There are many stories about the start of Nian. It is said that Nian was a fierce monster. Usually it stayed deep in the mountains. But in winter, it couldn’t find enough food. So it entered villages to eat whatever it could catch. Villagers became frightened and moved away. Later the people found that Nian was afraid of three things—the red color, the bright fire and the loud noise. After learning this, they thought of how to prevent Nian from entering their villages. Thus, a tradition was established. People had couplets, lanterns and fireworks for the Spring Festival.

Now most people in the countryside still keep these traditional celebrations. However, the people in cities have used new ways to celebrate the Spring Festival. For example, they don’t send out so many greeting cards as before. Instead they usually send short text messages to greet friends on mobile phones. And for safety, fireworks were not allowed in some large cities a few years ago, making the cities much quieter than before. It seems that all Chinese traditions are facing new challenges. Maybe when the children of the next generation grow up, they can only learn about Chinese traditions from books.

【小题1】Long ago, people thought Nian was ______.

A．serious

B．friendly

C．interesting

D．dangerous

【小题2】People set off fireworks because Nian was afraid of ______.

A．loud noise

B．red color

C．people

D．animals

【小题3】Now people ______ to greet their friends at the Spring Festival.

A．write letters

B．play cards

C．prefer to use mobiles

D．send telegraphs

【小题4】Setting off fireworks is not allowed in some large cities in order to ______.

A．make the cities quiet

B．save money

C．keep safe

D．keep clean

【小题5】What does the underlined sentence in the passage mean?

A．Chinese people will not have the Spring Festival any longer.

B．Perhaps Chinese people won’t celebrate the Spring Festival in traditional ways.

C．It’s clear that Chinese traditions will disappear.

D．Chinese people dislike the Spring Festival.