modern­day image of Santa as a fat man is based on ads of the Coca­Cola company in the 1930s.Artist Hans Sundblom used a retired salesman named Les Prentice as his model.

　　语篇解读：本文为记叙文。圣诞节传统的起源是所有节日中最吸引人的，人们了解这些起源也是为了使圣诞节过得更美妙。

　　4．What can we learn from Paragraph 1?

　　A．Christmas is the most important holiday.

　　B．The traditions of Christmas are based on facts.

　　C．There was not any record of Christmas in the past.

　　D．More and more people begin to celebrate Christmas.

　　解析：选B　推理判断题。由第一段可知，我们喜欢的任何圣诞节传统都可以追溯到历史上特定的由来，并且知道这些活动是如何产生的。由此可推知，这些传统都是建立在事实之上的。

　　5．What do we know about Nicholas?

　　A．He set up the first Christian church.

　　B．He was called Santa Claus when he was born.

　　C．His clothes are similar to Santa's suit in color.

　　D．His image is the same as the modern­day Santa.

　　解析：选C　推理判断题。由第二段"...red decorated with white.When we see Santa's suit today, we're still seeing the two kinds of colors."可知，尼古拉斯第一批画像中穿着基督教主教的衣服--红色镶有白色的衣服。在如今圣诞老人的装扮中，我们看到的仍然是这两种颜色。

　　6．Three poor girls are mentioned to ________.

　　A．prove that Nicholas used to be a rich man

　　B．tell of the origin of Santa filling stockings

　　C．show Christmas was set up mainly for the poor

　　D．describe a famous story in the early fourth century

　　解析：选B　细节理解题。由第三段"That's how the tradition of Santa filling stockings got its start."可知，提到三个穷苦女孩是为了讲述圣诞老人把礼物放进袜子这一传统的由来。

　　7．What can we infer from the last two paragraphs?

　　A．Santa didn't become popular until the year 1890.

　　B．Candles have never been used on Christmas trees.

　　C．The Coca­Cola company designed the image of Santa.

　　D．Santa began giving gifts by climbing down chimneys in 1841.

解析：选A　推理判断题。由倒数第二段可知，1890年，圣诞老人百货商场盛行于美国，尤其是在波士顿的东海岸。世界各地的家长一起带着家人，坐着租来的旅客列车观赏