From this year’s trip through Southeast Asia, last year’s Central America adventure and traveling within Canada, travel has been a(n)     1     (wonder) part of my life. My study abroad in Australia had such a huge impact     2     my life that I created my own travel blog Little Miss Ottawa as a way     3     (challenge) myself to experience Ottawa as a traveler would.

Whenever a friend or family member comes back from a trip, they always can’t wait to tell you about the highlights (最好的部分)! Research from San Francisco State University has shown that people feel     4     (comfortable) when they spend money on experiences than on other things and they feel the money is better spent.

Experiences are something I truly value. Your     5     (happy) increases with experiences, but the impact of people you meet along the way also matters. Some of my best    6     (trip) were when I went alone and I     7     (lucky) met people who would become friends for life. Now I have people I can visit all over the world. In fact,     8     is so easy to build friendships with other travelers because everyone is ready to meet new people. I jumped into my study abroad in Australia     9     (know) no one. I left with friendships     10     will last a lifetime. There’s something about going through experiences together that has bonded (建立关系) us for life.

The celebrations of Chinese New Year, also     1     (call) Chinese Spring Festival, were born out of fear and myth (神话). Legend (传说) spoke of the wild beast Nian (which also is the word for “year”)     2     appeared at the end of each year,     3     (attack) villagers. Loud noises and bright lights were used     4     (frighten) the beast away, and the Chinese New Year celebrations were born. Today, the Spring Festival     5     (celebrate) with a week of vacation in China. Much like the Western New Year (January 1st), the biggest celebration is on the eve of the holiday.

The Chinese New Year’s Eve meal is the most important dinner of the year.     6     (typical), families gather at a designated (指定的) relative’s house for dinner, but these     7     (day), more and more families choose to hold New Year’s Eve dinner at a restaurant. Many restaurants require reservations (预订) months ahead.

There are also some families that hire ( 雇用) a professional chef to come cook at home. Chefs are often busy running from one home     8     another cooking dinners for different families on New Year’s Eve.

Chinese New Year is a 15-day celebration and each day, many families take turns to hold celebrations among homes of     9     (they) relatives. The festivities are day-long and sometimes, a family ends up cooking two meals for relatives, once at lunch     10     once at dinner.

The robot lawn mowers (割草机)     1     (design) by us have the following benefits besides saving you time and effort.

First, they are environmentally friendly. With global warming now     2    (be) a major concern you can have peace of mind with these mowers. They run on rechargeable batteries and do not use petrol or burn oil like conventional lawn mowers.

Second, they work very     3     (quiet). After careful assessment, noise from them     4     (find) to be about 60 decibels (分贝) lower than a typical lawn mower, so you can program them to work at night while you sleep.

Third, rain sensors in our robot lawn mowers warn the robot     5     (return) to its shelter or stay in its shelter while it’s raining. On     6     other hand, if you are using a simple electric lawn mower, you will have to stay out in the rain while you get your mower under shelter     7     it will be useless.

Fourth, bump sensors in our robot lawn mower protect the lawn mower from running over items     8     may be lying in the yard, thus increasing its life and efficiency.

Last but not least, they are    9     (benefit) for people with allergy problems — they can cut your grass while you sit far away, reading your favourite novel     10     comfort.

Several different stories are told about the origin of Saint Valentine’s Day. One legend     1    (date) as far back as the days of Roman Empire. According to the story, Claudius,     2     Emperor of Rome, wanted to increase the size of the army. He knew that it would be easier to get young men who were not married     3    (join) the army; therefore, he made a rule that no young men could marry     4    he had served in the army for a number of years.   

A priest     5     (name) Valentine broke the rule and     6    (secret) married a great number of young people. Finally, Claudius found out about Valentine and put the priest in prison,     7     he remained until he died on February 14.   

After his death, Valentine     8    (make) a saint and the day of his death was named Saint Valentine’s Day.   

February 14, Valentine’s Day, is sweetheart’s day. After     9    (put)their love message in a heart shaped box of chocolate or a bunch of flowers, people give the gifts to their lover.     10     (word) may be written on the flower covered card, or something else.

9 . 阅读下列材料，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

In modern times, the government uses Westminster Hall for large public ceremonies. It is also the place where a king     1     queen who has died will “lie in state”,     2    (provide) a last chance for people to pay their respects. In the year 2002, Queen Elizabeth’s mother “lay in state” at Westminster Hall. Thousands of people walked     3    (quiet) past the Queen Mother’s body     4     order to show their respect for her and for the royal family.

The Hall is very important for political events too. Probably the most important event     5     ever happened in Westminster Hall was the meeting of     6     first English parliament. In the year 1265, King Henry Ⅲ called a meeting to discuss his policies. He met with some important     7    (man) of the time. But King Henry also requested some ordinary people be present. He asked each town     8    (send) two soldiers and two businessmen to Westminster Hall. This group represented the common citizens of the nation. They were not rich people, neither were the members of the ruling families. These citizens met with the king and the other important men. Their ideas     9    (listen) to, and the king treated them     10     equals. It was the first time that the common citizens of England had a chance to be heard. This was the start of the first real parliament.