You may know the song Happy Birthday very well. But do you know about its writer? It was written by an American girl. And she became very rich after that.
When she was a child, she was poor. Once, she was invited to her friend’s birthday party. She was pleased but sad because she didn’t have enough money to buy a gift for her.
“The party is coming soon, but now I have little money.” Tears ran down her face.
Later that night she was in bed, thinking about the gift when the door opened and her grandma came in.“ What happened? ” her grandma asked. Hearing the girl’s story, she said, “Don’t worry. I think I can help you. How about singing a song together? Happy birthday to …”What a beautiful song! They sang and sang. Suddenly she woke up. It was a dream! She decided to write it down at once and sing it to her friends at the party.
When she sang the song at the party the next day, her friends were very happy. “How wonderfully you sing! We haven’t heard such a beautiful song before. Thank you for giving me the special gift.” said her friend. And they learnt to sing it together. Later the girl became well-known in America.
【小题1】The song Happy Birthday was written by                    .

The tradition of birthday parties started a long time ago. There are some traditions that you can find almost anywhere, anytime, such as sending birthday cards, blowing out the candles(吹熄蜡烛) on a birthday cake and singing the ‘Happy Birthday’ song. Others are only found for certain ages and in certain countries.

In China, on a child’s second birthday, family members put many things on the floor around the child. According to Chinese tradition, the first thing that the child picks up tells you what job the child will choose later in life.

For Japanese children, the third, fifth and seventh birthdays are especially important. At this age, there is a special celebration(庆祝) Shichi-Go-San (seven, five, three in Japanese) when children go to the temple wearing a new kimono (和服). The priest (僧侣) gives them special sweets, and the parents usually organize a party for their friends in their home.

In Argentina, Mexico and several other Latin American countries, girls have a special birthday celebration when they reach the age of fifteen. After a special ceremony (仪式), the girls dance a waltz with their father and other boys.

Eighteen is the traditional ‘coming of age’— the age when (in many countries) you have the right to vote (选举权), join the army （参军）and (in Britain) drink alcohol （酒）or buy a house.

In many English-speaking countries, a twenty-first birthday cake often has a key on top, or the cake itself is sometimes in the shape of a key. The key means that the young person is now old enough to leave and enter the family home at any time they want to! 

1.Which of the following birthday traditions can you find almost anywhere, anytime?

A. Putting many things on the floor.

B. Sending birthday cards.

C. Dancing a waltz.                         

2.Mexican girls have a special birthday celebration at the age of       .

A. five           B. seven              C. fifteen 

3.In many countries you can ___ when you reach the age of eighteen.

A. join the army    B. have a key    C. have a special ceremony  

4.Which of the following sentences is NOT true?

A. The tradition of birthday parties started a long time ago.

B. Some birthday traditions are only found in certain countries.

C. You become the owner of your house at the age of fifteen.

5.Which is the best title of this passage?

A. Birthday Traditions around the World 

B. The Drinking Age in Many Countries

C. Japanese Special Celebration

Tom is a middle school student. He is studying in Grade 7. He usually  1 at 7:00 o’clock in the morning. 2   today he gets up at 6:30 and goes to buy a big cake. After that he helps his grandparents clean their room, because it is his   ___3  birthday. His grandpa is going to be 78 years old.
Tom  4 two CDs about Beijing Opera(京剧)___5  his grandpa. He is sure his grandpa would like  6 very much, because his grandpa likes listening to Beijing Opera.
When Tom   7  home at noon, his mother is making noodles with his grandma. They are laughing and talking about something happily. His grandpa is drinking tea   8  listening to Beijing Opera.
Tom says, “Happy birthday to you, Grandpa!” Then he cuts the big cake and gives grandpa a   9  piece. Grandpa is very happy and eats it.
In the evening, Tom watches TV with his grandparents together. He is a little__  10  but very happy, because he can make his grandparents happy.

Ever since I was little, my favorite season was winter. I loved to play in the snow and enjoy the hot chocolate.   1  , winter never gave me the special gift of snow on my birthday. I would ask my grandmother  2  it didn’t snow on my birthday. She would laugh and tell me I asked too many questions.   3  one day, she promised that she would make it snow on my next birthday.
That year,   4  my birthday, my grandmother died. I was sad but angry because she had promised to make it snow. The day of my sixth birthday, I woke up and ran to the window,   5  to see just one snowflake. But there was no snow. I felt mad at my grandmother. She had broken a promise.
By my sixteenth birthday, I   6  all hope of getting my snow, even though I still wished for 7 . During my party, I stayed with my friends and family and was truly happy. I   8  the best time ever! Then I saw the white snow   9  down all around. I was so excited that I ran around screaming and laughing. My friends all laughed   10  me, but I didn’t care.
When I   11  home, my grandpa said he had a gift for me. I was   12  because he had given me a gift. It was a small white box, which looked old. I opened it. There was a crystal snowflake(水晶雪花) with a card that   13  , “Happy Birthday.”
How could this be? My grandpa said it was my grandmother’s final   14  on my “sweet sixteenth”. I cried.
I was   15  that my smiling grandmother angel was and had been watching over me.

After she did a lot of shopping , Mrs. Smith came out of the shop and started to walk to the bus stop. Her bag was so       that she had to rest for a few minutes. She stopped        a new and bright car. It was just at the side of the road. As she stood there, she saw a policeman     _  towards her. "Excuse me, madam," said the policeman.

" Can you read ___          sign over there?"

“Yes, I can,” said Mrs. Smith.  " It      'No Parking'.  

"Right.  Madam.  So __ __ have you parked your car here? I shall have to give you a parking ticket. "

   "But this isn't my car," said Mrs. Smith.

"Isn't it?" said the policeman, and his face turned  red. "I'm very sorry. ___I shall have to put a ticket on the front of the car. " Before he was not able to finish writingthe ticket,       woman had arrived. She kissed the policeman and said, "Hello, dear. I knew I could find you here at this time of' the day. Happy birthday! I         you abirthday present. "

    "Thank you, dear, But what is it? " asked the policeman. “Here it is," His wife pointed at the red car. “A big surprise,?? ___ it?” she continued. “Yes. But you mustn’t  leave it on this road for very long. There's a ‘No Parking' sign over there. "the policeman sighed.

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