A housewarming party is    1    special party to be held when someone buys or moves into a new house. The person    2    bought the house or moved throws the party. The party is a chance for friends and family    3    (congratulate) the person on the new home.

It is     4    (tradition) to bring a gift to a housewarming party. Some people make a list of things they want or need for their new home at stores. Some common things people will put on a gift list    5     (include) kitchen tools like    6       (knife) and curtains. You can also bring food or drinks to share     7     the other guests. This is often appreciated since at a housewarming there isn’t a lot of food     8     (serve). The host or hostess of the party will     9    (probable) give all the guests a tour of their new home. Housewarming parties get their name from the fact     10    a long time ago people would actually bring firewood to a new home as a gift.

If you haven’t gotten the chance to experience the Lantern Festival in China     1     person, you have another chance. The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival in Franklin Square is back and     2    (bright) than ever. The lanterns will light up Franklin Square from June 21 to August 14 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. with more than 30 larger-than-life brightly coloured displays.

“Today, the Lantern Festival     3    (hold) each year in China. Each major Chinese city has     4    (it) own light show which attracts millions of visitors and tourists. During the Chinese New Year, families go out to view the beautiful lanterns     5    (create) by Chinese artists. Each display tells a legend or symbolizes     6     old Chinese story,” according to a Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival press release.

The last Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival     7    (take) place in 2019, and in 2022 guests saw new performances     8     include Chinese folk dances and the mysterious bianlian (face-changing). There were three 30-minute performances each night of the festival and these performances were free with festival admission.

“One of the     9    (reason) that it is so important to hold this festival again is for Chinatown. We hope that you visit China town before and after the festival and encourage your friends     10    (visit) it,” Amy Needle, CEO and President of Historic Philadelphia, said.

7 . My son’s seventh birthday is approaching, so conversation at my house has naturally turned to organizing his party.

For his sixth birthday, we booked the local trampoline(蹦床) park. This worked out well. But the whole event cost us hundreds of pounds. This year, I’m trying to convince him that the dinosaur-themed park down the road offers just as much fun—and you don’t even need to wear special socks! This will be cheaper, because we aren’t required to hire a space—we can simply buy tickets for his mates.

But I still keep pondering over one thing—party bags. Why should a bunch of seven-year-olds, who have already been treated to a day out and a mountain of sugar, also be handed a bag full of pound-shop gifts for simply bothering to show up?

Party bags are an environmental disaster. I reckon my son attends 20 parties per year, and at each party there are 20 kids in attendance, which means 400 plastic bags in total. Within these 400 bags are perhaps 800 plastic toys, almost all of which fall apart on the journey home and then get binned instantly. The waste is shocking, and I don’t want to be part of it.

I know there are some party bag alternatives: one couple I know covered a table with Mr. Men books and got the kids to choose one each. At another party, I saw the hosts fill a bucket with soft toys and crumpled newspaper, and do a lucky dip (抽奖). Admirable efforts.

Even if that is a nice try, and even if the contents in the party bags don’t fall apart, so what? Will our guests think more highly of our child because of the party bags from our party? Will my child’s ability to make and keep friends be improved?

Well, the tradition for kid’s party bags ends with me, and it ends here, and it ends now. Who’s with me?

8 . It seems a bit strange to imagine ancient Egyptians celebrating their birthdays with layered cakes topped with lighted candles.    1    

The first birthday cakes were nothing of what they are today and weren’t even called birthday cakes.    2    At that time only they could afford to celebrate with something sweet. That is how cake became associated with special occasions.

Ancient Egyptians are credited with“inventing”the birthday celebration. And ancient Greeks borrowed the tradition but rightfully realized that a dessert would make the celebration all the more meaningful. So they baked moon-shaped cakes to offer up to the moon.    3    

It wasn’t just the ancient Egyptians and Greeks who celebrated with sweet cakes.    4    And it’s believed that the original birthday cake came from them. Rather than just celebrating birthdays, though,ancient Rome was known for celebrating all things with a cake including wedding,but there was an exception—the birthdays celebrated were only for men who were citizens,and they had to be famous.

Modern birthday parties are said to get their roots from the 18th-century German celebration. On the morning of a child’s birthday, he or she would receive a cake with lighted candles that added up to the child’s age plus one.    5    The birthday child would make a wish,try to blow out all the candles in one breath,and dig in.

9 . National Poetry Month is to bring about awareness and appreciation of poetry. Some of the goals include reading poems, writing poems and helping teachers bring poetry into the classroom. Here are some activities in National Poetry Month.

We’ve come up with some fun exercises to get you into the spirit of creative expression. You can recite poetry to a pet by changing the sound or speaking loudly and clearly enough to communicate without explanations. Doing this can not only help strengthen public speaking ability but also deepen your understanding of a particular piece.

Do you ever notice how beautiful the nature is? There are so many wonderful poems which have been inspired by the seasons, celebrating the beauty of a snowflake or the spring sunshine awakening the plants and animals. Why not become a poet yourself and share the beauty you saw in the nature with others?

Many poets find it hard to share their words because what they write about are personal subjects. But not all poetry is about emotions. Poetry is a living force that can be very powerful when it is shown both as a performance and as words on social media.

We take pleasure in reading or hearing something that reflects what is in our minds or in our hearts. We experience relief if it expresses feelings we’ve kept bottled up. Similarly, reciting a poem to yourself or to someone else can be very rewarding. Sometimes it’s easier to say how we feel with someone else’s words than our own, especially if they’re put together beautifully.