2 . Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank

A birthday is a time when someone celebrates the anniversary of his/her birth. It is the expression of thanking God for your birth and still keeping alive. Birthdays     1     (celebrate)often with parties and gifts and in most parts of the world, it is celebrated in the same ways. But in China, it is completely     2     different and interesting thing.

In Chinese culture, newborn babies are considered to be one year old. A Chinese child’s first birthday party takes place    3     he or she turns two. Parents may surround a child with symbolic items in an attempt     4     (predict) the future.     5     a baby reaches for money, he is believed to be rich as an adult. And a child who grabs a toy airplane may often travel when he/she grows up.

More and more Western-style birthday cakes     6     (make) their way into Chinese birthday celebrations, but the birthday girl or boy traditionally slurps(出声地吃) longevity noodles, which symbolize a long life. An unbroken longevity noodle should fill an entire bowl and    7     (eat) in one continuous line. Family members and close friends    8     cannot attend the party often eat long noodles in honor of the birthday     9     (bring) longevity to the person celebrating. A birthday banquet     10     also include hard-boiled eggs dyed(染色)red to symbolize happiness and dumplings for good fortune.

3 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Craftsmen enjoy their brush with success

NANCHANG — Zhou Pengcheng, 76, has dedicated his life       1     the centuries-old intangible cultural heritage of making writing brushes.

Zhou, who hails from Wengang township in East China's Jiangxi province, has been engaged in this ancient handicraft for more than six decades.

Wengang's long-standing tryst with brush pens dates back to 1979. Over the decades, the town has grown into one of the country's biggest brush-pen markets,     2     (attract) tens of thousands of buyers from across China.

In Chinese culture, writing brushes     3     (count) among the "four treasures of study", and Wengang is known as the "hometown of China's writing brush".

More than 400 brush-making enterprises and over 2,200 brush workshops are located in     4     township. And almost every family in the town makes     5     living through the brush manufacturing industry.

Zhou     6     (work) in the sector since he was 8 years old. "In the 1970s, writing brushes made in Jiangxi were not so well recognized by people in China and the rest of the world,     7     spurred me on to improve and adjust brush-making techniques according to the needs of customers," says Zhou, adding that he finally succeeded after about eight years of hard work.

The craft of making writing brushes in Wengang involves 128 steps. The local brushes have proved popular in overseas markets, such as Asia, Europe, and the United States, and particularly in Japan and the Republic of Korea.

"I found calligraphy     8     (fascinate), especially the power and visual impact of Chinese calligraphy," says Alister Inglis, professor of Chinese language and literature at Simmons University. The foreign teacher takes an interest in     9     the shape, length and bristles of the brush reflect the type of written characters.

In June, Wengang's brush-making skills were listed as a national intangible cultural heritage, says Wu Shaoyun, Party chief of the town.

"Since the beginning of this year, we have mainly focused on how     10     (transform) the brush-making industry into a cultural industry. We have been working hard to improve the techniques and further inherit this craft," says Wu.

Currently, the town is eyeing a new boom in the digital era. It has launched tailored services to better meet customer needs in areas of culture, tourism and e-commeice.

4 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, used one word that best fits each blank.

Mutton’s Not Just a Winter Delicacy Anymore

Winter is often deemed the best season to eat mutton, but that is not the case in Shanghai.

The annual mutton festival began today in Zhuanghang Town, Fengxian District,     1     highlight of the city’s summer rural tourism market.

Running until August 22, the festival features tasting and cooking events     2     agriculture-related activities.

The history of eating mutton in sanfu,     3     (hot) period of summer, in Zhuanghang dates back to the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). The Zhuanghang goat is both delicious and nutritious.

Mutton braised in soy sauce and plain boiled mutton are popular in Zhuanghang during the festival. A must-have accompaniment to mutton is shaojiu (a Chinese rice spirit); the tradition of tasting mutton with shaojiu is listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Shanghai.

Mutton has a reputation for its tender taste, marbled texture, rich flavors and thick soup. According to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, goat meat, like beef and lamb, is considered a “hot” food and thus     4     (avoid) or taken in smaller quantities on hot sweltering days of summer.

But for hundreds of years, the people of Zhuanghang town in Fengxian district     5     (eat) goat meat during the summer. They eat locally produced goat meat     6     they sip homemade shaojiu or huangjiu (yellow rice wine). This hearty mix of alcohol and goat meat promotes sweating,     7     some traditional medicine practitioners believe helps the body expel toxins and prevent illnesses in the forthcoming winter. Goat meat is also believed to be an excellent way of building up “energy” in the body that will last through the winter season. That’s why eateries in Zhuanghang are usually packed with diners during summer.

Li Yingchun, boss of a local goat meat restaurant in Zhuanghang, claims that his restaurant receives 8,000 to 10,000 customers on average every weekday. The number     8     reach as high as 12,000 on weekends, according to a daily report.

The Fengxian District Culture and Tourism Bureau said it is with the help of the traditional festival which caters to the travel, dining, entertaining and leisure demand of tourists     9     rural revitalization will be achieved.

    10     Zhuanghang, Zhangze Town in Songjiang District also has the tradition of eating mutton in sanfu. Its own mutton festival kicks off on Saturday and runs until October.