2 . Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

As the New Year begins, many people across the globe celebrate the calendar change with a sweet cake     1    （know）as the “king cake”. It is indeed a tradition to eat pies and cakes     2     (contain) little “prizes.”

3 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Something different?

Looking for an unforgettable way to celebrate that special occasion? Well, the range of options open to today’s youngster or even ‘oldest, for that matter,     1    (be) a far cry from the traditional party or restaurant visit. No longer is it considered sufficient to invite your friends round, buy some food and get a baker     2     (produce) a cake. No, today's birthday boy or girl is looking for something out of the ordinary, ranging from the extremely expensive to the downright dangerous. Anything goes,     3    it is unusual and impressive.

    4    is considered top of this year’s popular extravagances are as follows: taking some friends rally driving, helicopter lessons, plane trip and parachuting and hot air balloon. Then, there is always group bungee jumping or taking your friends on a white water rafting ride down rapids.

The desire for adventurous celebration     5     (not restrict) to the young. I recently met an old man     6     celebrated reaching the milestone of eighty by having a flying lesson.

Of course, if you have the money the world is your oyster. A well-heeled relation of     7     flew fifty of his friends to a Caribbean island to mark the passing of his half century.

Unfortunately, I was only a distant relation.

Undoubtedly, the more traditional forms of celebration do continue to satisfy the less extravagant or less adventurous     8    us. However, with my own half century     9     (appear) on the horizon I would not say no to a weekend in Paris and a meal at the Eiffel Tower. I can but     10     (dream). Perhaps by the time I’m eighty I’ll be able to afford it.

4 . Birthday facts

Many centuries ago, birthdays were considered a time when the bad spirits were able to harm you. It was believed that you should have your friends and family around you    1     their good wishes and present-giving would keep the bad spirits away. People also believed that, by lighting candles, they were sending a signal or wishes to the gods.

Later on, candles started     2     (use) on birthday cakes. One story about the beginnings of the birthday cake is    3     it started with the Greeks, who made round cakes     4    (represent) the full moon for their moon goddess . They also placed candles on the cake to make it light, again like the moon.

However, the Germans are said to have first used cakes and candles. They used a sweet cake and they put a large candle in the centre of the cake to mean “the light of life”.

The “Happy Birthday” song is more than a hundred years old. The music was written in 1893 by two sisters, Patty and Mildred Hill,     5     were schoolteachers in Louisville, Kentucky. The music was first used as a morning greeting to their students     6    (entitle)“Good Morning To All”. In 1935, the words legally     7    (belong)     to the Hill sisters, and the copyright has been bought and sold for millions of dollars ever since. The present copyright is owned by Warner Communications. They bought it in 1989    8     more than $22 million.

‘Happy Birthday to you’     9     (recognize) around the world and has been translated into many different languages. And children still love to make new versions of     10    .