Children all over the world like to celebrate their birthdays. American children are of no difference. They usually celebrate with a party. They invite friends to their birthday parties. The party may not be held on the right date of their birthday if it comes on a school day. It may be held on the weekend instead.
Today two kinds of parties are the most popular. One is held at home. Parents decorate the house with beautiful balloons and colored paper. They prepare a special birthday meal. The children play games. The other kind is held away from home. Some are at a special restaurant. The children eat pizza and ice cream. The waiters, who serve the food, also sing and tell jokes to the children. Other parties may be held at a park, or at a movie theater, or in some other places.
Every birthday party has a cake with candles. There is one candle for each year of a birthday boy’s or girl’s age. When the candles are lighted, everyone sings the special birthday song： Happy Birthday to You.
As Americans grow older, their birthday parties change. In fact, many people stop having them. They say they would like to forget how old they are. Yet they do like to keep the happy birthday parties of their childhood in mind.
Fill in the blanks according to the passage. Only one word for each blank. （每空一词）
Children in the world like having a birthday party at the time of their birthdays. American children are the ______________ as others. At that time, their friends are ________________ to the parties and the birthday parties are usually held ____________ at home or away from home, _______________ as at a special restaurant, at a park, or at a movie theater, or in some other places. There are candles for every party. _______________ of them stands for one year of the children’s age. But with the children growing, many people want to forget the birthdays.