What is     1     tallest mountain on Earth? Most school children will say the answer is Mount Everest.

So it may be a little surprising for them     2     (learn) that there is something that is three hundred and four meters taller than Mount Everest if measured from the ocean floor. It begins at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and     3     (rise) over seventeen kilometers from the ocean floor, and     4     (it) name is Mauna Loa in Hawaii In the Hawaiian language, Mauna Loa means “Long Mountain”. It is more than half of the island of Hawaii, the largest of the Hawaiian Islands.     5     addition, it is     6     (main) underwater. It is also the largest and most active volcano on Earth and has produced liquid (液体) rock called lava (熔岩) over thirty times since first records     7     (keep) in 1843. Today, Mauna Loa is     8     (peace) and not producing lava.     9    , experts say it is only a matter of time before this happens once again.

Mauna Loa is not the only volcano on the island of Hawaii. There are four others, three of which are no longer active. One of them is still active that is named Kilauea. Experts say the volcanoes of the island of Hawaii prove that the environment of Earth won’t stop     10     (change) and will always remain beyond human control.

There is a place     1     (name) Dahailin (Huge Sea Forest) in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang Province. Deep in Dahailin is a magic al place,     2     it snows from October until March. There lies a small snowy village. In the snow, the old wooden     3     (house) look like white mushrooms (蘑菇). Bright red lanterns stand out upon the village’s white-washed background. The villagers there enjoy     4     (live) a free and pleasant life.

BEIJING — The 2024 Spring Festival box office (票房) in China, within the holiday’s first three     1    (day), has achieved 3.5 billion yuan ($492.7million), which marks a     2     (strike) increase of nearly 17 percent compared to last year.

Running from Feb.10 to Feb. 17 this year, the Spring Festival period traditionally serves as a profitable period for movie ticket sales. The extended holiday contributes     3     drawing more movie-goers to cinemas,     4     (ensure) a successful start to the Chinese film market in 2024.

On Feb.10, eight films were put on, eager     5     (draw) audience attention. Among them, the domestic comedy-drama YOLO, directed by and starring famous comedian Jia Ling, has appeared as the highest-grossing title so far, adding over 1.3 billion yuan to     6     (it) profit account until Tuesday morning, according to box office tracker Dengta Data.

This success narrowly beat the comedy Pegasus 2     7     earned nearly 1.2 billion yuan in the first period of release.     8     (write) and directed by writer-turned-director and racing driver Han Han, the film serves as a sequel (续篇) to his 2019 Spring Festival holiday hit Pegasus.

During the Spring Festival, the animation Boonie Bears: Time Twist     9     (enjoy) great popularity, winning the third place in the Spring Festival box office rankings and bringing     10     large amount of box office profit.

Mechanization of Xinjiang's cotton sector approaches 90%

A total of 2 million     1     (hectare) of cotton farmland in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region will be harvested by machinery rather than by hand, according to     2     region’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

The increase     3     (expect) to raise the mechanization rate of cotton production to 88 percent this year, as the region continues     4     (promote) mechanization in the whole process of agricultural production, the department said recently.

In Shaya county, many tractors can be seen     5     (busy) planting cotton fields, instead of lots of farmers sowing by hand, as spring temperatures rise.

Aksu, a major cotton-growing area in     6     (south) Xinjiang, saw cotton output of more than 1 million metric tons in 2020, making up about one     7     (six) of the country’s total, according to the local government.

“It is encouraging     8     a specialized agricultural machinery cooperative was founded in 2017 in Shaya to provide agricultural machinery and technology     9     cotton farmers,” said Ma Zhan-ming, head of the cooperative. “The cooperative can provide mechanization     10     (serve) during the whole process, from spring sowing to harvest.”

The silver jewelry produced by the Miao ethnic group has been the key to driving rural development in Taijiang County,    1    area located in the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture(自治州)of Guizhou Province.

The jewelry is a magnificent treasure of Miao culture,    2    (present) delicate silver jewels and traditional craftsmanship.The Miao ethnic group    3    (keep)the tradition of decorating themselves with handmade silver ornaments for over 400 years.In May 2011, the silver forging skill of the Miao ethnic group was recognized and included in the third group of    4    (nation)intangible cultural heritage list.

    5    (drive)by the popularity of ethnic festivals and people’s growing interest in silver jewelry,the local tourism industry has enjoyed a boost in recent years.To    6     (far) encourage development,Taijiang County has focused    7    developing the ethnic folk handicraft industry,aiming to enhance the promotion of traditional Miao silver jewelry,create more job     8    (opportunity)and boost regional tourism.By the end of 2021,there were 102 local enterprises devoted to making silver jewelry,    9    total output value reached more than100 million yuan($13.68 million).This significant growth in the silver jewelry industry has laid a strong foundation for the county     10     (promote)rural revitalization.