The minority of Red Yao is one of the ethnic minorities in China, living in north of Guilin. Guangxi Region, especially on Longji Rice Terraces(梯田). One of the     1    (big)Yao festivals is the Clothes Drying Festival, which falls     2     the sixth day of the sixth lunar month. In practice, women lay out all their traditional costumes under the sun. This serves the double purposes of disinfection and allowing the ladies to show off     3     they have. If it rains, they will spread their costumes indoors,     4    (leave)the door open.

That day, local Yao people took their clothes outside their house to dry and seek fortune. Later,     5    (dress)in their treasured costumes, they showcased how to make traditional clothes, performed group weddings and gave other unique performances as a way     6    (attract)tourists.

Yao people in the area     7    (observe)the festival for centuries. Tradition has it that the celebration ceremony is held between the famous terraced rice     8    (field)in this area.

The celebration continues into night     9     reaches its height when the people light up their doorways under the starry sky. In addition, fireworks are set off.

The celebration varies     10    (slight)from place to place. In Guiping County nearby, Yao people stand in squares waving their hands to the sun and express their admiration at dusk.

4 . What do you do during the Spring Festival? Here is something about two students.

He Jian is thirteen years old. He lives with his parents in the city. He likes traditional Chinese festivals and the Spring Festival is his favorite. During the Spring Festival, he often visits his grandparents by bus. They live in a small village and they love He Jian very much. Every time He Jian gets to the village, his grandparents always get many traditional food ready, such as jiaozi and Niangao. He Jian likes niangao very much. This year he also met his cousin Ma Bin in his grandparents’ home. They were happy to play winter games.

Zheng Min is in Grade 7 and she’s twelve years old. She lives in Shanghai with her parents and grandparents. Her grandparents were teachers and collected many stories about the city. They often tell them to Zheng Min when she is free. During the Spring Festival this year, Zheng Min heard some stories about food in Shanghai when she ate out with her parents and grandparents. She wrote them on the computer and sent an email to her friend in New York.

5 . In the United States and Britain, 70th wedding anniversaries are known as “platinum anniversaries (铂金婚)”.     1     For example, celebrating the first year of marriage is known as a “paper anniversary”. Fifty years of marriage marks a “gold anniversary”. And the term “diamond anniversary” is used to describe a marriage that has lasted for 60 years.

    2     In the US, people give gifts to couples when they reach certain years of their marriage. The first year anniversary is marked by giving the couple a clock.     3     And they can get musical instruments when they reach their 24th anniversary.

    4     In Canada, couples can receive a message from the country’s governor-general (总督) on their 50th anniversary, and on every fifth anniversary after that. In the US, the president himself will send a greeting to couples that reach their 50th anniversary,and for every anniversary after that.

    5     Or perhaps the truly cool thing is celebrating such a long life full of love and happiness with your special someone.

World Book Day was created on April 23rd, 1995, by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) .The connection between that date and books, however, was made    1    Spain in 1923, as it is the anniversary(周年纪念日) of the    2    (die) of William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, famous Spanish Chronicler.

There were a few     3    (idea) for the day of the year that World Book Day should be held.    4    (original), Vicente Clavel Andres, a Valencian writer, suggested that the day should be on a day    5     honored the author Miguel de Cervantes. This would be either his birthday, October 7, or the date when he passed away, April 23.The    6    (choose) date is the latter one because it was also the date when William Shakespeare died and when Inca Garcilaso de la Vega died too .In fact, several other well-known authors have also died on April 23—perhaps authors should be wary(留神的) of this date!

In some countries, World Book Day actually    7    (take) place on other days of the year, despite the fact that the intentional event was created by UNESCO. For example, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Ireland all celebrate    8    (they) own World Book Day events on     9    different day. However, the international day    10    (hold) on the same day each year since it began in 1995.

Luo Yan and his wife and son travelled back to their hometown for the Spring Festival. Their journey     1    (be) a long and tiring one just a few years ago. However, the high-speed train has made it more convenient for them     2    (go) back home. During the trip, they chatted excitedly, missing their sweet home.

On their arrival, they found Luo’s parents eagerly waiting for     3    (they). Their home had been     4    (special) decorated for the joyous festival.     5     five o’clock on the Chinese New Year’s Eve, the dinner table was already covered with white china plates and     6     (bowl), full of all kinds of dishes. After dinner, they made dumplings,     7     are prepared for the very start of the new year.

With midnight     8     (approach), Luo Yan took his parents, wife and son outside to set off firecrackers. The whole village was lit up with     9    (color) fireworks. All over     10     country, people were celebrating their good fortune, their family’s togetherness, and their nation’s strength.

8 . I remember to this day the feeling of the cold wind causing my ears to hurt. However, that didn’t _________ me at this time. It was Hogmanay and the bays of the town were carrying out the _________ of going from house to house on this special evening.

It is thought that the tradition came from the Vikings who were settlers in the Western Isles. Honestly, that wasn’t _________ to me. I was out and about having _________.

There were about 25 houses to visit in my town of North Boisdale. The start time was 19:00 and all the boys would _________ at one end of the town and begin to _________ each house. Each person had a pillowcase (枕头套) that would be filled with goodies (好吃的东西) _________ from householders.

Outside each house one person would ask the man of the house for permission (许可) to _________. Once inside the house a candle would be lit by the oldest boy in the group and _________ the candle would be passed round all family members. After that, the mother of the house would bring out the __________. Fruit, biscuits and of course sweets. On __________ each house the oldest boy in the group would __________ the family luck in the coming year.

After being to each house the pillowcases would be __________ and heavy and it was at the last house that the fun began. The pillowcases would be __________ and the goodies shared out equally.

The last house would also provide a small party that would, __________ before midnight so all the boys were home before the bells.

Texas, the second most populous US state, embraced Lunar New Year celebrations last month,     1     were more fabulously than ever before, in places ranging     2     public libraries to children’s museums, local bars and Asian restaurants in both big cities and some small towns.

Post Houston, a downtown entertainment and cultural center in the state’s largest city,     3    (host) a massive Lunar New Year festival on Sunday with eye-catching performances, a carnival-like Asian pop-up market    4    (feature) food vendors, games, crafts and other cultural activities, as well as a grand party in the night. Lion and dragon dances,     5     (accompany) by the booming, rhythmic beating of drums and gongs, whipped up a festive atmosphere, gaining thunderous applause and cheers from     6     crowd of more than 1, 000 spectators.

“We didn’t have a lot of activities in the past. But     7     (thankful), times are changing” said Brooks. “It is a great representation of the culture. . . It’s just a great way for people to accept it, respect it,     8     also embrace it.” Getting into the spirit of Lunar New Year, the woman said her hope for the Year of the Rabbit is “health, happiness, prosperity and peace for everyone, and     9    (equal) for everybody and every culture. It’s what everybody deserves     10    (have) in this world, in America and everywhere.”

10 . I did return to college. But the pressure of a full-time job and college classes was hard to bear.

One Friday afternoon, a co-worker asked about my weekend plans. I tried to avoid these conversations because I had no money and schoolwork was demanding. To prevent any further conversation, I said, “Oh, I am taking a mini vacation, just a little weekend holiday.” There was surprise but no further conversation.

“What a cheat I am,” I thought. “And they will want details on Monday. It will just stress me more when they all find out that I lied.”

On the long drive home from work, I made a plan. I could pretend I was on vacation and never go anywhere. At home, I pulled down all the shades, checked my messages and shut off the phone. Then I jumped in the shower and put on sweats. With some snacks in my easy reach, I took out three books that I had been anxious to read for the past months. “Well, I am on vacation. This can be my imaginary holiday. I will check in with the world on Monday morning,” I said to myself. Then I cracked open the first book. By Sunday evening, I was well into the third book.

When the alarm went off on Monday morning, I dressed, had breakfast and went to work. I was busy when several co-workers came by. “Wow,” they said, “you must have had a great vacation. You look so rested.” It wasn’t until then that I realized I wasn't stressed anymore.

“Maybe,” I told them, “it was just an imaginary holiday.” They laughed and went off to their desks.

I did graduate from college eventually and got a job with some paid vacation. But I still take imaginary holidays where I turn off the phone and electronics, tell everyone that I will be “away” and spend a weekend reading.

I have decided that imaginary holidays are one way I can take care of myself. Perhaps that was part of my college education.