1 . The “Double Seven Festival” is a traditional Chinese festival. It has a longer history than the ______ of Valentine’s Day in the West.

The origin of this festival is related to a cowboy and a weaving girl, whose love story has become a part of the Chinese culture. ______ there are many different versions of the story, the most popular one begins with a poor cowboy. Living with his elder and ______ brother, who treated him badly, the cowboy looked after an old cow every day. Though life was tough and boring, he put up with it in silence, without complaining.

Unluckily, even such a hard life didn’t last long. His brother got rid of him and all he got was the old cow. Although they couldn’t talk to each other, they ______ on each other for company. One day, miracle happened. The old cow started talking and told him that there would be seven fairies coming down to the Earth to ______ in a pond. All he should do was to ______ the dress of one of the fairies. Then that fairy would be his wife. ______ but excited, the cowboy followed the cow’s advice.

Every day the cowboy went to work ______ the fairy wove cloth at home. However, their ______ life came to an end when the Heavenly Goddess learned about it. She took the weaving girl away and drew a line in the sky that turned into the Milky Way, which ______ the cowboy meeting her wife. Due to the strong reaction from the young ______, the Goddess finally allowed them to see each other only once a year. The day was on the seventh day of the seventh month. That is ______ the Double Seven Festival came into being.

Although the love story doesn’t end up with a happy ending, it is to be told from one ______ to another. It reminds people to cherish every moment ______ with their loved ones and not to regret until we ______ them.

3 . Mathea Allansmith isn’t your typical grandmother. She’s the oldest woman in the world to have completed a marathon. She was 92 years 194 days old when she crossed the finish line at the 2022 Honolulu Marathon, setting the record for the oldest female to complete a marathon.

Mathea, now 94, of Koloa, Hawaii, USA, stays in shape all year round by running seven days a week, no matter what the weather is. Come rain or shine, she covers 36 miles every week, even when she’s on holiday. The retired doctor didn’t take up running until she was 46 years old —after a friend suggested running two miles per day.

“The Honolulu Marathon is my favorite marathon mainly because it doesn’t close the gate at a certain time, which allows even the slowest runner to finish the race,” she said. “It’s one of the best races. Fantastic registration (注册), set-up and management make it a joy to run the race.”

Mathea, who doesn’t allow her age to slow her down, thinks she is the happiest person when she’s on the road. She enjoys running for miles and waving and saying hello to the people she passes. To stay in shape, Mathea keeps a steady training routine (惯例) . “I train all year round but increase the mileage 18 weeks before a marathon,” she said.

Mathea said it was her career as a doctor that allowed her to understand how her body and mind respond to diet and exercise. “I see the direct relation between moving and health,” she said. “It is important to reduce stress rather than ignoring it without a plan on how to do so. Of course, exercise of any kind is a natural stress reducer.”

Mathea thought getting through the finish line and winning a Guinness World Record title was the excitement of her life. “My family completely surprised me after the 2022 Honolulu Marathon, in which I achieved the world record, by wearing matching T-shirts stating my achievements,” she said.

4 . I remember, when I was growing up, that my mom would tell me stories about the kind acts my dad had done. One day, my dad met a close, long-time friend of his in the downtown area. They talked for a while and his friend _______ that he didn’t have money for _______ home. My dad gave him the _______ money he had, which was for his own train, so he just _______ home.

I also _______ these kind acts in our home. Dad would let me and my two younger brothers   eat first but he would eat after us. He would _______ whatever was _______ on the table. I remember the days when his older brother would sometimes come to our house and _______ money for his kid’s allowance (零花钱) in school and my dad would give him some. And when it was our time to ask for allowance he would tell us that he had no more money and we should ask our mom.

Dad was a _______ man and even after his death, there were many people who told me kind ________ that my dad had done for them, like ________ them food. He even ________ to help someone fix his roof and buy him a water pump when he had the money.

In my ________ life, I never met a man like my dad. For me, he was the kindest, most self-less man on Earth. He would always give ________ when he could and he gave it with a(n) ________ heart.

A Father’s Day Surprise

“Mano, do you know when Father’s Day is celebrated?” Ali asked his sister.

“Yes, it is going to be celebrated on June 19 this year. Yesterday my friend and I were talking about it.” Mano replied.

“Do you have any idea how we should celebrate this day and make it memorable for Dad?” Ali asked.

“Hmm... I was thinking about it too and have some ideas.” Mano answered excitedly. “What are you kids talking about?” their mum asked, entering their room.

“Mum, we were wondering about how to celebrate Father’s Day.” Mano said.

“Oh, I am surprised you kids remembered! Well, I am thinking of cooking some favorite dishes for your father. You both should think of ways to decorate the house beautifully.”Mum said.

“That would be great!”said Mano and Ali together. Both of them got up smiling, thinking of hundreds of ways to celebrate Father’s Day. Mum went to the kitchen, and Mano and Ali started doing their homework. But soon Ali noticed Mano deep in thought so he asked what the matter was. “Ali, I was thinking that our parents do everything for us and in return they want nothing. Isn’t it bad that we never think about them and are always concerned about our needs?” Mano replied. “Sometimes we are so busy with our lives that we don’t pay proper attention to our parents. We should listen to whatever they say properly and answer them. We must also study hard to get good grades.” Ali nodded.

The next day, all three of them, Mano, Ali and their mum, got busy preparing their surprise celebration for Father’s Day. Mano drew a family picture with her crayons, Ali bought balloons and candles and began writing a poem which he planned to sing that day. In short, a lot of things were being planned and prepared.

Finally, when Father’s day came, both Ali and Mano came home from school and started decorating the house.

Ali and Mano cried out together, “Happy Father’s Day!”

6 . My father was a strong fisherman. He loved the sea and would stay out until he caught enough to ______ the family.

When we met ______ weather, he would drive me to school with his old track. And after we arrived, he would bend over and give me a ______ on the face and then tell me to be a good boy. I always felt very shy in front of so many other ______. I was already a twelve-year-old young man, but my father still kissed me goodbye!

Then on a rainy day I ______ to tell him my feeling. When we stopped at the school gate, the ______ big smile appeared on my father’s face. I ______ what would happen next. I ______ put my hand up and for the first time said “No” to him. The smile on his face immediately changed into a ______ look. He looked at me for a long time, and tears began to appear in his eyes. I was shocked. I had never ______ him cry! Then he said, “You’re right. You are a big boy... a man. I won’t kiss you anymore.”

Not long after that, my dad went to the sea on a bad day. Most of the ______ stayed at home, but not Dad, because he had a big family to feed. But after that day, be ______ came back. Later his boat was found with its nets half in and half out. He must have ______ a strong wind and was trying to save the nets.

How I wished I hadn’t ______ my father’s kiss! And from this I have learnt that we should take every chance with our family and friends as the last one in our lives. We can have ______ regrets(遗憾)by doing this.

7 . As French author Andre Maurois once said, “Without a family, man, alone in the world, shakes with the cold.” Indeed, families who give us love and _______are an important part of our lives. But even in a loving family,_______can’t be avoided.

One day, I was doing my homework and my sister_______.Busy with homework, I didn’t talk to her and just kept working: But when I took a_______, I turned my head to the place where my sister was sitting._______, I found my notebook had a lot of messy drawings on it.

At that time, I was full of _______and walked out of my room, shouting at my sister. “You are really a_______and I hate you.” Hearing the words, my sister_______out crying and tried to explain her behavior. But I_________ since I didn’t want to hear a word from her. The ________afterward lasted for a long time________us. To solve the problem, my father brought me to the living room and asked: “Have you noticed what the drawing is on your notebook?”

I shook my head. Then, under the ________of my father, I looked at it carefully, it________,“Happy birthday”. At that moment, I knew how ________I was. Though drawing on my notebook wasn’t right, my sister’s love and __________ were sincere. Feeling guilty, I said sorry to my sister. Instead of staying angry, she smiled back at me.

8 . Owura Kwadwo Hottish teaches computer science in a school. It is a normal school except for the fact that it didn’t have______

Owura became famous after he posted photos of him on the Internet. In the picture. people could see he was teaching his students by______ an entire computer on the blackboard.The photos showed the______level of education for children in Ghana. People were______ that Owura made sure each button was drawn correctly. He would come to school half an hour ahead of______every day. He drew the computer on the blackboard, but at the end of his class, it was______off to start the next class, so he had to______it the next day! Owura’s efforts______when Microsoft took______of his act. They first took him to an international educators’ meeting in Singapore. He made a______about his teaching methods at the meeting and ______a standing ovation(欢呼) after the speech.

______,Owura got the thing he always wanted for his students—some companies______computers to the school. Not a single child in the school had seen a real computer in their lives. Thanks to their teacher’s______the world took care and treat them with ______

10 . Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita is an elite (精英) climber and has climbed Mount Qomolang-ma and Chogori (the second highest mount in the world). In 2016, she was chosen as Nation-al Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year. Since the birth of her son, her climbing has taken a back seat, but she would like to set out to inspire him.

Pasang is a skilled climber, having climbed Mount Qomolangma and Chogori. But to get there she had to overcome unbelievable adversity, as in Sherpa culture climbing is seen as a male activity. People would say she shouldn’t be with men and climb that rock.

Then when she had her first child, Eichan Nurbu, she faced fresh challenges because she was expected to stay at home and look after him as this was viewed as the mother’s responsibility. It’s difficult for her to balance (平衡) this with the climbing. But Pasang said that she wanted to inspire her son and show him that he should follow his dreams, so on his second birthday, November 14, 2019, she climbed Cholatse — a 6,440-meter-high mountain in the Qomolangma region.

Pasang said, “I learned so many things from my mother. She was single. She raised two kids by herself. She never went to school. From her, I saw how a woman can be strong. I have big respect for all the mothers, because the mothers are very strong. They’re always there for their children. They sacrifice (牺牲) their dreams for children. Everybody should have their dreams. Now, I’m a mother, but I’m still having my dreams. Everybody has a right to realize their dreams. Most importantly, I want to inspire my son to follow his dreams.”