1 . Directions: Read the following two passages. Fill in each blank with one proper word or the proper form of the given word to make the passage coherent. Make sure that your answers are grammatically correct.
Special Days Around the World
Teachers’ Day
1 people in many countries celebrate World Teachers’ Day on 5th October, in Argentina it is on 11th September — the anniversary of the death of former president, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento in 1888. What Sarmiento believed passionately in was the importance of education: He wrote ‘Schools are the very basis of civilization’. Children traditionally write poems for their teachers and give them an apple, make a cake or buy flowers. In Vietnam, Educator’s Day is in November. Many students visit their former teachers in their homes 2 (give) them presents, or give news about themselves. And at some schools in India, senior students become teachers, and teachers become students for the day!
World Book Day
In many countries, Book Day 3 (fall) on 23rd April every year. It originated in Catalonia in 1923 when booksellers decided to honour the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, who died on that day in 1616. In 1995, World Book Day became an international event, 4 (celebrate) reading and books. People exchange presents — usually a book and a rose. There are also events such as writing competitions, and in Madrid there is a public reading of Cervantes’s 5 (great) work — Don Quijote — which lasts 48 hours! In the UK and Ireland, all schoolchildren receive a £1 book token (礼品券), and many children now dress up as 6 favourite character from fiction!
Respect for the Aged Day
Grandparents’ Day is popular in many countries, but in Japan, a country where nearly 30 percent of the population are over 60, older people 7 (treat) with special respect. The third Monday of September is ‘Respect for the Aged Day’, 8 became a national holiday in 1966. Everyone has a day 9 school or work and people organize celebrations for the older people of the village or community where they live. Young people dress up in traditional clothes. They sing and dance and there will be a meal specially 10 (prepare) for the older people. Nowadays, people also visit relatives and the older people in their families, for a three-day weekend.
