The Chinese New Year is the most important festival for the Chinese people. It usually comes in January or February. It takes about 15 days to prepare for it.
On the eve of the festival, people close the shops and stay at home. They all get together for a big dinner. They stay up late and enjoy dumplings at midnight for good luck.
In the morning, people dress in their best clothes, and usually the old stay at home, the young go out to pay a New Year Call(拜年). It is an important time for the young. The young people bow(鞠躬）to the old people. The Chinese call this “Ke Tou”. This means “touching the ground with the forehead(額頭)”. Then the young people give their best wishes to the old people. The old people give children gifts or lucky money.
They are very polite(禮貌）and do not use bad words on the Spring Festival Day. It，s the most important day of the year.
【小題1】‘The Chinese New Year” in the passage means “   ” .

The Chinese New Year is called the Spring Festival，which is the biggest festival in China．

It usually comes in January or February．Where there are Chinese，there is the Spring Festival．Each Chinese year has a name．We may call it the Year of the Tiger，the Year of the Pig or the Year of the Snake．And the year of 2007 is called the year of the Pig．The year after it is the Mouse Year．

People always spend a month before the festival in preparing for it．People are busy shopping and cleaning their houses．On the eve there is a big family dinner．All the family stay up late to welcome the New Year，watching the CCTV programs or playing cards．On the first day of the Chinese New Year，people put on their new clothes and go to visit their relatives and friends。saying “Happy New Year”，“Good luck” and some other greetings to each other．It often lasts to the Lantern Festival，which is also an important Chinese festival and people usually have sweet dumplings（yuanxiao）．People always have a very good time，especially children．Children can usually get some money for the new year from their parents and the elder relatives．

1．The most important festival in China is _________．

A．the Lantern Festival                                  B．the Spring Festival

C．the New Year                                            D．the October 1st

2．2008 is the _________year．

A．Mouse                 B．Sheep                  C．Tiger                     D．Pig

3．“All the family stay up late to welcome the New Year．” Here “stay up” means _________．

A．to go to sleep                                          B．not to go to bed

C．to stand up                                              D．to have a good rest

4．Which sentence is Right?

A．The Spring Festival is celebrated only by Chinese people in China．

B．People celebrate the Spring Festival all over the world．

C．The Chinese people celebrate the Spring Festival, even when they are in foreign countries．

D．People who can speak Chinese celebrate the Spring Festival in the world．

5．What do people say when they meet on the Chinese New Year's Day?

A．They say “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year”．

B．They say “Good luck” and “Good night” to each other．

C．They say “Have a nice day” and “Good luck” only to their friends and relatives．

D．They say many greetings，such as “Good luck” to each other．

Recently,CCTV reporter have asked a simple question, “Are you happy?”
The question has caught many interviewees off guard. Even Mo Yan, who recently won a Nobel Prize, answered by saying “I don’t know.”
We should ask “What exactly is happiness? And how do you measure(測量) it？”. Last year, China’s Premier Wen Jiabao told the nation, “Everything we do is aimed at letting people live more happily.” At last year’s National People’s Congress(全國人民代表大會)， officials agreed that increasing happiness would be a top target(目標) for the 12^th five-year plan.
Many argue that happiness is elusive. It also means different things to different people. For some, happiness can be as simple as having enough money to buy a new bicycle; for others, it’s about socializing(社交活動) or finding the perfect spouse(配偶).
Chen Shangyuan, 21, a college student, said his idea of happiness always evolves(進化). “At present it relates to how productive I am in a day”, he said. “It might be linked to(聯(lián)系) job security (安全) or leisure(休閑) time after I graduate.”
【小題1】What did Mo Yan say when he was asked the question “Are you happy?”