Mother's Day is a holiday that celebrates and honors mothers in the United States. It is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. It became an official holiday in the country at the start of the 20th century as a way to honor mothers whose sons had died in war.
The holiday is celebrated in a number of ways. People give mothers gifts like flowers,cards,and jewelry to thank them for all their hard work.A popular symbol of the holiday is the carnation. This is because when the holiday first began in the U. S. people were encouraged to wear a red carnation if their mother was alive or a white carnation if their mother was dead. Many people take their mothers out for a special meal. In fact,Mother's Day is the most popular date in the U. S. for people to go out and eat and it is said that people spend billions on meals and gifts. Mother's Day is also the most popular day to make long distance calls in the U. S.It is the second most popular gift-giving day after Christmas.
Since its establishment,Mother's Day has been criticized for becoming highly commercialized(商業(yè)化的).In fact,the founder of the U. S. holiday,Anna Jarvis,began protesting the holiday and was even arrested for disturbing the peace for demonstrating. Jarvis's own mother started the campaign to establish(創(chuàng)建)a mother's holiday during the American Civil War.
Mothers are not the only people celebrated on this day. All mother figures including grandmothers,great-grandmothers,stepmothers,and foster mothers are honored on the holiday. In schools many students make special gifts,including handmade cards. While widely recognized,Mother's Day is not only celebrated in the U. S but in many other countries around the world,where they have their own version.
【1】Are mothers the only people celebrated on this day?
【2】When is Mother's Day celebrated in the U. S?
【3】Why did the U. S establish Mother's Day at the start of the 20th century?
【4】Who established a mother's holiday during the American Civil War?
A few months ago, my neighborhood joined an army of joggers. They were there all the time; early morning, noon, and evenings. There were little old ladies in grey sweaters, young couples in Adidas shoes, middle-aged men with red faces. “Come on!”
My friend Alex encouraged me to join him as he jogged by my house every evening. “You'll feel great.”
Well, I had nothing against feeling great, so I took up jogging seriously and gave it a good two months of my life, and not a day more. According to my experience and the number of the people who left our neighbor jogging army, jogging is the most overvalued form of exercise around. I'm not alone in my opinion.
First of all, jogging is very hard on the body. Your legs and feet take a real pounding (重擊) while you run down a road for two or three miles. I developed foot, leg, and back problems. Then I read about a nationally famous jogger who died of a heart attack (心臟病突發(fā))while jogging, and I had something else to worry about. Jogging doesn't kill hundreds of people, but if you have any physical weaknesses, jogging will surely bring them out, as they did with me.
Secondly, I got no enjoyment out of jogging. Putting one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes isn't my idea of fun.Some joggers say, “I love being out there with just my thoughts.” Well, my thoughts began to bore me, and most of them were on how much my legs hurt.
And how could I enjoy something that brought me pain? And that wasn't just the first week: it was practically every day for two months. I never got past the pain level, and pain isn't fun. So many other exercises, including walking, lead to almost the same results painlessly, so why jog?
I don't jog any more, and I don't think I ever will. I'm walking fast for two miles three times a week, and that feels good. I bicycle to work when the weather is good. I'm getting exercise, and I'm enjoying it at the same time. I could never say the same for jogging, and I've found a lot of better ways to stay in shape.
【1】What was the writer’s attitude towards jogging in the beginning?
A.He felt it was worth a try.B.He was very fond of it.
C.He was strongly against it.D.He thought it must be painful.
【2】Why did the writer give up jogging two months later?
A.He disliked doing exercise outside.B.He was afraid of having a heart attack.
C.He was worried about being left alone.D.He found it neither healthy nor interesting.
【3】What can we learn from the passage?
A.Not everyone enjoys jogging.B.Jogging is an exercise fit for everybody.
C.Jogging will surely cause physical illness.D.Jogging makes people feel greater than other sports.