Most of us like Christmas. On Christmas Eve, December 24th- the night 1 Christmas Day, children are very happy. They put their stockings(长筒袜)at the end of their beds before they 2. They want Father Christmas(圣诞老人) to 3 them some presents.

    Parents tell children that Father Christmas is a very 4 man. He arrives on Christmas Eve. He lands on the top of the kitchen and comes through the chimney(烟囱)in the fireplace. He 5 children a lot of presents.

    On Christmas Day, children often wake up very early in the morning. They can not wait (迫不及待)to 6 their stockings and they are 7 to see so many lovely presents. Then they get up and say. “Merry Christmas!” to their parents. Then the family usually 8 a big breakfast. They 9 the whole day playing with the new toys and 10 their friends. They greet each other with a hug(拥抱)and say, “ Merry Christmas!”

    Mother's Day is a holiday for mothers. It is celebrated in the United States, England, Sweden, India, Mexico and other 1. Little by little, it 2 widely celebrated.

    Mother's Day falls on the second Sunday in May. 3, many people send 4 of love to their mothers. Those whose mothers are still living 5 a pink or red rose, while those whose mothers are 6 wear a white one.

    The 7 of a day for mothers was first given by Miss Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia. As a result of her hard work, the celebration for the first American Mother's Day 8 in Philadelphia on May 10, 1908. Soon the 9 became popular all over the 10 and around the world.

    A gift is necessary when one is invited to visit friends in China. After greetings, the gift should be passed immediately to the host. Remember that usually Chinese people will not open the gift in front of the person who gives  1. To show the respect, it may be  2 to explain what the gift is. Bringing some nutrients and tonics (营养品、补品) to the elders in the family is a good idea. You can 3 prepare some small gifts for the spouse (配偶) or kids of the host. The host usually makes full  4 by carefully tidying up the house and  5  a lot of delicious dishes.  6 the meal is well prepared, the host may say to the guest politely, "My preparation is not enough, please excuse me for my poor treat." As a guest, you should make the host believe that there is plenty to eat by praising the food.

    While eating, the elders will use chopsticks to  7 food for guests as a tradition and ask them to eat  8 . As a guest, you should accept their goodwill readily.  But nowadays, the younger people do the traditional way less.

    After dinner, tea and fruit are usually served. When the guests are to leave, the host may still politely ask them to stay. They don't have to take it 9 and they can try to find a good time to leave. This doesn't mean that leaving early is always a good idea as the host may feel that the guests are not satisfied with the treat. Finding the right time to leave  10  the situation.

    Ask your foreign friends or teachers whether they experienced" culture shock" upon moving to China. 1 are, they did.

    According to a survey, eighty-five percent of international students have had culture shock. Culture shock is a broad term for the series of personal difficulties that people go through in new places, for the surrounding environment is so different from that where they grow up. It's usually most extreme for those who can't speak the language of the place to which they have 2 or for those who aren't familiar with the social rules, such as what you should do if you meet people for the first time. Both of these things happened to me in China when I moved there in 2011.

    So as you can imagine, naturally, I went through the four well-known3 of culture shock: honeymoon, distress, re-integration and autonomy.

    When I arrived at first, I was 4 and. optimistic, I thought I was well-prepared for this new life in the new country, and I was eager to find out what I was going to experience later. But quickly I became upset by the cultural differences I encountered, missing how things5 back home.

    By the end of my first year, I had totally lost my self-confidence; I was a bitter, clumsy and sensitive person, and I blamed China for making me that way.

    Then, in my second year, I started to6 some language skills, and I found fun activities to do in my spare time, I made great foreign and Chinese friends, and with their help, I tried hard to learn to appreciate the beauty of Chinese history and culture, which was the thing I always wanted to achieve. To my delight, I succeeded in 7 an interest in them. And afterwards, I learned to consider myself a confident and happy laowai.

    Today I'm back in the US, where I'm pursuing a PhD at a university in my hometown. It's been a little 8to readjust to life in my home country, I suffered at first from "reverse" culture shock, experiencing the four stages in the opposite order.

    I started out feeling independent and self-confident, before slowly realizing that I knew my country much less well than I used to. I'd complain loudly about little things, like how I could no longer shout "fuwuyuan!" to get waiters'9 to let them know that I was ready to order in a restaurant.

    But eventually, I came to realize that what I had thought was my "home" had become an entirely new place while I'd been away. That, by itself, was exciting.