Sanfu, also called China’s “dog days of summer”, refers to three 10-day periods that normally have ________ days of the year. In English, the dog days of summer—also known as the hot, humid(潮湿的) and uncomfortable summer days ________ July 3 and August 11— are upon us. Many believe that this time ________ the “dog days” because it is so hot, even dogs are panting(喘息) from the heat. In fact, the term “dog days” came from the ancient Greeks referring to the dog star, Sirius.

San means “three” in Chinese with Sanfu covering the three periods of fu days. In Chinese, fu means to hide. The word is also a suggestion for the people to “hide” at home when the heat outdoors ________ too intense(强烈的).

As early as the Qin Dynasty, people ________ to spend several days in a special way. In ancient books of Han dynasty, the celebrations of people enjoying nice food and drinking alcohol together during Sanfu time were recorded.

________ an old saying popular in Northern China goes, “Have dumplings for Toufu, noodles or Erfu, baked pancake and fried eggs for Sanfu.” Noodles are especially popular at the hottest times, because ________ can help people sweat(流汗) and let go of too much energy. During Sanfu time, it’s also good ________ food which is cold in nature like watermelon and cucumber.

There is also ________ Chinese saying, “In winter, keep exercising during the coldest days. In summer, do the same thing during the hot days.” No matter how hot the weather is, we should exercise, but try to avoid 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, we’d better ________ to exercise in the morning.