In China, a large number of people take the sport of pigeon racing very    1    (serious). Many competitors spend big money getting their    2    (hand) on top-performing birds. One such competitor is 57-year-old Yu Yuguang. He says he gets so excited waiting for his pigeons    3    (arrive) at the end of a race that his heart starts beating fast. “Those are the most intense and enjoyable moments of a pigeon race.” Yu told Reuters News Agency. Recently, his 7-month-old pigeon     4    (name) “Little Ancestor” placed first in a Chinese Racing Pigeon Association race. The race started in Lang fang, near the Chinese capital Beijing,    5    it ended in Shanghai. The win earned Yu $760 in prize money. That amount, however, is far     6    (little) than the $30, 600 he spends on his 500 pigeons each year.

Pigeon racing has a long history in China. It began as a sport enjoyed mainly by very rich people. But the country’s economic development over the years     7    (allow) the sport to spread beyond     8    wealthy. “Membership in the Chinese Pigeon Association has jumped     9    tens of thousands in the 1980s to about 400,000 today,”    10     (say) the group’s vice president, Huang Jian.

Twenty teammates dig the paddles into the water and then pull back in a quick,     1     (power) motion (动作). A drummer (鼓手) keeps time for     2    (they) from the front of the boat while another person controls and directs from the back. Together, these 22 people race a boat     3    (decorate) with the head and tail of a dragon. It is a scene     4     has been part of the Dragon Boat Festival in China for thousands of years. But over the last 40 years, this scene     5    (become) common on lakes and rivers around the globe.

The world outside Asia was formally introduced to dragon boating in 1976. That year the Hong Kong Tourist Association had a plan     6    (attract) tourists. Their first step was inviting a Japanese team to compete in the first Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races. The media (新闻媒体) sent pictures around the world,     7    (increase) international interest in the sport. Their next step was sending dragon boats to     8    (city) in North America and Europe.     9     their plan helped tourism or not, it did give rise to dragon boat clubs in many countries. When the International Dragon Boat Federation was founded in 1991, dragon boating had truly become     10     international sport.

The Argentina Football Association confirmed Maradona's death on Wednesday and expressed the deepest sorrow for the     1     (lose) of the country’s legend.

    2     ( regard) as the best player in the history of the game , Maradona became a household name after he     3     (lead) his country to World Cup glory in 1986. He took center stage at the tournament with a memorable performance against England where he scored an iconic(具有讽刺意义的) goal     4     was described as the "Hand of God". Later in     5     same match, he scored one of the best     6     (goal) in history after weaving his way past seven English defenders.

Argentina's President announced three days of national mourning     7     (show) the sadness for the passing away of the superstar, and posted a tribute(悼念) to Maradona on Twitter. "You took us to the top of the world. You made us feel     8     (incredible) happy. You were the greatest of all. Thank you for having existed."

Maradona will lie at Argentina's presidential palace where his fans will have the chance to say goodbye to their hero. Meanwhile, a minute's silence     9     (observe) ahead of all European matches this week     10     honor of him.

Zhang Zening, a hanfu enthusiast in Nanjing, began an extraordinary journey eight years ago to revive this traditional Chinese attire (服装).     1     (inspire) by ancient paintings, Zhang, 41, studied the artistry of hanfu in     2     (vary) museums, transforming two dimensional paintings into wearable pieces. Her extraordinary craftsmanship has not only delighted hanfu enthusiasts but also attracted the     3     (curious) of young minds, giving them the opportunity to wear significant attire during museum visits.

Zhang said that she firmly believed hanfu serves     4     a gateway into the past. About three-quarters of hanfu customers are between 16 and 24 years old,     5     (allow) young people to truly connect with their cultural heritage.

After graduating from college, Zhang buried     6     in material research. At the time, she was one of the earliest enthusiasts in China. “My husband saw how passionate I was and encouraged me to turn hanfu into a career,” she said, “It was with his support     7     I started my own career.”

Recently, Zhang     8     (cooperate) with women’s re-employment organizations, seeking full-time stay-at-home women with sewing skills. Among them are many single mothers     9     can earn an income while taking care of their children, according to Zhang.

Hanfu     10     (eventual) becomes a mass fashion because it is a carrier of traditional culture, not merely clothing.

The cheongsam is a female dress with distinctive Chinese features and enjoys growing    1     (popular) in the international world of high fashion. The name “cheongsam”     2     (mean) simply “long dress” entered the English vocabulary from the dialect of China’s Guangdong Province. In other parts of the country including Beijing, however, it     3     (know) as “qipao”, which has a history behind it.

After the early Manchu (满族的) rulers came to China, the Manchu women wore     4     (normal) a one-piece dress which came to be called “qipao”.     5    the 1911 Revolution ended the rule of the Qing Dynasty, the female dress survived the political change and, with later improvements, has become the traditional dress for Chinese women. 

The cheongsam     6    neck is high, collar closed, fits well the Chinese female figure, and its sleeves may be short, medium or full     7     (long), depending on seasons or tastes. In addition, it is not too complicated    8     (make). Nor     9     it need too much material. Another beauty of the cheongsam is that it can be worn either on casual or formal occasions. In either case, it creates an    10     (impress) of simple and quiet charm, elegance and neatness.