1 . Spanish Weddings

Weddings are big and important things in Spain. You’re likely to find the whole family and the whole village turn out to celebrate.     1     Some of the traditional customs are similar to the modern customs, such as throwing rice, but others are less similar.

    2     The main part of a traditional wedding is that the groom presents the bride with 13 coins, which represent his promise to support her. However, times have changed and today’s brides and grooms exchange the coins as a symbol of the wealth they will equally share.

Traditional Spanish weddings do not include bridesmaids (伴娘) or groomsmen.     3     At the reception, the head table is traditionally set for 6 people: the bride, the groom and their parents.     4     Bridesmaids are a part of Spanish weddings.

During the wedding reception, the bride and groom go from table to table carrying a basket with small wedding presents. The men will be offered a cigar or a mini-bottle of wine. And the women will be offered a little present. This may be the time in which guests also “hand back” the preferred wedding gift: money in envelopes.     5    

3 . Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class fun homework—to draw a picture of something for which they were_______.

Most of the class might be_______economically disadvantaged; but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. The teacher thought these would be the subjects of most of her students’_______. And they were.

But Douglas made a_______kind of picture. Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of misery (不幸), weak and unhappy. As other children played in the playground, _______, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those_______eyes.

Yes, his_______was different. When_______to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an ordinary hand.

His strange image captured the_______of his classmates. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a________because farmers raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer’s because the police protect and________people. Still others guessed it was the hand of God for God feeds us. And so the________went on—until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.

When the children had gone on to other pictures, she walked up to Douglas’ desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was.

The little boy looked away and muttered (低声说出),“ It’s yours.”

She________the times she had taken his hand and________with him here and there, although she had the other students. How often had she said, “Take my hand, Douglas. We’ll go outside.” Or “Let me show you how to________your pencil.” Or “ Let’s do this together.” Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand.

To welcome the     1     (come) National Day holiday, Shanghai Experimental Primary School     2     (organize) a National Day noodle celebration on Tuesday. Eating noodles on one's birthday is     3     tradition in China,     4     is similar to eating cakes in Western culture.

With the help of teachers and volunteer parents students made noodles of different colors     5    (they),     6    (represent) a colorful childhood and prosperous China. Students said they not only learned how to make noodles through the activity,     7    also understood the importance of cherishing food.

Similar noodle-eating events     8    (celebrate) the birthday of the People’s Republic of China will be organized on Wednesday in seven     9     (place) in Shanghai’s Changning District,     10     hospitals, day care centers and police offices.

Chinese Spring Festival Going Global

Nowadays, more and more countries around the world are holding celebrations for Chinese Spring Festival. What’s more, not only are these attended and enjoyed by Chinese citizens living abroad, but by many other nationalities, too.

With colourful decorations of lanterns and lamps, shopping centres have been organising events and activities to celebrate Chinese Spring Festival for years, while concerts and other performances are also proving a big success. Tickets for the 2017 Grand Chinese New Year Concert in St Petersburg sold out, with 90% of the audience local Russians. People are also discovering the fun of interacting with the celebrations, rather than simply watching as part of an audience. To celebrate the 2017 festival, over 1,000 Ghanaian junior high school students got up on stage to perform Chinese songs and dances. Students in New York City, meanwhile, have since 2016 been able to enjoy an official day’s holiday for Chinese Spring Festival.

It seems that Chinese Spring Festival is becoming a global celebration of joy and love. What do you think of this phenomenon? Write to us to share your opinion!

10 . The second Sunday in May is Mother’s Day. American children of all ages give their mothers something special. Children, young and old, try to show their love to mothers on the day. However, do you know that Mother’s Day celebration is no recent thing?

England was the first country to set a day for mothers. In the United States, Mother’s Day became an official holiday in 1910. An American girl, Anna, asked their governor to set a festival for mothers that they loved. Therefore, they set the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day and a year later all the other states celebrated it.

In the morning of Mother’s Day, some American children serve their mothers breakfast in bed. Other children will give their mothers presents which they made themselves or bought in stores. Adults give their mothers red carnations (康乃馨)，the official Mother’s Day flower. If their mothers left the world, they may bring white carnations their grave sites (墓地)，This is the busiest day of the year for American restaurants. On this special day, family members do not want their mother to cook dinner!