Do you know Thailand? For     1     of tourists from China, this small country in Southeast Asia is an excellent place to take a holiday. Bangkok is the     2     of Thailand. There are many temples (庙) in Bangkok. You can see some monks (僧人)     3     along the streets. The best time     4     Thailand is from April 5th to 6th, because it is the time of the Water Festival. People sing, dance and go to the streets to throw water     5     each other. The local people think that water can wash away bad things and bring good     6    .

On the one hand,     7     and sunshine are a lot of travellers’ choices. In this country, there are many hotels facing the sea, so you can have fun on the beach or swim in the sea. On the other hand, Thailand is a good place to try delicious     8    . You can eat seafood at any restaurant or buy some tropical (热带的) fruit such as mangoes and durians (榴莲) at low price.

If you go to Thailand, you     9     forget to ride an elephant. The elephant is a symbol of Thailand. It’s believed that Thailand is one     10     the most fascinating places.

We’d never been to China before. So my parents decided to take me on a trip to the Chinese     1    , Beijing. Then I advised my father to read the book called Know Before You Go.

“It looks very interesting, but we don’t need that,” my father said. He     2     my suggestion.

Our first evening in Beijing began at about nine o’clock. We walked past an     3     restaurant. The staff were cleaning tables and were about to go home.

“This looks good” said my father. “I think it’s about to close,” I said. “People eat     4     than in the UK.” The staff looked a bit unhappy but led us to a table. A young woman handed us a menu, all in Chinese. My father pointed to a few things. “That’s what we want,” he said. My father picked up the chopsticks and started knocking the bowl like playing the drums. “Don’t do that, Dad,” I said. “It’s not     5     in China.”

After a while one large plate of food arrived in the middle of the table. My father took it and started eating. “Where’s the rest of the food?” he said to the waiter. “Dad, everyone shares food here. That dish you’re eating is for     6    ,” I said.

Finally, my father asked for the bill. He paid the bill and handed the waiter 20 yuan before leaving.

The waiter looked surprised. “What are you doing?” I said. “People don’t give tips (小费) in China.” I     7     felt so embarrassed (尴尬的) in all my life.

Ian was born in Sydney, Australia, and grew up near the sea. As a child, he loved swimming, fishing and sailing in Sydney Harbor. After finishing school, he started a construction company, but his     1     love was the sea and sailing. For more than 40 years, he represented Australia in international sailing competitions. In 1987, he was competing in an around-the-world sailing race when he began to notice the huge amount of rubbish in the world’s oceans. When he returned to Australia, he decided to do     2     about it. He started close to home by organizing a community event called “Clean Up Sydney Harbor”. On Sunday, January 8, 1989, more than 40,000     3     came out to make the clean-up a national event. The day was called “Clean Up Australia Day”. It was a huge     4    . Across Australia, about 300,000 people spent the day working to improve their local environment.

Locks help protect our homes and the things inside them from thieves. Keys that open those locks are really important to home     1    !

Some of the     2     keys, dating back to 700BC were large and made of wood. They opened palace gates and looked like giant toothbrushes.

Hundreds of years later, the Romans made     3     metal keys. In fact, rich Romans wore some of them as     4    . They locked boxes that contained valuables with these keys.

Key styles became more artistic in the 14^th century. Some European locksmiths became famous for making beautiful keys. Kings invited them to         5     their castle keys.

As European cities grew in the 18^th century, so did the number of thieves. The locks and keys became better at preventing thieves from breaking in.

Today, office workers and hotel guests open doors using     6    keycards, cards that are used as keys. There are even smartphone apps for gaining entry to one’s home without a key. Though       7    metal keys may one day disappear, the need for security will     8    .

Do you take keys with you every day?

Electricity didn’t begin when Benjamin Franklin     1     his kite during a rainstorm, nor did it begin when people first used light bulbs.

Electricity has always been around     2     it’s invisible. Scientists have worked with electricity for thousands of years. We’ve all heard of some     3     scientists such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison, but many other important inventors have been buried in     4    . Back in ancient Greece, scientists began to study electricity. Over 2,000 years later in 1600, English scientist William Gilbert     5     used the word “electric” in a report. When Edison’s generator (发电机)     6     James Watt’s steam engine, it became possible to produce a lot of electricity at last. Scottish inventor Watt was born in 1763. His name was given to the electric unit of power, the watt (瓦特).

Beijing Opera is our national opera. It     1     a history of over 200 years. Its music comes from Xipi and Erhuang in Anhui and Hubei. Beijing Opera is full of famous stories,beautiful facial paintings, wonderful gestures and fighting. Yesterday I     2     to a theater to see Beijing Opera with my father. The people in the story couldn’t     3     with each other. They became angry, unhappy and lonely. Then they found a way     4     peace with each other. Everyone was happy in the end. Beijing Opera is an important part of Chinese culture, and more young people     5     interested in it now. And more people around the world are learning about Beijing Opera’s special singing, acting and facial paintings.

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Winter Solstice (冬至) is one of the 24 solar terms in China which falls on December 22nd or 23rd. It is the very day in North Hemisphere (北半球) with the shortest day and the     1     night all year round. Right after it, the daytime becomes longer and the coldest     2     starts to spread all the places in the northern part of the earth. We Chinese always call     3     “jinjiu” (“进九”), which means once Winter Solstice comes, we will have to meet the coldest time ahead.

Being a     4     holiday as well, Winter Solstice has a history of more than 2, 500 years. It started from the Spring and Autumn Period, and     5     became a big event in the Tang and Song Dynasties. On this day, farmers took a rest to enjoy the great harvest (丰收)     6     a year of hard work. Not only common people,     7     also the emperors celebrated it to welcome the coming year, so it was seen as an important time as the Spring Festival.

Nowadays, Winter Solstice is mainly celebrated in different eating     8    . In the North, it is said that Zhang Zhongjing, a     9     doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, made dumplings which were in the shape of ears with fillings (馅) of a medical purpose, in order     10     them from frostbite (冻伤) on ears. In Southern China, however, people     11     sweet dumplings, rice balls and long noodles which carry their good wishes.