Traditionally, from the Winter Solstice (冬至) on, people in China talk about winter     1     (come) in nine periods and each period is 9 days long, which is called shujiu. The nine periods represent the nine stages of the season respectively.     2     is believed that after 9 nine-day periods, the weather becomes warmer and spring will be     3     its way.

The 3rd nine-day period is called “Sanjiu” in Chinese,     4     refers to the 19th-27^th days after the day of the Winter Solstice. As the saying goes, the days of the Sanjiu period     5     (be) the coldest days of the Nines of winter.

Winter is a long season of the year in northern areas, and the cold weather sometimes     6     (bring) out the true characteristics of many cities.

Such as in Beijing, the ice sculptures,     7     (decorate) by a variety of colored lights, are     8     (true) incredible and besides those, there are plenty of folk events and fireworks to enjoy.

During the 3rd nine-day period, most of the lakes in northern areas will freeze over. Skating on the lakes is one of the most popular     9     (activity) and even has become     10     annual tradition.

From “pocket parks” between communities to forest parks in the outer cities, local governments are     1     (ambition) to make China’s cities greener. That’s     2     there are more parks in cities these days.

From 2021 to 2022, Shanghai transformed 62 woodlands into leisure spaces. These leisure spaces open up forests,     3     allows visitors to enjoy natural beauty as well as wildlife. In urban     4     (area), more companies and universities are sharing their greenery. For instance, the Shanghai Research Institute of Sports Science opened its 1,000-square-meter green space to the public.     5     (join) by historical buildings in the area, the park can provide more space for tourists to rest.

Apart from meeting people’s needs, parks can also do good to the environment. Take Beijing’s Central Green Forest Park     6     an example. Since it was opened in 2020, the park     7     (reach)carbon neutrality (碳中和). It means although the park’s facilities produce carbon dioxide, more can be     8     (take) in by the plants there. The park also fully reuses rainwater and creates green energy     9     (supply) the park. As cities in China become greener, “park cities” are becoming a reality. The concept of a park city was     10     (initial) put forward in 2018. It is a concept that takes the form of an improved natural environment in all aspects, noted China Daily.

With global events like the UN Climate Change Conference     1     (bring) sustainability (可持续性) into public focus, readers are expecting libraries to introduce more sustainable     2     (measure). They try to reduce their electricity usage and buy equipment from providers     3     are struggling to protect the environment. So far,     4     number of the libraries that have already taken steps to reduce their carbon footprint has been increasing.

Devices like monitoring tools can     5     (apply) to identify areas of a library that are frequently unoccupied. The Jean Anderson Morgan Student Center, for example, is taking advantage     6     the tools throughout its library study rooms. Up till now,     7     (significance) improvements have been made in reducing its energy usage. Bulb costs have     8     (obvious) declined, with fewer replacements needed in low occupancy areas.

Fixing automated equipment that runs on minimal electrical power is libraries’ another effort     9     (operate) more sustainably. Sophisticated self-service machines are now able to     10     (simple) the process of loaning and returning books without causing a big increase in a library’s electricity bill.