When people say “culture”, we think of art and history. But one very famous symbol in American culture is a cartoon. We all know and love the black mouse with two large round ears—Mickey Mouse. When this cartoon came out in New York on November 18, 1928, it was the     1     (one) cartoon with sound and music.

Some people might ask how this cartoon animal became so popular. One of the main     2     (reason) is that Mickey was like a common man, but he always tried to face any     3     (dangerous). In his early films, Mickey     4     (be) lucky and had many problems such as     5     (lose) his house or girlfriend, Minnie. However, he was always ready to try his best. People went to the cinema to see the “little man”     6     (win). Most of     7     (they) wanted to be like Mickey.

On November 18, 1978, Mickey became the first cartoon character     8     (have) a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.     9     (today) cartoons are usually not so simple as little Mickey Mouse, but everyone still knows and loves him. Who has a pair of ears     10     (famous) than Mickey’s?

Jianzhi is a traditional style of paper cutting in China. It’s been a symbol of Chinese culture for hundreds of years. People started to practice Jianzhi in China in the 6th century, Jianzhi has a number of special uses in Chinese culture. Almost all of them are for health, happiness or peace. Red is used the most commonly     1     all the colors. Since a long time ago, Chinese people have been     2     in cutting paper into traditional Chinese characters to symbolize (象征) the Chinese zodiac (生肖) animals.

Paper cutting is popular around the world,     3     only Chinese paper cutting is listed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List (非物质文化遗产名录). The Chinese paper cutting gets     4     place because it has a history of more than 1,500 years and it tells so much of Chinese history and culture.

Paper cutting has developed fast over the years. Paper cutting is still popular in China, especially during special     5     like the Chinese New Year. They are often seen at Chinese weddings as well.

There once was a homeless cat named Cathy, but the fact didn’t influence her life. She tried to make     1     strong. She was brave and could run fast, and always walked around her neighborhood to catch mice. Thanks     2     her hard work, she never lacked（缺乏）food. When the     3     was warm, she would lie in the sun, enjoying a relaxing life.

One day, a girl noticed Cathy. She often     4     food at Cathy’s house. There was plenty of food     5     Cathy didn’t have to go out to catch mice. Every day she did     6     and just waited for her delicious food.

However, this kind girl suddenly moved away. Cathy had no more food to eat. At the same time, she put on lots of weight and was too     7     to catch mice. The neighbors complained that there were some     8     in the neighborhood, but Cathy couldn’t do anything. Her terrible life began.

She really wished she hadn’t met that kind girl. She     9     her living ability because of the girl’s kindness. So keep awake, work     10     and keep our living ability even though we are in the easy life. Or we’ll end up with a sad life.

7 . Where I’m from, we’re pretty relaxed about time. We don’t like to rush around, so we don’t mind if people are a little late sometimes. If you tell a friend you’re going to     1     (they) house for dinner, it’s OK if you arrive a bit late. We like to enjoy our time     2     (slow). We value the time we spend with our family and friends in our everyday lives. We often just drop by our friends’ homes if we have time. We don’t usually     3     (have) to make plans to meet our friends. When we see each other, it’s polite for boys to shake hands and for girls to kiss each other on the side of the face. We often just walk around the town center, seeing as     4     (more) of our friends as we can!

In Switzerland, it’s very important to be on time.     5     (after) all, we’re the capital of clocks and watches. If someone     6     (invite) you to meet him or her at noon, then you should     7     (get) there at noon. If you’re even 15 minutes late, your friend may get mad. So I make an effort     8     (be) on time when I meet my friends. I always leave the house early to avoid heavy traffic because I think it’s     9     (polite) to keep others waiting. Also, we never visit a friend’s house without     10     (call) first. We almost always make plans to see friends. We usually plan to do something interesting, or go somewhere together.

If you go to another country, what kinds of things would you buy? Would you buy a camera in Japan, some     1     (beauty) clothes in France, or a watch in Switzerland?     2     (whatever) you may buy, you might think those products were made in those countries. However, you could be wrong. Kang Jian is a 17-year-old student from Shanghai. Last year he     3     (go) to visit his aunt and uncle in San Francisco. He found it     4     (interest) that so many products in the local shops were made in China. “I wanted to buy a toy car for my cousin, but even though most of the toys were American brands, they     5     (be) made there.”

Toys are not the only things made in China. “I wanted to buy a pair of basketball shoes,” he     6     (explain). “But I had to visit     7     (fifth) or six stores before finding a pair made in America!” He realized that buying products made in China cannot be     8     (avoid) in America. “In fact,” he continues, “there were many other things there made in China — footballs, handbags, pet food, mobile phones. Even American flags are made in China!” Kang Jian thinks it’s great for China     9     (make) these everyday things. However, he hopes that in the future China will also get better at making high-technology products that people can buy in every     10     (part) of the world.

If you go to another country, what kinds of things would you buy? Would you buy a camera in Japan, some     1     (beautifully) clothes in France, or a watch in Switzerland? No matter what you may buy, you might think those products were made in those     2     (country). However, you could be wrong. Kang Jian is a 17-year-old student from Shanghai. He went to     3     (visit) his aunt and uncle in San Francisco last year. He found     4     (them) interesting that so many products in the local shops were made in China. “I want to buy a toy car for my cousin, but even though most of the toys were American brands, they were made in China.”

Toys     5     (be) the only things made in China. “I wanted to buy a pair of basketball shoes,” he explains. “But I had to visit     6     (fifth) or six stores before finding a pair made in America!” He realized that Americans can hardly avoid     7     (buy) products made in China. “In fact,” he continues, “there are many other things there made in China—footballs, handbags, pet food, mobile phones.     8     (even) American flags are made in China!” Kang Jian thinks it’s great that China     9     (do) well in making these everyday things. However, he hopes that in the future China will also get much     10     (good) at making high-technology products that people can buy in all parts of the world.

Many have heard of shark fin soup. This famous and expensive dish is especially popular in the     1     (south) of China. But do you realize that you are killing a whole shark each time you enjoy a bowl of shark fin soup?

When people catch sharks, they cut off their fins and throw the sharks back into the ocean. This is not only cruel, but also     2     (harm) to the environment. Without a fin, a shark can no longer swim. It won’t be long before it     3     (slow) dies. Sharks are at the top of the food chain in the     4     (ocean) ecosystem. If their numbers drop too low, it will bring danger to all ocean life. Many believe that sharks can never be endangered because they are     5     (strong) than any other ocean life in their food chain.     6     (but) in fact, around 70 million sharks are caught and traded in this industry every year. The numbers of some kinds of sharks have fallen by over 90 percent in the last 20 to 30 years.

Environmental protection groups around the world, such as WildAid and the WWF, are teaching the public about “    7     (fin)” now. They have even asked governments to develop laws     8     (stop) the sale of shark fins. So far, scientific studies     9     (have) shown that shark fins are good for health, so why eat     10     (they)? Help save the sharks!