Holi ( 洒红节) is a spring festival, also   (1)   ________ (know) as the festival of colours or the festival of love. It is an ancient Hindu religious festival   (2)   ________ has become popular in and outside Asia. It is celebrated at the end of winter   (3)   ________ the night and the day are of equal length. The date of the festival is different every year. According to the Hindu calendar, it   (4)  ________ (usual) comes in March, sometimes in late February.

The celebration   (5)   ________ (start) with a bonfire ( 篝火) on the night before Holi, where people gather, sing and dance. The next morning is a carnival of colours, where anyone, children or elders, friends or   (6)   ________ (strange), chase and colour each other with dry powder and coloured water. Everyone is happy to be made fun   (7)  ________. Groups carry drums and musical instruments,  (8)  ________ (go) from place to place. After a(n)   (9)   ________ (excite) day, people visit their friends and share the delicious food after cleaning up and dressing up.

The purpose of the festival is to celebrate the beginning of the new season, spring. Hindus believe   (10)   ________ is a time for enjoying spring's rich colours and saying goodbye to winter.

Yangshuo , China

It was raining lightly when I  61     (arrive) in Yangshuo just before dawn. But I didn’t care. A few hours  62    , I’d been at home in Hong Kong, with  63      (it) choking smog（烟雾）. Here, the air was clean and fresh, even with the rain.

I’d skipped nearby Guilin, a dream place for tourists seeking the limestone mountain tops and dark waters of the Li River  64        are pictured by artists in so many Chinese  65      

(painting). Instead, I’d headed straight for Yangshuo. For those who fly to Guilin, it’s only an hour away   66       car and offers all the scenery of the better-known city.

Yangshuo  67       (be) really beautiful. A study of travelers  68       (ｍａｋｅ) by the website TripAdvisor names Yangshuo as one of the top 10 destinations in the world. And the town is fast becoming a popular weekend destination for people in Asia. Abercrombie & Kent, a travel company in Hong Kong, says it  69          (regular) arranges（安排） quick getaways here for people  70      (live) in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

This year, about 2,300 teenagers from all over the world will spend about 10 months in US homes. At the same time about 1,300 American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and learn about the rest of the world.

Here is a 2-way student exchange program in action. Fred, 19, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.

Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived. But after 2 months of studying, the language became easy for him. School was completely different from what he had expected and it was much harder. Students rose respectfully when the teacher entered the room. They took 14 subjects instead of 6 that usually taken in the US.

Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was the law. All the activities were done with the family rather than individually. Fred found the food to be too simple at first. He also missed having a car.

“Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out to have a good time. In Germany, you walk but you soon learn to like it.”

At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his own ideas. “I suppose I should criticize American schools,” he says. “It is far too easy for our level but I have to say that I like it a lot. In Germany, we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many other activities. I think that maybe American schools are better in training their citizens. Besides, each school holds certain activities for the entire school body, such as homecoming, prom night, holiday celebrations, etc. so in my opinion, there ought to be some middle ground between the two.”

Differences between American school life and German school life

Yuan Longping is one of the most famous scientists in the world. He    61    (struggle) for the past five decades for the Chinese farmers. He grows    62    is called super hybrid rice. This special strain of rice makes    63    possible to produce one-third more of the crop in the same fields.   64    (use) his hybrid rice, farmers are producing harvests twice as large as before.

     Finding ways to grow more rice has been his life goal since he graduated from college in 1953. At that time, hunger was    65    disturbing problem in many parts of the countryside. Therefore he wanted to help his motherland rid of hunger    66  increasing the rice output without ____67   _ (expand) the area of the fields, and he finally made it .

         68     a great scientist, he lead a very simple life. He believes that a person with too much money has more rather than    69    troubles. He has another dream    70    his rice can be grown around the globe and no hunger is in the world.

Silly Fred was a little surprised when he saw his mother in his house.

“ I got your ___61___ (invite) to come for dinner, said Mother.

“ I did,” said Silly Fred, ___62___ (try ) to think of why he had invited his mother for dinner and then thinking that it ___63___ be her birthday. “ Happy Birthday!”

“It isn’t my birthday,” said Mother. “It is Mother’s Day.”

“ Well then,” said Silly Fred. “Happy Mother’s Day.”

“Thank you,” said Mother. “Now, ___64___ is for dinner?”

“Dinner?” shouted Silly Fred.

“Oh dear,” said Mother. “You ___65___ (forget) about cooking me dinner?”

“Well actually,” said Silly Fred, not able to lie ___66___ his mother. “I did forget to prepare for the dinner. ___67___, there is a nice restaurant down the street. How about going out dinner?”

“Sure,” said Mother.

Silly Fred and Mother had ___68___ nice supper together. Silly Fred went to pay for the meal but he couldn’t find his wallet.

“Are you looking for ___69___?” asked Mother, handing Silly Fred his wallet, ___70___ she saw him put on the counter at home.

“Yes,” said Silly Fred, a little embarrassed. “Thank you.”

It was a busy day at the grocery store and an old couple were in line behind me with birthday balloons.

From ___61___they said, I knew their nephew had a twin and something bad happened to the baby at birth. Though they did all they could ___62__(help)them but times were tough for them.

They seemed to be too nervous and were too ____63___(anxiety) to leave, so I asked ___64__they wanted to go ahead of me or not. They didn’t understand what I ___65__(mean) at first. After knowing it, they were very appreciative. But they stood behind me.

At that time I knew it had to be a significant day to them. Nothing could be __66__(good)if someone offered to help them. So I told the cashier to add the balloons to my purchases. The old couple refused at first __67___I insisted. I said, “You tell your sweet nephew that there are still nice people left who wanted to give them __68__hand in this world.” They thanked me over and over and the cashier was moved to tears, __69__(say)there was an angel in her line today.

That little act of __70__(kind) made everyone who saw it feel good---but it made me feel the best of all!

Tony：Hey, did you see China’s women’s volleyball team __  (1)  __ television last night?

Kate：Yes, the game was so __  (2)  __(excite)! I usually watch basketball, but that was great last night!

Tony：Definitely a good effort! If anything, I was disappointed that the __  (3)  __ team didn’t put up much of a fight. They made a lot of bad mistakes, __  (4)  __ they always seemed to be hitting the ball out of bounds.

Kate：I just enjoyed how China celebrated after every point they won. Volleyball seems so much more passionate __  (5)  __ (compare) to other sports.

Tony：Well, their victory means they __  (6)  __ (compete) in the Olympics next year, __  (7)  __ was their goal. I just hope they can pick up at __  (8)  __ (little) a bronze medal.

Kate：Bronze? You mean gold, right?

Tony：Well, that would be great, but there are a couple of very strong teams that beat China in a recent competition.

Kate：I saw those matches — they were __  (9)  __ (extreme) close! China can beat them next year for sure!

Tony：We’ll see. I hope you’re right. But you never know __  (10)  __ will happen in sports.

Kate：Exactly! They might surprise you! Then what will you say?

Tony：Ha ha, OK, let’s just wait and see.

45.__________　46.__________　47.__________　48.__________

49.__________　50.__________

The Internet is an       61      (amaze) information resource. Students, teachers, and researchers use it as      62      investigative tool. Journalists use it to find information for stories. Doctors use it to learn more about unfamiliar diseases and the     63     (late) medical development. Ordinary people use it for shopping, banking, bill-paying, and communicating  64   family and friends. People all over the world use it to connect with individuals from__65__  countries and cultures. However, while there are many positive developments _____66    (associate) with the Internet, there are also certain fears and concerns. One concern relates to a lack of control over      67     appears on the Internet, With television and radio there are editors to check the accuracy or appropriateness of the content of programs, and with television there are     68      (restrict)on other aspects, for example, what kinds of programs can___69___   (broadcast) and at what time of the day. With the Internet, parents cannot check a published guide to determine what is suitable for their children     70    (see).