The Torch(火把) Festival is     1    traditional festival which is celebrated among some ethnic（少数民族） groups in southwestern China, such as the Yi, Bai, Hani, Lisu, and Lahu, etc. It usually     2    (fall) on the 24th or 25th of June, with three days of celebrations. The festival came from worship(崇拜）of fire by ancestors. For some ethnic groups, it’s a tradition in the festival for elders     3    (share) farming experience with young people and educate them about taking care of crops.

During the festival, big torches are made to stand in all villages, with small torches     4    (place) in front of the door of each house. When night falls, the torches are lit and the villages are bright. At the same time, people walk around the fields and houses,     5    (hold) small torches and placing them in the field corners. Inside the villages, young people are singing and dancing around the big torches     6     keep burning throughout the night. Other     7    (activity) like horse races are also held during the festival.

In a horse race of the Yi people in Yunnan, torches     8     (use) to form hurdles (栅栏）for riders to get through. The Hani people in Yunnan     9     (traditional) tie fruits to torches with strings. When the strings are broken after the torches are lit, people struggle for the fruits for good luck.

The Torch Festival appeals     10    many people from all over the country every year.

Compared with the people in many other countries, the Australians seem to know more about how to enjoy their lives. In Australia, different people have different ways of enjoying     1    (they). They also have their own ideas about how to kill time (消磨时间).

Most     2     (child), about 80%，work hard in school because they have to take lots of exams. After school they don’t want to stay at home reading books any longer.     3    , they go out to play. In this way, they feel     4    (relax) and have fun.

Some old people get up early in the morning. Then they go to the park to read newspapers,     5     can help them know what     6    (happen) in the world recently. In the evening, they prefer     7     (stay) at home watching TV rather than do anything else.

Young people enjoy     8     (have) pleasure trips on weekends. They go to mountains for a picnic or go to the forest to camp. They usually start on Friday and spend one or two days outside. Then    9    Sunday evening, they start their return trip, nobody seems to be in    10     hurry, although a busy week is waiting for them again.

The Spring Festival, known     1     the Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on February 16th this year and     2     (mark) the start of the Year of Dog in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, Meanwhile, the Spring Festival travel season, known as Chunryun in Chinese, officially begins. It is     3     time for family reunions, so millions of Chinese people will return to their hometowns or travel around the country with their families,    4     leads to the largest human migration in the world. Around 2.98 billion trips are expected to be made during the Spring Festival. Several years

ago, some people had no     5     (choose) but to turn to ticket scalpers (黄牛党) for help. However, at present, unlike previous years, people find     6     much easier to get tickets. High-speed trains make trips home     7     (considerable) faster. China Railway Corp. has launched a series of     8     (service) for passengers which involve self-service counters, free smartphone apps and ubiquitous (随处可见的) travel notices, thus     9     (save) much time for the passengers. As for travel by road, the electronic toll collection system helps enhance the efficiency of travel with the system     10     (update).

Thanksgiving Day is a time for communal(群体的)thanksgiving and lavish feasts(丰盛的宴会). Like China’s Spring Festival,     1     (prepare) a big meal and bringing the family together at home is a long-standing tradition of Thanksgiving. Distance doesn’t really matter as people return home to be with their family.

    2     I couldn’t have a reunion with my family when I was     3     exchange student at Newton South High School near Boston, I spent my Thanksgiving with my friend, Emily and her family.

Cooking and eating turkey is a well-known thanksgiving tradition. Ever since Thanksgiving     4     (make) an official holiday in 1863 in the US, turkey has always been on the menu. This is why Thanksgiving is also called Turkey Day.

Some of the     5     (tradition) colors for Thanksgiving are orange, yellow and brown, as they stand for pumpkin, corn and turkey. People     6     (usual) use these colors to decorate their homes and common areas. After dinner, we went to a community party,     7     I met some of Emily’s neighbors. People dressed up for the holiday, and there were Thanksgiving     8     (decoration) all over the place.

Even though I was thousands of kilometers away     9     my home in Beijing, I still found a “home” in the US with Emily and her family. As a saying     10     (go) forever on Thanksgiving Day, the heart will find the pathway home.