As we all know, festivals     1     (celebrate) all around the world and they have     2     wide range of origins, such as the seasons of the year, religions, famous figures, and important events. Of all the     3     (tradition) festivals, the harvest festival can be found in almost every culture. People celebrate to show that they are grateful     4     the year’s supply of food.     5     (actual), customs play a significant role in festivals, but sometimes they can change over time. With the     6     (develop) of modern society and the spread of new ideas, some traditions may fade away and others may be established. Today, festivals are becoming more and more commercial, with more and more businesses     7     (add) to the celebrations. And this brings     8     (we) a lot of benefits. Festivals are an important part of society,     9     reflect people’s wishes, faiths, beliefs, and attitudes towards life. And if you study festival s carefully, you may be surprised     10     (find) that different cultures have a lot in common after all.

The first Buy Nothing Day     1     (celebrate) in September 1992. In1997, it was changed to the Friday following Thanksgiving in November. Soon after, it gained     2     support of Adbusters, a Canadian media company questioning the     3    (important) that cultures give to advertising and shopping. When the group tried to place commercials (广告) on television, the only major TV network     4     accepted them was CNN. Despite these attempts to silence the movement, it spread to the US, Germany, Japan, and several other countries worldwide.

Buy Nothing Day challenges people to avoid     5     (buy) anything for 24 hours. Supporters hope that during this time, people will reflect on the need to “have things”, which is pushed by large companies. By getting people to focus on what they do have, they can become more sympathetic (有同情心的) towards the poor     6     people who have less than they do.

Another activity     7     (call) the zombie walk is to show the way most people shop. In this walk, participants walk around shopping malls like zombies. If     8     (ask) what’s happening, they will educate them about Buy Nothing Day. Whirl-Mart is another funny method of drawing attention to the purpose of Buy Nothing Day. People will take empty shopping carts and form a line inside a supermarket. Then, they will race through the aisles (通道)     9     putting anything in their empty carts. Other supporters celebrate the event by     10     (simple) doing other free activities such as hiking, bicycling, or taking a boat ride. No matter how one participates, Buy Nothing Day presents us with an opportunity to remember that the best things in life are free.

Shijing, also The Book of Songs or Shih Ching, is the     1     (early) collection of Chinese poetry. It     2     (make) up of 311 poems dating from the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle stage of the Spring and Autumn Period. Nowadays, Confucius is generally believed to be the     3     (edit) of the book.

Shijing is rich in content,     4     (describe) love and labour, war and slavery, customs and marriage, ancestor worship and special events. It is called a mirror of social life.

Poems included in Shijing fall into three sections-poems that come from villages belong to Feng; those written to persuade or praise the rulers belong to Ya; those used at religious     5     (ceremony) belong to Song. Ya and Song are flowery and serious in language.     6    , Feng is relatively inspiring and full of passion.

The opening poem of Shijing, “Cooing and Wooing” (《关雌》), is about love,     7     reads:

By riverside are cooing, a pair of turtledoves;

A good young man is wooing, a fair maiden he loves.

It is vivid that the man is longing     8     (win) over the girl.

Shijing enables people to have a better understanding of Chinese civilization and is also     9     beginning of ancient Chinese poetry. Additionally, it is also frequently quoted in other Chinese texts and has always been referred to     10     moral truth and lessons.

Confucius and Chinese Philosophy

    1     (bear) in 551 BC, Confucius has made the greatest contribution to Chinese culture of anyone in history.     2     he was raised in a poor family, he visited famous scholars and learned a lot. He developed his thoughts into a system of philosophy,     3     (know) as Confucianism,     4     emphasized (注重) self-cultivation, harmonious relationships with each other, and respect for the elderly. Friends should be honest  to each other. Rulers should make an effort     5     (provide) a happy life for people. Meanwhile (同时)，he was a great teacher     6     devoted himself to     7     (promote) education for ordinary people. He travelled around to publicize (宣传) his political thinking but failed. But he never gave up. Over the last 2000 years, his philosophy     8     (continue) to influence China as well as     9     rest of the world. He    10     (consider) as the symbol of oriental (东方的) culture as well.

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year    1     24 solar terms. Winter Solstice (冬至) comes as the 22nd solar term of the year. On the first day of the Winter Solstice, the Northern Hemisphere experiences the    2     (short) day and the longest night in the year, as the sun shines directly at the Tropic of Capricorn (南回归线). From then on, the days become longer and the nights become shorter. The Winter Solstice also marks the    3     (arrive) of the coldest season in the year.

There was     4     saying in ancient China, “The Winter Solstice is as important as the Spring Festival.” As early as the Zhou Dynasty, great events    5    (hold) on the day of the Winter Solstice,     6     was also considered the first day of the new year.

The Winter Solstice became a winter festival during the Han Dynasty. The celebratory activities were    7     (official) organized. On this day, both officials and ordinary people would have a rest. During the following dynasties, such as the Tang, Song and Qing dynasties, during the Winter Solstice, it was also common for people    8     (offer) sacrifices (祭品) to ancestors.

In the winter, people suggest    9     (eat) an appropriate amount of nuts, such as peanuts, walnuts and chestnuts, which does good to one’s body. Traditional Chinese medical science teaches people that most nuts help to    10     (strength) the brain and heart. During the Winter Solstice in North China, it is essential to eat dumplings.

I experienced the Naadam Festival in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for the first time this year. Naadam means “games” in Mongolian, and it     1    (represent) by three events: horse racing, wrestling, and archery. Mongolian wrestling is different from the wrestling in the Olympic Games. There are no rounds, and     2    (wrestle) are not separated by weight. Though the three events all left a deep impression     3     me, I liked horse racing best. I was surprised     4    (see) that riders were boys and girls! People say it is     5     children are lighter and the horses can run faster and farther.