.閱讀理解

　　For 80 years, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has kicked_off the holiday season with glorious bands, balloons and floats(花車)，and for one day, it has transformed New York City into a living comic book.

　　The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade presented by Macy's Department Store. It was first held in 1924. It was organized by Macy's employees, most of whom were first­generation immigrants(移民)，who wanted to celebrate holidays like they did in Europe. The employees dressed in costumes(盛裝)and marched on the streets with floats, bands and live animals borrowed from a zoo.

　　With an audience of over a quarter of a million people, the parade was such a success that Macy's declared it would become an annual event.

　　In 1927 Felix the Cat became the first parade balloon to float over the city. Large animal­shaped balloons replaced the live animals from then on. These giant signature(特有的)balloons are by far the biggest attraction of the parade. Each year sees parade balloons adding new characters from comic strip characters to timeless toys.

　　One tradition long gone is the releasing of the balloons after the parade. They would float for days and the lucky finder or finders could claim a cash reward if he or she returned the balloon or its remains to Macy's.

　　The parade has gone on every year except during World War Ⅱ when, aside from not having much to cheer about, the helium(氦氣)air and rubber used for the balloons were needed for the war effort.

　　When the parade returned in 1945，it was televised in New York for the first time and also traveled its current route for the first time.

　　Nowadays, more than 10,000 people participate in the parade and the National Broadcasting Company(NBC) will nationwide broadcast it live from 9 a.m. to noon. The NBC has even earned several Emmy Awards for this program.

　　As always, the parade will end with a visit from Santa Claus. The joyful old man will get settled in Macy's Department Store after the parade to start a­month­long search for who's been naughty and who's been nice.

　　文章大意：紐約梅西感恩節(jié)大巡游始于1924年歐洲移民的慶祝傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日的行為，歷經(jīng)80年。人們乘坐花車手拿氣球進行游行。這個一年一度的活動除了被第二次世界大戰(zhàn)所阻之外，每年都進行，而二戰(zhàn)后電視直播更使它名聲大噪。

　　1.The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade originated from the fact________.

　　A.the first European immigrants showed their thanks to the Indians for their help

　　B.Macy's Department Store hoped to thank its employees for their devotion

　　C.the first European immigrants showed their traditional celebration of holidays

　　D.the employees of Macy's Department Store showed their thanks to the store

　　答案：C　第二段說第一代歐洲移民希望像他們在歐洲時一樣來舉行節(jié)日慶祝，于是有了這個大游行。

　　2.The parade wasn't held once. The reason is that________.

　　A.people had to do other more important things that time

　　B.it was forbidden by the government that time

　　C.people couldn't afford the expensive parade that time

　　D.a great misfortune prevented it from going on that time

　　答案：D　第六段說在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)中人們沒有快樂的事情，同時也沒有那些材料來進行游行，因此在這段時間，游行停止。所以說它被一個巨大的不幸事件所阻止。

　　3.According to the text, the following are true EXCEPT that________.

　　A.about two hundred and fifty thousand people participated in the first parade

　　B.large animal­shaped balloons are one of the attractions in the parade

　　C.the visit from Santa Claus marks the end of the parade

　　D.the television's live broadcast makes the parade more popular

　　答案：A　注意文章說25萬人是觀眾，并非游行的人數(shù)。

　　4.The underlined word“kicked off”in the first paragraph means“________”.

　　A.put off B.opened up

　　C.dropped out D.turned into

　　答案：B　游行的隊伍為這天的假日拉開了帷幕。