The people living in the Appalachian Mountains are sometimes called hillbillies(乡下人). The first settlers there came from the province of Ulster in Ireland, and they     1     (bring) their folk music with them. This music,     2     (mix) with the blues(布鲁斯音乐), became hillbilly music.

Later,     3     hillbilly music became more popular, it     4     (call) country music. Country songs are often sad stories of love and broken hearts. In the 1920s, people listened to country music on the radio. Not all country people were farmers. Many worked in the factories. They also loved country music, and it became     5     music of the working class.

During the 1930s, America had many economic problems. Workers expressed their troubles     6     (use) the folk music of the time. Folk songs are like country songs but they are     7     (tradition) and more serious.

During the 1950s, folk music gained its     8     (popular) again. Martin Luther King wanted to improve     9     (life) of African Americans. He led several marches to change the laws in the USA. The marchers sang old folk songs like We Shall Overcome.

In the 1960s, many people were     10     the war in Vietnam. Folk singers like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez wrote anti­war songs and other songs about the problems of American society. Folk music continues to be the most political of all music in America.

Celebrate National Day

China’s National Day is celebrated on October 1st every year     1     (mark) the formation of the People’s Republic of China. It is also known as National Day and National Golden Week.

The founding ceremony of New China     2     (hold) in Tian’anmen Square in Beijing on Oct. 1,1949,    3    the Government declared October 1st as National Day every year from 1950 onward.

As a great day in China, it represents     4     (independent), strength, and national confidence. The military parade has been     5     important part of the National Day ceremony. From 1949     6     the present, there are a total of fifteen National Day parades held. The number of representatives of the army, navy, and air force on parade    7    (be) generally around 10,000.     8     (usual), there is also a mass parade behind the military parade. In 2019, more than 100,000 people from all walks of life took part in it. The entire parade is broadcast live on all major TV stations.

On National Day, the national flag rises at 6:10 am in Tian’anmen Square. There are always people     9    (travel) long distances to watch the ceremony. There are also some other     10     (activity) like firework displays, light shows, and flowerbed exhibitions.

Drum culture has accompanied Chinese civilization for thousands of years and has a deep spiritual meaning, far     1     its physical meaning. Confucius regarded the “Drum Dance”     2     (high).

At the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, 200 drummers in red formed a round drum array (队形) to dance and beat drums. The perfect beats     3     (draw) the curtain on the exceptional Olympic Games. Chinese drum is an ancient practice     4     Chinese culture is deeply rooted.

The earliest reference to a clay fired drum     5     (date) back to the Pottery Age. In ancient China, drums were played to pray to the gods for good weather in agriculture, strike fear in the heart of the enemies in the war and later on accompany some performances and labor     6     (compete).

Dozens of types of Chinese drums exist today. For instance, “Taiping drum” is used to express praying for peace and prosperity while “Ansai waist drum”,     7     (mean) to interpret the spirit of the Losses Plateau and the     8     (hero) character of Northwest farmers, is still popular.

The boom of drum culture reflects     9     stable and prosperous Chinese society. For thousands of years, the drum beats have played in the backdrop,     10     (diversify) Chinese traditional culture.