阅读理解2

1、On February 14th many people in the world celebrate an unusual holiday, St. Valentine's Day, a special day for lovers. The origin of this holiday is uncertain but according to one story it gets its name from a Christian named Valentine who lived in Rome during the 3rd century A.D. His job was to perform marriages for Christian couples. Unfortunately, the Emperor of Rome didn't allow Christian marriages. So they had to be performed in secret. Finally Valentine was arrested and put into prison. While he was in prison he fell in love with the daughter of the prison guard. After one year the Emperor offered to release Valentine if he would stop performing Christian marriages. Valentine refused and so he was killed in February, 270 A.D. Before he was killed Valentine sent a love letter to the daughter of the prison guard. He signed the letter "from your Valentine". That was the first Valentine.

Today Valentines are cards usually red and shaped like hearts with messages of love written in them. On Valentine's Day tens of millions of people send and receive Valentines. Whether it is an expensive heart-shaped box of chocolates from a secret admirer or a simple hand-made card from a child, a Valentine is a very special message of love.

(1)、The passage is mainly about a special holiday.

A：T

B：F

答案：A

解析：根据文章第一句话，主要说的是情人节，对于情侣来说，这是个特殊的节日。所以，题目所述是正确的。选A。

(2)、Valentine was put into prison because he sent a love letter to the daughter of the prison guard.

A：T

B：F

答案：B

解析：通过文章第一段，Valentine入狱之后他爱上了狱卒的女儿。而不是因为给狱卒的女儿写情书而被关进牢房里。所以题目所述是错误的，选B。

(3)、It is because he refused to accept the Emperor's offer that Valentine was killed.

A：T

B：F

答案：A

解析：根据文章第一段后半部分的描述，罗马大帝释放了Valentine，要求他不许再为基督徒举办婚礼，Valentine拒绝了这个要求，因此，被杀了。所以题目所述正确，选A。(4)、Valentines are cards usually red, and shaped like hearts with messages of love

written in them.

A：T

B：F

答案：A

解析：根据文章第二段第一句话，Valentines通常都是红色心形的卡片，里面写着爱的信息。所以题目所述是正确的。

(5)、People send Valentines to each other nowadays to celebrate Valentine's birthday.

A：T

B：F

答案：B

解析：通过文章的描述，现在人们情人节送卡片是为了纪念Valentine而不是因为他的生日。所以题目所述是错误的，选B。

2、When John and c arrived in New York City for one-year stay, they did not bring very many things with them. They had planned either to live in a furnished apartment or to buy used furniture. But they soon learned about a new system that more and more people are using. The renting of home furnishings (bed, tables, dishes, and so on) has become one of America's fastest growing businesses.

What kinds of people rent their home furnishings instead of buying them? People who are international business or government officials, foreign students, airline workers, young married couples - people whose job or business may force them to move frequently from one city to another. They save a lot of trouble and the cost of moving their furniture each time. They simply rent new furniture when they reach their new homes. Young people with little money do not want to buy cheap furniture that they may soon dislike. They prefer to wait until they have enough money to buy furniture they really like. Meanwhile, they find they can rent better quality furniture than they could afford to buy.

One family, who now has a large, beautiful home of their own, liked their rented furniture so much that they decided to keep renting it instead of buying new things. But usually people don't like to tell others about it. The idea of renting home furnishings is still quite new, and they are not sure what their neighbors might think.

（1）、Which of the following has become one of America's fastest growing businesses? ______________

A.Selling home furnishings.