On April 13, 2023, the Netherlands (荷兰) welcomed two pandas from China: Wu Wen and Xing Ya. At the     1    , hundreds of children took panda balloons with them and waited for the pandas. They were all very     2     for the pandas to come.

Wu Wen and Xing Ya are the Netherlands’ first pandas. Both of them will live in the country for     3     years. Local people have prepared a lot for the pandas. They made many panda-themed things and you can see them     4     on the street. Some families make colorful panda flags and put them on     5     houses. Many stores sell panda biscuits, cakes and     6    . The pandas live at a zoo in the Netherlands. The zoo has     7     a great house for the pandas to live in. And the house looks     8     a palace and it’s about 9, 000 square metres. That may be as big as 160 classrooms in your school. The panda house has three floors. There are     9     kinds of rooms in it, including a bedroom and an activity room. There are     10     rooms for their babies in the future.

How interesting!

5 .

Pornpawee Sangchalin, a fan of traditional Chinese hanfu with more than 210,000 followers on social media, is among thousands of young people in Thailand who have learned Mandarin (普通话) and love Chinese culture.

Unlike others, she has been teaching Mandarin in a different way, making learning more enjoyable. “I use both traditional and modern learning ways such as computer word games in my teaching,” she said.

On TikTok and Instagram, Pornpawee posts short videos on different topics about Mandarin learning, Chinese culture and fashion trends. Her videos, which show her dressed up in traditional Chinese hanfu, make them stand out compared with many others online.

“Mandarin is like a key, helping me to open the door to understand China. The more I learn about China, the deeper my love grows for the country, including its food, history, culture and people,” she said.

Having studied Chinese language and culture at the Huachiew Chalermprakiet University in Thailand, 35-year-old Pornpawee has been teaching Mandarin for more than 10 years. However, she developed a liking for the language at the age of 13. When she was in senior high school, Pornpawee made an important decision: she decided to pursue Mandarin instead of science.

In recent years, she said more young people in Thailand are trying to learn more about China through social media, movies and TV dramas.

“My followers on social media have kept increasing and some local schools have invited me to hold special Mandarin classes for students. In the class, I was inspired (启发) by students whose questions drove me to learn more about China,” she said.

7 . The International Horticultural Exposition (世界园艺博览会) 2024 in Chengdu is an event that celebrates many different plants and animals, from April 26th to October 28th. During the Expo, over 2000 events and cultural activities will be held.

The Expo’s logo mixes plant designs like ginkgo (银杏), hibiscus (木槿), and golden bamboo with the shape of a panda’s head, and it shows the environmental beauty of Chengdu. The mascot (吉祥物), named “Tong Meier”, a panda-like image stands for peace, friendship, and the deep culture of Sichuan.

The Expo will have different garden themes, from traditional Asian to modern international designs. It turns Chengdu into a heaven for those who love gardens. Spring in Chengdu is lively, with activities that connect old and new-like biking on the Tianfu Greenway or enjoying hotpot among blooming cole flowers.

With the city’s efforts in green living and its rich cultural background, this spring and the International Horticultural Expo will surely be unforgettable.

Do you know tanghulu? Of course. Tanghulu is a traditional Chinese snack. In the past, people could only eat tanghulu     1     holidays. But now people can buy it everywhere. Many teenagers now like to eat tanghulu instead of popcorn when they watch     2     (movie) at the theater.

Many     3     (America) young people have posted (发布) videos of themselves eating tanghulu on the Internet recently. It seems that tanghulu has become more and more popular there. According to BBC, tanghulu was the     4     (three) convenient foods among teenagers in the first half of 2023.

People in America like to eat tanghulu as a snack. These days, there     5     (be) a lot of “low-fat” kinds of tanghulu in US shops. These kinds of tanghulu can keep people     6     (health). So, tanghulu is     7     (deep) loved by people there.

To make it, people usually put some fruits on a stick. In America, people try many things in tanghulu,     8     strawberries, sweet potatoes, and bananas. According to a survey in 2023,     9     most popular is the orange tanghulu.     10     (it) price is 5 dollars (about 35 yuan). There are different reasons for tanghulu’s recent increase in popularity (流行). One of them is the popularity of mukbang (吃播).

10 . In a busy international business (商务) meeting, a group of businessmen from different countries came together to discuss possible working partnership. Among them were Sarah, an American manager, and Li, a Chinese businessman. They had difficulty _______ each other.

As the meeting continued, Li kept quiet all the time, so Sarah thought Li wasn’t interested. Sarah decided to break the ice by offering a strong hand shake to express her _______. However, Li found her handshake was too strong. This made him feel _______ because he was used to shaking hands softly.

Later, during a conversation, Sarah nodded from time to time to show _______, but Li still had no expressions on his face. Sarah thought he was against the plan. In face, Li was simply thinking about the information _______.

As the day went by, misunderstanding continued to _______ . As they kept talking, they both misunderstood each other’s body language because they had different ways of showing things. It felt like there was a(n) _______ wall between them.

Then another person _______ both Sarah and Li about the cultural differences in body language. They began to realize why they couldn’t understand each other _______. With this newfound awareness, they changed their gestures and expressions.

In the end, through patience and understanding, Sarah and Li worked out their early problems. They learned to ________ and get used to each other’s body language, finally making their business work better.