This is a reading comprehension lesson to test
your ability to understand information written in
English. Read the information below
and then answer the 5 test questions.
Hey
if you cannot understand something on this page,
then use the Fun Easy English
dictionary
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Holiday:
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is an important traditional Chinese
holiday. In China, it is also known as the Spring Festival,
the literal translation of the modern Chinese name. Chinese
New Year celebrations traditionally ran from Chinese New
Year's Eve, the last day of the last month of the Chinese
calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the
first month, making the festival the longest in the Chinese
calendar. Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the
Chinese New Year is often referred to as the "Lunar New
Year".
The source of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and
gains significance because of several myths and traditions.
Traditionally, the festival was a time to honor deities as
well as ancestors. Chinese New Year is celebrated in
countries and territories with significant Chinese
populations, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau,
Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius,
Philippines, and also in Chinatowns elsewhere. Chinese New
Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has
had influence on the lunar new year celebrations of its
geographic neighbors.
Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the
celebration of the Chinese new year vary widely. Often, the
evening preceding Chinese New Year's Day is an occasion for
Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. It
is also traditional for every family to thoroughly cleanse
the house, in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to
make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be
decorated with red color paper-cuts and couplets with
popular themes of "good fortune" or "happiness", "wealth",
and "longevity." Other activities include lighting
firecrackers and giving money in red paper envelopes.
Although the Chinese calendar traditionally does not use
continuously numbered years, outside China its years are
often numbered from the reign of the 3rd millennium BC
Yellow Emperor. But at least three different years numbered
1 are now used by various scholars, making the year
beginning in 2013 AD the "Chinese Year" 4711, 4710, or 4650.
Chinese New Year celebrations occur in communities all
across America, especially place with a significant
Chinese population. The celebrations can be very
exciting.
Test:Reading Comprehension
Chinese New Year
Read
the information above. In the test questions
below choose which is the best answer for each
question. There are 5 questions. Good luck.
1. Chinese New Year is
also known as which of the following in China?
a. Lantern Festival
b. Lunar Festival
c. Spring Festival
d. Gardening Festival
2. Chinese New Year
Festival is which of the following?
a. an important day of fasting
b. the shortest in the Chinese calendar
c. the longest in the Chinese calendar
d. an important day of prayer
3. Chinese New Year is
celebrated in which of the following?
a. countries and territories with significant
Buddhist populations
b. countries and territories with significant
Shinto populations
c. countries and territories with significant
Chinese populations
d. countries and territories with significant
Mongolian populations
4. Within China which
of the following do people not do the evening preceding
Chinese New Year's Day?
a. thoroughly cleanse the house
b. decorate windows and doors
c. burn their old calendars
d. gather for the annual reunion dinner
5. Money is given in
which of the following?
a. red paper envelopes
b. yellow paper envelopes
c. blue paper envelopes
d. green paper envelopes
