Traditional New Year pictures originated from the peach wood charms hung on the gate early in the Shang Dynasty.（）

A.Likenesses of various deities

B.Scenes from the peasants' lives

C.Allegoric or symbolic figures and objects

D.Monster Year

A、Jiaozi.

B、Fried Rice.

C、Hot Pot.

D、Peking Roast Duck.

l 【C1】______ for the reunion dinner, others will head for the airport or train station to "flee" 【C2】______ such festivities. With a 【C3】______ number of Singaporeans going on overseas tours during this time, the Chinese New Year holiday has in recent years become a 【C4】______ season for travel agents, 【C5】______ it Used to be a lull period for them. Isn't Chinese New Year the 【C6】______ important traditional festival for the Chinese？ Well, for those who choose to 【C7】______ flight, it means an opportunity to enjoy a holiday out of the country. The concern is, if even Chinese New Year can be 【C8】______ , what other traditional festivals cannot be disregarded？ Why do we need to 【C9】______ traditional festivals？ Firstly, they are inseparable from our ethnic identity. The Chinese, Malays and Indians all have their own traditional festivals 【C10】______ which they derive "a sense of belonging to a particular community". So if any Chinese does not see himself 【C11】______ one, there is no need for him to celebrate any Chinese festivals. True, everyone has the right to 【C12】______ traditions. The problem is: you cannot deny your ethnic origins or change your skin color. We are 【C13】______ with a certain skin color which cannot be "bleached"—if one has a "yellow face" and yet refuse to 【C14】______ with the Chinese, who else can he or she identify with？ Secondly, the 【C15】______ spirit of the more than 2000-year-old Chinese New Year is closely intertwined with the traditional culture and values of the Chinese. 【C16】______ its core is the Confucian value of good interpersonal relationships. Traditional Chinese festivals 【C17】______ center on maintaining and improving human relations. Reunion dinner helps to 【C18】______ family ties while the exchange of gifts and greetings enhance relations among friends. To skip the reunion dinner and stay 【C19】______ from Chinese New Year means losing many great opportunities to forge stronger kinship and friendship ties. A tradition must be capable of being 【C20】______ down from one generation to another. Yet this does not mean traditions cannot be changed.

【C1】

A．separate

B．invite

C．gather

D．long

A、People now have realize that the Internet will dominate our society completely

B、The Internet increases by 50% every year

C、The Internet will combine all the traditional media such as books, televisions and push them further

D、The internet prevents individuals from developing new skills,

ylon about 4,000 years ago. New Year's Day is an【3】national holiday, and banks and offices will be closed. Many families have New year's Day【4】.

Traditionally, it was thought that it could【5】the luck they would have【6】the coming year by【7】they did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason, it has become common for【8】to celebrate the first few minutes of a【9】new year in the【10】with the family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing of a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring【11】good luck or bad luck to the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor【12】to be a tall dark-haired man.

Traditional New Year's【13】are also thought to bring luck. People in many parts of the US celebrate the New Year by【14】black-eyed peas and cabbage. Black-eyed peas have been considered good luck in many cultures. Cabbage leaves are considered a【15】of prosperity, being【16】of paper currency. Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year's resolutions. That tradition also【17】back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the【18】to lose weight or quit smoking.

The song, "Auld Lang Syne", is sung at the【19】of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the New Year. "Auld Lang Syne" literally【20】"yearning for the old days."

(1)

A．remarked

B．commented

C．observed

D．viewed

Passage Five

On the fourth Thursday of November, every year, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Day. The day is a national holiday which is set aside each year as a time to give thanks to God for our blessings (祝福).

Legend has it that the first English colonists (殖民者) in Massachusetts (马萨诸塞州) started the custom. According to the story, the Pilgrims~ first winter in the New World was difficult. They had arrived too late to grow many crops, and without fresh food, half of the colonists died from disease. The following spring the Indians taught them how to grow corn. In the autumn of 1621, bountiful crops of corn, beans and pumpkins were harvested. The colonists had much to be thankful for, so a feast was planned. They invited their Indian friends to join them in a large feast to share in the bounties (慷慨) of the land. This is the first Thanksgiving.

The traditional foods of the big Thanksgiving Day meal include roast turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and Indian bread puddings.

Since the day is set aside for giving thanks, it has also become a traditional family day. Large dinners with many relatives are common throughout America on this special day.

51. When was the Thanksgiving Day tradition begun？

A. In the 17(上标)th century.

B. On Thursday.

C. Last November.

D. In the 16(上标)th eentury.

A．Thanksgiving Day

B．New Year’s Day

A、Start Festival

B、Spring Equinox

C、Start of Spring

ew generation of young singers.

troubled Marlow Fashion

Group as a non-executive director, but is uncertain as to the level and nature of her contribution to the strategic

thinking of the Group.

The Marlow Fashion Group had been set up by a husband and wife team in the 1970s in an economically depressed

part of the UK. They produced a comprehensive range of women’s clothing built round the theme of traditional English

style. and elegance. The Group had the necessary skills to design, manufacture and retail its product range. The

Marlow brand was quickly established and the company built up a loyal network of suppliers, workers in the company

factory and franchised retailers spread around the world. Marlow Fashion Group’s products were able to command

premium prices in the world of fashion. Rodney and Betty Marlow ensured that their commitment to traditional values

created a strong family atmosphere in its network of partners and were reluctant to change this.

Unfortunately, changes in the market for women’s wear presented a major threat to Marlow Fashion. Firstly, women

had become a much more active part of the workforce and demanded smarter, more functional outfits to wear at work.

Marlow Fashion’s emphasis on soft, feminine styles became increasingly dated. Secondly, the tight control exercised

by Betty and Rodney Marlow and their commitment to control of design, manufacturing and retailing left them

vulnerable to competitors who focused on just one of these core activities. Thirdly, there was a reluctance by the

Marlows and their management team to acknowledge that a significant fall in sales and profits were as a result of a

fundamental shift in demand for women’s clothing. Finally, the share price of the company fell dramatically. Betty and

Rodney Marlow retained a significant minority ownership stake, but the company had had a new Chief Executive

Officer every year since 2000.

Required:

(a) Write a short report to Susan Grant identifying and explaining the strategic strengths and weaknesses in the

Marlow Fashion Group. (12 marks)