短文理解  阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C三个选项中，选出最佳选项回答问题或完成句子。

    The Lantern Festival falls on the 15^th of the first month of the lunar calendar（阴历）. This day is always the first full moon in the new year. Ancient people also called it Shangyuan Festival. Celebrations and traditions on this day began from the Han Dynasty（朝代）and became popular in the Tang Dynasty.

    Watching the red lanterns is one of the main traditions. Lanterns of different shapes and sizes are usually put on trees, or along river banks on show. It is said that sky lantern's were first used by Zhuge Kongming to ask for help when he was in trouble. Today, when the lanterns slowly rise into the air, people make wishes.

    Another tradition is guessing lantern riddles. The riddles are usually short, wise, and sometimes humorous. The answer to a riddle can be a Chinese character（汉字），a famous person's name, or a place name.

    The most important thing is to eat sweet dumplings with different tastes. In northern China, they are called yuanxiao while in southern part they're named tangyuan. Because making sweet dumplings is like a game or an activity, they are usually done happily by a group of friends or family members.

    In old times, the Lantern Festival was also romantic（浪漫的）. Watching lanterns gave young people a chance to meet each other. A line from Xin Qiji, a poet during the Song Dynasty, shows this:   

    Hundreds and thousands of times I searched for her in the crowd. Suddenly I turned, and there she stood, in the dim（昏暗的）light.

    Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way. Different cultures celebrate the beginning oi a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.

    In Western countries, people usually celebrate the New Year at midnight on December 31st--January 1st. People may go to parties, sometimes dressed in formal clothes, and they may drink champagne (香槟) at midnight. During the first minutes of the New Year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead.  But some cultures prefer to celebrate the New Year by waking up early to watch the sunrise. They welcome the New Year with the first light of the sunrise.

Many cultures also do special things to get rid of (摆脱) bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, In Ecuador, families make a big doll from old clothes. The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start afresh (重新). Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the New Year.

    Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the new year.  One widespread Spanish tradition for good tuck is to eat grapes on New Year's Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck at the New Year. In the United States, some people eat black-eyed peas for good luck--but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them!

    Mother's Day is a celebration in memory of mothers. It celebrates the importance of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, mostly in March, April or May. Let's see how different people celebrate their Mother's Day.

Mexico (May 10)

    Children make gifts and give them to their mums on Mother's Eve (May 9). On the morning of May 10, families make a special trip to church and eat tamales(玉米饼), sometimes filled with meat, cheese or vegetables.

    South Africa (Second Sunday of May)

    Besides giving mums Mother's Day cards, people show their thanks for their mothers by wearing red and pink flowers called carnations. If their mothers have passed away, they wear white carnations.

United Kingdom (Fourth Sunday of Lent(大斋期))

    Mother's Day is a traditional day for people to visit their hometown and attend their home churches. People also bake(烘焙)special fruitcakes to give to their mums.

Indonesia (December 22)

    People throw big parties for their mums, filled with fun activities-such as cooking competitions and kebaya-wearing competitions! (A kebaya is a traditional blouse and skirt.)