D．hold
解析：考查动词词义辨析。由上文的“西方1月1日庆祝新年，亚洲和中东在其他时间庆祝新年”和第三段的“不同国家不同寻常的新年传统”可知，不同国家庆祝新年的活动和仪式各不相同，vary from…to…表示“……不同于……”。故选C。
3．A.burden B．reunion
C．deal D．success
解析：考查名词词义辨析。由下文的“Most world cultures have been celebrating the New Year for centuries.”可知，大多数世界文化庆祝新年的传统已经有几个世纪了，说明新年是很重要的一件事，a big deal表示“一件大事”。故选C。
4．A.summer B．harvest
C．labor D．leisure
解析：考查名词词义辨析。由常识可知，粮食收获的时候是个好日子，值得庆祝，可推断出最早的新年庆祝活动可能会在收获(harvest)季节。故选B。
5．A.colder B．changeable
C．extreme D．better
解析：考查形容词词义辨析。由下文的“As the days became longer and as nature renewed itself”可知，白天越来越长，大自然也在复苏，说明天气在变好。better更好的。故选D。
6．A.eventually B．naturally
C．occasionally D．exactly
解析：考查副词词义辨析。由上文语境可知，天气变好，粮食充裕，人自然(naturally)就想开派对，开心放松一下。故选B。
7．A.unique B．challenging
C．interesting D．universal
解析：考查形容词词义辨析。由上文的“The New Year could bring better fortune, more opportunities and new challenges.”可知，新年意味着更好的财富，更多的机遇和新的挑战，这是全世界广泛适用的主题，从古至今都是这样，没有改变。universal普遍的、广泛适用的。故选D。
8．A.unusual B．shocking
C．silly D．typical
解析：考查形容词词义辨析。由下文语境可知，意大利人、菲律宾人、丹麦人、希腊人和加拿大人庆祝新年的方式很不同寻常、与众不同。unusual不寻常的、与众不同的。故选A。
9．A.coming B．departure
C．failure D．developing
解析：考查名词和动词词义辨析。由上文的“throw old things out of their windows”可知，把旧东西扔出窗外，表明旧东西从家里离开(departure)了。故选B。
10．A.animals B．misfortune
C．enemies D．poverty
解析：考查名词词义辨析。由上文的“fire guns into the air”和常识可知，向空中鸣枪一是一种保护自己的防御姿态(避免别人伤害自己，以免自己不幸)，二是为了向不幸的人/事默哀，可推断出菲律宾人向空中鸣枪是为了躲避不幸(misfortune)。故选B。
11．A.reaches B．rings
C．strikes D．shows
解析：考查动词词义辨析。由本处的“the clock __11__ midnight”可知，此处指午夜钟声敲响，即到了新年那一天。strike击打、撞击。故选C。
12．A.kisses B．love
C．fortune D．gifts
解析：考查名词词义辨析。由常识可知，Santa Claus(圣诞老人)是给孩子送新年礼物(gifts)的人。故选D。
13．A.as well as B．so as to
C．other than D．rather than
解析：考查介词短语辨析。由上文的“The weather is freezing cold！”，“most people come to watch the swimmers”和下文的“swim themselves”可知，天气冷得要命，所以大多数人是来观看游泳运动员的，而不是自己游泳，用rather than而不是。故选D。
14．A.draws B．requires
C．amuses D．provides
解析：考查动词词义辨析。由下文的“nearly a million spectators. The largest parade in Europe, it features bands, floats and enormous balloons.”可知，伦敦举办的新年游行是欧洲最大的游行，有乐队、彩车和巨大的气球，无疑会吸引(draw)观众前来观看。故选A。
15．A.watch B．go
C．tower D．take
解析：考查动词词义辨析。由常识可知，气球会飘向天空，而伦敦新年游行的气球太大了，以至于飘的位置高于附近的建筑物。tower远远高于、高耸。故选C。
