1 . When we moved from California to Colorado, 1, 200 miles away from our parents, my husband and I decided that we did not want to travel a long way with our four ______ for Christmas. However, one late October day, I had a phone conversation with my mother-in-law.

“When are you coming?”she asked.

I did not know how to ______ , and changed the subject. When she asked again later in the ______-“When are you coming?”-I knew that we would change our plan and not stay in our own home for Christmas. The thought of not being in our own home caused me to be ______. What would Christmas away from home look like? Would we be ______ the magic of Christmas by not being in our own home? It would be the first time our children would spend ______ away from our own home. “How would you like to give grandparents the best Christmas present ever? We can do that ______ giving them the gift of our presence,” we told our kids. They all agreed we should go and so the trip to California was ______

My husband's large family always kept Christmas very ______. They only attached great importance to the special meal together. My in-laws' faces ______ with joy when our family arrived. Christmas Eve was filled with ______, as we played games and sang our favorite songs.

Sadly, my mother-in-law’s dementia(老年痴呆)became worse. I was ______ that we had made an exception and ______ that Christmas together. I didn't know it at that time, ______ it was the last Christmas with my mother-in-law.

The gift of being ______ with her that year was the best gift I have ever given and received.

2 . The Double Seventh Festival, also known as the Qixi Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival. Here is a beautiful story _______ it.

Long，long ago, there was a young man named Niulang(Cowherd), One day, he_______a   beautiful girl- Zhinu( Weaver girl)， the Goddess s seventh daughter. She had just run away from the_______ heaven(天国) to look for fun on Earth. Zhini soon_______Niulang, and they got married without telling the Goddess. Niulang worked in the field and Zhinu wove(织布) at home. They_______a happy life and gave birth to a boy and a girl. Unluckily, the Goddess soon found out the fact and_______ Zhinii to return to heaven. After Zhini left， Niulang was _______upset. With the help of his magic cow,Niulang flew to heaven with his children to look for his wife. The Goddess discovered this and was very_______Taking out her hairpin(发簪), the Goddess created a wide river in the sky to separate(分开) the two_______. From then on, Niulang and Zhini had to live________ on the two sides of the river. However,their true love________ all the magpies(喜鹊) in the world, ________once a year tens of thousands of   magpies would fly up to heaven to make a bridge- the bridge of magpies for the couple to meet each other. At last, the Goddess allowed ________ to meet each   other on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. That's________the Double Seventh Festival started. Today,   it is a great________for Chinese young people to express their love.

3 . April 1st is a day on which, in some countries, people try to play tricks on others. If one   _______　 in tricking someone, one laughs and says, “April Fool！”and then the person who is tricked _______　 laughs, too.

One April 1st, a country bus was going along a_______ road when it slowed down and stopped. The driver_______turned switches and pressed buttons, but nothing happened.   _______he turned to the passengers with a worried look on his face and said, “This poor bus is getting     _______. It isn't going as well as it used to. _______only one thing to do if we want to get home today. I’ll   _______three. I want you all to_______forward suddenly as hard as you can. This should ________the bus started again but if it doesn't, I'm afraid there's nothing else I can do. Now, all of you lean back as ________as you can in your seats and get   ________.”

The passengers all pressed back   ________their seats and waited anxiously.

Then the driver turned to the ________and asked, “Are you ready?”The passengers hardly had enough ________to answer, “Yes.”

“One！Two！Three！”counted the driver. The passengers all leant forward ________and the bus started   ________at a great speed.

The passengers breathed more ________and began to smile with relief. But their smile turned to________and laughter when the driver ________cried, “April Fool！”

4 . Yesterday was Mother’s Day. Unfortunately, my mother was not among the many happy mothers, as I couldn’t visit her this year. I made a ___on the phone that I would go to see her as soon as possible.

My mother always says that kids don’t need to ___a national day to say they love their mums. However, I remember one year I ___calling her on that very day, and the next morning she rang up to complain about it.

If you ___Thailand, you could hear the sentimental(伤感的) songs about mothers’ greatest love playing in ___places a week before the holiday. Schools, especially, are places that take this day very ___. Back in my teenage years, I ___there was once a Mother’s Day singing ___and my friend represented the school. She was so emotional while singing the famous song on Mother’s Day ___Kah Nam Nom that she almost didn’t finish the song.

However, her deep connection to the song helped her to ____third prize. After the contest, I asked her why she was so emotional ____the song. She told me that while she was singing, suddenly she had the ____that one day her mother would no longer be with her and every word in the song became ____. Every time I hear this song, it’s not my mother who ____to my mind but a ____of my friend crying with a microphone in her hand. The image ____vivid today.

Last week, a colleague ____an experience with me — every year on Mother’s Day, she has to attend a ____ceremony at her daughter’s school. Every year the teachers invite ____to the school for a big gathering in which students pay ____with flower garlands(花环). She said that the event was filled with the sobbing sounds mixed with Mother’s Day anthems.

5 . China is a country well known for courtesy(举止有礼). In traditional Chinese people' s daily life, etiquette (礼节), can be seen everywhere like sitting and standing positions, the way of speaking to others, the polite behaviours when _______people, as well as table manners.

Eating is an important aspect of Chinese culture .And eating out is one of the most common ways to honour guests, socialise, and deepen friendships. So it's _______to learn proper etiquette in formal dining, _______how to arrange seats, how to order dishes, and how to eat.

Seating arrangement is a very important part of Chinese dining etiquette, no matter at home or restaurant. _______,the seat of honour is usually the one facing the entrance and will be _______for the guest with highest status or the master of the banquet. Those of higher position sit closer to the seat of honour. The guests of lowest position sit furthest from the seat of the honour and it's normally where waiters _______the dishes. Attending a banquet with many tables, you should_______that the most important table serving for guests of honour will be in the front or in the middle of the restaurant hall. It is better to _______after the elders have taken their seats.

Ordering dishes is another important part of Chinese table manners. If time _______, the menu will be passed round among the people________. If you are the host, make the final decision after asking for the others'   ________.If you are one of the guests, you may order a(n)________and commonly-favourite dish. Chinese table manners encourage that we must not waste food and should consider the others' dietary restrictions. For example, vegetarians don' t eat any kinds of meat.

Last but not least, you need to know how to eat at the table. ________you will be considered rude. Chinese are ________about food, as well as what they look like when eating food. After being seated, the waiter will give you a towel to ________the hands. When there are dishes about lobster, crab or fruit, a bowl of water may be served with some rose petals or lemon slices, which are not drinks ________ to wash your hands. At a formal Chinese banquet, the cold dishes will be served first, then the hot dishes, and dim sum and fruits at last. Here are some important ________ for the table manners in China.

∗Be graceful and polite when taking food with chopsticks

∗Don't make much noise when eating or drinking soup

∗Don' t talk with mouth   ________

∗Don't point at someone with chopsticks or play with chopsticks.

∗Don't ________the teeth with a toothpick in public.

∗Don't insert chopsticks in the bowl with rice, ________it indicates ancestor worship.

6 . The Double Ninth Festival (the Chongyang Festival) is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. With a history of more than 2,000 years,It ____in the Warring States period. It developed quickly and had already been quite common _____ the Tang Dynasty.In the 1980s,the Chinese government made it a public holiday also known as"Senior Citizens' Day", trying to_____the moral of respect for the elderly. On this day, people are supposed to visit and_____the elderly. Here's the customs of this festival.

Climbing Mountains

Climbing mountains is a main activity during the festival. Take your families to a mountain to get some exercise and breathe_____air in the woods. Take a deep breath on top of a mountain, enjoy the beautiful natural autumn _____ all to yourself, exercise your body and get prepared for the coming _____. This will provide you with mental peace and _____the ill-fortune or diseases as they may say.

Appreciating Chrysanthemums (菊花)and Drinking Chrysanthemum wine

Appreciating chrysanthemums and drinking chrysanthemum wine have always been a ___during the Double Ninth Festival. In history it was also called"the Chrysanthemum Festival",as it is the flowering time of chrysanthemums. Poets, celebrities and nobles would _____ a feast to write poems to appreciate the elegance of chrysanthemums. Today,_____ chrysanthemum exhibitions are often held in big cities to   _____people during the festivals.

Appreciating the Falling Autumn

As the Double Ninth Festival _____the early autumn in China every year, it also is a good time for families to get together for a hiking to ____ the colours of the falling autumn.

There are other customs _____ visiting the elderly, eating Chongyang cake and wearing cornel(茱萸).

7 . Have you ever thought what you eat every day can tell people about your home town? Have you ever ____why people from different parts of the world eat ____ kinds of food? Have you ever asked yourself ____certain food plays such an important part in your culture? There is ___of a connection between food and culture than you may think.

On a personal level, it is the food of our ___which we eat while growing up that ____us as who we are. Many of us associate food from our   ____with warm feelings and sweet memories. ____a special yet personal value, it relates us to our families.

After we grow up, the food from our families often ___us in times of frustration and stress.During my childhood, I couldn't eat rice when I was sick, because I was too ____. My mother would then bring her homemade soup to my bed. The smell and taste of that soup left a deep impression on me.Now, ____I'm tired or stressed, I think of my mother's ____and _____for it.

In the ____sense, food is a significant component of culture. ____cuisine is passed down from one generation to another. Moreover, it serves as a reflection of ____identity.

Immigrants bring the food of their countries with them wherever they go. To them, ___traditional food is a way of preserving their cultures when they move to new places. Continuing to make food from their cultures for family meals is a ____of pride for their ethnicity and a means ____cope with homesickness. Besides, many open their own restaurants and _____traditional dishes in places far away from their home town.

8 . It is well known that as Christmas is coming，there are so many things to do. Besides buying presents，sending cards，and cleaning rooms，parents are still _______ with difficult jobs of hiding presents from curious young children. If the gifts are large，this is sometimes a real _______ .On Christmas Eve，young children are torn between the wish to go to bed early so that Father Christmas will bring their presents quickly and the wish to stay up late so that they will not _______ the fun. The wish for gifts usually proves     _______. But though children go to bed early，they often lie _______   for a long time，hoping to get a short look at Father Christmas.

Last Christmas，my wife and I _______ hid a few large presents in the storeroom. I _______   the moment when my son，Jimmy，would ask me where the new bike had come from，but   _______ he did not see it.

On Christmas Eve，it took the children hours to go to sleep. It must have been nearly _______ when my wife and I went quietly into their room and began ________ stockings. Then I took out the ________   from the storeroom and left it beside the Christmas tree. We knew we would not get much sleep that night，for the children were ________ to get up early. At about five o'clock the next morning，we were woken by loud sounds coming from the children’s ________ —they were shouting excitedly！Before I had time to get out of bed，young Jimmy came ________into our room on his new bike，and his sister，Mary，arrived. She dragged a large balloon behind her. Suddenly it burst. That woke us up ________ . The day had really begun with a bang!

9 . I just marked my first Mid-Autumn Festival celebration in China._______a week after arriving for my graduate studies, I was kind of homesick—memories of past _______ back in Serbia with family and friends exchanging scenes in my mind. On the morning of Friday, September 13rd, the _______ on the campus was very cheerful. Chinese students explained to us the importance of the day as gifts of mooncakes were _______ . Then came the night. The full moon appeared: huge, _______ball high above the campus, and eyes looked at it with _______. Unlike previous nights, a cool breeze swept through the campus.With Serbian music playing on my headphones, I danced my way, _______ in the wind, and forgetting myself for a moment.

As I _______ back into my room, I was fascinated by the festival’s idea. My _______ mind pushed me online where I came across the poem Prelude (前奏) to Water Melody, by the well-known Chinese writer Su Dongpo. This poem concisely(精确地) seized what I was ________ . The message and the tone both resonated (共鸣) with my feelings. Writing to his family, Su wondered what time it was back at home. ________ the time differences between China and Serbia, I was constantly trying to ________ what time it was back at home.

Eventually, Su asked his family to join him in ________ the timeless perfection of a full moon in a ________ night.What a way to finish! I, too, was hoping that all was well with my family. Despite the distance and ________ that comes with not seeing or hearing from a loved one, we were all flourishing (繁盛的) under the watch of the ________ moon.

And while we may go away from home, as happens from time to time; the family remains the most important ________ to our productive existence. As the Chinese used the holiday to ________ with the loved ones, the Serbian community also got together, shared a meal and walked on the streets under the neon (霓虹灯) lights.

As I write this, a day after the Festival, I cannot help but look forward to the next. Thank my Chinese friends, whose________ made me and a crowd of other foreign students experience an ________Mid-Autumn Festival.

Americans prefer to try every way to have fun. For example, they drive their own cars, some even tow a small boat after vehicle. They start from Los Angeles, California under sun, _______ through four or five hundred miles to go to La Fulin, Colorado to spend weekends while Chinese people are still _______ with work, and have dinner at home together with families at weekends or _______ time watching TV.

The difference is mainly due to cultural customs and traditions _______ the two countries. It is said that Chinese people are living for others, while Americans are for _______. When Chinese people come to the United States, they fight for _______ first, and then desperately make money after they are recognized by others. It seems that, the purpose to earn money is not to enjoy life, _______ for their following generations sons and daughters and even grandchildren. Chinese people prefer to save money _______ emergency, such as illness. Although Chinese people with _______ in the United States don’t need to worry about their own social welfare and health insurance, they work still very hard, as they hope that they can ________ more money.

Chinese people’s interest is in the amount on the passbook(存折), so they spend ________ money usually.

Most of Chinese are very thrifty(节约的), and they are ________ to spend money, but there are exceptions. They are willing to spend money on their ________. Many Chinese people think that, they endure(容忍) many ________, so they wish that their children could live much better. Therefore, in the United States elementary schools, you can see that those who ________ the best clothes , with more pocket money are Chinese students. In contrast, American children dress very simply, with just a little pocket money.

________ Chinese, Americans believe in living for themselves. They do everything for their own. ________, they earn money to enjoy a ________ life, and pursue a higher quality of life. As for their own parents or children, they think that parents have their own pension and social welfare, and children should live a(n) ________ life when they are 18’ years old. So they could boldly spend money on themselves. ________, Americans save little money. In the street, it is easy for Chinese to take out 300-400 dollars, but it is hard to say for Americans.