1 . There once lived a monster named Nian, who lived deep in the sea and climbed up to eat cattle and ______ people.

Then, one New Year’s Eve, the villagers were in a great ______ to run away. Some were closing windows and locking doors, some were ______ and others were driving cattle and sheep. There came a beggar (乞丐), saying “I’ll drive away the ______ .”

Around ______ Nian rushed into the village. He found the grandmother’s house was bright with red paper ______ on the doors. The monster gave a loud cry, looked ______ for a moment and went to the door. There suddenly came the sounds of explosions (爆炸). Shaking all over, the monster dared not take a step ______ . It turned out that the colour ______ flames and explosions were what Nian feared the most. The monster ran away quickly in the darkness. All the villagers felt ______ and came back to thank the beggar.

To ______ such good luck, the villagers put on their ______ clothes and hats and went to their relatives and friends to send their ______ and congratulations. These ______   have been passed down through the generations, which is the ______ of the Spring Festival.

3 . The Longtaitou Festivl, which means “dragon-raises head” in Chinese, is a traditional Chinese festival held on the second day of the second month in the Chinese lunar calendar. So, it’s also called Eryueer Festival. In Chinese culture, the dragon is an auspicious (吉利的) animal that dominates clouds and rains. The 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month is thought to be the day when dragon awakes and raises its head according to the Chinese folk legend. So the day is called Dragon Heads-raising Day. After the day, spring is coming and there will be more and more rain. People think these credits (功劳) go to the dragon. So the day is also called Spring Dragon Festival. Since the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), Chinese people have had the custom of spending the Spring Dragon Festival.

The most popular custom on the Dragon Heads-raising Day is cutting hair. Dragon is highly honored for its dignity (尊贵) and power for good. It is thought to be auspicious to cut hair on the Dragon Heads-raising Day. Luck and opportunities will always knock you in the year. So, on that day, barbershops’ (理发店的) businesses are growing and full of customers.

The most common foods for celebrating the festival are popcorns, pancakes, noodles, dumplings, fired soy beans and pig’s head. People in different areas have different traditions about the food on the day. In Beijing, people eat Lvdagunr (Glutinous Rice Rolls with Sweet Bean Flour) and spring pancakes on the day. In Shanxi, people like to eat fried dough twists (油条) and pancakes. In Shandong, fried soy beans, noodles and dumplings are the festival food. In Fuzhou, the salted porridge made of glutinous rice, celery, scallion, garlic, fry dried shrimps and shredded meat is eaten. These show people’s hope to be blessed (保佑) with favorable weather and plentiful grain harvest by the dragon.

Hua Tuo was a famous physician in the later years of the Eastern Han Dynasty. He is     1     (wide) known as the first doctor in traditional Chinese medicine to invent some anesthetic (麻醉的) herbal formulas and the first surgeon to conduct abdominal (腹部的) operations. Hua also created     2    set of therapeutic qigong exercises called Wuqinxi,    3     imitate the movement of tiger, deer, bear, ape and bird, and are still popular today.

Hua later appeared in many     4     (legend) stories. One of them is about how Hua did surgery on Guan Yu, a famous general of the Kingdom of Shu, without using any anesthetic.

According to the story, after Guan’s right arm    5     (wound) in a battle by a poisonous arrow, he invited Hua to help treat the wound. First, Hua wanted the general    6     (take) his anesthetic. The general laughed and sad that it was unnecessary since he was not afraid     7     pain. So, without applying any anesthetic, Hua used a scalpel (手术刀) to cut off the poisoned flesh from Guan’s arm and then scraped the affected bones while the general calmly played chess.    8     (listen) to the sound of bone scraping, the onlookers’ faces turned pale,    9    the general never uttered a single sound of discomfort throughout the operation.

This popular story shows both the doctor’s exceptional skill and the rare    10     (brave) of the general.

Huang Xiaoling is     1     expert in polychrome porcelain (多色瓷器). She enjoys creating porcelain works, which allows her to maintain her innovative spirit.

From childhood, Huang enjoyed visiting the porcelain factory where her father worked. She loved to draw designs,     2     (especial) flowers and birds. By the age of 12, she could design small porcelain objects. She regularly communicated with the great     3     (master) of the factory who passed on the key techniques to her.

As an adult, when she was out of work, she didn’t give up and followed her teacher to Shanghai to try her luck. The trip opened new perspectives for her as she discovered the high demand for porcelain.    4     her head full of inspiring new ideas, she returned to her hometown to found the Liquanyao porcelain company with former colleagues. Her     5     (strong) lies in her mastery of craft techniques. In 2003, she     6     (win) a silver medal at a competition in Beijing,     7     was a turning point not only for herself but also for Liling porcelain. The porcelain products became known to the general public. The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics boosted business.

Porcelain-making in Liling     8     (date) back to the Han Dynasty. It developed at the end of the Qing Dynasty, when polychrome porcelain was introduced in 1908. A porcelain vase won gold at the Panamaific International Exposition in 1915,     9     (make) it known worldwide.

Huang’s mission is not limited to the continuation of polychrome porcelain; she is also actively promoting this art.“    10     it doesn’t make us millionaires, working in the porcelain industry allows us to have a comfortable life while preserving the skills and culture of our ancestors,” Huang said.

8 . Peter walked home from school. Salty tears ran down his cheeks. He didn’t know what to do. Grandma saw him and asked why. Peter replied, “I have to give a(n)________ about a family tradition. I know we have lots of beliefs and customs. Can you ________ me of one?”

Grandma smiled and nodded her head. She went to a closet and ________ to reach the top shelf. Pulling out a small box and ________ the dust, she handed it to Peter. Peter opened the box. He ________ a wooden hoop with string woven and twisted around. It was in the shape of a circle, like a spider web. Peter wiped away his ________ and smiled.

“This is a dream catcher,” said Grandma. “Our people have made these for many years. ________are symbols of unity and strength. Hang it over your bed and it will ________ your bad dreams in the web, and your good dreams will fall through the center. Maybe it will give you ________ to do your presentation.”

“Can I take this one to school?” asked Peter. “No,” said Grandma. “This dream catcher is ________ . It means a lot to me.”

Peter felt ________ because he wanted to share it with his class. “We could make you one,” said Grandma. They worked together and ________ a dream catcher. The next morning he told Grandma his plan — to show his class how to make one. “Great! Let’s ________ after your presentation. We will have a ________ party,” said Grandma.

Peter did as he had planned. Peter didn’t feel ________ or scared at all. He felt proud in his culture and felt pride in himself, too.

10 . Last year I attended the annual autumn saffron (藏红花) harvest festival on a trip in Italy, known as the sagra. Giovannina Sarra and her family ________ me at their home. Early the next morning, we ________ among the fields and participated in the harvest.

Saffron , taken from the stigmas (柱头) of the saffron flower, is a(n) ________ crop. Also called red gold, it is a(n) ________ from Spain, first introduced into the region around the 13th century. Saffron is ________ in the hours just before ________, while the petals (花瓣) are closed. This helps protect their precious stigmas and makes the flowers easier to ________, especially preferred by the acquirers (收购商). Later, on the same day, the stigmas — three ________ strings per flower — are separated from the petals. It’s a delicate ________ that takes hours with a skilled and ________ hand. In the evening, over an open wood fire, the stringlike stigmas are ________ to make saffron powder to add to the richness of the color and the flavor, which brings considerable income.

Now sitting at a mouth-watering plate of Risotto alla Milanese, a dish cooked with saffron, I ________ the freezing morning with Sarra and her family. There’s no ________ that it is the families like the Sarras that stick to the many ________ that have survived from generation to generation. ________ more people will join them.