The Shoton Festival is one of    1    (important) festivals for ethnic Tibetans. “Sho” means yogurt and “Ton” banquet in the Tibetan language, so the Shoton Festival    2    (call) the “Yogurt Festival.” as well. The seven-day event occurs between the end of the sixth     3     the beginning of the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar.

Originating(起源) from the mid-11th century, the Shoton Festival used to be a religious activity. After 1642, the Drepung Monastery(寺庙),     4     the fifth Dalai Lama, leader of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, lived became the     5    (politics), religious and cultural center of Xizang. Every year on the 30th day of the sixth month, thousands of people would crowd     6     the monastery to present yogurt to the fifth Dalai Lama and asked for     7    (bless). Local Tibetan Opera troupes would also come to perform for him at the monastery. Since then, the Shoton Festival     8    (become) a religious and cultural festival.

During the period of the eighth Dalai Lama    9    (live) in the mid-18th century, the main venue of the Shoton Festival was moved to Norbulingka and ordinary people were allowed     10    (enter) to watch Tibetan Opera performances. From then on, the Shoton Festival became a fixed festival.

    1    (据说) our school will hold a singing contest to celebrate the Party’s birthday. It is not yet clear     2    (比赛何时举行，如何组织). But after hearing the news, the students have begun to prepare for it.     3    (大家认为) through this activity, we can express our love for the Chinese Communist Party and     4    (我们能否获奖) or not doesn’t make any difference.     5    (众所周知) under the leadership of the Party, our life is getting better and better.     6    (令我们感到自豪) is that we are living in a stable, peaceful and prosperous country. I’m sure the singing contest will be a great success.

10 . The Albuquerque Balloon Festival

Every autumn, the sky above the city of Albuquerque in the south-western United States turns into a mass of bright colours. This is the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, a nine-day event.

The first festival was held in 1972 to celebrate the 50th birthday of the local radio station. There were about 12 hot-air balloons and they took off from the car park in the middle of Albuquerque. From these small beginnings the festival has grown steadily. This year at least a thousand balloons are expected at its current out-of-town site.

What to do

The pilots light up the burners of their balloons at the same time. These are known as “balloon glows”. However, you must arrive just after night has fallen or before 5:30 am to see these “glows” as the balloons rise into the dark sky.

During the day, you can walk around among the balloons. The balloons come in all sizes and colours, some in the shapes of animals or cartoon characters.

In the afternoon, why not take to the sky yourself by booking a balloon flight with the Rainbow Ryders? This company is allowed to take guests during flight. Another possibility is to take the cable car (缆车) to the top of the nearby mountains and enjoy a bird's-eye view of the festival.

There are other attractions for visitors of all ages, including balloon races.

Practical advice

Tickets are available online. Buy them in advance and save yourself a long wait to get into the festival site. Wear several layers of clothing. At night and in the early morning it can be quite cool, but during the day sunglasses are necessary. Bring a flashlight for night-time events and, of course, bring your digital camera for evening and night-time pictures.