Pompeii was     1     typical Roman Empire port city. Trading ships, busy fishing     2     (boat) and pleasure boats     3     (show) a prosperous city. But the last day of Pompeii ended with a volcanic     4     (erupt): the earth shook and buildings fell down     5     people ran away from an ash cloud that was rolling towards them. Then Pompeii was showered with ashes and     6     (burn) stones. Seventeen centuries later, Pompeii's ruins     7     (discover) with half-finished columns and paint on the walls     8     still looked fresh. The remains of Pompeii are a reminder that human life is short and vulnerable (易受伤害的)     9     the face of     10     (nature) disasters.

With a unique civilization     1    (date) back over 5, 000 years, China has always been a place of special fascination for foreigners. In the past decades, interest in the rapidly developing nation    2    (grow) quickly. Foreigners have been coming to China not just for travel    3    for study, work, investment or cultural exchanges. Some find success in their careers and actively make contributions to China’s sustainable development.

“There are lots of things that we benefited from by     4    (simple) being here in China,” said Jay Thornhill,     5    Australian-American who co-founded one online shopping platform based in Shanghai. “When you combine a huge well-educated and hardworking population with the ability to manufacture and build just about anything that    6    (exist) in the world, you get a very productive business environment. ”

Having foreigners working and living in China achieves more than just economic benefits. It can be a cultural contribution     7     builds a bridge of mutual understanding and friendship between individuals and nations.

In Thornhill’s eyes, China provides a welcoming and accommodating environment for foreigners     8    (follow) their dreams. “The Chinese people are tolerant of language and cultural barriers and usually approach these differences with curiosity rather than     9    (judge), ” he said.

In ancient times, the Venetian merchant Marco Polo’s book fascinated many. Today China’s rapid growth and     10    (it) favorable environment and the expatriates’ exciting stories have stimulated foreigners’ interest in the nation.

Shoppers seeking witches, ghosts and severed heads     1     (decorate) their homes for Halloween     2    (find) something truly scary this year: empty shelves.

The supply-chain snarls that have shaped much of life in the pandemic are now     3    (responsibility) for shortages of Halloween décor and costumes.

A Home Depot spokeswoman says that stock on its Halloween items went quickly “as consumers are     4    (engage) with decorating again this year.”

The National Retail Federation predicts that Halloween spending will reach an all-time high this year of $10.1 billion, up     5    a record $9.1 billion in 2017.

Franco Pacini, co-owner of costume mask company Zagone Studios, says the skyrocketing price of freight shipping and     6    (rise) prices on items like foam are stretching the business financially. The company has met demand by ordering early and working seven days a week, he says. It’s already placed     7    (order) for next Halloween.

Some retailers are splurging on airfreight to avoid the backlog of container ships at U.S. ports, says Katherine Cullen, NRF’s senior    8     (direct) of industry and consumer insights. Other, smaller shops are buying up vintage or used masks, costumes and other paraphernalia from local collectors.

Amy Cobaugh, 49,    9     avid Halloween decorator in North Canton, Ohio, got     10    (create) when she couldn’t find any fake spider webs to decorate her yard. She instead bought 10 pounds of elastic netting used to wrap meat.

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.”