试题预览
广东梅陇中学2009届高三英语元旦特训题
2009.1.1-3
一、阅读理解三篇：
A）文章导读：你知道圣诞的起源吗？你知道在12.25还对那些宗教有重大意义吗?你知道以前的圣诞节是怎么样的吗？下面的文章会告诉你答案。
Origins of the Christmas Holiday
From its modest beginnings, Christmas has evolved into the biggest celebration in the world.
Christmas is the fourth most important Christian date after Easter复活节 Pentecost圣灵降临节, and Epiphany主显节, a feast held January 6 to commemorate the manifestation of the divinity of Jesus. Roman Catholics 罗马天主教徒and Protestants基督教新教 celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25. Many Orthodox Christians正统基督徒 use the Julian calendar, which places Christmas around January 6.
Early Christians, however, did not celebrate Christmas. There was disagreement about when Jesus was born and some early Christians opposed celebrating his birthday. In the fourth century Christmas was added to the Church calendar as a feast day.
A Common Date
December 25 was a significant date for various early cultures. The ancient Babylonians believed the son of the queen of heaven was born on December 25. The Egyptians celebrated the birth of the son of the fertility goddess Isis on the same date, while ancient Arabs contended that the moon was born on December 24.
The Romans celebrated Saturnalia(农神节), a feast named for Saturn, god of agriculture, on December 21, the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. They believed the shortest day of the year was the birthday of the sun. The Roman emperor Constantine was a member of the sun-cult (太阳教)before converting to Christianity in 312.
Some scholars suspect that Christians chose to celebrate Christ's birth on December 25 to make it easier to convert the pagan tribes(异教群体). Referring to Jesus as the “light of the world” also fit with existing pagan beliefs about the birth of the sun. The ancient “return of the sun” philosophy had been replaced by the “coming of the son” message of Christianity.
Joyful and Religious
Gradually, Christmas celebrations began to adopt the joyful, often boisterous, holiday traditions of pagan cultures. The story of the nativity was told through music, art, and dance.
Some Medieval Christians objected, however, maintaining that Christmas should be a somber(严肃的)religious day, not a secular(非宗教的)festival. After the Reformation, certain&
 试题下载地址
|
浏览更多英语试题，请访问 
|