The Spring Festival is     1     biggest festival for Chinese people all around the world. The celebration usually lasts (持续) for 15 days. There is a lot to do.

On the eve (前夕) of the Spring Festival, family members get together and have a big     2    . Their     3     dish on this day is dumplings. Days before the Spring Festival, families will     4     their homes. People think cleaning sweeps away bad luck. It makes the house ready for good luck.

The colour red is everywhere during the Spring Festival. People think red is a happy colour and will bring     5     a bright future. People wear red, too. They decorate (装饰) their homes with pieces of red paper. Kids get a lot of “hong bao”. It is a red paper bag with money     6     it. Usually, older people give younger ones hong bao. They think it brings good luck.

The Spring Festival is the time to make everybody happy. So don’t say any bad words or do anything that will bring unhappiness to other people. For example, you’d better     7     say any bad words like “death”. Don’t break anything. People think that it means your luck is running out.

Also, don’t borrow or lend money on these days.     8     you have borrowed money, return it before the Spring Festival.

Do you know that there are two special days for parents in America? One is mother’s day on the second Sunday of     1    （五月）. And the other is a father’s day on the     2    （第三）Sunday of June. On these two days, American children often give gifts to their parents or take them out for lunch or dinner. Common gifts are     3    （花）and cards for mothers and shirts or ties for fathers. I heard that it is becoming more and more     4    （受欢迎的）to celebrate Mother’s day and father’s day in China. I     5    （想知道）if children over there also give similar gifts to their parents. I believe that there are many ways to show our love. Actually, we don’t have to spend a lot of money. It is also a good idea to help parents to do something instead.

Yours,

June

Do you like Christmas? It is one of the most important     1     (tradition) holidays in the US, and it is also the most popular party time. Yesterday I got an interesting     2     (invite) from my school. Here is what it     3     (say) :

Hi, friends, would you like to join us to celebrate the     4     (happy) holiday of the year? We plan to have a great party this weekend. It is an ugly Christmas sweater party!     5     (join) the party, you should put on your ugliest Christmas sweater. You can also ask your family or friends     6     (come) with you.

We will serve delicious food and drinks, or you can also     7     (bring) your favorite food, such as some special cheese or a bottle of yogurt you made     8     (you). We will eat, play and dance. If you come, we     9     (choose) the ugliest Christmas sweater for the party. What about my reply? My answer is “Of course I’d love to”! I will prepare well for the party, and I’m sure I will make everyone    10     (surprise), because I believe I have the ugliest Christmas sweater in the world!

It was Friday afternoon. After getting off the school bus, Laura ran into the house     1    （happy）.

“How was school, Laura?” asked     2    （she）mom.

“It was great, Mom. Labor Day（劳动节）is coming. I am     3    （excite）that I will have no school next Monday!”

Laura was woken up early     4     Labor Day morning by her dad. He said that in honor of（纪念）Labor Day, the family planned to do some cleaning. Laura couldn’t believe it. She began to wonder if this was just a bad dream.

“Laura, your breakfast is ready. We have many     5    （thing）to do today. Let’s get a move on,” said Laura’s mom. Laura asked her parents, “Are you serious about working today? Isn’t Labor Day     6     holiday?”

“Yes, Laura, it is,” replied her dad. “But your mom and I thought working hard today would make you realize why Labor Day was     7    （celebrate）in the beginning.”

Laura disliked the plan,     8     she had no choice. First, she was asked to wash the breakfast dishes. After that, her dad     9    （tell）her to give their dog a bath. It was a hard task, which needed a lot of careful work. She began the work unhappily.

But things began to change as she was doing the chores（家务）. She found it was so interesting with so many soap bubbles（泡泡）when she brushed the dog. Then it was yard work and she helped to pick up sticks. When she finished her chores, Laura felt happy to see the yard looked much     10    （clean） than before.

Holidays are not necessarily for fun or rest. Doing something meaningful can also get special pleasure. Maybe this is the spirit of Labor Day.

Have you ever studied abroad? Maybe it     1     an amazing experience,especially when you come to     2     as a foreign high school student.

There are many     3     in Australia. The most important one is Christmas. Each year the summer holidays at every high school last about two     4     , from the beginning of December to February. Since it is a long holiday, most foreign students in Australia love to fly back to their home countries to spend the time with their families and friends.     5     a few students still stay in Australia to get part-time jobs. It is quite     6     to find a part-time job at Christmas since many people are on holiday. Students often     7     part in another major social activity. They go to the beach to have fun in the sunshine. Going to the     8     in December is very popular among Australians.

Easter(复活节) in March is an important holiday in the year.     9     actually combines(使结合) “Good Friday”and”Easter Monday”. Almost every shop closes     10     “Good Friday”. And people usually go to the Easter Show.

People all over the world celebrate the New Year. However, not all countries celebrate in the same way, and in some countries the New Year doesn’t begin on the     1     day every year.

In many countries, the New Year begins on 1st January,     2     people start celebrating on 31st December, New Year’s     3    . In New York many people go to celebrate in Times Square.     4     they’re waiting for the New year, they listen to music, sing traditional songs and have fun. Just before 12 o’clock, everyone     5     down from 10: 10, 9, 8, 7…As soon as it’s 12 o’clock, every one shouts very loudly, “Happy New Year!”

New Year’s Day is often a family day. Some families get together for a special meal. When the weather is fine, many families go out for     6     walk. People really enjoy spending time with their families.

On New Year’s Day, many people make resolutions     7     the coming year. They make a list of things, such as “I will help more with housework. I will work     8     at school than others.” or “I won’t spend so much time playing video games.” When they have made the list, they read it to their family or friends and     9     to follow their resolutions.

So it does not matter how they celebrate. For people in different countries all over the world, it’s a time to say     10     to the old year, and to welcome the new year.