People send birthday greetings by using cards in     1     eastern and western countries. It is not known when and where exactly the tradition of sending birthday cards began. It is believed     2     it began in England in the early nineteenth century. Those days people sent birthday cards when they     3     wish somebody a happy birthday in person. Cards are often given with a present, even when people can express their wishes face to face. In recent times e-cards     4     also become popular. Many people are starting to use e-cards instead of traditional cards because they are free, environmentally friendly and easy to arrive.     5     will e-cards take place of paper cards completely in ten or twenty years?

The year 2024 celebrates the year of the Dragon. Among the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, the dragon is     1     only unreal one. It looks like a combination (组合体) of many animals such as snakes, fish and deer. Chinese people have loved it so much     2     thousands of years. The Chinese dragon is a symbol of strength and good luck. We are proud to call     3     (our) the “descendants (传人) of the dragon”. In Chinese, “excellent” people are often called “dragon”. A lot of Chinese sayings talk about dragons, for example, “hoping one’s child will become a dragon”, which means he or she will be     4     ( success).

It is said that people born in the Year of the Dragon     5     (be) creative, confident, brave and quick-tempered. There are some famous “dragons” who have done excellent things, for example, Deng Xiaoping, and the famous businessman Li Jiacheng. There are also some     6     (tradition) festivals about dragons in China, such as Dragon on Head-Raising Day and Dragon Boat Festival. We have different kinds of     7     (activity) to celebrate them. These two festivals come every year,     8     the Year of the Dragon comes every twelve years.

The dragon is very important in Chinese culture.     9     the “descendants of dragon”, it is necessary for us to know the views on dragons in our culture. It can help us understand     10     our parents always want us to be “dragons”.

There are some interesting festivals in the world. Mother’s Day is one of     1    .

People celebrated (庆祝) Mother’s Day in the USA first, but now it is also a     2     in other countries. It’s     3     the second Sunday in May. It is a day to thank     4    . On that day, people     5     “I love you” to their mothers. They make cards or send presents. On the cards, they     6     “Best wishes for Mother’s Day”. On that day, fathers and children do the housework,     7     mothers can have some free time.

In China, people celebrate this special day for mothers,     8    . I usually     9     some flowers for my mother to thank her for her hard work. And I help her     10     the house. I want to make my mother happy. I hope all the mothers are always healthy and happy.