1 . Why do people give gifts in the first place? Throughout the world, many culture _______ special holiday with gifts and food. Holiday _______ bring people together and allow us to feel a part of the family and community. The gifts and food that we share are about _______ a sense of gratitude and joy.

The gifts of a few generations ago were _______ more useful and homemade. Even the people who could _______ wonderful presents probably didn’t do as much buying and spending as we do today. Our culture has grown more _______, and gift giving has become a booming industry. Sometimes the _______ meaning behind the tradition gets lost, and the gift giving _______ a life of its own.

Not only is the pressure on spending money on the right _______, but many people also find that when gifts become the central point of a holiday, they put too much ________ on receiving, too. It’s all too ________ to have high expectations of what’s in that beautifully wrapped box — but that can set anyone up for ________.

When the materialistic aspects of the holiday overshadow (使显得较不重要) its ________, it can leave people feeling empty and ________ for something more. It’s no wonder that we often hear about people having the “holiday blues” — feeling sad or empty instead of feeling ________ and fulfilled (满足的).

Not all people think the holidays are too materialistic, of course. Most ________ the traditional aspects of the holidays, like getting together and ________ with friends and family. And some love shopping and are ________ fine with all the giving and receiving.

But if you’re feeling a little ________ about the holidays, what can you do? One way to take back the holiday ________ is to focus on traditions and service — putting real meaning into your giving.

2 . I allowed myself to receive the flowers.

These flowers were _________ to me by our local florist（花商）.I had placed a (n) _________ with him for flowers to be delivered to a friend overseas. For reasons unknown to both my florist and myself, the flowers were _________ delivered and after multiple contact with the overseas supplier, I _________ the order.

My florist called to _________ and said he wanted to send me some flowers to _________ the small accident._________ it wasn’t his fault and he didn’t have any _________ over the mishandling of my order, he _________ he should send me flowers. Finally I   ___________this   was something that would make him feel __________ and that I should just say “Thank you” and let him give!

When I __________ this story with my friend who I wanted to receive my flowers, she said perhaps the universe felt I needed the flowers more. Her words of comfort made me __________ .

Then something really __________ happened… ______ after I finished a post, a(n)__________ from this friend came in, telling me she had just __________ my flowers! In fact, our emails crossed.

And it got even more amazing…

When I called my florist to tell him, he told me that he would not charge me __________ these flowers! Because I was a good __________ and he was sorry for the __________ I had with my order!

It looked like the universe wanted us BOTH to have flowers.

3 . It was just before Christmas. Emergency services were_______the forest and mountains in our area for someone who had_______an emergency call after getting into difficulty. They went to my house as the_______had spoken English and the local emergency teams would probably need my_______with translation.

Some hours later a young woman struggled past my window. Running out，I_______that she was the person they were searching for. I had given her_______and some food about 3 weeks before. I took her in and made tea and porridge（麦片粥）while ，_____the teams that she was_______.

It turned out that after she left here，she had been_______away by the people she was hoping to stay with and she was on her way back here when she got _______in her car.

She stayed in the car for 14 days until the________I’d given her ran out. She called emergency services，but then narrowly________to get her car going again and come here. When she arrived she was so weak that she could hardly________and had injuries all over her face.

She was________and I accompanied her to hospital where she was kept overnight. The next day I helped her get back from hospital.________really weak and with nowhere to go and no money，she________me and my family for Christmas.

I________her mother，my husband checked her car，and________I fixed a longer-time stay with a friend who would provide her with more suitable________than I was able to offer. She left last week________a pile of warm clothing I dug out. My most peculiar Christmas story ever!

4 . It is every kid’s worst nightmare(梦魇) and six-year-old Jaden Hayes has lived it twice. First, he _______ his dad when he was four and then last month his mom died unexpectedly, _______ him an orphan(孤儿).

Jaden is understandably heartbroken. But there is another side to his _______, a side he first made _______ three weeks ago when he told his friends that he was tired of seeing some people sad all the time. And he had a plan to _______ it.

Here is how it all _______. Jaden asked his aunt to buy a bunch of little _______ and take him to downtown Savannah to give them away. He _______ people who don’t smile and then turns their day around, expecting _______ in return — but a smile.

So far he has gone out on four different occasions and has ________ nearly 500 smiles. Sometimes he doesn't get exactly the ________ he was hoping for: it simply ________ some people why a six-year-old gives them a toy. They ________ to behave awkwardly: stepping back or giving a ________ smile. In most cases, however, he will be paid ________ in hugs. Those good reactions have worked wonders: the more people that he made smile, the more ________ came out of him.

For Jaden, he would ________ his parents with each passing day. He is a little fighter, and he chooses to ________ his life with a smile. Meanwhile, he puts smiles back on the face of others to lift their ________.

He reminds us too, that however ________ life can be, there is always some measure of joy.

5 . I was born in Morocco in 1954. From childhood drawing became my great love. As ___ as infant school (幼儿学校) in an experimental school in Ardèche, I took part in a children’s craftwork exhibition in Budapest thanks to my school teacher’s ___.

All through my school years it became more and more ___ for my family that study would never be my cup of ___. However, drawing was my permanent favorite. My class fellows as well as my teachers were my favorite ___. Pencil drawing was my first ___ to what was to become my job later — painting.

At 16 my meeting Pierre-Jean Chaffrey was the deciding ___: I would be a painter! Little did I ___ he would become my master for 26 years.

For many years, we met at first ___ because of the distance between us, but his advice was ____. As he settled in Lyon in 1978, his ____ became more frequent. As soon as I had some free time, I went to see him with my ____, pastels, sometimes with which he was willing to ____ on or to correct with his own hand sometime.

I became a regular of my teacher’s gallery which ____ in Rue Auguste Comte in the antique (古董) dealer’s district. I was part of all the first viewing, as I ____ PJ Chaffrey to hang the new paintings, for hours I ____ him paint at his easel (画架) in his studio near Lyon.

In 1981, on his advice it was my turn to open my own gallery ____ in Rue Auguste Comte, near his own, the gallery Le Pinceau Ivre, and I ____ my work as well as that of other regional and national painters, the best known being Henry d’Anty. The ____ was extremely fruitful but then I became ____ that I had no more time to paint.

6 . I love a good murder mystery. It is so ___ to watch or read an exciting and interesting detective story and try to solve the ___ yourself. Agatha Christie is undoubtedly queen of the detective story considering she ___ over eighty books. Many people have fallen in love with her ___ — Hercule Poirot, a famous Belgian detective and Miss Marple, an old lady who is also an amateur ___.

As I am a big ___ of Agatha Christie, I was excited to ___her house in Devon called Greenway. I travelled to her ___ by steam train. We went through a dark tunnel and there was lots of smoke. It was a ___ setting for a murder like in her famous novel Murder on the Orient Express. ____, all the passengers arrived safely!

After a pleasant walk through the woods, I ____ the splendid house. I did a tour and I loved seeing where she wrote her books. Many first editions were ____ in a revolving (旋转的) bookcase. However, my   ____ part of the estate (庄园) was the boathouse. There was a lovely view of the river ____ the boathouse also served a more special purpose — inspiration for a crime ____. In the Poirot novel, Dead Man’s Folly, a girl’s body is ____ in the boathouse. They even ____ the TV adaptation of the book at Greenway.

I really ____ my visit to Greenway. It was such a ____ place and I was interested in seeing where Agatha Christie was ____ to write so many exciting stories.

7 . I have happy memories of trips to Europe, but my trip to Romania was unique. My husband was born there and he _______ to go to Canada but was rejected. _______ he became a US citizen when we married. Seven years later, with a US passport, and two children, he wanted to _______ Romania. He hadn’t seen his mother, two sisters, and two brothers _______ he was 16.

When we reached Bucharest, his family was waiting outside his sister’s house to _______ us. After hugging, kissing, and crying, his family also embraced me, the _______ wife with two young children.

They had great interest in me. _______ Americans visited Romania at that time, and most Romanians had little _______ to travel.

I had brought an English-Romanian dictionary with me and _______ to communicate. My Romanian improved, but mostly I spoke in ________ Roman.

Romania didn’t have many dry cleaners. Most homes had ________ washing machines but no dryers, and it was a hot summer. The relatives had a surprising and simple ________: the women dined in their bras and slippers. The men were shirtless. Disrobing (脱衣服) for dinner was inconvenient. I, of course, having just met them, ________ fully clothed. I washed my clothes by hand and hung them outdoors to ________.

On the last night of our ________, we had a large family dinner. I was tired of washing my clothes. So I ________ my dress over my head and placed it on the chair behind me. The ________ broke out in applause. Even with my poor Romanian, I ________ that they were saying, “She’s part of our family now.”

My children were 4 and 5 at the time, but they still have memories of that ________. But most of all, I remember the ________ dinner we had together. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

8 . During the recent school holidays I was walking past a playground on my way to a meeting. The thing that _____ me was not the number of children _____ the fresh air on a pleasant Queensland winter day，but the number of older people _____ those children.

Sure，there were a few younger mums and dads，but there were _____ more“old folk”who I doubt were all grandparents. It is great that they are able to _____ quality time with their grandchildren. After all，we often hear people say that their _____   for retiring（退休）is that they can devote more time to their families. However，I _____ how many grandparents are spending their retirement years taking on the role of full-or part-time _____ of their grandchildren.

Retirement is a(n) _____ time. We are generally living much longer than our own grandparents did, but as we ______ we become more limited in our ability to pursue our own ______. However, what if your plans for pursuing some of these lifetime dreams are ______ out of a sense of ______ for your family?

So how can you keep a ______ balance between helping out your family and ______ your dreams altogether？I'm not sure where the answer lies，but having an open and honest ______ with your family should be at the top of the list. You need to nip any sense of duty in the bud（对……一开始即加以阻止）— and sooner ______ later.

By all means，help your family whenever you can. Everyone will ______ from it，and your grandchildren will get the rewards from staying with their ______. Do it because you want to，not because you feel you have to. ______ spare time for yourself to realize your dreams and ensure that nobody puts your retirement on hold.

9 . Steve and Mark were good friends. They decided to spend their vacation in Haiti. Since they _____ no French, they took a French wordbook with them and hoped it would help them in difficult situations.

The flight was _____ , and the hotel was very comfortable. Each day after breakfast, Steve and Mark_____a picnic lunch and dinner and went off to visit _____ of interest. After a while, the boys became tired of eating picnic meals and decided to eat a big fish dinner in a good restaurant. Unfortunately, they _____ their wordbook in the hotel.

They _____ the menu carefully. After ten minutes, Steve said to Mark, “ I don’t understand this menu.” “Neither do I,” said Mark. “I see poison on this menu. Are they _____ here?” “Maybe. They even spelled poison _____ They spelled it p-o-i-s-s-o-n instead of p-o-i-s-o-n. But it must mean the same thing. Maybe we should go to _____ restaurant. Because I don’t ______ to eat something that will kill me. “ But Mark was ______ So he said, “There is no other restaurant near here, and I’m tired of walking around the city. Let’s order something else instead. It’s _____ here, so the food must be good.”

The boys looked at the menu again. They finally decided to order steak,______ they really wanted fish. The boys just pointed to the word steak, and the waiter ______.

As they were eating they ______ some tourists speaking English. “ This ______ is delicious.”

“We’re lucky we picked a restaurant that’s famous for its fish”.

Steve and Mark wondered about what they ______ . “Famous for its fish? There was no fish on the ______ !” said Mark.

Finally, Steve decided to find out what all this was about. “ Excuse me, how did you order fish when it wasn’t on the menu?” “ Sure it’s on the menu. It’s right here. Poisson.” Steve shouted, “ Poisson. That’s poison ! We were ______ why a restaurant like this could have poison on the menu.”

The tourists ______ One of them said, “ No. Poisson is French for fish.”

10 . Heritage(遗产) Education

China’s “Cultural Heritage Day” falls on the second Saturday of June every year.Many celebrations are held and all cultural relic protection sites are ______ to open for free to the public on the day.There is no ______ that different kinds of celebrating ______ across the country will arouse(唤醒) public ______ of the importance of cultural heritage protection and ______ the young people to love the fine ______ culture of the motherland.

China faces a heavy task to protect and rescue its cultural ______.We need to consider seriously the ______ of the lack of awareness about cultural heritage protection.______，Heritage Education is one of our main approaches(方法)．People cannot ______ value cultural heritage if they do not know ______ it is important or how to protect it.Over the past seven years，CHP has ______ over a hundred educational seminars(研究会) to different groups，______ as schools，government offices，______ the general public.Many people have attended CHP seminars.Typically，each seminar lasts two to three hours and ______ of an informative presentation，______ by a longer question­and­answer session and discussion.Each attender ______ limited knowledge of cultural heritage ______ it to be just the Forbidden City(紫禁城) and the Great Wall.People often think that the duty only ______ to the government.So “Cultural Heritage Day” will be a welcome ______ to educate a wide public on world heritage protection.