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.

2 . “When I first started learning calligraphy, I just copied the teacher’s strokes (笔画), and my work was ugly.” said Aryan from Afghanistan. He is currently a graduate student in Beijing, ________ in International Education of the Chinese language.

During his six-year stay in China, he discovered the ________ of Chinese culture. He also realized that Chinese is steadily becoming a(n) ________ language, and more people around the world want to communicate smoothly with Chinese.

To his surprise, the curriculum for foreign students in China ________ the classroom. The school organizes extracurricular ________ to help them learn and experience ________ and culture. After closer and deeper ________ with Chinese culture, Aryan found his hobby: calligraphy.

“Initially, I didn’t know much Chinese and thought calligraphy would be difficult,” Aryan said.” Later on, I found out that calligraphy can help me ________ my Chinese language skills and my understanding of Chinese culture.

He used to ________ the idea that writing Chinese characters was all about writing them neatly. But he later found out that this view is ________.Calligraphy helps him to understand both each stroke and the Chinese ________ toward life. The horizontal, vertical (垂直的) and left and right falling stokes on the paper ________ Chinese people’s unique symbols and memories. They are also the hidden ________ to better understanding Chinese culture.

Not only did Aryan gain a deeper ________ of Chinese characters, but also developed a more mature personality along the way. Calligraphy gives him strength when he feels ________ and lost, finding his inner peace.

3 . I’ve had the good fortune of spending a lot of time working in London over the years. I’m a typical American, _________ to making eye contact and smiling when speaking to others. But until I spent time abroad, I was never quite _________ of what my facial expressions could convey.

In the UK, I _________ not everyone made as much eye contact on the street as I did. And it was _________ to hold eye contact during a business meeting. My _________ smile could be considered as flirtatious (轻浮的). But my British colleagues _________: I was American. This forward attitude was not _________, but it was just my culture. _________, being expressively cheerful among those who keep _________ closer to their vest (背心 ) was accepted in the UK.

____________, in other countries a cultural misunderstanding of smiling can have serious results. While it’s unlikely that a mistimed smile will ____________ you a contract (合同),____________ interactions can make it much more difficult to build effective business relationships.

Different cultures ____________ smiling in different ways. In Russia, people do not smile because it ____________ that you are at best foolish or at worst, sneaky (卑劣的). Even in family photos, adults ____________ with stony faces. In Japan, smiling is a way to ____________ your feeling that you don’t want others to know. Australians have smiling cultures. While they might not have the same ____________ for giant white smiles as Americans, they smile more than our peers in Russia, Japan, Switzerland, and the UK.

If Americans have to work abroad, my ____________ is to make sure you do some research. It is ____________ to be yourself, but you should also learn about the culture you are going to visit. This will help you communicate ____________ and effectively with your peers.

4 . When I was growing up in Massachusetts, Thankgiving was always a time for family. When I moved 2,200 miles away from home to Austin, Texas after graduating from college, I still wanted to ________ the tradition of gathering with my family.________， I didn’t think flying home for Thanksgiving was wise because it cost much. It was not________that my entire family got on a plane to________me, either.

Friendsgiving was the________. My first Thanksgiving away from home came shortly after I moved, so I didn’t have many________ in the area. By my second Thanksgiving, I had more friends and was________with others who were far from home for the holiday. It was the perfect ________ to start to host my first Friendsgiving!

Everyone________the meal in some way. It not only cut down on the work I had to do as a(n)________, but it was also a chance for people to share their family ________during the festival with everyone else. Allowing everyone to donate also meant we could ________new things.

Since the start, I’ve hosted Friendsgiving twice and ________two others as a guest. Some people________each year, while others move away or head home for a change. Celebrations also change every time. Those unexpected ________year after year are ________one reason for my love for Friendsgiving. And some people at the Friendsgiving seem like family members for me.

I’ll probably ________live in the same area as my biological family again, but that doesn’t mean I can’t celebrate Thanksgiving with my ________family. Friendsgiving makes me feel grateful for the life I’ve________in a new place. And my new city is gradually becoming my new ________