2 . Now Internet gives people an interesting way to enjoy traditional culture. Many traditional artists are starting to act online. Because of this new way, young people are becoming more interested in traditional culture.

3 . What’s the Silk Road? In history, it was an important international trade route（商路） between China and the Mediterranean（地中海）. The Silk Road began in the Western Han Dynasty and has a history of more than 2000 years.

In the past, the road started in Chang’an （now Xi’an） and ended in Eastern Europe near the Mediterranean. It was about 6500 kilometers long and went across 1/4 of the world.

The Silk Road got its name in the 19th century because Chinese silk was famous, and the traders also carried China’s porcelain（瓷器） and other things to the West. And glass, gems and food like carrots from the West came to China.

The Silk Road was very important to both China and the rest of the world. It was more than an international trade route. Lots of arts and science of other countries came to China through the Silk Road. In this way, languages and culture influenced each other. Today, China is trying to make the dream of the Belt and Road come true.

4 . Type in “A cat wants to go to space” and ask the robot to write a bedtime story. Just one second later, you’ll get the story of the cat, who was on his way past many difficulties to sing among the stars.

This robot writer is real. It’s called ChatGPT. From writing Shakespeare-style poetry to making music, ChatGPT has amazed the world since it came out in later 2022 by the US company OpenAI. It can translate languages, talk with people and write songs, poems and even jokes. It’s one of the most powerful AI of its kind, with the complete writing abilities of a real person!

People around the world have tried ChatGPT and posted their results on social media. Some used it to write history reports, some asked it to take notes of speech, and some even made suggestions on how to communicate with people at a party.

The power of ChatGPT lies in its speed and understanding of complicated (复杂的) matters. We may spend hours researching, understanding and writing an article on the theory of evolution (进化论). But ChatGPT can produce a well-written one in seconds. Another good thing about it is that if you ask dark, harmful questions, such as how to make weapons (武器), it will not give you an answer.

There is no doubt that ChatGPT is a powerful tool because it can do many creative tasks. However, some schools in the US, Australia and France have stopped the use of ChatGPT, because they think it may make it easier for students to cheat on homework. Some also worry that ChatGPT could be used to spread improper information.

5 . Nowadays, many people are looking for fun online. Watching live-streaming (直播) shows has become part of their lives. At the same time, traditional culture has found a bigger stage online. Many traditional artists are starting to live-stream like Douyin and Bilibili. Some of them sing Peking Opera, some make paper cutting, while others perform Chinese classical music. A growing number of young people are starting to become more interested in traditional culture because of live-streaming.

Li Jun is a Peking Opera performer from the Shanghai Jingju Theater Company. The 59-year-old took up his smart phone and started to live-stream. Unlike performing on a real stage, Li uses common places as his stage, including his office and study room. Except singing, Li also teaches viewers about Peking Opera. People can ask him questions and get answers directly.

“Live-streaming has brought this traditional art down to earth.” One viewer said, “it gives young people an easier way to learn more about the traditional art,” Li has more than 70,000 fans on Douyin, while one of his videos got 42,000 views on Bilibili.

March third in the lunar calendar is China Huafu Day. On April 22nd this year, Bilibili live-streamed a huafu show on the fifth China Huafu Day. Performers showed clothes in traditional Chinese styles, including those from Wei, Tang and Ming dynasties. During the show, viewers not only enjoyed looking at the clothes, but also watched how performers used ancient styles of make-up.

As Guangming Daily said, live-streaming has come to a new stage through which traditional culture can be kept alive.

You may find it easy and fun to use smartphones. But for many old people, it’s a hard thing, Liu Siyuan from Beijing 101 Middle School saw the problem. He tried to teach the old how to use smartphones with a guidebook.

The 16-year-old set up a volunteer group called Silver Hair. It took its seven members around half a year to write a 300-page book called May I Show You How to Use Smartphones?

The group made a survey of more than 1, 000 old people and talked with many in old people’s homes. They found out what the old people cared most about with smartphones. “How to use WeChat” topped the list. This became one part of the book. The other nine parts include online shopping, using online maps and more. “The old people can look up the information in the book anytime they need, just like using a dictionary,” said Liu.

The group printed out 500 copies and handed them out. They’ll soon work on the second book that will have more instructions about hospital registration(挂号) and photo editing.

Thanks to the volunteers of Silver Hair, the old people’s life has become easier and more convenient.

9 . Today more and more people love traveling. It’s a very good way of getting to know new people, learning about different cultures and getting experiences. It helps travelers a lot. Traveling can make our mind wider.

But traveling does more than that. It can also make us more creative. In recent years, a group of scientists have been doing research on what people have already learned from travel experiences. They believe that spending time abroad affects people’s mind. For example, they found that if the students lived abroad for a longer time, they were better at solving problems creatively than those who did not. If you stay in the same place, you can’t experience new scenery, new smells, new sounds and new cultures. All these can wake up your mind and make it more active.

However, that doesn’t mean the more places you’ve been, the more creative you’ll become. Another group of scientists have been doing similar research. They found the people who often traveled from one place to another didn’t have enough time to know more about a new place and a new culture. They weren’t as creative as the people who really spent time getting to know one place. You have to interact（相互影响）with the places you go to and then you can benefit（得益）from them.

If you go traveling, which do you prefer, staying in a place for some time or rushing（匆忙）all the way?

10 . A leaf fell into the water and changed the taste of it. And tea was born.

China is known as the home of tea. Since ancient times, tea has become part of Chinese culture, leaving its smell in poems and customs. Many tea lovers enjoy tea not just for its taste, but also for the beauty of tea ceremonies（仪式）.

Picking tea leaves is an important spring activity along the Yangtze River in South China. The earliest batch（批）of tea is often ready to be picked before Qingming in early April, when the temperature begins to rise and rainfall increases. This kind of tea is called Mingqian tea.

Zhejiang province is regarded as a main producer of tea. White Tea and West Lake Longjing Tea in Hangzhou are famous both at home and abroad. In spring, the hillsides in those places are full of tea workers working on their land. In the high seasons, many tourists travel to see the beautiful sight of tea farms, while enjoying a freshly prepared cup of tea.

Thousands of years ago, by the hands of the Chinese people, a leaf was made into a delicious drink. It has traveled a long way and continues to play a role in our life, even today.