When we think of Christmas, we probably think of 1  , Christmas trees and Santa Claus. But behind all these things lies the true meaning of Christmas: the importance of sharing and giving love and joy to people around us. The story in A Christmas Carol is perhaps the best example of this.

A Christmas Carol is a famous short novel written by British writer Charles Dickens (1812-1870). It is about an old man 2 Scrooge who never laughs or smiles. He only thinks about himself and is3 to share things with others. He doesn't treat others nicely. He just cares about whether he can 4and he hates Christmas. One Christmas Eve, Scrooge sees the ghost of Jacob Marley, his dead business partner. Marley used to be just like Scrooge, so he was 5 after he died. He warns Scrooge to change his ways if he doesn't want to end up like him. He also tells Scrooge to expect 6 ghosts to visit him.

 That  7 , the ghosts visit Scrooge. First, the Ghost of Christmas Past takes him back to his childhood and reminds him  8  his happy days as a child. Then the second ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes him to see  9  others are spending Christmas this year. Everyone is happy, even poor people. The last one, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, takes him to the  10 . Scrooge sees that he is dead, but nobody cares. He is so  11 that he wakes up in his bed and finds out it is only the next morning — Christmas Day!

 Scrooge decides to change his life and   12 to be a kind person. He  13  celebrates Christmas with his relatives. He also gives gifts to people in need. He now treats   14  with kindness and warmth, spreading love and joy everywhere he goes. And that is the true   15 of Christmas!

The Flying Hat

By Shannon Blackman

    “The most sidesplitting story I've ever read. I couldn't help laughing after I finished it. Be ready to laugh your heart out.”

Willy King, Best Book winner

    “It's a story that makes you smile in your dreams. Blackman's excellent writing cheers you up.”

The Tide, London

    “One of the best-selling books of the year. More than two million copies have been sold.”

The Sunday Reader, New York

    “This book has become the talk of the country. The story is making its way into movie theaters. I can't wait to see it!”

Marian Miller, author of Ms. Lilly

根据以上书评内容，回答下列问题。

    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.

    Improve your English through watching television programmes! If you have studied English for some time, you 1 know which study method works best. You may work hard and be sure to get it. You have taken 2 to learn English as a second language and you most likely 3 English at home with books and maybe even tapes. That's good! But the 4 is a great way for English language learners, too. If you do it correctly, I think programmes can help you improve your English.

    The 5 thing about TV programmes is that there are different kinds of shows and they are 6. This means you can get close to live English in many 7 subjects. One day you can watch a TV programme about natural science, and the next day you may 8 a show about the life of a teenager in New York. To be good at English, you need to be able to 9 the language used in many situations. Set aside(保留)an hour a day to watch TV programmes in English. Choose a different type of 10 each day. One day you watch and enjoy a comedy and the next day watch a show about doctors to study the expressions used in hospital. If you plan on using English in a certain field in the future, watch shows that use that special language.

    Red is the color of China. Among all the1, red is most easily seen. The color red is fresh and pure, and in China we call it China Red. Chinese people are attracted by the color red not only because it makes people excited, but also because it has 2 meanings in Chinese culture and history.

    No country in the world have ever3a color in such a way as China. Here, red is a symbol. It gives color to the soul(灵魂) of the nation. In the past, red represented dignity(尊严) and mystery. Even now Chinese people love the color much more than others do. It can be said that "China Red" is an everlasting theme for China, and an 4 color for the Chinese people, "China Red" has5 a very popular word, attracting the world's attention.

    Finding red-colored things in China is very6, as you can see the color everywhere. All traditional red things have been playing a special role in China, the walls of7 palaces, the national flag. Chinese knots(结) and lanterns.

    Red is the color of the8, health, harmony, happiness, peace, richness and so on. Only real things and events fully(完全地)9and explain its beauty. The color can be alive and meaningful only when it's connected with people.

    In China, red is more than just a color. It carries the long history and culture of the Chinese nation. China Red is10of mysterious charm(神秘的魅力) beyond description and it is right here in China waiting for you to feel, to discover!