Country music is one of the most popular kinds of music in the United States today because it is about simple but strong human feelings and events: love, sadness, good times, and bad times. It   (1)   real-life, stories and sounds the way people really talk.

Country is a traditional kind of music from the southern states of America. Nashville,

Tennessee is the   (2)   of country music. Country music, sometimes called country-western, comes from two kinds of music. One is the traditional music of the people in the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States.   (3)   is traditional cowboy（牛仔） music from the west. The singers usually play the guitar, and in the 1920s they started   (4)   electric guitars. At first city people said country music was low class. It was popular   (5)  in the South. But during World War II, thousands of Southerners went to the Northeast and Midwest to work in the factories.   (6)   took their music with them. Soldiers from the rest of the country went to army camps（军营）in the South. They learned country music. Slowly it became   (7)   all over the country.
   Today country music is also popular everywhere in the United States and Canada—in small towns and in New York City,   (8)   black and white, and among educated and uneducated people. Many songs these days are just about modern life in the US, such as the importance of money and success, but not belonging to a group.   (9)  , country music brings back to the “good old days” when people were kind and trusted each other. It reminds us that the best things in life   (10)   free-laughter, friends, family, and the beauty of nature and the countryside.

The music that started with cowboys and poor southerners is now popular all over the world.

English names and Chinese names are quite different in some   (1)   ways, but it's not hard for us to know．Unlike Chinese, most English people have   (2)   names． One is their family name, both of the other names are given names． Their family name is   (3)   the given name． They use Mr, Mrs or Miss with the   (4)   name, but they never use   (5)   with the first name． For example, we can  (6)   a man named James Allan Green Mr Green,   (7)   we can't call him Mr James or Mr Allan． People usually use Jim   (8)  James． Jim is short for James because it's   (9)   to remember．But Chinese names are the opposite． A girl with the name Han Limei   (10)   her family name Han first． Of course, she can be called Ah Mei for short in China if you wish．

先通读短文，掌握其大意，然后从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出一个可以填入相应空白处的最佳答案，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Father works very hard for the family every day. There is a special festival（节日）in China. It’s Baba’s Day. It’s for Chinese   (1)  . It is on August 8^th. This date   (2)   like the Chinese word “ Baba”. It’s from Shanghai. It is an interesting day in a year.

 Children in   (3)   often celebrate（庆祝）it with their family. It is a   (4)   chance for them to show their love to their fathers.   (5)   this day, they are very nice, helpful and happy. After they wake up, they cook breakfast in the   (6)  . They spend a long time on it. When they finish   (7)   breakfast, they take nice food and hot drinks to their father’s beds. They also buy their fathers some wonderful presents（礼物）, such as beautiful cards, new clothes and   (8)   things. They do lots of things for their fathers.

Boys and girls, do you love your fathers? Then don’t   (9)   this day. On the morning of this day you need to say to   (10)  , “Dad, I love you. Happy Baba’s Day!”

Summer is a good season for vacations. It is often very hot   4 1   the months of July and August. Students do not go to school during these two months. Most American families like   (1)  during their summer vacation.       

Many families take their lunch to a park or  (2)  far from the city. They like to eat where there are many trees or a nice lake.   (3)  they live near the sea, they often go to the beach. But for the others they don't like to  (4)  one or two weeks at one of the big seaside towns.   

Why do people like going to the beach? I think it is the sand, the sea and the sun. Of course，there are lots of new things to see,nice things   (5)   and exciting things to do , but it is the feeling of sand under one's feet , of salty water one's skin, and of the warm sun on one's back that makes the seaside what it is.       

Many   (6)   like to meet people from other countries like Mexico or Canada. Some people have   (7)   time and money to travel to other countries like France Japan. They usually   49  to these countries on planes.    

The United States is a very  (8)  country. Lots of families travel by car or by train to see  (9)  places in their own country. People   (10)  New York，Chicago，San Francisco and Los Angeles. These big cities have many famous buildings , theatres, stores and other   (11)  of interest for tourists.     

Certainly not everyone likes to go to busy cities. Some families travel to the mountains or to beautiful countries. They usually   (12)  a camera and video, and return with a lot of nice pictures and tapes of the places they visit. Then they would share them  (13)  their friends.      

Hi, everybody! Welcome to Taiwan! Now I would like to show you ____  (1)  ____ this island. After that, you will find that it is as beautiful as many ____  (2)  ____ places in our country.

     Do you know anything about the Sun Moon Lake (日月潭)？You ____  (3)  ____ ask why people call it so. If you fly high up ____  (4)  ____ the lake and look down from the plane, you will find the answer by yourself. In the middle of this lake, there is a small island. People call it Pearl Island(珍珠岛)because it ____  (5)  ____ like a pearl. On one side of Pearl Island, this lake is like the sun and on the other side it is like the moon. That is ____  (6)  ____ people call the lake the Sun Moon Lake.

    There are many mountains around this lake. The Ali Mountain (阿里山) is near the Sun Moon Lake. We will stay there ____  (7)  ____ three days. You can also have a dance party with the local people. You can climb the mountain and watch the sun ____  (8)  ____ slowly in the west. Of course, you can ____  (9)  ____ early and enjoy the beautiful sunrise(日出) in the morning.

    Now, do you think Taiwan is a wonderful place ____  (10)  ____ ?

When I first moved to New Orleans, Louisiana in the fourth grade, I realized that I was stepping into a completely different world. What impressed me deeply was the friendliness of the people there.

“What can I get for you, honey?” a(n)   (1)   asked me on my first day in Louisiana. I was   (2)  . This woman did not even know me, and yet she   (3)   me like family. She smiled down at me as I   (4)  the food on the menu.

“Is the pasta(意大利面) good?” I asked her.

“Baby, it’s not my   (5)  ,” she answered with a wide smile, “  (6)   I’m more of a sushi (寿司)girl, you know!”

I looked at my family in great surprise. What should I   (7)   to that? I had no idea what sushi was, nor could I believe that this woman had just stopped me from ordering something. She had given me her   (8)   opinion, as if we were best friends.

I recently went to the DMV to update my driver’s license. As I was   (9)   in the silent room with at least twenty other people, a woman walked in.

“Good morning!” She announced to the room.

“Good morning,” the whole room said back at once.

The woman took her seat, and waited with everyone else for her number to be   (10)   as I looked around the room, surprised. Suddenly, everyone was comfortable with each other. We were all friends and neighbours.

Even after eight years of living in Louisiana, it   (11)   makes me smile to know that I am not   (12)   here. Someone in this place is always   (13)   to say hello or to lend a hand when it is   (14)  . It is a sense of family and   (15)   that I have never been able to find anywhere else.

The umbrella is a very common object. It keeps the   (1)    and the sun off people. Most umbrellas can be folded up so that it is   (2)   to carry them.

   However, the umbrella has not always been as   (3)   as it is now. In the past, if someone had an umbrella, it showed that he was a very important person. Some African countries still umbrellas in this   (4)  .  A bodyguard(保镖) carries an umbrella and walks behind the king or some important persons.

   Umbrellas have a long history. People in different parts of the world began to  (5)    umbrellas at different times. The Chinese had them more than 3000 years ago. Then, umbrellas   (6)   to India and some other countries. In Greece and Rome,   (7)   would not use them, because they believed that umbrellas were only for women.

   England was   (8)   the first country in Europe where common people used umbrellas against rain. The weather there is very   (9)   and umbrellas are very useful.

   Everybody uses umbrellas today. Next time when you are   (10)   one, you may think that for centuries only great men and women used them, and you will feel you are a great person,too.

Look at the 2014 red lanterns in Beijing! Red is the color of China. Among all the    (1)   , red is most easily seen. The color red is fresh and pure,    (2)    in China we call it China Red. Chinese people are attracted by the color red not only because it makes people excited, but also because it has    (3)   meaning in Chinese culture and history.

No country in the world has ever    (4)   a color in such a way as China. Here, red is a symbol. It gives color to the soul of the nation. In the past, red represented dignity(代表尊严) and mystery. Even now, Chinese people    (5)   the color much more than we do. It can be said that “China Red” is a long-history theme for China, and an    (6)   color for Chinese people. “China Red” has     (7)    a very popular word, attracting the world’s attention.

Finding red-colored things in China is very    (8)   , as you can see the color everywhere. All traditional red things have been playing special   (9)   : the walls of ancient places, the    (10)    flag, Chinese knots, lanterns, traditional paper cuttings, and even red tanghulu.

Red is the color of the   (11)  , health, harmony, happiness, peace, richness and so on. Only real things and events can fully   (12)   and explain its beauty. The color can be    (13)    and meaningful only when it’s connected with people.

In China, red is more than just a color. It carries the ancient history and   (14)   of the Chinese nation. China Red is   (15)   with mysterious charm beyond description and it is right here in China waiting for you to feel, to discover!

Some animals show   (6)   they feel by making sounds. It is not difficult to tell if a dog is angry because it barks. Birds make several different sounds and   (7)   has its meaning. Sometimes we humans make sounds in the same way. We make sounds like “Oh” to   (8)   how we feel about   (9)  or we   (10)   something on our feet.

We humans have languages. We have words. These words have meaning of things, action, feeling or ideas. We are able to   (11)   each other information, to tell other people   (12)   we think or we feel. By writing down words, we can remember what has happened or   (13)   messages to people far away.

Languages, like people, live and die. If a language is not used by people, it is called a dead language. This language cannot live and grow because   (14)   speaks it.

A living language, of course, is often spoken by people today. It grows and changes with time. New words are created, and some old words have   (15)   meanings.

   Have you found your favorite TV program? My favorite TV program is a reality(现实) show ____  (1)  ____ Survivor (幸存者). It isn't on TV at the moment ____  (2)  ____ it was on last year.

    In the ____  (3)  ____, two teams of people are taken to a (an) ____  (4)  ____. All of them have to sleep ____  (5)  ____ because there aren't any houses or hotels. They usually choose ____  (6)  ____ really useful like a toothbrush because they can only ____  (7)  ____ one thing with them. The people also have to find food by themselves. So they need to ____  (8)  ____ a lot of time fishing and picking(摘) fruit from the ____  (9)  ____. Every week one person has to ____  (10)  ____. At the end, there are only two people ____  (11)  ____ the island and one of them is chose the ____  (12)  ____.

    I really like Survivor because it's very ____  (13)  ____ and the people have to do things like looking for food. I really ____  (14)  ____ myself when I watch it. I don't want to be on the show, however, I like ____  (15)  ____ in a house!