The Lunar Calendar（阴历）
Modern Chinese use the solar calendar（阳历）as English people do . But at the same time , they use their own lunar calendar . Each lunar year is given the name of one of these animals : the rat , the ox , the tiger , the hare , the dragon , the snake , the horse , the goat , the monkey , the chicken , the dog and the pig . This list lasts for 12 years and then starts again .
Each Chinese month starts on the day of the new moon . And the full moon comes on the 15th day of the month . The New Year always starts between January 21 and February 20 . On the last day of the lunar year , there is a big family dinner . All members of the family except married daughters try to be present at this meal , even of they have to travel many miles to reach the home of their parents . Old quarrels are forgotten , and everybody is happy . After the dinner , the children keep awake to welcome the New Year .
The New Year celebrations last for 15 days , from the new moon to the full moon . On the first day , children and unmarried people go to visit their elders .
小题1:If next year is the year of the dragon , what was the name of last year ?
A．It was the year of tiger .
B．It was the year of the hare .
C．It was the year of snake .
D．It was the year of the ox .小题2:Suppose that next Chinese New Year’s Day is on 15th February , when will people have their big family dinner ?
A．On February 15
B．On February 16
C．On February 14
D．On February 17小题3:The family usually have their big family dinner at the home of ________ .
A．the married son
B．the married daughter
C．the unmarried son
D．the parents小题4:People celebrate the New Year ________ .
A．for 15 days
B．from the new moon to the full moon in the first month of the lunar year
C．from January 21 to February 20
D．both A and B小题5:From this selection we know that each Chinese month is measured by _______ .
A．the sun’s revolutions（旋转）
B．the moon’s revolutions
C．the earth’s revolutions
D．both the earth’s and moon’s revolutions
小题1:A
小题2:C
小题3:D
小题4:A
小题5:B
题目分析：这篇短文为我们介绍的是中国的农历纪年。按照中国的农历，每个农历新年都有一只动物的名字，一共是12个生肖。文章中还给我们讲了中国的人们是怎样庆祝农历新年的。
小题1:细节理解题。根据短文第一段中Each lunar year is given the name of one of these animals : the rat , the ox , the tiger , the hare , the dragon , the snake , the horse , the goat , the monkey , the chicken , the dog and the pig .可知，阴历年都有一个动物的名字，他们按照顺序排列，一共是12个，然后再重新轮回。根据题目问到的，如果明年是龙年，那么也就是说今年是兔年，那么去年就是虎年。故选A。
小题2:细节理解题。根据短文第二段中On the last day of the lunar year , there is a big family dinner .可知，在阴历年的最后一天，会有一个大型的家宴。那么如果新年是2月15日，那么家宴的时间应该是它的前一天，即2月14日。故选C。
小题3:推理判断题。根据短文第二段中they have to travel many miles to reach the home of their parents可知，离家在外的孩子也要赶回到父母的家里，由此可知，家宴应该是在父母的家里举行的。故选D。
小题4:细节理解题。根据短文最后一段中The New Year celebrations last for 15 days , from the new moon to the full moon可知，中国的新年要庆祝15天，从初一到十五。故选A。
小题5:推理判断题。根据短文中Each Chinese month starts on the day of the new moon . And the full moon comes on the 15th day of the month .可知，在中国的农历中，一个月是在新月的那天开始的，满月就是一个月的第15天。由此可知中国的月份是按照月亮的旋转来计量的。故选B。