2 . There was a man playing the piano in a bar. He was a good piano player and always performed in this bar. People came in just to hear him play. But one night, a customer told him that he didn’t want to hear him just play the piano any more. He wanted him to sing a song.

The man said, “I don’t sing.”

But the customer was persistent. He told the bar manager, “I’m tired of listening to the piano. I want that man to sing!”

The manager shouted across the room, “If you want to get paid, sing a song. Our customers are asking you to sing!”

So he did. He sang a song. A piano player who had never sung in public did so for the first time. And everyone was surprised by his song Mona Lisa. He got lots of applause that night.

He had such a talent for singing, but he just had been sitting on his talent for the past years! If without such an opportunity, he might have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. However, now he has become one of the best known singers in America.

You, too, have skills and abilities. Maybe your “talent” is not as great as the singer’s above, but it may be better than you think! And with effort, most skills can be improved. So, in your life, you should be brave enough to try doing different things and find out what talents you really have!

In modern society, many traditional Chinese festivals are becoming     1     (increasing) less popular. However, they are     2     important part of Chinese culture, and we must protect and maintain them.

Traditional festivals teach us a lot about our     3     (nation) history. The Dragon Boat Festival, for example, is celebrated     4     honour of Qu Yuan. By celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival with rice dumplings and dragon boat races, the story of Qu Yuan is passed     5     from generation to generation.     6     (promote) traditional festivals helps spread knowledge about our national history.

Moreover, traditional festivals     7     (able) us to learn more about fine Chinese values. Many festivals, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival, have a caring, family-centred message at     8     (they) heart. The full moon on the festival     9     (consider) to stand for family togetherness and family members will come back home even if they live very far away. With the celebrations of these festivals, younger generations learn to honour fine Chinese values.

Traditional festivals have been passed down to us from previous generations. It is the duty of every one of us     10     (protect) them for generations to come.