He wishes the holiday season would end already. His back aches, his red suit feels like a spacesuit, his cheeks have gone tight from smiling for 12 hours — and still the kids keep coming and coming, like ants at a picnic. As Christmas becomes more commercialized (商业化) across the U. S. and Canada, so must Santas. As the holiday begins earlier each year, so must its spokesmen .
The questions from children these days are harder than ever. Now, with thousands of children expecting a father or mother serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, the questions are as heart-breaking as they are unanswerable. For example, “Can you please bring Daddy home from the war in time for Christmas morning?”
Santas also have a pretty good chance of getting sued (指控). A professional Santa Claus in Canada told a story: A Santa had a girl on his knee, and he commented, “You have nice eyes and nice hair.” The girl later said it was sexual harassment (骚扰). When a Santa feels anxious, he often shows it in the same ways ordinary people do: The Santas were always seen to hang around at the dinner table when the show ended. Many of them just sleep in bed for several days and don’t see other children again.
56．In the first paragraph, “spokesmen” refers to .
A．businessmen B．political leaders
C．organisers of the activities D．Santa Clauses
57．The passage implies that the job of Santa Claus is .
A．well-paid B．very hard C．worth doing D．dangerous
58．According to the third paragraph, Santas may sometimes be blamed for .
A．doing something against the law B．hanging around the dinner table
C．being lazy and sleeping in bed for days D．not playing their roles as expected
59．What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Christmas: Not a Good Festival for Santas
B．Is Santa Claus Really Alive?
C．A Christmas Story
D．What Does Santa Claus Do for Children?
