Extreme heat is becoming increasingly common across the globe. It is an     1     (extreme)dangerous weather condition where the temperatures are much hotter than average. It’s clear that how hot future summers will get depends on     2     humans do to stop climate change.Governments appeal to people to reduce greenhouse     3     (gas)—like methane (甲烷) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) -in the atmosphere. Also, they will set up public cooling stations     4    (protect) people at risk.

The cheongsam, well-known as “Qi Pao”, is a female dress with Chinese features and enjoys a     1     (grow) popularity in the international world of high fashion.

    2     the early Manchu rulers came into power, they organized certain people, mainly Manchus, into “banners”, and     3     (call) them “banner people” (旗人), which then became the name of all Manchus. The Manchu women wore normally a one-piece dress,     4     is named “qi pao” or “banner dress” now.

Easy to slip on and     5     (comfort) to wear, the cheongsam fits well the female Chinese figure. Its neck is high, collar closed, and its sleeves may be short, medium or full-length, depending on season and taste. The dress is buttoned (用纽扣扣住)     6     the right side, with a loose chest, a fitting waist, and slits up (分叉) from the sides, all of which combine     7     (set) off the beauty of the female shape.

Another beauty of the cheongsam is that they can     8     (wear) on casual or formal occasions. In either case, it creates an     9     (impress) of simple and quiet charm, elegance and neatness. No wonder it is so much liked by women not only of China but of foreign     10     (country) as well.

Make the Best of Dog Days with Chinese Sanfu Customs

The hottest and most sultry (闷热的) days of the year, dog days, or Sanfu in Chinese, came on Thursday.     1     Chinese, “san” means “three” and “fu” means to “hide“. The word refers to three periods of “fu” days,     2     usually fall between mid-and-late July and early August.

In the philosophy of traditional Chinese medical science, it is the best time for driving away the summer-heat evil, or dampness,     3     the body. To resist the evil, people are advised to hide from heat during dog days.

Since ancient times, Chinese people     4     (develop)some traditional customs to prevent heatstroke (中暑) and adjust their bodies to be better accustomed     5     the changing seasons, including eating the right food and using the medicine.

In the philosophy of traditional Chinese medical science, the human body is full of positive energy on hot days, and skin is open to the outside world.     6     you paste some medicated patches, “Sanfutie” in Chinese, to some acupuncture points (穴位) on the body, it will work better along the main and collateral channels (经络) and blood vessels. Leave the patches on the body for several hours before taking away, and repeat the procedure several times according to different diseases during the dog days.     7     the disease has been treated in summer, the probability of the disease to break out will decrease in autumn and winter.

As the old method can help a patient ease pain     8     taking drugs and having acupuncture(针灸)or an operation, it has gained much popularity since ancient times. If you visit a traditional Chinese medicine hospital on the first day of “Sanfu”, you will find long queues waiting for getting “Sanfutie” treatment, which might not be     9     (suit) for everybody.     10     (consult) a professional doctor before using it.