Each Chinese lunar year has a Chinese zodiac sign (生肖) animal. It’s an important part of Chinese     1     culture. But what’s the order of the zodiac sign? And why is it in such an order? Here is one of the     2     behind it.

The Jade Emperor wanted to choose     3     animals to be his guards. He spread the message that if   they got to the Heavenly Gate early, they would get good positions. But to do this, they had to cross a great     4    .

Rat got up at midnight, and he crossed the river with the help of Ox. Rat     5     first place and Ox was second. Tiger and Rabbit came third and fourth     6     both were fast and competitive.

Dragon was fifth, and the Jade Emperor said Dragon’s son could be sixth. But Dragon’s son didn’t come     7     him that day. Just then, Snake came forward, so Snake was sixth.

Horse and Goat arrived. They were very     8     and each let the other go first. They became seventh and eighth.

Monkey was far behind. But     9     jumped between trees and stones, and caught up to be ninth. Last were Rooster, Dog, and Pig. These 12 animals became guards of the Heavenly Gate. The years of the lunar calendar were     10     named for each of them.

The Yingge Dance, or “dance to the hero’s song” is a traditional art form in Chaoshan area. The dance can date back to the Ming Dynasty (1368—1644). At that time, dancers     1     it during traditional Chinese festivals. Today, Chaoshan people perform the Yingge Dance to     2     the Spring Festival.

Usually,     3     number of the performers in the Yingge Dance is either 24 or 36. Each of them     4     a role of the “108 Heroes” from Liangshan Mountain, a place in a famous traditional Chinese story. To prepare for a full day of performances, the performers have to practice for at     5     six months. They also have to wear heavy clothes during their practice.     6     it is hard work, more and more young people are joining the dancing teams because of     7     love for this traditional art.

It is said that this dance is the most popular in Chaoshan towns such     8     Puning and Chaoyang. However, today, people in other countries like Australia and America are also getting interested in it. The Yingge Dance is not only a symbol of Chaoshan     9    , but also a belief (信仰). We Chaoshanese believe it will take away the     10     things and bring good luck to all of us in the coming year.

On February 26th, a new part of the best—known museum in Anyang, Henan, was open to everyone to visit. This museum shows us     1     life was like over 3, 000 years ago. In this new part, spread over a big space, you can see nearly 4, 000 things that were used or     2     by people back then. Most of these things, like ancient writing on bones (骨头) and so on, are being shown to people for the very     3     time.

A long time ago, people found bones with writing on them     4     chance. It was like finding a secret     5     to understanding how people in China lived thousands of years ago. Among many records in the museum, the most     6     one is the story of Lady Fu Hao. She lived more than 3, 200 years ago, and     7     story sounds like something out of a fairy tale (童话). There’s also an area that shows what the     8     and homes might have looked like back then.

All of these help us learn     9     things about the Shang Dynasty (朝代) than before. It’s like     10     back in time about 3, 000 years when we visit the museum. It allows us to see and understand how the people and culture of China have grown and changed over thousands of years.

Everybody can dream, and even animals can have dreams, but dreams     1     as a mystery since centuries ago for us. Dream culture is an important part of ancient Chinese culture. There are many meaningful stories about dreams in China. Behind each     2     much for us to learn.

In the Warring State Period, there was a man named Zhuangzhou. One day, he dreamed of     3     becoming a butterfly. When he woke up, he asked: Was I dreaming of becoming a butterfly, or is a butterfly dreaming of becoming me? It tells us that life is     4    .

The story is about a poor, unhappy scholar (学者) who fell asleep while waiting for his lunch. He dreamed he became an official and enjoyed a     5     and comfortable life, only to wake up and find that the pot of millet was still cooking for him on the fire.

Luo Han was a knowledgeable young talent. One day, he dreamed of a(n)     6     colorful bird flying into his mouth. Waking up in     7    , he felt he had eaten something. His aunt said the bird stood for a high level of literature (文学) and he would write wonderful articles from then on. His writing skills really got improved     8     expected.

Ancient Chinese people thought that dreams could suggest good and bad things. The book Duke of Zhou interprets Dreams was usually used to give     9     to dreams.

Duke of Zhou, a famous politician in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Confucius praised him highly     10     his political achievements. As the post honorable person in his mind, Duke of Zhou often appeared in Confucius’s dreams. Since then, Duke of Zhou was directly related to dreams in ancient China.

Chinese people have been celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival for     1     2,000 years. We started it     2     the great poet Qu Yuan. His country lost in the war, so he jumped into the Miluo River in Hunan and     3     himself on that day. People threw zongzi into the river so that the fish wouldn’t eat     4     body.

Since then the Chinese have been making zongzi.     5     zongzi is an important part on that day. In the past, nearly every family made zongzi with     6    . But now people don’t make zongzi at home. Most of them buy cooked zongzi in markets. It has become a kind of fast food you can get     7     time you want.

There are also     8     customs (习俗) on that day. People go to race dragon boats, drink realgar (雄黄) wine and put felon herb (艾草) on the     9     door.

In the old days, women couldn’t race dragon boats because people thought it was bad     10    . Today women can race boats just like men. They can even make teams to compete in dragon boat racing.