There is a special custom near Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province, China. When someone’s family establishes a new house there, they     1     (choose) an auspicious day of the zodiac (黄道吉日) to host big banquet (宴会) to celebrate     2    .

Three days     3     the banquet, they begin to prepare dishes, drinks and tables for the big day. The banquet begins with dinner. At the same time, the guests will bring     4     (gift) for good luck like eggs or lucky money in a red envelope to the new house.

Early on the second day, the builder of the house will start to throw "coins" down from the top floor of the new house. The villagers usually get extremely     5     (excite) and try to grab these “coins” with anything they can use. After lunch at noon on the second day, the banquet is     6    （official) over. This year, I attended my sister-in-law’s ceremony to celebrate     7     (move) into a new house. Her new house was built by her husband, so it was his turn     8     (throw) down “coins”. Unfortunately, I missed this event for the reason     9     I had to go and visit my grandma's house instead. Frankly speaking, I hope such     10     special celebration will be held in my own family. My parents will build a new house soon!

Pottery (陶器) may be the oldest artwork of human beings. As far back as more than 8,000 years ago, people in China first made pottery by mixing clay with water and     1     (bake) it until it held its shape. Ancient people attached the word “pottery” to their discovery and used it to create various vessels and tools     2     (improve) the quality of life.

As time passed, the technique became perfect. Different kinds of pottery appeared in different times and regions. For example, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) the pieces     3     (create) by adding various metal oxide and baking       4     a low temperature. The pottery would appear to be light yellow, reddish brown and light green.     5     (prefer) by many foreigners to the region, the tricolor glazed pottery (唐三彩) had been transported all over the world.

Purple clay pottery won a great reputation for     6     next hundreds of years. As early as the Song Dynasty (960-1279) people found that purple clay teapots looked much more graceful than     7     of other materials. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people     8     liked drinking tea held firm to the     9     (believe) that tea in the purple clay pot smelled better and could retain the original quality; these teapots transferred heat much     10     (slow) and were more endurable of heat. Modern people still delight in this classic fashion ideal.