1 . The day Madelyn McClarey’s twin sons, Aaron and Aubrey Hough, each received scholarships(奖学金)to Florida A&M University, she figured that after they moved seven hours north from Hollywood to Tallahassee, she’d be lucky to see them on weekends.

But her sons had something else in mind. The twins told her they’d move to Tallahassee on one condition. She had to go with them—and work toward the college degree she’d always wanted. And that is how McClarey ended up in a green cap and gown this month at FAMU. Cheering her on were her twins. “Our mom is so determined and dedicated, we’re lucky to have her as our mother,” said Aaron. “It was a lot of hard work, but she never gave up.”

McClarey’s sons jumped as she was awarded a bachelor’s degree (学士学位)in English with a minor in education, excited that their mom finally had the degree she’d dreamed about for more than twenty years. Her professional goals were put on hold when she became a single mom looking after two kids. Before motherhood, before divorce, McClarey had gone to business school.

McClarey, who described herself as “40ish,” said that when her sons insisted she go with them to college four years ago, her jaw dropped, having known most teens are eager to start lives away from their parents once they graduate from high school. She said, “But I was also delighted when I realized they weren’t joking and weren’t going to leave home unless I moved with them, so I said, ‘Well, all right—let’s go, then.’”

Now that McClarey has graduated, she doesn’t plan to leave Tallahassee anytime soon. She wants to stick around to encourage and support her sons, but there is also another matter to deal with. “My goal is to become an author someday,” she said. “So this summer, I’ll be working on getting my master’s degree.”

Festivals and celebrations of all kinds have been held everywhere since ancient times. Most ancient festivals would celebrate the end of cold weather, planting in spring and     1     in autumn. Sometimes celebrations would be held after     2     had caught animals. At that time people would     3     if food was difficult to find,     4     during the cold winter months. Today's festivals have many     5    , some religious, some seasonal, and some for special people or events．

The most     6     and important festivals are the ones     7     look forward to the end of winter and to the coming of spring.     8     the Spring Festival in China, people eat dumplings, fish and meat and may give children lucky money in red paper. There are dragon dances and carnivals, and families celebrate the Lunar New Year together. Some Western countries have very exciting carnivals,     9     take place forty days before Easter, usually in February. These carnivals might include parades, dancing in the streets day and     10    , loud music and colourful     11     of all kinds. Easter is an important religious and social festival for Christians around the world. It celebrates the     12     of Jesus from the dead and the coming of spring and new life. Japan’s Cherry Blossom Festival happens a little later. The country, covered with cherry tree flowers, looks     13     though it is covered with pink snow.

People love to get together to eat, drink and have fun     14     each other. Festivals let us enjoy life, be proud of our     15     and forget our work for a little while.

3 . Charities

These days there are thousands of charities around the world and it is possible to donate money to help people, animals and places.

Mencap is a charity which is dedicated to fighting against discrimination towards those people who suffer from any kind of learning disability. Most of Mencap’s work is campaigning. People with learning disabilities are disadvantaged because of discrimination and lack of funding for community care. Mencap raises awareness by working at local, national and European levels to deal with those issues that affect people with disabilities. It also provides services of education, housing and employment as well as support and advice for families and carers of sufferers.

EveryChild is a relatively new charity which was created in 1983. EveryChild identifies the needs of a particular community and then sets up projects to ensure that children in these communities have basic rights such as healthcare, education, social services and community development. EveryChild sets up the projects so that they are self running. The organization then moves on to new projects, leaving things in the hands of locals.

The RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is the first organization dedicated to the well-being of animals anywhere in the world. The RSPCA was set up in London in 1824. At this time it was considered strange that people should care about cruelty to animals. In 1840 Queen Victoria gave the organization permission to be called a royal society: The RSPCA. These days there are almost two hundred branches in the UK.

The TBG (Tidy Britain Group) is an independent national charity fighting to improve the quality of the local environment. They aim to get everyone involved in doing their bit to keep Britain clean. The work of the TBG is done mainly through campaigning. Volunteers work closely with governments and businesses to organize educational programmes designed to raise awareness of the problems. The TBG’s sister organization, Going for Green, concentrates on pollution issues. The two groups have the same chief executive.

Anyone can take part in a virtual choir from     1    —all you need is a video camera and an Internet connection. You do not even need a studio. A virtual choir helps connect     2     people together. Many people do not have close friends or contacts who have the same interest in music. Many others do not have the chance to join a local choir. A virtual choir     3     them to add their voices to those of other individuals and become part of the     4     community. It has proved to be a positive     5     on the lives of many people. As one virtual choir member said, "Music helps me to ... forget my problems. With music, I become someone else.

Customs play a significant     6     in festivals, but sometimes they can change over time. With the development of modern society and the spread of new ideas, some traditions may fade     7     and others may be established. One example is the typical Chinese Spring Festival custom of     8     firecrackers to drive away the evil spirits and celebrate the new year.     9     , many big cities have given up this custom in order to     10     air pollution. Another example is Halloween, which slowly became an exciting festival for children, in spite of its religious origins.

5 . Country music is one of the most popular kinds of music in the United States today because it is about simple but strong human feelings and events---love, sadness, good times, and bad times. It tells real-life stories and sounds the way people really talk. As life becomes more complicated (复 杂的), it is good to hear music about ordinary people.

Country music, sometimes called country-western, comes from two kinds of music. One is the traditional music of the people in the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. The other is traditional cowboy music from the West. The singers usually play the guitars, and in the 1920s they started using electric guitars. At first, city people said country music was low class. It was popular mostly in the South. But during World WarⅡ, thousands of southerners went to the Northeast and Midwest to work in the factories. They took their music with them. Soldiers from the rest of the country went to army camps (军营)in the South. They learned country music. Slowly, it became popular all over the country.

Today country music is also popular everywhere in the United States and Canada---in small towns and in New York City, among black and white, and among educated and uneducated people. About 1,200 radio stations broadcast country music twenty-four hours a day. English stars sing it in British English, and people in other countries sing it in their own languages. The music that started with cowboys and southerners is now popular all over the world.

6 . Volunteering is one of the major wealth of any American city or town. People get together to help others less fortunate than themselves, or victims of a natural or man-made disaster. Since the start of our country, this has been one of the noticeable features of our society.

Beginning in the Colonial Period and continuing down to today, our country’s history is full of examples of people helping each other. Requiring high school students to take part in voluntary community service projects introduces them to this important part of our society. And while many students complain about this program at first, a large number of them find great individual satisfaction when they look back at the things they achieved.

Our son, who graduated in 2005, found that he enjoyed the time he spent with primary school students helping them with their reading. In some ways, he became a hero to the young boys and girls he was spending time with, simply because he was a high school student and took the time to get to know them. By the end of his first year in the program he was looking forward to the next school year and a new group of kids. It was particularly satisfying when a child he had helped saw him some place in the community and remembered him.

Having high school students take part in required community service activities helps give them an important sense of belonging to the adult world. It also gives them first-hand experience in activities and situations they might not otherwise experience. And it shows them that they can make a valuable contribution towards the society with just a little effort and a few hours of their time.