Aggie Bonfire (篝火) was a long-standing tradition at Texas A&M University as part of the college rivalry (竞争) with the University of Texas at Austin. For 90 years, Texas A&M students—known as Aggies—built and burned a bonfire on campus each autumn. Known to the Aggie community simply as "Bonfire", the annual autumn event symbolized Aggie students' "burning desires”. The bonfire was traditionally lit around Thanksgiving in connection with festivities surrounding the annual college football game.
Although early Bonfires were little more than piles of trash, as time passed, the annual event became more organized. Over the years the bonfire grew bigger, setting the world record in 1969. Bonfire remained a university tradition for decades until, in 1999, a collapse during construction killed twelve people—eleven students and one former student—and injured twenty-seven others.
The accident led Texas A&M to declare a pause on an official Bonfire. However, in 2002, a student-sponsored-and-off-campus "Student Bonfire" came up.
In 2003, the event became known as Student Bonfire. In a design approved by a professional engineer, Student Bonfire uses a wedding cake design, but, in a departure from tradition, every log in the stack (堆) touches the ground. For added support, four 24 feet poles are spaced evenly around the stack and then bolted to the 45 feet center pole with a steel pipe. Since the group does not receive funding, Student Bonfire charges a fee to each attendee to cover expenses. Attendance for Student Bonfire ranges from 8,000–15,000 people and the event is held in Brazos County or one of the surrounding counties.
小题1:When did Aggie Bonfire come into being?
A．In 2003.
B．1999.
C．1909.
D．2002.小题2: Which of the following statements is true according to the above passage?
A．Texas A&M University started Aggie Bonfire.
B．The University of Texas at Austin started Students Bonfire.
C．Texas A&M University and The University of Texas started Students Bonfire.
D．Texas A&M University and The University of Texas started Aggie Bonfire.小题3:Why did Aggie Bonfire once stop?
A．Too many people wanted to join in it.
B．Some serious accidents occurred during the activity.
C．It ran out of fund and then stopped.
D．There were no official supports.小题4: Which of the following might serve as the best title of the whole passage?
A．From Aggie Bonfire to Student Bonfire.
B．A brief history of American Bonfire.
C．Why not join Bonfire?
D．Bonfire in Texas of the United States.
