The Mid-Autumn Festival, is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. It is a time for family members and loved ones to congregate and enjoy the full moon — a symbol of     1     (abundant), harmony and luck. Adults will usually indulge in fragrant mooncakes of many     2     (vary) with a good cup hot Chinese tea,     3     the little ones run around with their brightly-lit lanterns.

The Mid-Autumn Festival probably began as a harvest festival,     4     was later given a mythological flavour with legends of Chang-E, the beautiful lady in the moon. According to Chinese mythology, the earth once had 10 suns     5     (circle) over it. One day, all ten suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat. The earth was saved when a strong archer, Hou Yi,     6     (manage) to shoot down nine of the suns. Yi stole the elixir（长生不老药）of life     7     (save) the people from his tyrannical（残暴的）rule, but his wife, Chang-E drank it. Thus started the legend of the lady in the moon to whom young Chinese girls would pray at the Mid-Autumn Festival.

In the 14th century, the eating of mooncakes at the Mid-Autumn Festival     8     (give) a new significance. The story goes that when Zhu Yuan Zhang was plotting to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty started by the Mongolians,     9     rebels hid their messages in the Mid-Autumn mooncakes. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels     10     (success) attacked and overthrew the government.

Of all the     1     (tradition) festivals, the harvest festival can be found in almost every culture. This important agricultural festival takes place     2     all the crops have been gathered in. People celebrate     3     (show) that they are grateful     4     the year’s supply of food. In ancient Egypt, the harvest festival     5     (celebrate) during the springtime—the Egyptian harvest season. It     6     (feature) a parade and a great feast with music, dancing, and sports. Today, in some     7     (Europe) countries, people decorate     8     (church) and town halls with flowers and fruit, and get together to celebrate over     9     meal. During the Mid - Autumn Festival in China, families gather to admire the     10     (shine) moon and enjoy delicious mooncakes.

Qing Ming is     1    (popular) associated with Jie Zizhui,     2     lived in Shanxi province in 600 B.C. It is said that Jie saved his starving lord’s life by serving a piece of his own leg. When the lord succeeded in becoming the ruler of a small country, he invited his faithful follower to join him.     3    , Jie declined his invitation,     4    (prefer) to lead a simple life with his mother in the mountains.

Believing that he could force Jie out by burning the mountain, the lord ordered his men to set fire to the forest. To his disappointment, Jie chose to remain where he was and was burnt to death.     5    (memorize) Jie, the lord ordered all fires in every home be put out     6     the anniversary (周年纪念日) of Jie’s death. Thus began the “cold food feast”, a day when no food could be cooked since no fire could be lit.

The “cold food” festival occurs on the eve of Qing Ming and     7    (consider) as part of the Qing Ming festival. As time passes, the Qing Ming festival has replaced the “cold food” festival. Whatever practice is observed, the basic observation of Qing Ming is to re-member one’s elders by making     8     special effort to visit their graves, ashes or ancestral tablets. To make the visit even     9    (meaningful), some time should be spent to remind the younger members of the family of the lives and contributions of their ancestors. One of the most important     10    (activity) on this day is to sweep graves to honor ancestors, dead relatives and friends.

China is a country rich in tea culture.     1     (add) to the intangible (非物质的) cultural heritage (遗产) list of the UNESCO, China’s. traditional tea-making became the country’s 43rd on the list. This recognition will make this cultural heritage     2    (visible) to the public than before and help promote respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.

The traditional tea-making in China is a whole system     3     (involve)knowledge, skills, and practices about the     4     (manage)of tea plantations, picking of tea leaves, manual processing, drinking, and sharing of tea. The history of Chinese tea     5     (date) from over 3, 000 years ago. Since then, Chinese people have been planting, picking, making, and drinking tea. Tea producers in China have successfully developed six categories of tea: green, yellow, dark, white, oolong, and black teas, each     6     its own flavor and health benefits. For instance, green tea is famous for its health benefits,     7     black tea is known for its strong flavor. Together with processed teas, such as flower-scented teas, there are     8     (total)over 2, 000 tea products in China.

Tea is an essential part of Chinese culture and tradition.     9     is common in Chinese people’s daily life, as steeped (浸泡的) or boiled tea     10    (serve)in families, workplaces, tea houses, and restaurants, to name a few. It’s also important for socialization and ceremonies such as weddings.