As one of the oldest ethnic groups in China, Yao people are     1     (wide) distributed across the southern part of the country. Every year on the 16th day of the     2     (ten) month of the traditional Chinese calendar, Yao people gather to worship their ancestor-King Pan-through song and dance. This day marks the Panwang Festival, a grand celebration that     3     (symbol) the essence and continuation of Yao traditional culture.

The Panwang Festival has     4     recorded history of more than 1, 700 years. There is a fixed procedure,     5     the first step is to make offerings to Panwang. Altars are set up and idols     6     (hang). After three fires of a musket and a chorus of firecrackers, elders offer sacrifices such as pig heads, sticky rice cakes, chicken, and wine at the altars in front of the idols. People bow their heads in silent prayers as a sign of respect and remembrance.

With no     7     (write) language of their own, the history and culture of the Yao ethnic group have been passed down through the generations orally     8     the form of songs, legends and stories. The “Panwang Song”, also known as the “Great Panwang Song”, is an epic and comprehensive collection of Yao poetry. The song covers a wide range of topics     9     (include) mythology, legends and ancient events, and encompasses everyday aspects of life.

In May 2006, the Panwang Festival was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists. The Panwang Festival has evolved beyond being solely a     10     (celebrate) for the Yao people, and it now attracts numerous tourists who come to experience Yao culture during this period.

2 . It was my tenth birthday. The _________ list began with a few close friends, but it quickly grew to a total of seventeen. Nearly every girl in my fifth grade class had been invited to my house for a big_________. I was especially happy when they excitedly accepted the_________. It would be a night of scary stories, pizza and lots of presents. But as I later realized, I would truly_________ only one gift I received that night.

That night, we were playing games when the doorbell rang. “Judy, come here for a minute,” Mom called from the front door.

I_________ my eyes and shrugged to my friends as if to say, “Now who would dare_________ me at a time like this?” I walked toward the front door reluctantly, and then stopped. There on the front porch stood Sarah Westly— the quiet girl who sat next to me in music class—and she was holding a gift.

How had I forgotten to invite Sarah? I remembered that I only_________ a name to the list when someone had shown an interest in me. But Sarah had never done that. Never once did she squeeze (挤) into the_________ of kids surrounding me at lunch time.

I guess I had forgotten to invite her simply because she wasn’t_________ to be invited.

“I can’t__________,” she said, looking down. “My dad’s waiting in the car.” “Can you come in for a little while?” I nearly__________.

“Thanks, but I have to go,” she said, turning toward the door.

Inside the box was a small__________ about three inches tall with its tail wagging (摇 摆) in the air. It was the best gift I had received, __________ I was never really into dogs. I later found out that the figurine looked exactly like Sarah’s dog, Seymour.

I didn’t know it then, but now I__________ that Sarah was my one true childhood friend. She was an__________ friend who stood by me, always encouraging and understanding me.