Lantern Festival marked the final day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. It has been an important festival    1    the Western Han Dynasty.

In ancient China, often marriage    2    (decide)by parents or even the government. During some periods marriage policies went to extremes.

However, extreme policies to force people to get married were rare, and young people still had certain    3    (free)to get married with people they liked, rather than being    4    (complete)manipulated by their parents or government. Ancient Chinese had milder ways to encourage people to find a spouse, such as fairs and meetings during festivals.

Lantern Festival is one of the festivals that provided ancient Chinese single young men and women a chance    5    (meet)and get to know each other. On the night of that day,     6    (marry)men and women would meet at the flower fair and lantern-decorated street.

Romance often happened,     7    not all of these stories ended happily.

Ouyang Xiu described a woman's longing for the man she met during Lantern Festival in his poem Yuan Xi. It    8    (go)like this: "Last lantern festival, the flower fair    9    (decorate)with lights was daylight bright. We met after dusk when the moon rose behind willow trees. This year the moon and lanterns are still    10    same, yet you are not here anymore. I am sad, with tears shed on the sleeves of my spring coat.”

One Direction was one of the most popular bands, and it consisted    1    five artists. After years of breaking records, the band started to slow down. In early 2015, it     2    (announce) on Facebook that Zayn Malik, one of the members, would be leaving the band. In his first interview after leaving the band, Zayn Malik said that the reason why he left was     3    it didn't fit his style. And he said he “never     4    (true) spoke to Harry”, his former bandmate and that he had never been under the    5    (impress) they would keep in touch after Malik left the band. “Our relationships    6    (change) since we were in a band together, but I think that's just life,” said Malik. This came as     7    surprise to fans because in the Facebook post announcing his departure, Malik wrote that he had “four friends for life”. In contrast to the typical pop music, Malik shared an R&B album in 2016 and his    8    (late) album Nobody Is Listening, in 2021.

Speaking with Vogue UK, he referred    9    One Direction as a “machine”. He discussed the band's sudden rise to fame and busy touring     10    (schedule) by saying, “I wasn't really ever able to enjoy the experience. The machine had gone too fast.”

A young man, while traveling through a desert, came across a spring of clear water. The water was sweet. He     1     (fill) his leather container so that he could bring some back to an elder     2     had been his teacher. After a four-day journey, the water     3     (present) to the old man. The teacher took a deep drink, smiled     4     (warm), and thanked his student very much for the sweet water. The young man went home with a happy heart.

After the student left, the teacher let another student     5     (taste) the water. He spit it out,     6     (say) it was awful. Obviously, it was no longer fresh because of the old leather container. He asked his teacher, “Sir, the water was awful. Why did you pretend to like     7    ? ”

The teacher replied, “You tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was an act of     8     (kind) and love. Nothing could be     9     (sweet).”

We understand this lesson best when we receive gifts of love from children. Whether it is a cheap pipe or a diamond necklace, the proper response is appreciation. We love more about the idea within the gift     10     the thing itself.

A man was spending his holiday in Africa. One day he watched the elephants    1    (pass) by. To his great surprise, these giant, strong animals were being held only by     2    small rope tied to their front leg.     3    (obvious), they could easily run away any moment.However, they did not. Then he saw a trainer and    4    (ask) him how come not a single elephant tried to break free. The trainer explained: “    5    the elephants are very young, we use the same size rope to tie them, and at that time it is enough to hold them. Gradually they grow up and get    6    (strong) than before, but they never attempt    7    ( get) away, because they believe that the rope will still hold them.” Sometimes people act    8     elephants; they give up after the first failure. Remember that failures are part of learning If we want to be     9    (success) one day, we should never give     10    ,but try and try again.

I was walking into one of my favorite lunch spots today    1    a homeless man asked me if I would get him a sandwich.

I told him sure and asked what he would like. I went inside and ordered both of our     2     (lunch). He came in and    3    (sit) at a table while we waited. The woman behind the counter looked him funny, perhaps    4    (think) he shouldn’t be in there. I walked back over and talked with him so she knew he was    5     paying customer.

He is a Native American from Flagstaff, about two hours away    6     car. We had a nice conversation about some of the challenges he had faced as     7     as all of the events going on in the world these days.

It was nice    8    (see) him smile as he opened his sandwich and soda. He thanked me for my treat     9     (grateful). I smiled hoping this would make     10    (he) day a little brighter today.

From time to time, people find themselves on occasions when they have to make a difficult option. It is concerning their moral     1     (value). The story “After Twenty Years” is set in New York on     2     cold, dark night. It is about two friends named Bob and Jimmy. Twenty years ago, Bob     3     (dine) at a restaurant with his friend Jimmy. He decided to leave for the West     4     (make) his fortune, but Jimmy would rather stay in New York. They made a promise that they would meet at the place     5     they had dined.

Bob kept the     6     (appoint) and came back, believing that Jimmy would come if he was alive, because nobody was more genuine and     7     (rely) than Jimmy in his eyes. He struck a match to light his cigar,     8     (wait) for his friend. Jimmy arrived at the appointed place but found Bob was just the man who was     9     (desperate) wanted by the Chicago police.

However, Jimmy couldn’t catch his best friend     10     (he), so he asked a plain­clothes policeman to do it.

Unluckily for my son Joey, he was born with two diseased feet. The doctor said that he would be able to walk with     1     (treat) but would never run very well. The first three years of his life    2     (spend) in hospital.

By the time Joey was eight, he could walk as     3     (normal) as others. Children in our neighborhood always ran around during their play,     4    Joey would run and play, too.

In the seventh grade, he decided to join the school running team.     5     (know) that only the top seven runners would be chosen, he trained    6     (hard) than anyone else. He ran four     7     five miles every day, even when he had a fever.

One day, I went to see him and found him running alone in the playground. I asked him     8     he felt. “I’m OK,” he said. He still had two more miles     9     (run). So he kept running.

Two weeks later, the seven team members were picked out, among     10    Joey was number six. Joey’s efforts paid off. I was very proud of him.