Some residents of rural Human still believe in old-style Spring Festival celebrations but fear that traditions may be lost{#blank#}1{#/blank#}they're protected,Liu Xiangrui reports.

    Spring Festival,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(celebrate)from the first to the 15th day of the first lunar month,is undoubtedly the most{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (significance)cultural event in a year for Chinese.

    Like in other parts of the country,preparations for the festival start early every year,with food{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(play)a key role.In rural Yueyang,for instance,such delicacies as tofu and smoked pork are prepared a month or two {#blank#}5{#/blank#} advance. Then,there are specific days for certain activities.People offer prayers to the Kitchen God on the 23rd of the last lunar month,so that he puts in a good word about the host family when he{#blank#}6{#/blank#}return)to heaven to file an"annual report"the next day.

    The festival is celebrated by putting up{#blank#}7{#/blank#}decorate)in house,lighting firecrackers,worshipping ancestors and staying up late on the eve of the Chinese New Year.

    The night before the year begins is the highlight of the festival{#blank#}8{#/blank#}those working in faraway cities try to rush home{#blank#}9{#/blank#}catch)the family reunion dinner.Some families have unique menus for this special meal Fish,which symbolizes prosperity in Chinese culture,is{#blank#}10{#/blank#}must

    All through high school, I {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(play) football, basketball, and soccer, and I was on the track team. But boxing was the sport that I liked {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (much) because It's more {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(challenge)and exciting to me. I found that I enjoyed the Anil of the one-on-one competition. I also liked the feet that it was up to me {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I won or lost – that I was the determining factor. I think I've always been a competitor, and winning would give me {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (satisfy) and a good feeling about myself. I wanted to win every time.

    I started training with Bruce who got me into the boxing. With Bruce {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (act) as my boxing coach, friend, mentor, and a father figure for me {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(look) up to, I learned that boxing is a sweet science{#blank#}8{#/blank#}I could use my brain as well as my strength and size. I used my ability to focus under pressure. {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (train) for several years, I went from being a street fighter {#blank#}10{#/blank#}a gold medal-winning Olympic champion.

    Would you like the chance {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(discover) a place of mystery and beauty in the south­west of China? If your answer is 'yes'， consider a trip to Shangri­la!

    The word 'Shangri­la' first appeared in a classic novel by James Hilton. Hilton described a beautiful kingdom{#blank#}2{#/blank#}three rivers joined together, steep mountains reached to the sky, and fields of long grass covered the earth. In this perfect world lived people who {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(discover) how to stay young forever.

    Which place could {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(official) take the name of this wonderful land? There were arguments over {#blank#}5{#/blank#} tourist spot{#blank#}6{#/blank#}win) the name of Shangri­la. Many years after the book was published, some people realized that the Shangri­la of the novel was{#blank#}7{#/blank#}perfect match for Zhongdian in Yunnan Province, China. In September 1997, the government of Yunnan Province announced that Zhongdian was the Shangri­la of Hilton's story.

    Three mountains, Meili, Baimang and Haba, which {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(cover) with snow, tower over the land. Their snowy mountaintops form a beautiful picture that will leave you at a loss for words.

    Below the mountains, the sunshine reflects on the many lakes, making them shine like diamonds{#blank#}9{#/blank#}the rich countryside.

    Nature has provided Shangri­la with endless natural treasures，{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (make) the land a happy home for the local people.

    The weather changes so quickly that people say you can experience four seasons in one day. The best times to visit Shangri­la are spring and autumn when the temperature is at its mildest.

    California is the third {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(large) state in the USA and it is the most multicultural state. About 15,000 years ago, the first {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(settle) crossed the Bering Strait and arrived in California. The Native Americans suffered {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(great) after the arrival of the Europeans in the 16th century. In the 18th century, California{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(rule) by Spain until 1821 when the people of Mexico gained their independence{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Spain. California then became part of Mexico. But after the American-Mexican war in 1846, California was given to the USA.

    In 1848, gold was discovered in California，{#blank#}6{#/blank#}attracted people from all over the world to arrive there{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(achieve) their dreams of becoming rich. In 1850, California became{#blank#}8{#/blank#} 31st state of the USA as a multicultural society.{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (attract) by the climate and lifestyle, more and more people from different parts of the world have been immigrating to California{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(include) Asians, Africans and Europeans.

    Some students who had graduated visited their university professor. The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. To offer his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(return) with a pot of coffee and {#blank#}2{#/blank#} variety of cups—porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain-looking, some expensive—telling them to help {#blank#}3{#/blank#} to the coffee.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} was when all the students had a cup of coffee in hand that he said, “All the nice-looking expensive cups have been taken up, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (leave) behind the plain and cheap ones. Actually, the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. {#blank#}6{#/blank#}all of you really want is coffee, not the cup. You consciously went for the best cups, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} then you began eyeing others' cups.”

    “Now consider this Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups, {#blank#}8{#/blank#}  are just tools to hold and contain life. The type of cup we have does not change the quality of life. If we concentrate only {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the cups, we fail to enjoy the coffee. I {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (true) hope that you will never let the cups drive you ... enjoy the coffee instead.”

    I'm not sure {#blank#}1{#/blank#} is more frightened, me or the female gorilla(大猩猩）that suddenly appears out of nowhere. I'm walking on a path in the forest in the Central African Republic. Unexpectedly, I'm face-to-face with the gorilla, who begins screaming at {#blank#}2{#/blank#} top of her lungs. That makes her baby scream, and then a 400-pound male appears. He screams the{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(loud)of all. The noise shakes the trees as the male beats his chest and charges toward me. I quickly lower myself, ducking my head to avoid {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(look) directly into his eyes so he doesn't feel{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(challenge).

    My name is Mireya Mayor. I'm a {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(science)who studies animals such as apes and monkeys. I was searching {#blank#}7{#/blank#} these three western lowland gorillas I'd been observing. No one had seen them for hours, and my colleagues and I were worried.

    When the gorillas and I frightened each other, I was just glad to find {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(they) alive. True to a gorilla's unaggressive nature, the huge animal {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(mean)me no real harm. He was just saying: "I'm king of this forest, and here is your reminder!" Once his message was delivered, he allowed me {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (stay)and watch.