Deep in the     1    (mountain) in Longli County in southwest China’s Guizhou Province, a grassroots troupe (巡回演出团) performing Taiping lantern opera in Longshan Township.

The members of the troupe, who are farmers, vary in age from 8 to 87 years old. They are     2     (usual) busy in the fields and only get together after their farm work     3     (advance) their performance and teach the ancient art to younger generations.     4     holidays, they visit nearby villages to perform for villagers,     5     (make) cultural lives colorful. The troupe members are always greeted with     6     warm welcome by the locals.

Taiping lantern opera combines singing and dancing. It is a traditional local opera in Guizhou’s Longli County and     7    (list) as a provincial intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) in 2019. The unique opera deeply attracts all the villagers and visitors     8     come from home and abroad.

Performers, painted with     9     (impress) face masks and wearing ancient costumes, are loved by the audience for     10     (they) graceful singing, superb performance and authentic style.

Comfortably numb, Sichuan peppers can do the surprising thing to you.

From its English name, obviously the pepper is essential to the deliciously complex cuisine of Sichuan. The pepper, together with dried chillies,     1     (form) the flavour known as mala, a term     2     (comprise) of the characters for “numbing” and “spicy”.

Anyone who has had the eye-watering, nose-running pleasure of eating Feitengyu—sliced fish in a sea of     3     (boil) , peppery chilli oil—knows this sensation.

In the West, kungpao dishes,     4     Sichuan speciality, tend to be oversweetened; the real version sings, the thrilling pepper set off by the rich flavor of black vinegar.

Less     5     (tradition) , dry-fried and then crushed with salt, Sichuan pepper can be a nice topping for popcorn.

Toasted and mixed with cumin (孜然) and fennel (茴香) seeds, dried chillies, anise (八角) , sugar and salt,     6     makes a spice rub that enriches stir-fried potatoes.

A few peppercorns go a long way. Just as inexperienced barbecue     7     (cook) often light so much wood that they burn their meat black, pepper novices (新手) risk making diners’ heads tremble for hours.

Yet even when     8     (use) in moderation, they remain a divisive ingredient. Critics wonder     9     someone would want to numb their mouths while eating.

There is no answer, really no disputing tastes,     10     the old saying goes.