The Jinyun shaobing, a     1     (tradition) Chinese snack that originated in Jinyun county, located in Lishui city, Zhejiang province, has been enjoying increasing popularity both     2     home and abroad with its unique flavors and long history.

The snack is made of dough (面团) stuffed with various fillings—including pork, dried vegetables, sesame seeds and maltose syrup. It’s baked in a barrel-shaped oven at high temperature until the crust (外皮) is crisp and golden.

The snack has been passed down for more than 650 years in Jinyun. It     3     (be) once a favorite food of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty,     4     tasted it during his military campaign in Jinyun. Liu Ji,     5     famous scholar and official of the Ming Dynasty, also wrote a poem praising the snack.

Jinyun shaobing is not only a delicacy for locals and     6     (tour), but also a source of income and pride for many Jinyun folks.

The local government has     7     (high) valued the development of the Jinyun shaobing industry and set up a special office to support it in 2014.

By the end of 2022, the Jinyun shaobing industry had generated a total output value of 3.02 billion yuan,     8     (provide) jobs for some 24,000 people.

It had opened more than 8,000 stores across China and in 16 countries and regions—including the United States, Italy, Spain, Australia and in the United Arab Emirates.

    9     (adapt) to different markets and tastes, Jinyun shaobing makers have innovated     10     (they) products with various fillings such as seafood and cheese.

In the early 1960s, a new kind of diet soda took the stage.     1     fewer calories and less sugar, it promised to be a     2     (healthy) alternative to regular soda. But it turns out that your body can’t tell them apart and that’s     3     the problem lies.

New studies found that when we ate something sweet, for example, the brain sent signals to our pancreas (胰腺), which started producing insulin (胰岛素) that stored the sugar molecules in our cells for energy. So, when we drink diet soda, the sweetness tricks our body into thinking it’s real sugar but when those energy-packed calories don’t arrive, the insulin has     4     to store. Scientists think that     5     (repeat) tricking our body this way could explain why, in the past decades, more than one study     6     (indicate) that drinking diet soda is associated with metabolic syndrome,     7     mix of conditions that includes increased blood pressure, high blood sugar and weight gain which can increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

Another issue could be the fact that artificial sweeteners can leave our brains wanting more, which studies have shown leads to     8     (increase) appetite and potential weight gain because they can be 10s to 100s of times sweeter than sugar. When we taste it, our brains anticipate more calories than what we give it. It’s like when you go to a party in     9     (expect) of abundant food but you end up with a handful of vegan cheese. You’re left unsatisfied and hungry. So if the reason why you’re drinking diet soda is     10     (drop) a few pounds, maybe just stick to water.