Christmas is an interesting festival. It is ___  (1)  ___December 25th. It’s the ___  (2)  ___ festival in the Western countries. It’s just like our Spring Festival. Families get together and enjoy the holiday. There is always an old man. He has many names, but we usually call him Santa Claus. He always ___  (3)  ___ a red coat and a red hat. He is very busy on Christmas Eve. ___  (4)  ___does Santa put his gifts? In the Christmas ___  (5)  ___! So children always hang (挂) the stockings on their beds on Christmas Eve. And then they will find gifts in them the next morning. In addition (此外), people often put a Christmas tree in their house. And they also sing Christmas songs from door to door on Christmas Eve. Can you sing it?

Beautiful pictures of mountains and forests, clear skies, flying birds, wild animals, silly faces-you can find them all in one place.   (1)  ?On a postcard! Have people always sent postcards? No! Before postcards, people   (2)  sealed (密封的) letters.

The   (3)   for the first decorated postcard came to John P. Charlton in 1861. He thought a simple card with a border would be a great way to send a note. Then in the late 1800s, postcards which had pictures on them   (4)  .By law, people had to write their note on the front-on the picture! The back was   (5)  for the address. Several years later, England allowed a divided-back (背面隔开的) postcard. Then people could write their note on the back left side. And they put the address   (6)  . During the early 1900s, the golden age of postcards, people around the world were more and more   (7)   picture postcards. In 1908, Americans alone mailed over 677 million postcards.

Today, postcards are the   (8)  most popular collection in the world after stamps and coins. You can always see or get a lot of newly-designed postcards, especially on New Year's Day.

  I come fromGuilin. It is my  (1)  .It’s a beautiful  (2)  of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The  (3)  of Guilin is about 4,760,000.The climate (气候) there is very great. The old like to live there. Guilin has a  (4)  history. It is a good place to   (5)  your free time. You can enjoy its natural scenery. It is  (6)  the Li River(漓江). There are many good places to visit. It is  (7)  its green hills and clear water in the world. It is very popular. Every year   (8)  of visitors come here to spend their holidays.  (9)  to my home town! I will be your good guide. You will have  (10)  good time.  

B

Beautiful pictures of mountains and forests, clear skies, flying birds, wild animals, silly faces —you can find them all in one place.  (1)  ? On a postcard(明星片)! Have people always sent postcards? No! Before postcards, people  (2)  sealed (密封的) letters.

The  (3)  for the first decorated (装饰的) postcard came to John P. Charlton in 1861.He thought a simple card  (4)  a border (饰边) would be a great way to send a note. Then in the late 1800s, postcards which had pictures on them  (5)  . By law, people had to write their note on the front — on the picture! The back was   (6)  for the address. Several years later, England allowed a divided-back (背面隔开的) postcard. Then people could write their   (7)  on the left side and they put the address  (8)  . During the early 1900s, the golden age of postcards, people around the world were more and more  (9)  picture postcards. In 1908, Americans alone mailed over 677 million postcards.

Today, post cards are the  (10)  most popular collection in the world after stamps and coins. You can always see or get a lot of newly-designed postcards, especially on New Year’s Day.

Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is   (1)   by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating new words, and we are often able  (2)   where most words come from .

  (3)  , however, no one may really know where a word comes   (4)   . Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham（火腿）? About a hundred years ago , some men   (5)  to America     ___6     Europe . They came from a big city in Germany   (6)   Hamburg. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them         ____8   round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans   (7)   it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, “ We come from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned a restaurant , and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those   (8)   the men from Hamburg ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started ___  (9)   them. Such bread came to be called “hamburgers”. Today “hamburgers” are sold in many countries   (10)   the world .

    ___  (11)   this story is true or not , it certainly sounds interesting. Knowing why any word has certain meaning is   (12)  , too. This reason, for most English words , can be found in   (13)   large English dictionary .

In the US, Mother’s Day is a holiday on the second Sunday in May. It is a day when children give their mothers cards, presents and flowers.

One of the best ways   (1)   Mother’s Day is to give your mother the day off. Let her have a good rest while other members of the family do the   (2)  .

Many families begin Mother’s Day with   (3)   in bed. Usually Dad and the children will let Mum   (4)   late while they go into the kitchen and get ready   (5)   her favourite meal. A Mother’s Day breakfast can be made up of anything your mum likes.

After the food is cooked, keep everything nicely on a plate(盘子). Don’t forget to put the bottle   (6)   one flower. It’s spring here, the children can   (7)   the nicest flower from the garden outside. When everything is ready, carefully carry the plate and Mum’s favourite books and newspapers up to her bedroom. Cards and small presents from the children can be put on the plate   (8)    it is given to Mum in bed.

Many families take mum out to her favourite restaurant for a meal. It is a good day to let your mum   (9)   and let her see what a wonderful   (10)   she has.

In the UK, people don`t usually talk very much.   (1)   can get on a bus, or in a train, and everyone sits looking out of the window. Often they   (2)   . They read books and newspapers.   (3)  they don`t talk much.

     When you   (4)   English people, they often talk   (5)   one thing---the weather. So when you meet someone   (6)     England , you can say, “Nice   (7)   for the time of the year!”

     “But it   (8)   a little cold yesterday.” Someone may answer.

     You can say, “But it got a little   (9)   later!” Talk like this and the English will think, “  (10)   friendly you are!”

B

Do you know what an “open house” is? It is a kind of   (1)   to celebrate students’ finishing of school. Open houses are very popular   (2)   Americans. In some areas many students    (3)   it with a dinner at home with their parents. They usually   (4)   open houses in May, June and July. Sometimes people take part in   (5)  one a day. Guests at an open house are usually the family’s friends or relatives. Open houses are also good  (6)   for students to get some money for their studies. Guests traditionally   (7)   small presents or cards with money.

But not   (8)   open houses are taking place at home. Town halls, restaurants, parks etc. are also good choices. There is usually an area    (9)    tables and chairs, and people can eat, drink and chat there. There may also be an area for   (10)   to play games.

      One day, I heard an American boy say to a Chinese girl student: “You speak very good English.” But the girl said: “No, no. My English is very poor.” The foreigner was quiet  36  at the answer. Thinking he had not made the girl understand or the girl had not  37  him clearly, he said: “Yes, indeed, you speak very well.” But the girl  38 , “No, no.” This time the American boy couldn’t understand and didn’t know  39  to say.

     What’s wrong with the girl’s answer? She didn’t  40  a compliment (恭维) in the same way the American people do. She should say “Thank you”  41  “No”. She really did understand what the American boy said, but she thought she should be  42 . In the west, people feel proud and excited when they are  43 . So if someone says the  44  you cooked very delicious, you should say: “Thank you.”

     In  45 country, we think being modest is a virtue (美德) and being proud is a bad thing. But in my opinion, being  46  does not mean being proud, so sometimes you should be confident  47  modest.

      If you are modest and say “No, I am afraid I can’t do it” while working in a  48  country, others may think that you really can’t do it. If you often say “ 49 ”, you will certainly be looked down by others. When asking for a job, if someone says something like “Yes, I can certainly do it” instead of “Let me have a try”, he or she will get the job  50 . So in the west, you should be brave to show your self-confidence.