Do you know Black Friday? You probably know about Singles Day (Nov. 11th) in China, when people ________ up very late at night to shop online. Things become cheaper, so they can ________ a lot of money. Well, the US has something like that called Black Friday.

Black Friday is the ________ after Thanksgiving. It’s the start of the holiday shopping season and most people don’t have to go to work that ________. So people start to think about what gifts they want to buy for Christmas.

Black Friday comes from ________ sales. A long time ago, shops used ink(墨水) to record all their sales. When there was a lot of black ink on the page, that meant the products sold a lot.

Unlike Singles Day that is usually for online shopping, a lot of shopping on Black Friday is done at real stores. Shoppers look for deals, especially on ________ like televisions, computers and video games. These things usually have ________ prices, but on this day, you can buy them at very low sale prices. So people sometimes fight over these things. Some people wait in line for ________ from the daytime to the midnight when stores finally open.

But recently a few stores have been starting sales even ________ on Thanksgiving Day. Stores do this to hopefully get more ________. They also hope to get more deals in the competition.

When Vivienne Harr was 8 years old, she saw a photo she would never forget. It was a photo of two young boys carrying large, heavy rocks on their backs. These children were the same age as Vivienne. But they did not have the same freedom(自由)and opportunities(机会) that she has.

In some parts of the world, children have to work hard and they can’t go to school. Vivienne wanted to change this. “I want all kids to be able to go to school and play,” said Vivienne, now 10. “I want them to be happy.”

To help raise money for children like the two boys in the photo, Vivienne started a lemonade stand(柠檬汽水摊位)near her home in Marin County, California. She promised to work every day for a year, rain or shine. “Sometimes, it was hard for me, when the weather was bad or I wasn’t feeling well,” said Vivienne. “But I knew that some children were having a harder time than I was.”

Vivienne’s goal was to raise $100,000 in 365 days. On Day 175, she reached her goal. But that didn’t stop Vivienne from working. With the help of her family, she started Make a Stand. The company now puts Vivienne’s lemonade into bottles and sells it in 130 stores around the US. A small part of sales goes to help achieve Vivienne’s dream — to make the world a better place for all children.

A well-known poem by Tang dynasty poet Du Mu tells of a sad scene in early April: “Rains fall heavily as Qingming comes, and passers-by with lowered spirits go.”

This scene takes place on Tomb Sweeping Day, also known as Qingming Festival. Tomb Sweeping Day is a traditional Chinese festival. It began in the Zhou dynasty, over 2500 years ago. Chinese people celebrate it to remember and honor their ancestors. This year, it falls on April 4. Tomb Sweeping Day became a public holiday in the Chinese mainland in 2008. People have one day off for that day.

On this day, families bring flowers, food and wine to the grave sites(墓地)of their ancestors. They place cakes, fruits in front of the graves and some may burn joss paper, as money for the dead. After that, they sweep the tombs and cherish(怀念)the memories of their dead family members.

Tomb Sweeping Day gives us a chance to show respect to our ancestors and family members who have passed away and show that we miss them. This tradition shows that family values are an important part of Chinese culture.

Tomb Sweeping Day is also the beginning of the time for gardening and outdoor activities in China. Families often get together for outings or fly kites at this time.

During the summer holiday, some students might have been busy with traveling, summer camps and all kinds of courses. But a special group of Chinese middle school students decided to taste the hardship (艰苦) of life outside school.

Twelve students in a big city sold vegetables at a local market together. Within 12 days, they made more than 1,500 yuan.

Among them, the oldest is 21 years old, while the youngest is just 10. They are all cousins in a big family and eight of them are from villages.

“Compared to traveling, such social practice connects us and makes us learn how hard our parents are,” said Dalin, 18, to the City Morning Post. Dalin, a senior high graduate, and her 12-year-old brother Xiaolin came up with the idea.

They learned to work hard to sell their vegetables. Every morning they had to wake up at 3 o’clock. Some of them went to the farmer’s market to buy vegetables. Some of them went to the local market to take up a temporary stall(临时摊位). To lower the cost, they learned to bargain(讲价) with the sellers.

At about 6:30 am, they began to sell vegetables. They peddled(吆喝) loudly to attract(吸引) customers. After several days, they got some experience, too.

For example, it was better to put vegetables in order and bigger ones on top. When the vegetables are too heavy, they should give customers a plastic bag.

When they finally went home, they had a small meeting. Everyone took notes and shared their feelings.

“We are tired,” said Dalin, “but we learned a lot.”

“Depend on yourself” is what nature says to every man. Parents can help you. Teachers can help you. Others still can help you. But all these only help you to help yourself.   

There have been many great men in history. But many of them were very poor in childhood, and had no uncles, aunts or friends to help them. They couldn’t depend on them for education.

They saw how it was, and began to work with their efforts. To know something, they worked their own way up to fame (荣誉).

One of the most famous teachers in England used to tell his pupil, “I can’t make worthy men of you, but I can help you make men of yourselves.”

Some young men are the best in anything, and they are so be pitied (值得同情的). They can never do things successfully if they don’t see their weak points and change their courses (方法). They are nothing now, and will be nothing as long as they live if they don’t follow the advice of their parents and teachers, and depend on their own efforts.

Camping in your backyard is full of fun, no matter what your age is. It’s great for keeping us relaxed. It offers us chances to check the night sky and to be noisier than usual. It lets us have friends stay over who might not fit inside the house! Follow these instructions and you’ll have a night you’ll never forget!

Put up your tent.

Depending on the number of family members and guests, you may need more than one tent. Tell your friends to bring their tents if needed. Follow the instructions or check out the articles on how to put up a tent on the Internet.

Prepare your bedding.

You’ll want your guests to be able to relax. Put something soft to lie on on the floor: a mattress(床垫) or thick comforters may work well. Fill the tent with soft toys and blankets(毯子). Have lightweight sleeping bags or cotton blankets. They are especially important if you live where the temperature drops greatly at night.

Prepare a seating area.

If you have a picnic table, that would work best. If not, set up a few chairs and a small table to set out drinks and food. A simple choice is to lay out a blanket in the sun, so that your friends can eat and talk together. Be sure the grass isn’t wet!

Make memories.

Plan some activities. You’re camping in the backyard, so it’s time to make the most of being outdoors. Have a camera nearby to take photos of you, your family members, and your friends. Take one large group shot(照片) with everyone smiling and laughing. Be sure to make copies for everyone!

81. 徽州文化是中国传统文化的重要组成部分。为弘扬徽州文化，你校上周五举行了一次主题为“Huizhou Culture Festival”的活动。请根据以下提示写一篇英语短文，介绍活动的情况并提出你对下一年文化节的建议。

Huizhou Culture Festival

In order to increase students’ knowledge about the traditional culture of Huizhou, our school held “Huizhou Culture Festival” last Friday. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________