People around the world celebrate the new year. However, not all countries celebrate in the   46   way. When it is the New Year, people celebrate for several days. In some countries, the New Year is not on the same date every year. It can depend    47   the seasons, the moon or the sun.
In many countries, New Year begins on January1st, but people start celebrating on December 31st, New Year’s Eve. In New York, many people go to celebrate in Times Square. While they’re waiting for the New Year, they    48   music, sing traditional songs and have fun. Just before 12 o’clock, everyone    49   down from 10, 9, 8 … As soon as it’ s 12 o’clock, everyone shouts very loudly, “Happy New Year!” and they say, “Out with the old year and in with the new!” Suddenly there    50  fireworks and special drinks. Sometimes people sing an old song   51  “Auld Lang Syne”.
New Year’s Day is often a family day. Some people relax at home. Some families get together for a special    52  with grandparents, aunts and uncles. When the weather is    53  , many families go out for a walk.
On New Year’s Day, many people make resolutions for the new year. They write down a list of things, such as “I will help out more at home. I will work harder at school.”
Or “I won’t spend so much time    54  video games.” When they have made their list, they read it to their family or friends.
So it does not matter how they celebrate, for people in countries all over the world, it is a time to    55  goodbye to the old year, and to welcome the new.

After my husband died, my world crashed around me. My six children were ten, nine, eight, six, three and 18 months, and I was overwhelmed(不知所措的) with the responsibilities of earning a living, caring for the children and simply keeping my head above water.
I was lucky to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week, but from Friday nights to Monday mornings, the children and I were alone, and frankly(坦诚地) I was uneasy. Every unusual noise or any late-night phone call filled me with fear. I felt really alone.
One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big beautiful German shepherd(牧羊犬) on our doorstep. It was obvious he wanted to make the house his home. The children took an instant liking to “German” and asked me to let him in. I agreed to let him sleep in the basement(地下室) until the next day. That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks.
The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner, but with no results. Saturday night he was still with us. 
On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic. Since I thought it best to leave German behind in case(以免) his owner came by, we drove off without him. When we stopped to get gas at a local station, we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us. He stayed again Sunday night.  
Monday morning I let him out for a run while the children got ready for school. He didn’t come back. We thought we’d never see him again. On Friday evening, German was back again. We took him in, and again he stayed until Monday morning, when our housekeeper arrived. It went like this for almost 10 months. We looked forward to his coming. Each Monday morning he left home.
Each week, between German's visits, I grew a little braver, but every weekend I enjoyed being with him . Then one Monday morning we patted his head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. He never came back. We never saw or heard from German again. I think of him often. He came when I needed him the most and stayed until I was strong enough to go on alone. I believe German was sent because he was needed, and because no matter how abandoned(被放弃的) and alone we feel, somehow, somewhere, someone knows and cares. We are never really alone.
【小题1】What does the underlined part “keeping my head above water” in the first paragraph mean?

It is a good idea to  1 a small present when you go to a  2 party in England or the USA. Flowers are always nice or you may bring a bottle of wine  3 you know what the family  4  . You should arrive on time or  5 minutes late. Don't get there early. If you are going to be there  6 fifteen minutes late, you should call and tell the host and hostess. Try to relax at the dinner table. If you don't know  7 to use the fork(叉子), the knife, or the spoon, just watch  8 and follow them. You can also ask someone next to you. If you like the food, say so. Of course, you will thank the host and the hostess  9 the meal and for their kindness. It's good to send a card or a “thank you” note the   10 day.

1.A. bring               B. take                 C. carry

2.A. breakfast           B. lunch                C. birthday

3.A. when                B. if                   C. so

4.A. eat                 B. drinks               C. drink

5.A. five                B. ten                  C. five to ten

6.A. less than           B. more than            C. about

7.A. why                 B. how                  C. what

8.A. other               B. the others           C. others

9.A. for                 B. of                   C. at

10.A. later              B. tomorrow             C. next