1 . Last summer holidays, my classmates and I helped with a charity show. Its aim was to raise money for those children _______ couldn’t go to school in poor areas. We did a lot for that. I felt happy when I _______ to be the host. Though it was exciting, I was very nervous _______ the TV cameras. I knew that lots of people would come to watch the show, also there would be a large audience in front of the TV. As some famous stars would come to the show, one of my duties _______ to introduce each of them. I also had some _______ things to do. So I often worked _______ morning to night. It was hard work, but I was happy. I practiced a lot before the show. I had to remember all the words and do everything right at the same time. At first, I thought I would never be able to do it well. I kept _______ myself not to be nervous. Slowly everything became easier.

The big day came very fast. _______ people came to the show. They donated(捐赠) money and materials. And the local businesses also gave _______ a lot of support. How generous they are! After the show, we sent the donations to those poor children. Soon they wrote back. They were really grateful to us. I was very proud ________ I could help them. I hope more and mote people will help them.

2 . A boy called Mario had many friends, and he was proud of it.

One day his grandpa said to him. “Mario, I know that you don’t have as _______ friends as you think. Many of them are not true to you.”

Mario thought maybe his grandpa _______ right. However, he wasn’t sure _______ he could test whether his schoolmates were real friends or not, so he asked his grandpa. The old man answered, “I have just exactly what you need. It’s in my room. Wait a minute.” The old man left, soon returning as if carrying something in his hand, but Mario could see nothing there.

“_______ it. It’s a very special chair. Because it’s invisible, it will be hard for you to sit on it. However, if you manage to sit on it, you can use the chair’s magic power to tell who your real friends are.”

Mario took _______ strange invisible chair to school. At break time he asked everyone to form a circle, and he put himself in the middle, with his chair.

“Nobody moves. You’re about to see something _______,” said Mario. Then he tried sitting on the chair. Having difficulty _______ it, he missed and fell to the ground. Everyone had a pretty good laugh. “Wait, wait,” said Mario, making another try. But again he missed the seat.

Mario didn’t give up. He kept trying to sit on the magic chair. Finally, he _______ it. This time he felt _______ in mid-chair. Then he experienced the magic. Looking around, Mario saw George, Lucas and Diana holding him up, so he wouldn’t fall. But some schoolmates whom he used to consider as friends did nothing _______ made fun of him. Mario was quite thankful to his grandpa, who helped him test who his true friends were.

3 . Once upon a time two princes were playing in a forest. They came across four old men _______ asked them to be more careful.

The first old man had _______ headache and he asked them not to shout. The second old man _______ a picture, and he asked the children to move away because they were blocking out(遮住) the light. The third old man was doing a large jigsaw puzzle in the middle of the road, and he asked the children not to walk on it. The fourth old man was watching a butterfly and he asked them not to frighten _______ away.

The prince who respected _______ did as the old men asked but the disrespectful prince didn’t follow the old men’s suggestions and kept bothering(打扰) them. In the evening, both boys had got separated and _______. They needed to get back lo the palace quickly.

Each of them _______came across the four old men again and asked for their help. They refused to help the disrespectful prince but with the respectful prince they did ________ they could to help and took him along a secret way which led right to the palace.

The other Prince arrived much later and _______ for it. He understood that it’s much better to respect every one _______ you want to have friends.

4 . The tradition of birthday parties started a long time ago. There are some traditions _________ you can find almost anywhere, anytime, such as sending birthday cards, blowing out the candles on a birthday cake and singing the “Happy Birthday”song. Others _________ only for certain ages and in certain countries.

In China, _________ a child’s second birthday, family members put many things on the floor around the child. According to Chinese tradition, the first thing that the child picks up tells you what profession the child _________ later in life.

For Japanese children,the third, fifth and seventh birthdays are _________ important. At the age, there is a special celebration Shichi-Go-San when children go to the temple wearing _________ new kimono(服). The priest(僧侣) gives them special sweets, and the parents usually organize a party in their home.

In Argentina, Mexico and several _________ Latin American countries, girls have a special birthday celebration when they reach the age of fifteen. After a special ceremony the girls dance a waltz with the fathers and other boys.

Eighteen is the traditional “coming of age”—the age when you have the right to vote, join the arm and drink alcohol _________ buy a house.

In many English-speaking countries, the _________ birthday cake often has a key on top, or the cake itself is sometimes in the shape of a key. The key means that the person is now __________ to leave and enter the family home at any time they want to!

5 . The back door of the ambulance(救护车) was suddenly shut. The driver ran to the front, jumped into his seat and _______ the engine. Inside were the worried parents, Mr. and Mrs. Green. The mother was holding _______ baby daughter, Ellen. The little girl had some food stuck in her throat and _______ hardly breathe.

The driver, Mr White, turned _______ his siren(警笛) and flashing light, and started speeding towards the _______ hospital. The cars ahead of him pulled out of the way as he drove through the busy traffic. From the back of the ambulance, the parents were shouting at him to hurry since Ellen had almost stopped breathing. Mr. White knew he had no time _______ so he drove straight past the traffic lights.

Coming towards him from his right was a taxi. The driver who was listening to his radio didn’t hear the ambulance. The lights were green, and he drove straight on into the path of the ambulance.

Mr. White tried to stop his ambulance, but it was too late. It hit _______ taxi. Everyone was shaken, _______ no one was hurt. Mr. White looked back to see _______ little Ellen was.

“Look!” cried Mrs. Green. “She is breathing again!”

“It must be the crash,” said her husband ________. “It knocked the food out of her throat. The accident turned out to be a blessing.”

6 . People need shopping. Shopping is ________ important part of our life. But the shopping habits (习惯) are different. Let’s see the shopping habits in America here. If you are in America only for a short time, I am sure you ________ buy some clothes soon. There is a rule of dressing in the US: ________ your clothes every day. For example, in an American university, you will see teachers are not ________ the same clothes for two days on end (连续地). The students are not, either. So you ________ it necessary (必要的) to buy more clothes than you have here in China. ________ you are shopping in the US, you will find that prices change a lot from shop to shop, and they change a lot from time to time. After you stay in America for ________, you will also find that Americans are not so well-off(富裕的). They often go shopping at “sales”. They also buy some used, second-hand things, such as clothing, bed, sofa, or TV— ________ money.

In America it is not strange that most of the second-hand things are very ________. In fact, the price in the US is always not high at all. There are ads (广告) for “white sale” in January, as well as in May and June or July. Once or twice every season there will be “garage sales” in the community(社区). There, you can get almost ________, from a boat to a pair of shoes, at “good” prices.