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  3. Valentine’s Day is a festival of romance and affection. The holiday is an interesting combination of pagan (异教徒的) and Christian

Valentine’s Day is a festival of romance and affection. The holiday is an interesting combination of pagan (异教徒的) and Christian

admin2010-01-13  43
问题       Valentine’s Day is a festival of romance and affection. The holiday is an interesting combination of pagan (异教徒的) and Christian influences. Some of the day’s customs probably came from an ancient Roman holiday caned Lupercalia, Which honored Juno (wife of Jupiter, the goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth) and Pan (the God of nature). During the Lupercalia festival, young women dropped poems bearing their names into a large vase. Each young man picked a name from the vase to find his sweetheart for that year.
      During the Middle Ages, church leaders wanted to relate this pagan holiday to Christianity, so they renamed it after a Christian saint and moved the holiday from February 15 to February 14, the feast day of St. Valentine. St. Valentine was a third-century Christian martyr, a young man who was imprisoned in Rome for refusing to worship pagan gods. According to legend, before Valentine was beheaded on February 14, he restored the eyesight of his jailer’s blind daughter. Then he sent her a farewell letter signed, "From your Valentine". This phrase is now a common expression of affection that appears on many of the holiday greeting cards.
      Perhaps another reason that February 14 was picked as a holiday for lovers was that the ancient Romans believed that birds began to mate on this date.
     In modern times, early in February of each year, card shops, drugstores, and department stores begin displaying a wide variety of greeting cards called valentines. Most of them are illustrated with the symbolic red heart, which stands for love. Many also show a picture of Cupid with his bow and arrow. Some valentines are very fancy--decorated with paper lace, scented satin, feathers, ribbons, or bows. Some contain affectionate verses, while others simply say, "Be my Valentine". There are special Valentines for various family members, sweet hearts, and friends. People sometimes send anonymous valentines to the persons whom they are in secret love with.
     On that day, children usually buy packages of small, inexpensive valentines to give to classmates and teachers. Sweet-hearts and married couples may exchange more expensive cards, along with small gifts. Men often give red roses or chocolates wrapped up beautifully in red, heart-shaped boxes to their girlfriends or wives.
Why was St. Valentine beheaded?
选项 A、For his disloyalty to the Roman Emperor.
B、For his faith in God and Christianity.
C、For practicing witchcraft such as healing the blind people.
D、For a criminal offence.
答案B
解析 由第二段可知，“圣·瓦伦丁被关在罗马监狱中，因为他拒绝皈依异教(基督教以外的宗教)”。可见他的被杀并不因为“不忠实罗马教皇(A)”、“行巫术(C)”或“刑事犯罪(D)”。因此只有B项正确。
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