.阅读理解
For 80 years, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has kicked_off the holiday season with glorious bands, balloons and floats(花车)，and for one day, it has transformed New York City into a living comic book.
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade presented by Macy's Department Store. It was first held in 1924. It was organized by Macy's employees, most of whom were firstgeneration immigrants(移民)，who wanted to celebrate holidays like they did in Europe. The employees dressed in costumes(盛装)and marched on the streets with floats, bands and live animals borrowed from a zoo.
With an audience of over a quarter of a million people, the parade was such a success that Macy's declared it would become an annual event.
In 1927 Felix the Cat became the first parade balloon to float over the city. Large animalshaped balloons replaced the live animals from then on. These giant signature(特有的)balloons are by far the biggest attraction of the parade. Each year sees parade balloons adding new characters from comic strip characters to timeless toys.
One tradition long gone is the releasing of the balloons after the parade. They would float for days and the lucky finder or finders could claim a cash reward if he or she returned the balloon or its remains to Macy's.
The parade has gone on every year except during World War Ⅱ when, aside from not having much to cheer about, the helium(氦气)air and rubber used for the balloons were needed for the war effort.
When the parade returned in 1945，it was televised in New York for the first time and also traveled its current route for the first time.
Nowadays, more than 10,000 people participate in the parade and the National Broadcasting Company(NBC) will nationwide broadcast it live from 9 a.m. to noon. The NBC has even earned several Emmy Awards for this program.
As always, the parade will end with a visit from Santa Claus. The joyful old man will get settled in Macy's Department Store after the parade to start amonthlong search for who's been naughty and who's been nice.
文章大意：纽约梅西感恩节大巡游始于1924年欧洲移民的庆祝传统节日的行为，历经80年。人们乘坐花车手拿气球进行游行。这个一年一度的活动除了被第二次世界大战所阻之外，每年都进行，而二战后电视直播更使它名声大噪。
1.The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade originated from the fact________.
A.the first European immigrants showed their thanks to the Indians for their help
B.Macy's Department Store hoped to thank its employees for their devotion
C.the first European immigrants showed their traditional celebration of holidays
D.the employees of Macy's Department Store showed their thanks to the store
答案：C 第二段说第一代欧洲移民希望像他们在欧洲时一样来举行节日庆祝，于是有了这个大游行。
2.The parade wasn't held once. The reason is that________.
A.people had to do other more important things that time
B.it was forbidden by the government that time
C.people couldn't afford the expensive parade that time
D.a great misfortune prevented it from going on that time
答案：D 第六段说在第二次世界大战中人们没有快乐的事情，同时也没有那些材料来进行游行，因此在这段时间，游行停止。所以说它被一个巨大的不幸事件所阻止。
3.According to the text, the following are true EXCEPT that________.
A.about two hundred and fifty thousand people participated in the first parade
B.large animalshaped balloons are one of the attractions in the parade
C.the visit from Santa Claus marks the end of the parade
D.the television's live broadcast makes the parade more popular
答案：A 注意文章说25万人是观众，并非游行的人数。
4.The underlined word“kicked off”in the first paragraph means“________”.
A.put off B.opened up
C.dropped out D.turned into
答案：B 游行的队伍为这天的假日拉开了帷幕。
