The traditional Chinese calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Jingzhe (惊蛰),   or Awakening of Insects,     1     (fall) on March 5 and ends on March 20 this year.

The solar term signals a rise in temperature and increased rainfall,     2     (mark) the third solar term in the solar year. Its name alludes to (暗指) the awakening of animals     3     (sleep) in winter and everything beginning to come back     4     life.

Jingzhe is an extremely important time for farmers and     5     (see) as the beginning of the busiest time for agricultural work. Old Chinese     6     (say) such as “once Jingzhe comes, spring plowing (春耕) never rests” reveal the importance of this term to farmers. During this period, most parts of China experience a rapid increase in temperatures and a marked increase in sunshine,     7     provide the ideal conditions for farming activities.

Eating pears around Awakening of Insects is     8     widely practiced custom in China. One theory behind the practice is that as the Chinese word for “pear” sounds the same as the character meaning “to leave”, consuming pears during this solar term showed people’s wish to drive away pests from crops so that there would be a good harvest throughout the year.     9       (additional), according to theories of traditional Chinese medicine, the sweet, juicy and cold fruit can be good for the lungs     10     (prevent) coughs as the weather warms up and the air becomes dry.