Christians believe Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ， the Son of God. But in the world， Santa is better known than the Christ who gave his name to the holiday.

But 1 did the fat man in the Coca-Cola red-and-white suit become the symbol of Xmas? The truth， the story of Saint Nicholas， is a 2 ， of history， myth， and legend.

According to 3 ， he was born in Asia Minor in about A.D. 270. When young， he 4 to Palestine and Egypt. Later he became a bishop.

5 the Roman emperor Diocletian’s bloody rule of Christians in 303， Nicholas was put in prison.

6 ， when Constantine the Great became 7 ， in 306， Nicholas was freed. Nicholas’s prayers and leadership during the great imprisonment led 8 ， to become Christians. Nicholas continued to serve as bishop for many years. On December 9 ， 343， Nicholas the man died， and Saint Nicholas the legend was born.

During his lifetime， Nicholas’s reputation for generosity and 10 gave rise to stories of miracles he performed for the 11 ， the weak and children. After his death， devotion to Nicholas extended to all parts of Europe. His feast 12 was celebrated on December 6， but his reputation as a gift-giver later became 13 to the celebration of Christmas on December 25.

In the 16th century， his legend was united with old tales of a magician who 14 naughty children and rewarded good children with presents. In England， 15 became known as Father Christmas. But in 16 ， Saint Nicholas’ name and reputation persisted as “sinterklaas.”.

In the 17th century， Dutch settlers took this tradition to America. 17 ， Sinterklaas was adopted by the English-speaking majority as “Santa Claus”. The resulting 18 of a happy old figure driving a sleigh with eight 19 was accepted in the 19th century when Clement Moore wrote the now-famous poem “A Visit From Saint Nick”. And the red-and-white suit was created by a Coca-Cola 20 in the 1930s.

1. A. who B. which

C. how D. what

2. A. description B. combination

C. information D. devotion

3. A. discover B. tradition

C. textbook D. record

4. A. turned B. traveled

C. was taken D. reached

5. A. During B. Before

C. After D. Until

6. A. Actually B. Therefore

C. Besides D. However

7. A. emperor B. bishop

C. prayer D. prisoner

8. A. many B. few

C. all D. little

9. A. 5th B. 6th

C. 12th D. 25th

10. A. carefulness B. kindness

C. laziness D. sickness

11. A. young B. old

C. poor D. rich

12. A. month B. week

C. day D. moment

13. A. attached B. famous

C. Santa Claus D. a rule

14. A. passed B. paid

C. praised D. punished

15. A. they B. he

C. she D. it

16. A. Holland B. England

C. Egypt D. America

17. A. Recently B. Later

C. finally D. There

18. A. story B. time

C. tool D. image

19. A. people B. bags

C. dogs D. deer

20. A. drinker B. lover

C. advertiser D. seller