Bill：I heard that the tea culture of China is   (1)  (amaze). Could you tell me something about it.

Ann:Of course. Tea drinking in China is very complicated（复杂）. It starts with the environment. In the past, tea drinking took place in a setting(背景) ___  (2)  ______“spring water ran on marbles” or “ in the woods during sunset.” . __  (3)  ____ present, in order to recreate such an atmosphere, teahouses ___  (4)  _______ (decorate) with traditional paintings and furniture. Besides, there is always a__  (5)  ______(perform) of a traditional Chinese musical instrument, such as the guzheng.

Bill：How about the water?

Ann:In the old days, the water that came from melted snow was regarded as the best. Today no one collects snow any longer because of pollution and __  (6)  ___ people use is bottled water.

Bill：Is there any difference in the tea?

Ann:Generally __  (7)  ____ (speak), there are four kinds of tea: red tea, green tea, Oolong tea and Pu’er tea. The first three types of tea are processed using similar methods but Pu’er tea uses a  __  (8)  ____ (total) different method.

Bill：Is tea drinking in a teahouse very expensive?

Ann:Yes. As __  (9)  __ matter of fact, it is a commercialized hobby now. Many people nowadays go to expensively-decorated teahouses  __  (10)  ___(talk) business.

Though Chinese is   (1)   (old) than English, English is spoken   (2)   many people around the world every day. English speakers are always   (3)   (make) new words and we should be able to know where most words come from.

Sometimes, however, no one may   (4)  (real) know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some   (5)  (man) went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany  (6)   (call) Hamburg.

They did not speak good English,   (7)   they ate good food. When some American saw them   (8)   (eat) round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, “We came from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned   (9)    restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of the beef like the man from Hamburg ate and   (10)  (sell) in many countries around the world.

In the days when an ice cream cost much less, Tom,   (1)   8-year-old boy, entered a hotel coffee shop   (2)   sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream?" "Fifty-cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled   (3)   right hand out of the pocket and studied a number of coins in it.

"How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he asked. Some people were now waiting for her service and the waitress grew a bit   (4)   (patience). "Thirty-five cents," she said   (5)   (rude). The little boy carefully counted the coins   (6)  . "I will have a plain ice cream," he said. The waitress walked   (7)  . The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. It was not long   (8)   the waitress came back and then she began to wipe down the table and suddenly was surprised   (9)   what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels (五分镍币) and five   (10)   (penny) ….. her tip!

The Olympic Games

The Olympic Games rooted In ancient  (1)   ．People gave the Olympic Games to the God Zeus．The original games ____  (2)  _____ ( hold ) on the plain of Olympia in Peloponnesos．The Greeks held the first Olympics in the year 776BC and had only one event，a short run that was called the "stade"．A w____  (3)  ____made of olive branches was placed on the winner's heaD． Women were neither allowed to ______  (4)  _______the games nor to watch them，because the games were given to Zeus and therefore meant for men．Every four years ，for 1，170 years，the Greeks held the Olympics，_____  (5)  ___ continued to grow and change．Many other sports were added，such as other races，boxing，wrestling，discus throw and so on．

The modern Olympic Games took place in Athen in 1886．Nowadays，the Games are held in different countries in turn．The host country provides vast facilities，including a stadium，swimming pools and living accommodation，but _______  (6)  ______ ( compete ) countries pay their own _  (7)  _____ ( athlete) expenses．

Since 1984，when China took part in the Olympic Games again，Chinese players   (8)  ( win ) hundreds of ____  (9)  _____in different fields．  (10)   is known，the 29th Olympics were held in Beijing in 2008．It's a great honor and a challenge for the Chinese people．

People will do anything to see a free show, even   (1)   it is a bad one．When the news got round that a comedy show would   (2)  (give) at our local cinema by the P．and U．Bird Seed Company, we all rushed to see it．We had to queue for hours to get in and there must have been several hundred people present just before the show began．  (3)  lucky), the show was one of   (4)  boring) we have ever seen．Those who failed to get in need not have felt _  (5)  ​ (disappoint), as many of the artists who should  (6)  (appear) did not come．The only funny thing we heard that evening came from the advertiser at the beginning of the program．He was obviously very nervous and for some minutes stood awkwardly before the microphone．As soon   (7)   he opened his mouth, everyone burst out   (8)  (laugh)．We all know  (9)  the poor man should have said, but what he actually said was: ˈThis is the Poo and Ee Seed Bird Company．Good ladies, evening and  (10)  (gentleman)!"

Venice,  __  (1)  _____ small waterside city in northeast Italy, boils with happiness and excitement once every year. Between February 21th and March 4th, the carnival hits the streets. For most people the carnival means large  __  (2)  ___ (party) and feasts. But in Venice, it also means traditional masks and costumes.

These costumes were  ___  (3)  _____ (original) meant to hide personal identities. Then, different social classes could mix in a sea of happiness.

Today, people in Venice still dress up in the strangest ways  ___  (4)  ____ soldiers, butchers and fishermen, for example.

Bars and cafes are filled with party-goers ___  (5)  _____ come to show off their strange costumes. Their designs and creations  __  (6)  _____ (make) by special studios. Ready-made costumes are not acceptable.

“ In the month before the carnival we work overtime  __  (7)  ____(meet) the demand,” said a mask maker. “ Many kilometers of silk and lace are made into costumes. For shopkeepers, the carnival is the  __  (8)  ____ (good) time of the year.

The Venice carnival __  (9)  ____ (date) back to the Middle Ages. At that time, the city was _  (10)  _____ of the wealthiest in Europe. Now the Venice carnival attracts huge crowds from all over the world.

The city certainly benefits---a whole industry has been build up around the carnival’s masks and costumes.

“ The Venice Carnival is a magical time! It’s such a great experience.”

American police    (1)   (step) up their search for Justin Foster, who went missing last Friday night. He didn’t show    (2)   for lunch the next day. When the event    (3)  (occur), Mrs. Forster was worried and told her husband to call the police.

Witnesses said they saw Justin walking towards his home. Justin’s sister, Kelly heard him put on his favorite CD and she also saw a large spaceship    (4)   (fly) outside. She heard Justin shout.

Mavis Wood said that the aliens once taken her    (5)   the UFO and they did some research on her. The whole research was frightening just like a terrible dream.

Police found that Justin    (6)   return home. But they have not found the evidence    (7)   Justin was taken away by aliens. Detectives Sam Peterson,    (8)   took charge of the case, said that they were looking into other    (9)   (possible) too and they would not give up   (10)  ​       they found out what happened.

American police   (1)   (step) up their search for Justin Foster, who went missing last Friday night. He didn’t show   (2)   for lunch the next day. When the event   (3)  (occur), Mrs. Forster was worried and told her husband to call the police.

Witnesses said they saw Justin walking towards his home. Justin’s sister, Kelly heard him put on his favorite CD and she also saw a large spaceship   (4)   (fly) outside. She heard Justin shout.

Mavis Wood said that the aliens once taken her   (5)   the UFO and they did some research on her. The whole research was frightening just like a terrible dream.

Police found that Justin   (6)   return home. But they have not found the evidence   (7)   Justin was taken away by aliens. Detectives Sam Peterson,   (8)   took charge of the case, said that they were looking into other   (9)   (possible) too and they would not give up  (10)  ​      they found out what happened.