Luling, a small town in Texas, is home to a watermelon water tower, a watermelon queen and a festival called the Watermelon Thump.
The event includes food, music and a parade. But what sets this watermelon festival apart from others is the World Championship Seed Spitting(吐西瓜籽) Contest.
Only about 5，500 people live in Luling. But since 1954, the population has swelled on the last weekend in June. Now, tens of thousands of people come from all around to attend the fourday festival.
“The seedspitting crowds get into it，”said Edgar Camacho, who is father to four seedspitting champions. “Parents from Luling take it seriously.”
The competition is limited to about 50 kids and 50 adults. The kids are divided into four age groups. For the individual(个人的) competition, everyone gets two spits, and judges record the better one. For the team event, judges take the sum of four spits from four participants(参与者)．
“It’s really fun and exciting，”said Victoria Camacho, 14.“The crowd is all watching you and cheering for you, and your family is there.” About 200 people watch. “It’s really a lot of pressure because you don’t want to mess up.”
Victoria won her age group four years ago with a spit of 36 feet. Two years ago, her brother A. J．， 17, broke the youth record in Luling when he spat a seed 58 feet 91/8 inches. That’s more than half the length of a basketball court. (The adult seedspitting world record，set in 1989, is 68 feet 91/8 inches.)
“It’s fun to come out and compete every year. It’s just a really competitive spirit that all the families have，” said A. J．， who has won the seedspitting contest about 10 times.
The Camachos have no plans to give up their competitive spitting anytime soon.
“Even if I don’t live in Texas，” said Davis Camacho, 20, a fivetime winner. “I’ll make the yearly journey to Luling.”
【解题导语】 本文是一则新闻报道。美国德州的Luling小镇每年举办一次西瓜节，该节日的最特别之处在于其吐西瓜籽比赛。
1．What dose the underlined word “swelled” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A．Increased. B．Doubled.
C．Recovered. D．Dropped.
A 解析：词义猜测题。根据划线词前后句的对比：Only about 5，500 people live in Luling和tens of thousands of people come可知，自1954年开始，Luling小镇的人口在六月最后的那个周末不断增加。而根据该段的内容可知，小镇的常住人口仅有5 500人，因为当地举办的西瓜节吸引来自世界各地的游客，因此人口在节日期间急剧上涨。
2．What’s the rule for the group competition?
A．Everyone gets two spits.
B．The best four spits are recorded.
C．Each team member can spit only once.
D．Participants are divided into four age groups.
C 解析：细节理解题。根据第五段中的For the team event, judges take the sum of four spits from four participants(参与者)．可知，在团体比赛中，每名参赛人员只能吐一次西瓜籽。
3．How does Victoria feel about the competition?
A．Confident and lucky.
B．Stupid and bored.
C．Happy and fearless.
D．Excited and nervous.
D 解析：推理判断题。根据Victoria在第六段中说的It’s really fun and exciting和It’s really a lot of pressure可知，她认为比赛既刺激又紧张。
4．What can we learn about the competition?
A．It lasts four days.
B．It happens every year.
C．It is an international event.
D．It gets thousands of viewers.
B 解析：推理判断题。根据倒数第二段以及Camacho的家庭成员之一Davis在最后一段中说的Even if I don’t live in Texas和I’ll make the yearly journey to Luling.可知，吐西瓜籽比赛一年举行一次。这里需要注意D项，尽管文章第三段提到tens of thousands of people come from all around to attend the fourday festival，但是根据第六段中的About 200 people watch可知，该比赛的观众只有几百号人，并没有数以万计那么多。
