1 . Today was Mother’s Day. The young woman was feeling a little ______ because she was 800 miles away from her parents.

In the morning she called her mother to ______ her a happy Mother’s Day and her mother told her about the beautiful lilacs (丁香花) in their garden.

Later that day, she told her husband how she ______ those lilacs in her parents’ garden. “I know where we can find some,” he said. “Get the ______ and come on.” So off they went, ______ down the country roads. There on a small hill were a lot of colorful lilacs. The young woman ______ over and buried her face in the flowers, ______ and enjoying them. Carefully she ______ a few and went back to the car.

On the way home the woman held her flowers, ______ all the way. When they were passing a ______, the young woman saw an old granny sitting alone in a wheelchair at the gate.“______!” she said to her husband. Getting off the car, she quickly walked up to the granny and put the ______ in her hands. As their car pulled away, the old granny ______ with a smile and held the lilacs tightly (紧紧地).

When the young mother sat back to the car, her kids asked her ______, “Who is that old granny? Why did you give her ______ flowers?” “I don’t know her. It is Mother’s Day, and she seems so ______ while I have all of you. I believe those flowers ______ much to her.” The kids nodded with ______, looking rather happy.

Now, every Mother’s Day my kids will go to that small ______ and pick some lilacs for me and that old granny. I’m glad that my small act of ______ has a good effect on my kids.

2 . I’d never been to a Day of the Dead festival before. As my dad and I looked around for seats, I _______ Marco, my best friend, hurrying toward us. “Hi, Mr. O’kane,” he _______ my dad. Then he turned to me. “Nate! Will you help me?"

“Whatever you need,” I said.

Marco threw me parts of a _______ : Mexican sandals（凉鞋）, a straw hat, a cane(手杖), a gray wig, and an“ old man” mask（面具）. “My cousin couldn’t_______ !” Marco’s voice rang with worry.

“It’s part of a traditional dance” he said.

“You expect me to dance? ” I _______ . “I don’t dance!”

Marco smiled. “It’ll be fun. And hurry! We’re _______ late.”

“ We’re going to do a lot of stomping(跺脚). Slow at first. Keep one hand _______ on your back, like an old man with an ache.” added Marco.

The speakers _______ : “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for The Dance of the Little Old Men!”

“Be quick,” Marco _______ to me to follow his lead.

We all began stomping slowly to music. I could only see ________ the small holes of the mask. I continued to stomp, trying to ________ what to do. I leaned on my cane and kept a hand low on my back. After a few minutes of dancing like that, my back ________ started to ache.

The music ________ . And we stomped quickly. Performing with Mexican sandals was ________ . People laughed as we hopped and kicked, but after a moment the laughter turned into cheers.

Marco gave me a thumbs-up. As the audience clapped for our group, I said to him happily, “You were right. That was ________ .”

3 . Dongba，literally meaning "wise man"，plays a major role in Nakhi people's lives and culture. They are intellectuals with wide _______, covering fields like music, dance, classics, writing, history, painting, medicine and fortunetelling.

Li Xiuhua learned Dongba papermaking from his father He Zhiben, a famous master of Dongba culture after marrying He Yonghong at 22, and became the only female inheritor (继承人) of the national-level intangible _______ heritage. Dongba paper, which is used to _______ Dongba scriptures (经文) and draw pictures for the Nakhi people, is a kind of _______, ethnic handmade paper. The material for making the paper is _______ resistant to insects, so Dongba paper is bug-proof (防虫的) and can be _______ for a very long time.

He and Li couple make about 7,000 pieces of paper each year in their spare time, _______ work on the farm and in the house that keeps them busy, and part-time tour guide work. They _______ less than 20,000 yuan from papermaking each year, almost enough for the tuition fees for their two kids _______ in the town, but far from the whole household expenses.

__________ papermaking doesn't bring in much money, His family __________ the tradition and keeps making the most __________ Dongba paper totally by hand. They take __________ in teaching other villagers and visitors everything about Dongba culture, from papermaking to Dongba characters.

Li and He have long dreamed of __________ a private Dongba culture museum but they __________ have enough money to do so.

Li won't give up her dream of __________ Dongba culture. Many people try to __________ her to use the modern way to make paper. Li knows it can cut __________. However, as a member of a Dongba family, Li will never __________ their tradition for money. Li will try her best to set up their museum. Li knows it's hard，but she's __________ in the future.