All around the world, families celebrate special days together. Traditions for these days     1     been very different. Some of them may surprise you.

Families in most countries have a special day to celebrate mothers. In Serbia, this day is on     2     second Sunday before Christmas. On that day, children sneak (溜) into their mother’s bedroom and tie her feet with ribbon so that she can’t get out of bed. Then they shout, “Mother’s Day, Mother’s Day! What will you pay     3     get away?” Then the mother gives them presents so that the kids “free” her.

In China, they say that babies are one year old when they are born. After that, all children celebrate their birthdays on New Year’s Day because that’s when they grow a year     4    . Actual birthdays are usually celebrated with a big family meal. The tradition is that the “birthday boy” or “birthday girl” should fill their mouth with as     5     long noodles as they can and then eat them. This is because in Chinese culture, long noodles are a symbol of long life.

Hello, everyone! I’m Betty King and I come     1     America. Today I would like to say something about Halloween (万圣节). It is     2     important festival in the USA. It     3     (have) a history of about 2, 000 years.

Halloween is on 31 October. It isn’t a holiday in the USA. Students have lessons as usual (像往常一样). But they have     4     (party) in the evening. They have many ways (方法) to have fun. Most of them like to wear special clothes for the festival. There are always many games on Halloween.     5     (child) like to play “trick or treat” best, and then they can get candies from     6     (they) neighbours (邻居). And another game is biting (咬), not with a hand. It is a very easy game, but everyone     7     (enjoy) it.

Of course, there     8     (be) many jack-o’-lanterns. I am good at making one out of a pumpkin (南瓜). There is always lots of fun on Halloween.

Do you know much about the Lantern Festival in China? It falls     1     the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar (阳历). This day is always the first full moon day in the new year. Ancient people also called it Shangyuan Festival. Celebrations and traditions on this day     2     (begin) from the Han Dynasty and became popular in the Tang Dynasty.

Admiring red lanterns is one of the main     3     (tradition). Lanterns of different shapes and sizes are     4     (usual) put on trees, or along river banks on show. People enjoy hanging out among the lantern sea with     5     (they) family or friends.

Another traditional activity is guessing lantern riddles (谜语). The riddles are short, wise, and sometimes humorous. The answer to a riddle can be a Chinese character, a famous person’s name, or a place name. Ancient people liked to test     6     a person was smart from his performance in guessing riddles.

The     7     (important) thing is to eat sweet dumplings with different tastes. In northern China, they     8    (call) yuanxiao while in the southern part they’re named tangyuan. Making sweet dumplings is like a game, so they are usually done happily by a group of friends or family members.

In old times, the Lantern Festival was also romantic (浪漫的). Watching lanterns gave young people a chance     9    (meet) each other. A line from Xin Qiji, a poet during the Song Dynasty, shows this:

Hundreds and thousands of times I searched for her in the crowd.

Suddenly I turned, and there she stood, in the dim (昏暗的) light.

What     10     romantic festival the Lantern Festival is!

The Lantern Festival is a traditional festival in China. It is an important part of Chinese c    1    . People hold many activities to c    2     the festival.

Guessing lantern riddles (灯谜) is one of the most p    3     games. Many people want to take the challenge. If someone gets the right answer, he can get a small gift as a p    4    .

Guessing lantern riddles is f    5     of fun. People enjoy the game very much.

Chinese people have been celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival and enjoying mooncakes for     1     (century). Mooncakes are in the shape of a full moon     2     the Mid-Autumn night. They carry people’s wishes to the families they love and miss. There are many     3     (tradition) folk stories about this festival. However, most people think that the story of Chang’e is the most touching. Chang’e was Hou Yi’s beautiful wife.     4     Hou Yi shot down the nine suns, a goddess gave him magic medicine to thank him. Whoever took this could live forever, and Hou Yi     5     (plan) to take it with Chang’e. However, a bad man, Pang Meng, tried to steal the medicine when Hou Yi was not home. Chang’e refused to give it to him and took it all. She became very light and flew up to the moon. Hou Yi was     6     sad     7     he called out her name to the moon every night. One night, he found that the moon was so bright and round that he could see his wife there. He     8     (quick) laid out her favorite fruits and desserts in the garden. How he wished that Chang’e could come back! After this, people started the tradition of     9     (admire) the moon and sharing mooncakes with     10     (they) families.