Carlos and Maya dream of being astronauts (宇航员). They love space and everything about it. One day, they saw a model spaceship (宇宙飞船) in a shop, but it was too expensive. ________, Carlos remembered that his birthday was coming. Maybe he could ask Dad ________ buy one for him as a gift.

However, their family didn’t have much money. When Dad stopped by the shop to see the toy, he knew he couldn’t _______ it.

On his birthday, Carlos ________ early and ran to the living room excitedly, but he just saw a cardboard (硬纸板) spaceship. He said nothing and ran back to his room ________ tears in his eyes.

Maya didn’t want Carlos to be ________ on his birthday. She thought hard and finally had a(n) ________ to make him happy. She told her parents about it.

A moment later, Maya entered Carlos’ room and asked, “Are you ________?”

“For what?” Carlos asked.

“For our task,” Maya said.

She got on the cardboard spaceship and left space for ________ brother. Carlos stood there and didn’t move. Then he heard Dad’s ________.

“This is the task control. Are you ready to take off?” Dad said.

Carlos ________ know what was going on, but he still answered, “Yes, we’re ready.”

Dad came in the room, stood behind the cardboard spaceship, and ________ it slowly.

When Dad “drove” the spaceship out of the room, Carlos was ________ to see what they had prepared for him. There were stars hanging (悬挂) from the ceiling. There was the ________ and some planets (行星). Carlos felt like he was in outer space (外层空间). _________ he didn’t get the present he wanted, he had a spaceship of his own and now it was the best spaceship in the world.

I had a birthday party with my friends yesterday. It was my     1     (twenty) birthday. My best friend Li Ming came together with his     2     (India) friend. I said, “Welcome to my party, my new friend.” and I asked him in English. “Can you speak Chinese?” He     3     (nod) his head. Then I said, “xi wang ni wan de kai xin.”     4     he didn’t seem to understand me. Just then Li Ming came up and said, “He in fact means that he doesn’t understand Chinese.” I felt really surprised. Does it mean “no” to nod one’s head in India?

After that, I began to use English to talk     5     him. But I had some difficulty understanding him because his     6     (pronounce) was quite different from that of American English. From the talk, I got to know that he once worked in many     7     (factory). I knew that too much pollution was     8     (cause) by them. He hoped he could do something for that. So he came to China to learn how to make them cause the     9     (little) pollution. I expressed my best wishes and said, “You are sure to     10     (success) in doing that.”

Now I have one more friend who comes from our neighbour country—India.

What would people like to eat on their birthday? The answer would be different in different countries.

In many countries, people have birthday cakes with     1    . The number of candles is the person’s age. The birthday person must make a     2     and blow out the candles. If he or she blows out all the candles in one go, the wish will come true. In the UK, people sometimes put a candy in a birthday cake. The child with the candy is     3    .

In China, it is getting popular to have cake on your birthday. But many people still eat very long noodles for their birthday. They never cut up the noodles because the     4     noodles are a symbol of long life. In some places, Chinese people also eat eggs on their birthday. They are a symbol of life and good luck.

All of these birthday foods may be different, but the ideas are the same. They     5     good luck to the birthday person.

What would people like to eat on their birthday? The answer would be d    1     in different countries.

In m    2     countries, people have birthday cakes with candles. The number of candles is the person’s a    3    . The birthday person (人) must make a wish (许愿) and blow out (吹灭) the candles. If he or she blows out all the candles in one go (一口气), the wish will c    4     true. In the UK, people s    5     put a candy in a birthday cake. The child with the candy is lucky.

In China, it is getting popular to have cake on your birthday. But many people still e    6     very long noodles f    7     their birthday.

They never cut up the noodles b    8     the long noodles are a symbol (象征) of long life. In some places Chinese people also eat eggs on their birthday. They are a symbol of life and good l    9    .

All of these birthday foods may be different, but the ideas are the s    10    . They bring good luck to the birthday person.

We would like to invite (邀请) you to Julia’s 14th birthday party.

This is your ticket (入场券) to the great birthday party!

To give her a surprise, please join us without (不要) telling her about the party.

We also wish that:

★you dress up in Disney style (风格);

★you shout “Surprise!” when Julia comes down.

We will play games, watch movies and enjoy food. You are also welcome to bring a friend.

Come on down to Julia’s house on Park Street and have some fun.

Saturday, July 16, 2023.

6:00 p.m.—9:00 p.m.

See you.

Tom and Alice

9 . It just hadn’t been a very good week. On Tuesday, Sam’s father lost his job. Then on Wednesday, Sam’s mother announced that the rent (房租) on their apartment was going up. Now it was Friday, and Sam received an invitation from Rosa to her birthday party.

Sam knew Rosa from Adventure Club. He knew he would enjoy Rosa’s party, but he didn’t want to go without a gift. What could he possibly buy her with the little bit of money he had? Sam knew he couldn’t ask Mom or Dad for any money—not this week!

Later that afternoon, Sam noticed a second-hand book sale going on. He went there and had a quick look. Two books caught his eye. The first was a cookbook of Puerto Rican foods, and the second was a book about woman explorers. “Rosa would like these,” Sam thought, “but would it be tacky (蹩脚的) to give her second-hand books for her birthday?”

Sam decided that a second-hand gift was better than no gift at all. Besides, Rosa supported recycling in that way. So, she would probably like it. With his last dollar, Sam bought the books and went home. He felt a little better.

The party was on Saturday. Rosa opened all her gifts and thanked everyone for the nice things they had given her. She paused when she opened Sam’s gift, which made him wonder if she liked the books, but nothing was said.

When Sam got home, he opened his e-mail and found this note from Rosa.

Of all the gifts I received today, yours was the nicest. How did you know I would love a book about woman explorers and a cookbook of Puerto Rican foods? Now I have something to read that will inspire me to follow my dream of becoming an adventurer, and I have a book that I can share with my grandmother. She is getting older and wants to be sure her granddaughter knows how to make the wonderful foods of Puerto Rico. Thank you so much.

Love,

Rosa

The week turned out to be a good one after all.

What would people like to eat on their birthday? The answer would be different in different countries.

In many countries, people have birthday cakes w    1     candles (蜡烛). The number of candles is the person’s a    2    . The birthday person must make a wish and blow out the candles. If he or she blows out all the candles in one go, the wish will c    3     true. In the UK, people sometimes p    4     a candy in a birthday cake. The child with the candy is l    5    .

In China, it is getting popular to have cake on birthday. But many people still eat very long n    6     for their birthday. They never cut up the noodles b    7     the long noodles area symbol (象征) of long life. In some places, Chinese people also e    8     eggs on their birthday. They are a symbol of life and good luck.

All of these birthday foods may be different, but the i    9     are the same. They b    10     good luck to the birthday person.