Task 1

本刊试题研究中心

When Daniel Milroy， originally from Canada， first attended a Spring Festival feast in Beijing in 2001， he was amazed to see the ten-course meal. Under the invitation of his employer at the time， Milroy joined a Spring Festival celebration at his family home.

“They prepared enough food for probably 20 people... He and his wife had been cooking all day，” he recalled. “I just could not understand why they spent so much effort cooking for five of us.”

Milroy， who has been living in Beijing for a decade now with his wife and his two children， has come to see the background， history and significance of the annual festival over the years. He met his future wife， Beijing native， Ge Qian， while studying at college in Canada and followed her all the way from Canada to Beijing.

Learning to understand the significance of the Spring Festival is one of the first steps Milroy took to embrace the Chinese culture， as he married into a Chinese family. More difficult is understanding the complicated relationship of Chinese society， particularly in Chinese families.

The first time he met his mother-in-law， he made the fatal mistake of addressing her by name， instead of the politer way of addressing her based on the relationship they had. The minute he extended his hand and called his mother-in-law by her name， he could see her confusion turn into trouble.

In Milroy's house， one of the most important rules children must follow is not to touch an adult's electronic device. But in his in-law's house， nothing is prohibited for the kids.

But still， he has come a long way. After ten years of living in China， there is nothing that surprises Milroy anymore since he has grasped what he is expected to do in almost every situation in the Chinese culture.

Now Milroy views preparing for the Spring Festival feast as a big family event， and he sweats in the kitchen cooking with his family-in-law. For this year's Spring Festival， they made a formal menu with more than 20 dishes. They printed out the menu and hung it in the kitchen while preparing for the dishes. While their four-year-old daughter was helping with the dumplings， their one-year-old son was crawling on the kitchen floor， watching intently as they cooked.

This is the true feeling of home.

1. What can we know about Chinese Spring Festival from the text？

A. Foreigners like to spend it in Beijing.

B. It is always celebrated at home in Beijing.

C. It can be hard for foreigners to grasp its meaning.

D. Beijingers like to invite foreigners to their homes to celebrate it.

2. How did Milroy's mother-in-law feel when he called her by name？

A. Angry. B. Puzzled. C. Pleasant. D. Disappointed.

3. What can replace the underlined word “prohibited” in paragraph 6？

A. Forbidden. B. Designed.        C. Blamed. D. Touched.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text？

A. A happy Chinese Canadian family

B. A Canadian who moved to Beijing

C. Spring Festival with an international flavor

D. Cultural differences between Canada and China