Saint Patrick’s Day is a major holiday in Ireland, but the rest of the world has influenced its celebration as much as the Irish 【小题1】 (they). Most Americans think of Saint Patrick’s Day as a big party 【小题2】 (center) around drinking alcohol. But its 【小题3】 (origin) in Ireland were religious, says Mike Cronin, a professor of Irish history with Boston College of Massachusetts.

Saint Patrick lived in Ireland more than 2,000 years ago. He is 【小题4】 (wide) considered to have established Christianity in the country. The Church decided to honor him with a holy day. March 17, the date of his death,【小题5】 (choose) in the 171h century.

St. Patrick is believed 【小题6】 (serve) in Ireland as a Catholic Bishop (主教). The average Irish person honored March 17 quietly.【小题7】 (attend) church services was the main activity. In fact, most businesses that served alcohol would close in honor 【小题8】 the day. In the early 1900s, Ireland’s government made St. Patrick’s Day 【小题9】 official holiday. By the 1960s, towns across Ireland started celebrating the holiday with parades and music.

In Ireland today, Si. Patrick’s Day is a four-day public celebration 【小题10】 includes parades, music, food, and games.

Summer in Britain

The summer is a great time to be in Britain. The British Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Tate Gallery are all a must-see for everybody who 【小题1】 (come) to the country ，but there are also a lot of interesting things to do for those 【小题2】love the outdoors.

The Notting Hill Carnival (诺丁山狂欢节） changes the face of the famous London borough in the last weekend of August. It’s the 【小题3】( large) street festival in Europe. First 【小题4】 ( hold) in 1964，it’s a celebration of Caribbean culture but now includes Brazilians, Africans, Europeans and anybody else who likes to dress 【小题5】 ( colourful) and feels the urge to dance to the sound of a beat.

With its 【小题6】 ( popular) growing, it’s estimated (估算） that 50，000 performers will take part in the parade， 【小题7】( attract) more than 1 million people over the weekend.

In mid-August，in Bristol, a city about 200km from London, the sky is filled 【小题8】 colours during its annual balloon fiesta. If the weather is good, more than 100 hot air balloons 【小题9】 ( rise) from the fiesta’s site in Ashton Court.

Britain is full of traditions and sometimes just stopping at a country pub for a beer 【小题10】 having a cream tea in a small tearoom can make a moment special. Always be sure where you are, and learn enough English to ask for directions. Have a nice holiday!

Apart from the 【小题1】 (religion) festivals, people in the west also celebrate traditional festivals like Thanksgiving Day, which falls 【小题2】 the fourth Thursday of November. In 1620, a boat shipped a group of people 【小题3】 (call) pilgrims (清教徒) to the New World and they settled in 【小题4】 is now the state of Massachusetts. A few months 【小题5】, they found that life was not easy as expected and many people died. Thanks to the native American Indians, they learned 【小题6】 to fish, hunt and grow crops. Having so much to be thankful for, a feast 【小题7】 (plan). This is the origin of Thanksgiving Day. The modern holiday of Thanksgiving comes from the efforts of Sarah, 【小题8】 is an American writer and editor. She not only gave speeches but also wrote letters to state governments as well as presidents and finally got Abraham Lincoln's 【小题9】 (permit). Today, Thanksgiving Day is a time for tradition and sharing. Certain kinds of food, such as turkeys, are 【小题10】 (tradition) served at Thanksgiving meals.