Sending gifts varies greatly from country to country. In Australia, Canada, the United States    1     European countries, sending gifts     2     (be) rarely expected. While seen as a nice gesture, it is more important to avoid    3     (give) highly personal gifts such as clothing. When visiting the home of a colleague from one of these    4     (country), it is normally appropriate to bring a gift to the hostess.

In America, expensive gifts are    5     (definite) out. A good choice is to take the deserving person to dinner, or to an entertainment or a sporting event.     6    the contrary, gift giving is a traditional custom in Japan. In Japan the proper gift is thought    7     (express) the giver’s true friendship, gratitude and respect far    8    (well) than words can. So if you plan to visit Japan or to have any Japanese visit you here, be prepared.

Australia is known for     9    (it) friendliness and informality. So modest gifts, such as a diary, a paperweight, or a coffee cup might be presented to a friend. But when visiting a German home, gifts    10     reflect your home country are popular, and you might want to bring small gifts for the children of the family you are visiting.

If you live in northeastern China, you expect long, cold winters. People     1    (live) in Harbin don’t just stand the cold, however, they welcome it. The city is home to the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival,    2    is considered to be the largest ice festival in the world. Even with temperatures usually close to zero, thousands of people head to city parks     3    (see) great ice sculptures, many bathed in colored lights.

The festival includes several thousand ice sculptures. Some of these works are the recreations of castles, historic landmarks and famous people, lit up at night in bright colors. There     4    (visitor) can climb ice stairways and go down ice slides (滑坡). They can also take part    5    sporting events, including skating, ice football     6    well as ice swimming.

The city started     7    (it) icy event in 1963 with the Ice Lantern Garden Party, a     8    (celebrate) of the tradition of creating lanterns out of blocks of ice. The larger festival     9    (begin) in 1985 and added sculptures, which have grown in number and size over the years. As it has gotten bigger, the festival has become popular outside the city.    10    (official), the festival starts on January 5th and lasts over one month.

When you see red lanterns（灯笼） or red envelopes(红包), do you know the reason    1    the color red is so popular in China, especially on the Chinese New Year? It all began with the Nian, a terrible animal     2    would frighten people on the New Year by     3     (eat) crops, livestock(家畜) and even children. But soon    4     (village) learned that Nian was afraid of three things: fire, noise, and the color red.

So it was beaten and since then the color red    5     (consider) to bring good luck and good fortune to all.

Usually red lanterns are hung outside the doors    6     (drive) out bad luck, and red cut-out papers are used as decorations to hang on the walls. If you live near a Chinese neighborhood(社区) you should be able to buy these things, but if not, go online and order some. Some people even can make wonderful cut-outs     7    (they).

Still the most     8    (tradition) way to celebrate the Chinese New Year is to hand out red envelopes filled     9    money. The red envelopes     10    (give) to children are expected to drive out bad spirits.

There are     1    kinds of festivals throughout the world，festivals to    2    (satisfaction) and please the ancestors，to honour some famous people or important events，and     3    (expression) people’s gratitude to the God for bringing them a year of plenty. For example，Japanese observe Obon，when people go to clean graves and light incense     4     memory of their ancestors. In India，October 2 is a national festival to honour Mohandas Gandhi，     5    .helped India become an     6     (independence) country. And in China the Spring Festival，which     7    (celebrate) in January or February，is     8     most energetic and important because it is a festival that     9    (look) forward to the coming of spring. Why are all these festivals everywhere？Because during the festivals，people can get together to eat，drink and have fun with each other，     10    (forget) all the daily struggles and demands for a while.

The 12th China Arts Festival will bring a series of art     1     (activity) to the Chinese economic and art center, Shanghai. From May 20 to June 2, more than 50 shows    2     (select) nationwide will be performed in nineteen major theaters in Shanghai, and a fine selection of creative cultural products will    3     (show) at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. The festival will include    4     (vary) art forms, such as opera, dancing, painting and photography.

    5    2019 edition is co-organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Shanghai municipal government(市政府). Since     6    (it) beginning in 1987, the festival     7    (change) host cities in each edition, travelling to areas including Beijing, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Hubei over the past three decades.

Sales of tickets have opened online, with tickets priced from no cost    8    380 yuan, according to the organizers. To allow a larger audience to access the programs, the festival will also be broadcast live online. "We will use new media to bring the shows to more ordinary people,     9    will let them know about the modern development of Chinese arts. " said Zhu Di, head of the ministry's arts department.

This year's festival is also aimed at     10    (promote) tourism in Shanghai with arts. The local government has released a total of 40 culture-themed travel routes to guide visitors through Shanghai's well-known landmarks.

While people in western countries are busy     1     （prepare） Christmas gifts for their loved ones, Chinese people are looking forward to the Spring Festival, China's most important annual event. What is children's expected part of the Spring Festival？Chances are that they are longing     2     （receive） red envelopes which contain money. The red color of the envelope symbolizes wishing someone good luck. And the money in it is a symbol of wishing good fortune on children.

One popular story of       3     the red envelopes came from is about a monster     4     （call） Sui appearing on Chinese New Year's Eve. A sleeping child who was touched by it would develop a fever     5     then became a fool. But a couple prayed so     6     （sincere） that a god sent eight guards disguised（装扮） as coins to protect the children. From then on, people placed eight coins on red string and     7     （ hide） them under children's pillows.

As the Chinese character for"year"has the same     8     （pronounce） as the monster's name, people called the coins"ya sui qian", meaning"     9    （luck） money against the evil spirit".    10     time passing, paper notes replaced the coins and the red envelope replaced the thread（线）.

7 . Every year, during the Lantern Festival, the Chinese village of Nuanquan hosts one of the     1     (much) beautiful shows in the world. The tradition     2     (call) Da Shuhua involves experienced blacksmiths showering     3     (them) with molten(熔化的) iron.

Da Shuhua     4     (date) back to 300 years ago,     5     local blacksmiths came up with a unique alternative to fireworks. The rich would always celebrate New Year with firecrackers, but poor blacksmiths could not afford them, so they     6    (find) a cheaper alternative. Inspired by iron striking, the blacksmiths started melting iron to a temperature of around 1,000℃ and throwing it at a large stone wall to create an effect similar     7     fireworks.

The effect was so wonderful that Da Shuhua     8     (gradual) gained more appeal than firecrackers, attracting many people in the celebration. Throwing molten iron soon became a tradition in Nuanquan. Over the years the celebration has changed into     9     even more amazing show, as the blacksmiths start experimenting with other metals, like aluminium (铝), to create green and white     10     (flower) instead of just red.