Harbin, the capital city of Northeast China’s Heilongiang Province, welcomed     1     tourists during the past winter.

The city tried to provide tourists with the best experiences and     2    . Upon arrival, tourists found themselves welcomed with live performances at the airport. At Harbin Ice and Snow World, a lot of new     3     were provided, such as bicycles on ice and hot air balloons.

Local people showed their friendliness and hospitality (好客). They offered warm drinks and     4     snacks to tourists for free. Many private car owners also     5     tourists free rides .

    6     by these kind actions, tourists shared their heart-warming moments on social media platforms to show their thanks. Many of them are from southern China, where it seldom     7    . A guest left a note at the hotel, “Harbin is so fun and beautiful. And people here are very hospitable.”

Besides some interesting videos were also posted by tourists. Penguins wearing backpacks     8     the street. Tourists dressed in costumes of different styles posed for photos at the Saint Sophia Cathedral (索菲亚大教堂). Frozen pears were cut     9     the shapes of flowers for tourists to taste and enjoy. All of these pushed the city to be the hottest topic on the Internet.

Harbin drew so much     10     not only because of warm hearts and creative ideas, but also “small details”. The city stands in the shoes of tourists. This is the key reason for its success.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is used to help people keep the balance of yin and yang. But have you ever     1     that one day you can learn herb (药) planting and TCM courses at school?

A primary school in Nanjing has just opened herb farm. More than 30 herbs are planted. Students there are guided     2     doctors from a TCM hospital to tell different herbs and learn plant development, medical value as well as growing herbs. The     3     also donated over 100 cartoon     4     about TCM to help draw children’s attention in herbal medicine.

TCM courses are introduced to students of all grades in another middle school. These courses cover a basic knowledge of herbs, herb planting     5     cooking with herbs. They give students a deeper understanding of TCM, bringing out     6     sense of pride in Chinese traditions and the country’s rich culture. Also in Shanghai, Tongji University has provided foreign students with some chances to plant     7     kinds of herbs. These herbs were     8     used in Chinese medicine and cooking. By     9     care of the plants, foreign students can get first-hand experience of making herbal medicine from start to finish, and spread TCM culture to their own countries.

The herb planting courses at schools and universities across China get students     10     to TCM than before and help pass on the tradition.

Have you ever been to Dongting Lake? It’s     1     for the name “800-li Dongting Lake”. Dongting Lake is in the northern part     2     Hunan Province. It is about 2,579 square kilometers in     3    . It is one of the five largest freshwater (淡水) lakes in China. Every year thousands of tourists from all over the world     4     to Yueyang in order to enjoy the beautiful scenery (景色) around Dongting Lake.

With the development of society,     5     Dongting Lake has become a hot topic. In fact, people in Yueyang are trying to     6     the environment of the lake. On the one hand, people set up East Dongting Lake Nature Reserve (东洞庭湖自然保护区) in 1982. It     7     good place for birds and rare (珍稀的) animals. On the afternoon of April 25th, 2018, thousands of people saw birds flying in the sky,     8     elk (麋鹿) eating grass in East Dongting Lake Nature Reserve. On the other hand, factories mustn’t pour     9     water into the lake. In this way, the water in the river is very clean and many fishes are living in the clean water     10    .

Besides, colorful flowers come out and leaves turn green. Dongting Lake is our mother lake. Everyone in Yueyang should play a part in protecting it.

Ancient and Modern Chinese Characters (汉字)

When people write in English, they use letters of the alphabet (字母表). People who write in     1    , however, use characters that stand for words or ideas. Historians believe Chinese     2     began as early as 1,500 BC. The earliest forms were called “oracle bones (甲骨文)”. These were animal bones marked with pictures and     3    . By 1,400 BC, the Chinese writing system (系统) had become more difficult. It had     4     than 2,500 characters. Around 220 BC in Qin Dynasty, Chinese characters became standardized. This means that everyone used the     5     characters.

Many     6     Chinese characters are similar to those from 2,000 years ago. For example, the character that means man in the Lishu system from 200 BC is similar to the character that     7     man from the Jiantizi, or modern simplified system, of the twentieth century.

People have worked to     8     Chinese characters over the centuries. The most important changes happened in the twentieth century. The Chinese government simplified many characters     9     more people could learn to     10    . This simpler system is used in the mainland (大陆) of China and Singapore.     11     characters are used in Chinese Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao. Even with these changes, Chinese writing from 2,200 years ago is still understood today.

When I was very young, I learned a lot of Chinese characters (汉字). My parents patiently taught me how to tell the differences among them. They tried to make me     1     understand the meaning of each character. My grandfather often guided     2     to write the Chinese character “he” which means “harmony (和谐)”. As I got a little     3    , I often met some problems in my life. For example, at school, sometimes I would not get along well with my     4    . When I had difficulty in solving these things, I used to write down the word “he” on paper.     5     my father hung it on the wall. He said that     6     and harmony is the first thing for our Chinese nation. So we choose to be     7     to family, and friends for a harmonious family and social relationships.

Now I learn that the Chinese character “he” is one of the most important     8     of traditional culture. Since ancient times, Chinese people have realized that our only way of surviving (生存) is to live in harmony     9     nature. Harmony is the first value that influences Chinese people’s thinking styles (风格) and actions.

Our most valuable ideas and culture are     10     the simple character. It teaches us not only how to be a good person but also how to live in harmony with others and the environment.

One American university uses a robot as a teacher to help students with their problems. And none of the students knew that is a robot at the     1    !

Jill Watson, a robot made in that university, helps the students a lot. When answering their     2    , Jill seems to be an excellent teacher. She can give wonderful answers     3    . She sounds natural and usually says good words.

When someone     4     the students that their teacher was a robot, they all got very     5    . “How is it possible? I was talking to a robot?” said Bailey. “She sounds like a common teacher.” Another student Jennifer told the newspaper, “We are thinking about     6    Jill Watson to be our best teacher. She is really     7    . ”

Now many students like to ask questions on their school’s website. It usually takes teachers too much time to answer     8    . So the university had such an idea of making Jill Watson, and it’s a     9     way to help the students with their problems than ever before.

Jill can quickly find possible answers to the questions in her own computer and make     10     they are all right. After that, she answers the students in a voice that sounds like a famous actress.

This Irishman has lots of friends in the animal kingdom. He has the selfies to prove (证明) it!

Allan Dixon loves     1    . During his travels, he makes friends with animals. Kangaroos, giraffes, elephants, birds, cats, dogs, monkeys—he has     2     selfies with them all. It looks like they are old friends. People say Dixon is the new Dr. Dolittle.

Dixon really     3     these animals. He will spend a lot of time with them before taking the selfies. Sometimes, it can take three     4     to get that great photo. He also teams up with tourism bodies and conservation groups to     5     content (内容). Keep up the great work!