专题限时训练(三十三)[说明文型阅读简答(二)](限时：25分钟)(一)Fourleafclovers(四叶车轴草)canbeseeneverywhereonSaintPatrick'sDay.OnthedaycelebratingIreland'spatronsaint(守护神),SaintPatrick,peopleareshowingIrishprideandrespectforIrishtraditions.SaintPatrick'sDayiscelebratedallovertheworldonthe17thofMarch.OriginallyitwaspurelyaCatholicholiday,butintheearly17thcenturySaintPatrick'sDaybecameanofficialfestival.ThecelebrationofSaintPatrick'sDayhascontinuedtothepresent,andnowitismoreacelebrationofIrishculturethanacelebrationofSaintPatrickhimself.Thefourleafcloverisararevariation(变种)oftheregularthreeleafclover.Thestoryisthatfourleafcloversbringgoodlucktothepeoplewhofindthem,andespeciallyifthey'refoundbyaccident.Overtheyears,imagesofthefourleafcloverhavebeenconnectedwiththeIrishandwithSaintPatrick'sDay.Thisismostlikelybecausethefourleafcloverlookslikethethreeleafclover,whichisasymbolofIreland.ThethreeleafcloverissaidtohavebeenusedbySaintPatricktoexplainChristianconceptstotheIrishpeople.EventhoughtheoriginalcolourthatpeopleassociatedwithSaintPatrickwasblue,overtheyearsiteventuallybecamegreen.Thisismostlikelyduetopeople'sassociationbetweenSaintPatrickandthethreeleafclover.Thetraditionofwearingthecolourgreen,aswellaswearingthreeleafandfour-leafclovers,continuesinthepresentSaintPatrick'sDaycelebrations.SaintPatrick'sDayiscelebratedallovertheworldandisespeciallypopularintheUnitedStates.TherearequiteafewmajorSaintPatrick'sDayparadesheldtocelebratetheholiday,thelargestbeinginBoston,NewYorkCity,Chicago,andSavannah.1．WhendidSaintPatrick'sDaybecomeanofficialfestival?(Nomorethan6words)________________________________________________________________________2．WhyareimagesofthefourleafcloverconnectedwithSaintPatrick'sDay？(Nomorethan10words)________________________________________________________________________3．Accordingtothepassage,whoareviewedasfortunate?(Nomorethan6words)________________________________________________________________________4.Accordingtothelastparagraph,howisSaintPatrick'sDaycelebrated?(Nomorethan4words)________________________________________________________________________(二)InBritainandothercountries,youngpeopleusuallytakea“gapyear”，ayearoffbetweenhighschoolandcollege.ThisideanevergainedabigfollowingintheUnitedStates.Recentnewsreportshavesuggestedthatinterestmaybegrowing,thoughtherearenoofficialnumbers.CharlesDeacon,thedeanofadmissions,estimatesthatinthecurrentfirstyearclassofonethousandsixhundredstudents,onlytwentyfivepercentdecidedtotakeayearoff.Hesaysthisnumberhasnotchangedmuchovertheyears.Hesaysthemostcommonreasonistohaveachancetotravel,butinternationalstudentsmaytakeagapyeartomeetrequirementsathomeformilitaryduty.Somehighschoolgraduatesseeayearoffasachancetorecoveraftertwelveyearsofrequirededucation.Butitcanalsogivestudentsachancetoexploretheirinterest.Manycollegesanduniversitiessupportgapyearprojectsbypermittingstudentstodelaytheiradmission.Expertssaystudentscangrowemotionallyandintellectuallyastheyworkatsomethingtheyenjoy.TheHarvardadmissionsofficehasanessayonitswebsitecalled“Timeoutorburnoutforthenextgeneration”.Itpraisestheideaoftakingtimeofftostepback,thinkandenjoygaininglifeexperienceoutsidethepressureofstudies.Ofcourse,agapyearisnotforeveryone.Studentsmightmisstheirfriendswhogoondirectlytocollege.Andparentsmightworrythattheirchildrenwilldecidenot...
