catch their future husband. It is also believed in the Irish culture that this act will help them get rid of bad luck.

The world is a large and very different place. Yes, people of all nations may celebrate New Year's Day much differently around the world, with different traditions, but there are a lot of general themes to be seen. We all want to start a new, fresh year with renewed enthusiasm and hope no matter what happened during the past year. We all want to be happier, find love, renew friendships，increase our wealth and also hope for a little extra luck in the coming new year.

1．When New Year's Day is coming, people always celebrate it in many ways EXCEPT .

A．sharing the time with their lovers

B．getting together with their families

C．setting the ball drop

D．enjoying drinks with their friends

2．What can you learn when you are paying a visiting to Mexico during New Year's Day?

A. It's commonly believed that the dead have spirits and souls living around.

B．It's New Year's Day that Mexicans consider the best time to talk to spirits.

C．You'd better talk to your ancestors just at home secretly, or you'll break the law.

D．You can ask for help free when you want to talk to the dead.

3．The single women of Ireland always hoping to catch their future husband on New Year's Eve.

A．wear polka dots

B．burn scarecrow dummy

C．break dishes on neighbor's door

D．place mistletoe leaves under their pillow

4．What can you conclude according to the passage?

A．No matter how we celebrate New Year, we have the only theme-increasing our wealth.

B．Celebrating New Year's Day means looking forward to a happier and better coming year.

C．It's seldom to see different traditions to celebrate New Year.

D．The traditions will be changed with the time going by.

B

In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.

It quickly attracted famous names such as Alec Guinness, Richard Burton, Dame Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich as well as the big symphony orchestras (交响乐团)．It became a fixed event every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.

At the same time, the "Fringe" appeared as a challenge to the official festival. Eight theatre