In a specially designed theater in Hangzhou, New Dragon Gate Inn is brought to life by a Shaoxing Opera performer, Chen Lijun, an actress who rises to fame recently.

Adapted from the 1992 classic martial arts film of the same name, the presentation successfully     1     (capture) the interest of a younger audience by blending traditional Chinese opera with modern theater models and dramatic concepts since its release.

Upon leaving the theater, these audience members feel a sense of satisfaction that prompts them to willingly share short clips of the performance online. Initially, most of the audience     2     (be) regular opera lovers. But gradually, more     3     (traditional) theatergoers, many of them young people, began attending with the special love for this traditional show and Chen Lijun.

Born in a modest family in Zhejiang Province, she showed talent and interest in performing arts. At     4     tender age of eight, she was crazy about Shaoxing opera, and that marked the beginning of her lifelong passion for this traditional art form.     5     (help) achieve her potential, her parents enrolled her in local opera school,     6     she received rigorous training under the guidance of skilled teachers.

    7     her undeniable talent, Chen encountered numerous roadblocks along her journey. Traditional Chinese opera, Shaoxing opera     8     (include), has faced a decline in     9     (popular) in recent years. As a result, Chen also had to confront the challenge of revitalizing interest in the art form.     10     (luck), her hard work eventually paid off, winning her numerous awards. Her success tells us that success is not simply handed to us; it is something we must strive for day after day with unwavering determination.

Between 1405 and 1433, on behalf of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He made a total of seven voyages.     1     (load) with china, silk, tea and other treasures as gifts for foreign rulers, the fleet led by Zheng He paid friendly visits to more than 30 countries and regions. Zheng He’s seven voyages had a far-reaching impact     2     China and its neighbours. Zhen He’s efforts helped develop and strengthen harmonious relations with these countries and regions,     3     (expose) foreign people to Chinese culture, and allowing the Chinese to better understand overseas lands. Zheng He’s accomplishments are now widely acknowledged, and he is remembered as one of China’s most     4     (influence) explorers.

Shen Congwen       1     (bear) in Tuojiang Town, Fenghuang County, Hunan Province. He was     2     great modern Chinese writer as well as a research scholar of historical cultural relics. The Border Town is Shen Congwen’s representative work,     3     centers on Cuicui.

Cuicui is raised by her grandfather. 17 years ago, her mother was pregnant (怀孕的) before marriage and she committed suicide after giving birth to Cuicui by drinking cold water in the river. When Cuicui grows up, her grandfather begins to worry about her     4     (marry), because he doesn’t want Cuicui to have a miserable life like her mother. There is a rich man in the border town, who has two handsome sons that both fall in love with Cuicui. Cuicui likes the younger son while her grandfather misunderstands her feelings and thinks the older son is more suitable for Cuicui.     5     (sad), the older son dies in an accident and the rich man puts the blame on Cuicui’s grandfather.     6     the younger son loves Cuicui, he can’t marry her after the death of his dear brother. Finally, he chooses     7     (leave) the town. Cuicui’s grandfather dies     8     a cold, rainy night, leaving Cuicui alone in the world. However, grief doesn’t break her down. She takes over her grandfather’s work,       9     (wait) for the younger son to come back.

From this simple story of love, family duty, and doubts about what the future might bring, Shen Congwen paints a vivid picture of early 20th Century rural life in China. Recently, this book     10     (become) symbolic to a new generation of Chinese people, providing a fascinating image of life in rural China.

Actress Jia Ling topped the social media topics on the second consecutive day of the Chinese Lunar New Year as her great weight     1     (lose) of 50 kilograms during the shooting of her movie Yolo triggered heated discussions over healthy lifestyle and allowed some viewers     2     (draw) aspirations from her arduous weight-loss journey.

The     3     (high) anticipated comedy Yolo hit theaters across China on Feb 10, the first day of the Lunar New Year. It is now leading the domestic movie box office. According to Douban, “YOLO”     4     (adapt) from the 2014 Japanese movie “100 Yen Love”. This movie is comedian-actress-director Jia Ling’s sophomore feature, three years after her 2021 directorial debut box-office blockbuster “Hi, Mom” for which she holds the record as the world’s highest grossing female movie director.

Topics related     5     Jia’s stunning weight loss were dominating Weibo such as “full record of Jia’s losing weight journey” and “Jia Ling totally shocked me,” as netizens discuss     6     it is time to develop a more balanced habit starting from the Spring Festival.

“Her achievement is quite     7     (inspire) and     8     deserves a movie ticket,” moviegoer Li Qiaoya,     9       regularly visits the gym to lose weight, told the Global Times on Sunday. “I feel     10     (guilt) for eating too much during the Spring Festival already.”

The audience     1     (attract) by 100-year-old Florence Chia-ying Yeh, a famous Chinese poetry scholar, showing at Nankai University on October 15, 2023 during an international symposium (研讨会) on teaching Chinese poetry. She delivered a lecture on Chinese poetry and shared her reasons for making     2     decision to live in Tianjin’s Nankai District.

When Yeh concluded her speech, the audience stood up, applauding her for her tireless efforts     3     (promote) Chinese poetry around the world. “I have devoted myself to teaching and sincerely hope to transmit (传递) the beauty of both the logic and emotion     4     (find) in ancient poetry to the younger generation,” Yeh said. She explained that after teaching in varieties of places outside the Chinese mainland, she     5     (eventual) chose to settle in Nankai University in the 1980s.

During the last three years, Yeh has taught Chinese poetry on social media platforms,     6     (win) widespread appreciation for her dedication. On September 5, 2023, a rebroadcast of one of Yeh’s lectures on Nankai University’s account on a social media platform, was watched by     7     (million) of people.

For 80 years, Yeh has been engaged     8     educating the younger generation about ancient Chinese poetry. She has developed a unique set of teaching methods and concepts     9     are still contributing to China’s     10     (culture) development in the current wave of the wider spreading of Chinese culture.