Dragon Boat Festival is 1. It is a holiday 2 a long history. We all have a 3 during Dragon Boat Festival. Because Dragon Boat Festival is a(n) 4 and interesting festival in China. It comes in the 5 lunar (农历) month around the middle June.

People celebrate(庆祝) it 6 many ways. One of them is to have dragon boat races. Dragon boats are 7 and special. More than ten people 8 on a boat. They often get everything ready (准备好一切) 9 the race comes. They practice more because they want to have 10 results. Lots of people come to 11 and enjoy the race.

    In some cities, it is a festival for the 12. Children 13 red and yellow strings (线). With these, they think they will get away from the ghosts(鬼). Parents buy sweets and other delicious food 14 their children. They usually get together to 15 a big dinner on that day.

    Wally was a wild goose(鹅). One day, when he was flying south for 1with his family, he saw some farm geese walking around and eating corn on the ground. “It would be nice to have corn,” he thought. “And flying is very 2. I'd like to walk around for a while.”

    Wally 3his family, landed among the farm geese and began to eat corn. The other wild geese went on flying 4Wally didn't care. “I'll join them again when they come back 5in a few months,” he thought.

    A few months went by, it was spring. Wally looked up and saw the other wild geese. They looked beautiful in the 6. Wally said to himself, “It's time to leave. I'm 7the ground.”

    So Wally tried to fly. But he became very 8because he had eaten too much corn and he hadn't exercised his wings much. He 9to the ground. “Oh, well, I'll just wait until they fly south again. Then I'll join them,” he said.

    When his family flew overhead once more, Wally tried to fly again, but he 10.

    Wally became a farm goose at last.

    My friend Alan did not have a rich family. He did not have much money. Sometimes Alan 1 had to accept money and gifts from his family and friends. But do not get me2 He was not the kind of person who never 3 the money he should. He was always very 4 with the money he spent.

    However, a few years ago, he won the lottery and got a huge5 of money. He was very excited. It changed his life. The 6thing he did was to buy a very expensive new car. Then he7 spending money on unnecessary things or the things that he normally would not buy. It seemed that he had money to8He had more money than he needed and it was burning a hole in his pocket. He wasted his money 9.

    When we got together for a10 at a restaurant, he would always pay the bill. He11me the money made him feel very happy.

    But, Alan soon 12 out all of his money. He was as poor as a church mouse again. His last dollar was spent and he had no money13.

    I admit I do feel 14 for my friend. He had enough money to live like a king.15 he is back to living a hard life. He was wise about small things, but not about important things.

    Different things usually stand for different feelings. Red, for example, is the colour of fire, heat, blood and life. It is used for signs of 1 , such as STOP signs and fire engines. Orange is the colour of brightness, warmth and 2in autumn. People say orange is a 3colour. They associate orange with happiness. 4 is the colour of grass in spring. People say it is a refreshing colour. In general, people 5 about two groups of colours: warm colours and cool colours. The warm colours are red, orange and yellow .When there are warm colours, people usually want to be 6. The cool colours are black and blue. When there are these colours, people are usually worried. Some scientists say that time seems to 7 more slowly in a room with warm colours. They suggest that a warm colour is a good 8for a living room or a restaurant. People who are having a rest or are 9do not want time to pass quickly. However, 10 colours are better for some offices if people working there want time to pass quickly.

    Jack was very excited (兴奋的).It was his first time to visit a city in China. Jack arrived in the afternoon.

    When he got off the train, he felt hungry(饿的)and wanted to 1 some food. But he didn't know 2to find a restaurant, so he bought a 3of the city.

    With the help of the map, Jack walked along Helping Street, and then turned right when he saw the traffic lights.4he didn't see any restaurants there!

    Jack went to ask a policeman 5help. There was a (n)6. Jack couldn't speak any Chinese. Then he took out a piece of paper (—张纸)and 7 a food shop on it. The policeman was8and he knew what Jack wanted to do.9pointed (指)to the map and told Jack to go across the bridge and then walk on for about 100 meters. Soon Jack 10a restaurant.

    It was across from a big hospital.

    One night in November, Itzhak Perlman gave a concert in a theatre. If you have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that becoming a violinist is not a small 1 for him. He had to walk 2 the help of two walking sticks as a result of the disease he caught as a child. People sat 3 while he made his way to his chair and began his play. But this time, something went 4 Just as he finished the first few parts of the music, one of the strings(弦) on his violin 5 . We thought that he would have to stop the concert. But he didn't. Instead , he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then 6 the conductor (指挥) to begin again. The orchestra(管弦乐队) began and he played with such strong feeling and purity as they had never heard before.

    Of course, everyone knows that it is 7 for a violinist to play a pleasant work with just three strings. I know that, and you know that, but that night Itzhak Perlman didn't want to accept that.

    When he finished, there was a terrible 8 in the room. And then people rose and cheered from every corner of the theatre.

    Perlman was excited. He smiled and said, "You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to 9 how much music you can still make with what you have left."

    So, suppose our task in this fast-changing world is to make music. At first we should try our best with all that we have. And then, 10 it is no longer possible, try to play it with what we have left.