Recently, there has been the first meeting of the Youth Peking Opera Performers. It has been shown live on TV and online. It started on Nov 9th, ________ young watchers a chance to get closer to this traditional art form and have a better understanding of it.

Around a hundred young performers joined in this meeting. ________ on TV, people could also watch it on the website of CCTV.

With the new technologies like 5G, 4K and AI, this show ________ brought this art form from traditional theaters to both small and big screens. It also provided the young performers with a place to show their ________.

Li Jia, a young performer from the Jingju Theatre Company of Beijing, said ________ was her duty to carry on this traditional art from her grandmother and mother. “When I was young, I got to know that they loved the art form deeply, practiced it very hard every day, and took it as a career (职业). I was moved by them and decided to ________ this beautiful art form”, she told the reporter.

________ the young performers showed their true love for this traditional art form on the stage, young watchers around China could see their many years’ hard practice. After seeing it, the young watchers got ________. At the same time, young watchers could also feel the beauty of the art and fell in love with it. It was good for the spread of Chinese culture.

Peking Opera is a performance art form ________ includes singing, acting and martial arts (武术). In the show, experienced performers and experts were also invited to introduce the background information and knowledge about Peking Opera. It not only taught the young watchers a lot ________ helped spread the art.

(Pinocchio has been given coins that he is supposed to take to Geppetto. Before he can get home, the fairy Olivia, who once rescued (营救) him, has made him take some medicine.)

“And the four pieces—where have you put them?” asked Olivia.

“I have lost them!” said Pinocchio, but he was telling a lie, for he had them in his pocket.

His nose, which was already long, grew at once two inches longer.

“And where did you lose them?”

“In the wood near here.”

At this second lie, his nose went on growing.

“If you have lost them in the wood near here,” said Olivia, “we shall find them, because everything that is lost in that wood is always found.”

“Ah! I remember all about it,” replied Pinocchio, “I didn’t lose the four gold pieces, I swallowed (吞咽) them while I was taking your medicine.”

At this lie, his nose grew so long that poor Pinocchio could not move in any direction. If he turned to one side, he struck (碰撞) his nose against the bed, and if he turned to the other, he struck it against the walls or the door. Olivia looked at him and laughed.

“What are you laughing at?” asked Pinocchio, very anxious at finding his nose growing so hugely.

“I am laughing at the lie you have told.”

“And how can you know that I have told a lie?”

“Lies, my dear boy, are found out easily, because they are of two sorts. There are lies that have short legs, and lies that have long noses. Your lie, as it happens, is one of those that have a long nose.”

Pinocchio, not knowing where to hide himself for shame, tried to run out of the room, but he did not succeed, for his nose had increased so much that it could no longer pass through the door.

2024 is the year of the dragon! In Chinese culture, the dragon is a powerful and mysterious creature. It’s not a real animal but a combination (结合) of many animals’ features. Dragons usually live in the river, well and ocean. They can control water, rain and floods. When they sneeze (打喷嚏), it will rain.

Chinese dragons represent (代表) power, wisdom and good luck. In ancient China, it was believed that the emperor, who was called the “Son of the Dragon”, had a special connection to the dragon and its power. Only emperors could wear clothes with dragon patterns, and their throne (王位) was called the Dragon Throne.

Nowadays, Chinese people are still proud to call themselves the “descendants (传人) of the dragon”. People born in the year of the dragon are said to have special qualities. They are often strong-willed, confident, and passionate. They are also believed to be lucky and successful in life. So excellent and outstanding people are often compared to dragons. No wonder parents always want their sons to become dragons!

However, where I am from, we have different feelings about dragons. In the Bible (圣经), dragons represent the devil (恶魔) and trick the world. Western people usually see dragons as cold-blooded animals, like snakes. They are dishonest because of their forked (分叉) tongues. They are cruel killers, breathing fire and catching women. So it is a common tale for a knight (骑士) to kill a dragon and save a princess. Even the popular boy Harry Potter has to beat a deadly dragon and get back a golden egg from its nest.

Because of this, some Chinese experts suggested changing the English word for Chinese dragons to its pinyin, “Long”. They believe the name “dragon” makes western people think badly about China. But some don’t agree. They think Chinese people can look after their own culture. Well, living in China for more than ten years, I already know the difference, and I also love the Chinese dragons!

Many people believe that repairing automobiles (汽车) is a man’s job, but the story of Gu Huijing may change their mind.

Gu Huijing, an 18-year-old girl, won the first prize at a competition for automobile repair in Guangdong. Over 33 teams from different cities took part in it, and Gu was the first girl in Guangdong Province to take part in such a competition and win the first prize. She completed the disassembly and assembly of an engine (发动机拆装) in just 26 minutes, breaking the school record.

Unlike other girls, Gu was always interested in robots and driverless cars when she was young. But she didn’t perform well in some subjects in junior high school. “I did try my best to study math, but it didn’t work.” Gu said. Clearly knowing she would not get good grades on her gaokao, Gu decided to learn about cars in a vocational school (职业学校) instead of entering senior high.

At first, her parents were very surprised and couldn’t accept her decision. After all, vocational schools were not so accepted by public. But Gu finally persuaded (说服) them in her own way. She researched the future development of the auto industry in her city, compared different schools’ running level and asked for advice from seniors. She also promised that she would stick to studying hard. Her parents came to realize that Gu was serious about it and then agreed.

Speaking of the future, Gu said she was preparing for the coming exam of a university. “I hope to learn more in the auto industry. If possible, I want to take part in the World Skills Competition. I believe gender (性别) has nothing to do with choosing a job and I’m sure I can make it.”

①Cathy lived in a house in the country. When it was getting dark, she went outside to feed her chickens and took care of her garden. After that, she went to sleep and woke up naturally in the next morning. She said daylight helped her and gave her energy. She hasn’t been sick for years. She said it was because of daylight that she got more natural vitamin (维他命) D. And she felt less stressed.

②Cathy was not alone. There is an increasing number of people giving up their busy life in the city and moving to the countryside. With fewer night activities in the country, Alex found it easier to get up early when the sun shone through the window. “You can’t imagine how great I feel when I wake up seeing the sun! It’s amazing that I hardly have a stomachache these days.”Alex recalled.

③Scientists did a survey about light and mental health. They found that enough natural light exposure (暴露) has a big influence on our mental health. Morning light naturally has blue light, which helps us set our circadian rhythms (生物钟) and stay alert. They found that greater daytime light exposure has something to do with a reduced (降低的) risk of stress disorder.

④Exposing ourselves to too much artificial (人工的) bright light at night can also influence our mental health. Our brains naturally developed to work best with bright light in the day. At night, they need almost no light. But nowadays, we often spend most of the day indoors, and we always have electric lighting until late night. These behaviors are confusing (困惑, 迷惑) our brains and making us unwell, They often caused mood and sleep problems.

⑤ ▲ Marc Cohen, a professor of natural medicine, suggests going to bed early and going outdoors as soon as we can after waking in the morning. We can go for a walk in the park. We can also read the paper outdoors without sunglasses on. These are great ways to take in early-morning daylight. Also, we can make a weekly outdoor plan, such as climbing the mountains or going for a ride at weekends. More importantly, it is necessary to try to avoid too much artificial light, which is often from smartphones, tablets, TVs and computers. Every step counts, let’s start!

China successfully beat Japan at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou and won the gold medal. The victory spread fast across social medias. The statement “Chinese women’s basketball team is the champion (冠军)” alone got more than 550 million views (浏览量) and about 100,000 comments (评论).

Although it was really difficult, the Chinese women’s basketball team made it. This is very moving, and you can always be proud of the Chinese women’s basketball team.

In the Asian Cup in July, the Chinese women’s basketball team beat Japan at 73:71. In the Asian Games, the Chinese women’s basketball team once again beat Japan with a score of 74:72. Both times, it was in the championship finals, with just a two-point difference, and both times the Chinese team held the lead while Japan made a strong effort to catch up.

China’s head coach, Zheng Wei said in an interview, “We knew that the competing team was very strong, but our players all believed and encouraged each other so that we were able to get success. The game was hard, but we managed to get our victory.”

In the interview, the coach and all the team members also agreed that they couldn’t have got such success without making full preparations or being confident. Those were the secrets that made their team become a winning team.