The Chongyang Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month and is also called the Double Ninth Festival. As both the month and the day are nine, it got this name. To celebrate the day, people usually climb mountains and enjoy chrysanthemum (菊花), so the festival is also known as the Height Ascending (登高) Festival or the Chrysanthemum Festival. In China, nine has the similar pronunciation with the word “forever”, meaning long life. So the Chinese government set the day as the Seniors’ Day.

The festival has a history of over 2,000 years. During the Warring. States Period, there was the Chongyang Festival. But it was only celebrated in the imperial palace. From the Han Dynasty, it began to be popular among the common people. The name of the Chongyang Festival first appeared in the Three Kingdoms Period. During the Jin Dynasty, there were customs of enjoying chrysanthemum and drinking wines oil the day. It was not (A) officially set as a festival until the Tang Dynasty. Since then, all the people have spent the festival with kinds of activities. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people in the imperial palace all ate flower cakes to celebrate. The emperor climbed the mountain on the day as well. In 1989, the Chinese government set the day as the Seniors’ Day.

As September has the clear sky and fresh air, it is a very good time to climb the mountain. There will be a happy sense of excitement by climbing the mountain in this, season. Also, it is good for health. Since the Western Han Dynasty, it has been the custom of climbing on the Chongyang Festival.

On the day, enjoying chrysanthemum is very popular as the flower means long life. Drinking chrysanthemum is regarded as a way to prevent disasters and bad things. Inserting Zhuyu and sticking chrysanthemum are also traditions to avoid the bad as (B) they have special smells which can repel (驱逐) insects and keep out the cold.

Eating Chongyang cakes is another tradition oil the festival. There is no fixed way of the cake but the one with nine layers (层) with two sheep on it is the best. Two sheep means Chongyang. Nine layers show people could do well in everything.

【小题1】回答问题。
How many other names does the Chongyang Festival have?
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【小题2】根据短文内容, 猜测（A）处画线单词“officially”的意思。
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A．办公室

B．官方

C．民间

【小题3】用英语列举人们在重阳节登山的两个原因。
(1) _______________________________________________________ 
(2) _______________________________________________________
【小题4】从文中找出（B）处画线单词“they”所指代的内容。
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【小题5】从文中找出与“The best cake has nine layers and two sheep on the top though there are different cakes.”意思相同或相近的句子。
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【小题6】根据短文内容填空。每空不超过3个单词。
There have been many traditions and customs on the Chongyang Festival. People show respect for the seniors, (1) ______ , (2) __________, (3) _________, insert Zhuyu and enjoy chrysanthemum.