Big Ben is the nickname for the great clock in London．It is one of the ____  (1)  ____ interesting places in London.

    ____  (2)  ____ name of the clock was given in honor of (纪念) Sir Benjamin Hall．He was in charge of the work when the clock was built ____  (3)  ___ 1856. This man did much building work in London ____  (4)  ___ years ago. This clock has four ____  (5)  ____. No matter where you stand, you can read the ____  (6)  ____ on the face of Big Ben. Each face is as ___  (7)  ____ as a double-decker(双层) bus. The hands of the clock are about ____  (8)  ____ metres long. It is about the size of one person standing on the top of another person. Big Ben ___  (9)  ___ at the top of the clock tower in the Houses of Parliament(国会大厦). The huge clock ____  (10)  ___ a loud noise every quarter of an hour.

    The clock is a landmark (地标)of ____  (11)  ____ and London. When a reporter hopes to ____  (12)  ___ show he is in London on TV, a popular way is to show a picture of Big Ben．Big Ben also appeared in many films, ___  (13)  ____, the Walt Disney film The Great Mouse Detective. ____  (14)  ___ New Year's Eve, millions of people listen to Big Ben with the radio or TV．Sound goes more slowly than radio waves(无线电波), ___  (15)  ___ people may hear the bell strike(撞击)thirteen times if they are a little far from Big Ben.

In China, Teachers’ Day is on September 10th. It is a day to show appreciation(感激) andrespect(尊敬) to Chinese teachers. In the USA, there is also a day which is set   (1)   teachers. It’s called Teacher Appreciation Day. In fact, the US schools appreciate their   (2)   the whole first week in May. Teacher Appreciation Day falls on the Tuesday of that week.

During the whole week, American schools   (3)   have special parties for their teachers. They give teachers gifts and snacks. They also   (4)   some “Thank you” signs(标语) on the school walls.

American students usually give small gifts to their teachers. They want to   (5)   their appreciation for them. They also want to tell their teachers how great   (6)   are. It is a good idea to give some   (7)   or snacks to teachers. For example, an apple is OK. Another popular gift is a thank-you card. The US teachers love such a small card   (8)   it’s heartfelt(真诚的) and meaningful. What’s more, the card is   (9)   to make. Every student can make it. Students don’t need to   (10)   much money for the thank-you card. Do you want to make a thank-you card? Just try. 

  Do you like exciting nightlife? If your answer is yes, you may think life in Melbourne is ____  (1)  ____. Shops here often close at 6 pm. And there are no places to go at night. But things are different this ___  (2)  ____, because the Victoria Night Market has opened!

    I went to the ___  (3)  ____ at 7 pm. The smoky smell of meat created a nice summer. Some people played ___  (4)  ___ and the streets were full of people. They liked the music very much. At that moment, I thought I was back in China.

    I went to a stall (摊位) with orange decor (装饰品). The food in front of me was strange, ___  (5)  ___ I never tried it before. A woman at the stall smiled, ___  (6)  ____ at the food and said, "You can try this seafood flee. It's very special." After hearing the ___  (7)  ___ words, I bought some.

    Unlike Chinese rice, the rice was ___  (8)  ___, just like the color of the stall's decor. I found that it was quite delicious when I put the rice into my mouth. I finished it in just a few minutes. This unknown food filled my __  (9)  ____.

    I spent 50 Australian dollars, but I got to taste Greek meatballs, Thai noodles and a Brazilian hamburger. I'm glad that Victoria Night Market ___  (10)  __ so many great foods from every comer of the world! I will never forget this exciting experience!

Compared with other European countries, life in Italy is more relaxing. Italians love to talk over a cup of coffee, go out for a walk in the middle of the day, and enjoy long lunches and dinners. So, in some way, life there is  (1)   , too.

Family is important to Italians. They can’t think of spending a day without asking about their   (2)   or children, and a weekend without a family lunch or dinner.

Sport plays an important role in the lives of many Italians.  Soccer is their favorite sport.  There are hundreds of soccer   (3)  with top soccer teams in Italy.  Also, many top players from all over the world go to Italy to  (4)  for the teams there.

The best thing is that Italian  (5)  is full of national holidays. People there love to go on trips or hold parties to celebrate them. They can get higher pay there.

“You speak very good English”the other day I heard an American say to a Chinese student of English. “You  (1)  very good English.” But the student answered, “ No, my English is very poor.” The foreigner was quite  (2)  at the answer. Thinking he had not made himself  (3)  or the student had not heard him clearly, he said, “Yes, indeed, you speak it very well.” But the Chinese student still  (4)  saying “No”.  (5)  the foreigner gave up and didn’t know what to say.

       What’s wrong with the student’s answer? It is because he didn’t accept a compliment as the American people  (6)  . He should have said “Thank you” instead of “No”. He actually understood what the American had said. But he thought he should be modest. If someone says to a woman, “ You look  (7)  beautiful with the new clothes  (8)  .” she should be very happy and answer, “Thank you.” In our country we think  (9)  modest is a virtue and showing off is a bad behavior. But in the West, if you are modest and say, “ No,   (10)  I can’t do it well,” then the others will take it for granted (理所当然)that you  (11)  can not do it. If you often say,“No”, you will certainly be looked down upon by  (12)  . When  (13)  for a job, if one says something like “Yes, I can certainly do it” instead of “ Let me have a try on the job”, he or she can expect to get it. So in the West, one should always be confident.  (14)  self-confidence, he can’t go anywhere. Confidence is of great  (15)  to one in a country where competition is quite keen.(激烈)

Father works very hard for the family every day. There’s a special   (1)   in China. It’s Baba’s Day. It’s for Chinese   (2)  . It is on August 8. This date   (3)   like the Chinese word “Baba”. It is from Shanghai.It is   (4)   interesting day in a year.

Children in China often celebrate(庆祝) it with   (5)   family. It is a   (6)   chance(机会) for them to show their love to their fathers.   (7)   this day they are nice, helpful and happy. After they wake up, they cook breakfast in the   (8)   .They spend a   (9)  time on it. When they finish cooking breakfast, they   (10)  nice food and hot drinks to their fathers’ beds. They also   (11)   their fathers some wonderful    (12)   ,

such as (例如）beautiful cards, new clothes and other things. They do   (13)   things for their fathers.

Boys and girls, do you love your fathers? Then don’t   (14)   this day. On the morning of this day you   (15)  to say to them, “Dad, I love you. Happy Baba’s Day!”

More than 3,000 languages are spoken in the world. Of all these languages, English is   (1)  used. When it is used, the English language has also   (2)   many new words from other languages. For example, Americans borrowed “cookbook” from   (3)  . They also borrowed tofu andkowtowfrom Chinese.

As we know, there are   (4)   between western culture and Chinese culture. We can learn about those by comparing how certain words are used. For example, “you are a lucky dog”   (5)   you are a lucky person.   (6)   a person who is ill, they say, “sick as a dog”. On   (7)  hand, Chinese people love cats very much. But in western culture, “cat” is sometimes used to describe a woman   (8)   is cruel. The rose is considered as a symbol of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose stands for love, peace, courage and friendship.

China, a country which has the largest population in the world, has encourage more people to learn English.   (9)   the 1990s, English learning has been very   (10)   with Chinese people. Many of them have done well in English and have made great progress in speaking it.

People often say that gold is the most valuable（贵重的）thing in the world,   (1)  

I don’t think so. In my opinion, books are more valuable than anything else. There is an old  (2)   “ To open a book is always helpful .”  It   (3)  us how good it is to read a book.

   We should read different kinds of books.   (4)   are our friends. They go with us on the road to success. Books are our  (5)   They teach us art , science, truth and philosophy of life（人生观）。 They  (6)  give us experience to do many other things which we have never done before. Besides, books give us pleasure and knowledge which we cannot get in class. Books tell us what is  (7)  and what is evil（邪恶的）。 What’s more,, we must try to practice what we learn   (8)  books.

However, not all the books are worth（值得）   (9)  . Some books are not good for people, especially for teenagers, so it is   (10)  to choose good books.

As traditional Chinese art, paper cutting has a long history. The first and earliest paper cutting was found in China 1500 years ago. But this traditional art is disappearing now.   (1)  , Voyo Woo, a Chinese woman living in America, is trying to   (2)   this art back to life.

One Saturday in 2014, Ms. Woo held a paper cutting show at a shopping center near Washington. She had much fun   (3)   it and hoped more and more people would enjoy it.

Ms. Woo has been studying the art of paper cutting   (4)   she was a junior high school student in her hometown. She said all the students at school had to learn paper cutting. Because she had a   (5)   love for it, her teacher spent a lot more time teaching her after class. Later, she won the second prize in a national painting and art competition.

Ms. Woo went to America after she graduated from the university in 2008. Soon after that, she   (6)   an activity to promote (宣传) Chinese paper cutting. And then she was again invited to show the art in many other important   (7)  . “I love what I am doing and I will keep on doing it as much as possible. It is important to promote this art to Americans or   (8)   who is interested in it. Maybe it will make this art more popular.” Woo said.

From the   (9)   of paper cutting, people can know about Chinese cultural values, history and stories of people’s life. Ms. Woo uses the art as a tool to show Chinese culture   (10)   people who know little about it. Chinese art is not only for Chinese, but also all for people all over the world.

It is a good idea to   (1)  a small present when you go to a   (2)  party in England or the USA. Flowers are always nice, or you may bring a bottle of wine  (3)  , you know what the family   (4)   .You should arrive in time or  (4)  minutes late. Don"t get there early. If you are going to be there   (5)  fifteen minutes later, you should call and fell the host and hostess.Try to relax(放松)at the dinner table. If you don"t know  (6)   to use the fork and knife,or the spoon, just watch   (7)  and follow them. You can also ask someone next to you. If you like the food,you should thank the host and hostess  (8)  the meal and for their kindness. It"s a good idea to send a card or thank you note the  (9)  day.