Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday. The day after it has been known as Black Friday. It is the start of the holiday shopping season, and it has been the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} shopping day of the year in the US since 2005.

    Most stores offer big sales on Black Friday. They open their doors quite early in the morning. They try to {#blank#}2{#/blank#} shoppers with big discounts(折扣). Some items like TVs and cloths are much cheaper than usual. Stores may {#blank#}3{#/blank#}lose money on them. They hope that shoppers will buy gifts for other people while they are in the store.

    Black Friday is a great time to go shopping. However, there are problems. The biggest one is that there are not enough cheap items. Each store may only have a few. These items are in great need, so people stand in long lines to get them. They may wait three to four hours before a store opens. They may be hoping to get a low{#blank#}4{#/blank#} on a TV or computer, but not everybody can get one. Some people leave, disappointed.

    One day, a father and his son went to a kite flying festival. When they arrived, there were already many adults and their children playing in the park. When the son saw the sky filled with {#blank#}1{#/blank#} kites in different shapes, he was excited and wanted to get one too. His father agreed to buy one for him. So they went to a kite shop and {#blank#}2{#/blank#} a beautiful one.

    With the string(线)in hand, the son started {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the kite. Soon, the kite was high up in the sky. After a while, the son said, "Father, it seems that the string is stopping the kite from flying higher. If we cut it, it will be free and fly even higher. Can we cut it?” The father didn't reply, but just cut the string off the reel(线轴). Suddenly, the kite began to go {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, which made the son much happier.

    However, to his surprise, the kite was coming down. They waited for quite some time. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, it fell onto the grass. The son felt upset and asked, "I thought that after cutting the string, the kite would fly higher. Why did it fall down?”

    The father smiled and said, “The role of the string was not stopping the kite from flying higher, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} helping it stay in the sky, because the kite {#blank#}7{#/blank#} can' t fly up. By using the string you help the kite go up in the right {#blank#}8{#/blank#}. When you cut the string, it could not support the kite.

    In our life, we may sometimes feel like there are certain things that are holding us back and stopping us from growing. But in fact, these might be the things that support us{#blank#}9{#/blank#}. We can really grow up and become stronger by realizing the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} of these things.

    Most children like to have parties for their birthdays {#blank#}1{#/blank#} they can ask their friends to go to their parties. The birthday boy or girl is in beautiful{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. They play games, sing, dance and {#blank#}3{#/blank#}  At the birthday party, the birthday cake is their{#blank#}4{#/blank#}  food. Their parents buy a big cake for{#blank#}5{#/blank#} and there are some candles（蜡烛）on it. Everyone sings the birthday songs and{#blank#}6{#/blank#} "Happy Birthday" to the birthday boy or girl. If you see twelve candles, it is his or her{#blank#}7{#/blank#}  birthday.

    The children usually get gifts {#blank#}8{#/blank#} their friends and parents. They are happy to have them. In{#blank#}9{#/blank#} , children always open the presents after the party. But in England, children open them at once(立刻)and {#blank#}10{#/blank#}  say "thank you". If you have a birthday friend, go and buy a gift for him or her.

    One sunny afternoon, a young deer and an old deer were {#blank#}1{#/blank#} under a tree in the forest. Suddenly, in the distance, they {#blank#}2{#/blank#} some sounds of dogs' barking.

    The old deer stood up quickly. He felt nervous and {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. He said to the young deer, "Be quick! It's time to find a place to hide in. The barking dogs are fierce(凶猛的) and they will {#blank#}4{#/blank#} us."

    The young deer laughed and said, "Why should we hide from the dogs? We are bigger and

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}than them. We can toss(扔)them aside with our big antlers(角). We should fight with them bravely. "

    The old deer admired the {#blank#}6{#/blank#}of the young deer, but he did not believe the young. "We'd better run away now." said the old deer.

    The young deer refused to run away. He decided to fight {#blank#}7{#/blank#} the dogs. As the dogs ran to {#blank#}8{#/blank#}, he put down his antlers and wanted to toss them aside. But he didn't win the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} because there were too many dogs. He was killed by the dogs in the end.

    The young deer lost his life because he didn't know his strength and weakness. We can learn a lesson from the story. Don't be like the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} young deer when we are in danger. We should know our strength and weakness.

    Bill and Cathy wanted to go on a holiday. They chose a place called Maldives（马尔代夫）. And they decided {#blank#}1{#/blank#} there for two weeks in spring，because the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} there was perfect at that time. They thought they would have a {#blank#}3{#/blank#} trip. But their tip was more like a nightmare（噩梦）!

    The plane {#blank#}4{#/blank#} off twelve hours later because of the bad weather. And they couldn't fly to Maldives {#blank#}5{#/blank#} there was a storm. They had to fly to the capital city instead. There they stayed in a small hotel near the airport.

    The hotel was next to the sea, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the sea was so dirty that they couldn't swim in it. The food in the hotel was awful, too. For breakfast there {#blank#}7{#/blank#} only bread and milk! Because of the bad weather, they had to stay {#blank#}8{#/blank#} another night in the small hotel. And they had {#blank#}9{#/blank#} to do. It was so boring. {#blank#}10{#/blank#} , they arrived in Maldives three days later. And someone told them the weather there had been wonderful all the time!