Reading books gives people the opportunity to explore new worlds and meet new people both real and imagined, thus     1     (expand) our knowledge and understanding of the world around us and those far away.

To celebrate the wonderment of books and those that make them come to life, the UNESCO established 23 April     2     World Book and Copyright Day in 1995. But it got its start long before that in Spain.

Setting aside a day to celebrate books     3     (trace) its beginnings to Spanish writer Vicente Clavel Andres. In 1922 he proposed     4     idea as a way to honor fellow countryman author Miguel de Cervantes. In 1995, the UNESCO decided to pay homage to authors and books world-wide as a way of encouraging everyone     5     (access) books. Choosing 23 April seemed a logical choice. Besides being the date of Cervante’s death, it also happens to be the date     6     William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega died, among other prominent authors. Additionally, several distinguished authors were born on 23 April, making it a symbolic date in the worldliterature.

    7    (annual) since 2001, one city around the world is chosen to be the UNESCO World Book Capital for a year. The     8     (select) city is tasked with carrying out activities to encourage a culture of reading     9    spread its values in all ages and population groups in and out of the national     10     (border).

You might hear about Cinco de Mayo parties. But even though celebrations of Cinco de Mayo,     1     translates to the Fifth of May, originated in Mexico,     2     day is more popular in the United States!

So what does Cinco de Mayo celebrate? On the morning of May 5, 1862,6,000 French soldiers    3     (attack) the Mexican city of Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza     4     (bring) it under French rule. The Mexican soldiers were outnumbered, but they     5     (brave) fought back. By early evening, the French had fallen back.

Now the people of Puebla, Mexico, observe the holiday Cinco de Mayo to celebrate this victory. The holiday is also widely celebrated in the United States. Americans use the celebration to honor the battle as well     6     —Mexican culture.

In the United States, people attend     7     (parade) with colorfully dressed dancers listen to lively Mexican folk (民间的) music     8     (call) mariachi, and eat millions of avocados (鳄梨) in     9     (tradition) dishes such as guacamole. Washington, D.C., ever holds the Running of the Chihuahuas, where Chihuahuas (a type of dog that originated in Mexico) race each other for fun. Cinco de Mayo might     10     (celebrate) on the fifth day of May, but it gets a ten on the fun scale (等级).

Like most aspects of traditional Chinese culture, traditional Chinese medicine, also called TCM, has a long history. It is said to have     1    (origin) been invented by the legendary Emperor Shennong. There is evidence of traditional Chinese medical practices     2    (appear) during the Shang Dynasty.

TCM is     3     catch-all term for various medical treatments and practices and popular in China. Walk down any street there and you’re likely     4    (run) into several pharmacies(药房) selling traditional Chinese herbal medicines. One of the most important concepts of TCM is qi, vital energy flowing throughout the body. Health problems can result if the flow of qi is blocked, it is too strong     5     it is too weak.

TCM began to gain great     6    (expose) in America in 1971 through an article by an American reporter.     7     that time, TCM has enjoyed some popularity as     8    (alternate) treatments in the U.S. and other Western countries. In the early years, the Chinese government sent TCM doctors to Africa as part of China’s foreign medical aid to the continent. TCM     9    (include) in the World Health Organization’s International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems four years ago. Inclusion in this document is accelerating the global spread of TCM and helping make     10     an essential part of healthcare around the world.

Sometimes, people live with pain from different diseases. Amanda Greene says her pain comes from a disease     1     hits her badly. She tried taking medicine, but she suffered an allergic(过敏的) reaction     2     a strong pain killer, opioids. Now Amanda Greene is trying something different. It     3     (call) “virtual reality” treatment. For Greene, her virtual experience helped her feel more     4    (relax) and trained her to breathe in a special way. She saw a tree as she was told how to breathe in and out, and her pain was     5     (great) reduced with this.

Doctor Spiegel says these patients’ disorders are sometimes connected to mental health. VR can help, he explains, by changing     6     messages in the brain and nervous system to reduce pain.

Opioid abuse (镇定剂上瘾)has led to many     7    (death) across the United States. But, unlike opioids, Spiegel does not think that patients     8    (seek) pain relief would become physically     9     (depend) on VR treatment. Now, more than 100 hospitals nationwide     10     (use) VR and helping patients control pain and nervousness, and more countries are taking an interest in VR.