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Layue is the twelfth month of the traditional Chinese calendar. The Chinese character “La” meant “cured (腌制) meat” at first. Layue is known as the month with the richest traditional customs of the twelve months of the year.

The eighth day of Layue marks the Laba Festival. The custom on this day is to enjoy Laba porridge, which is also known as “Buddha Porridge”. It includes grains, peanuts, chestnuts, red dates, lotus seeds, and other things. They make it the main food of the Laba Festival. In the northern part of China, there is a saying, “Children, don’t be too eager, right after Laba, the new year is on its way.” ▲

In some southern areas of China, there is a custom of having glutinous rice (糯米) during the cold winter months. Some areas also have traditions of making New Year rice cakes and sticky rice cakes, which are made of steamed and mashed glutinous rice. Believed to have higher sugar than regular rice, glutinous rice is thought to bring warmth to the body. It helps to dispel the cold.

The Kitchen God Festival is another custom celebrated across China. It falls on the 23rd day (in southern China) or the 24th day (in northern China) in Layue. On this day, people would hang images of the Kitchen God and his wife around the kitchen stove as well as couplets (对联). Today, this tradition is still kept in many areas of the countryside.

Layue is regarded as a preparatory stage for the upcoming Spring Festival. Usually, the Spring Festival is considered the most joyful celebration of the year. The joy, busy activities and hope of Layue are thought to be as meaningful as the main event.

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1.Layue is the ________ month of the lunar year.

A first

B second

C third

D last

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第一段第一句“Layue is the twelfth month of the traditional Chinese calendar.”腊月是中国传统历法中的第十二个月，即农历年中的最后一个月。故选D。

2.Which sentence can be put in the “ ▲ ”?

A The Laba Festival means the end of the coldest month of a year.

B The Chinese New Year is the most important festival in China.

C Celebrating Laba means the beginning of the Chinese New Year.

D Children always do many things to celebrate the Laba Festival.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据前一句中的“right after Laba, the new year is on its way”腊八一过，新年就要到了，由此可知，庆祝腊八节意味着中国新年的开始。故选C。

3.What does the underlined word “dispel” mean?

A Drive away.

B Put away.

C Give away.

D Break away.

解析：选A。A 词义猜测题。根据划线词所在句的前一句“glutinous rice is thought to bring warmth to the body”糯米被认为能给身体带来温暖，即糯米能够驱散身体中的寒冷，故选A。

4.Which word cannot be used to describe Layue?

A Happy.

B Busy.

C Hopeful.

D Meaningless.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据最后一段中的最后一句“The joy, busy activities and hope of Layue are thought to be as meaningful as the main event.”可知，腊月里的喜悦、喧嚣和期待不亚于庆祝春节，因此D项“无意义的”不适合用来描述腊月。故选D。

5.Where can you read the passage?

A In a history book.

B In a culture magazine.

C In a guidebook.

D In a notice.

解析：选B。B 推理判断题。本文主要介绍了中国农历历法腊月里的相关传统习俗，与国家文化相关，因此，我们最有可能在一本文化杂志里读到本文。故选B。