1 . These days, claw machines (抓娃娃机) are becoming more and more popular in theaters, malls and restaurants in many Chinese cities. A claw machine is a glass box with colorful dolls or toys _______. You toss in a _______ of coins, usually two yuan, and control metal claw to grab a doll. If you are _______, the metal claw will grab the doll and move it to the machine’s delivery slot without dropping it.

These machines were invented in Japan. In China, it used to be a street game to attract _______. But now, more adults are playing it. Young people _______ the 18-38 age group, particularly women, make up about 60 percent of claw game players.

Beijinger Li Ying _______ the machines in 2020. She has spent several thousand yuan on them. She has about 50 dolls at home, including Mickey Mouse and Pikachu.

“Only two yuan for a chance to grab a cute doll—it’s _______ trying.” Li said, “When I finally succeed after several attempts, the sense of _______ filled me with happiness.”

Xu Zixuan, 26, used to study music in Singapore. She is also a big _______ of the game. When she returned to China in March last year, she chose to work at a claw machine store. Her daily work includes cleaning the store, checking the machines and ________ them to get ready for the next day. Working with different kinds of dolls makes her happy, she said.

Recently, a game called Chinese Parents, developed by Beijing-based studio Moyuwan, is becoming more and more popular. The game gives players a chance to have virtual (虚拟的) kids. Players need to raise them to adulthood, and see that they     1     good jobs and partners.

In the game, players can guide     2     virtual kids from being a child all the way up to the national college entrance examination. Yet gaokao is the most     3     educational test in many Chinese people’s life.

Through the game, players have to improve their     4     abilities. The greatest goal is to get their children into a great university. Even online,     5     a child in today’s society is not easy and that’s perhaps what makes the game so interesting. Besides, players must make sure that their kids study and play well     6     the same time. If your e-kid does     7     in school, you can show off his achievements to your friends.

Other     8     of the game also have some familiar elements (元素) of Chinese culture, for example, e-kids are not allowed to receive red envelopes (红包) as well as fall in love with others.

“We hope that everyone     9     his or her parents with an understanding mind,” wrote Moyuwan. “We hope kids and parents can understand each other     10     playing the game.”

6 .

It is important for students to learn some team skills like developing relationships, communicating well with others and solving problems. Here are two fun team activities.

Activity 1: Water Relay Tools ● Two large buckets (水桶) to hold water ● One small bucket for each team member Instructions ● Fill one large bucket with water. ● Make holes in the bottom of the small buckets. ● Have the team members line up between the two large buckets. Pass the water from one large bucket to the other, using small buckets. Try to keep as much water as possible. Why It’s Fun ● It’s fun to work out a way to lose as little water as possible. ● It’s water. Isn’t it fun to get you wet on a hot summer day?

Activity 2: Truth and Lie This activity will allow team members to learn about each other. Instructions ● Have each team member think of three pieces of information about themselves, and one of them is a lie. ● Each team member tells the group all the three pieces of information. Let the other team members guess which is the lie. Why It’s Fun ● Students love talking about themselves and this gives them the chance to do so. ● Members can learn about each other. ● Members will be surprised at what others think of them.

Role-playing games have recently become one of China’s most popular games, especially among young people.

Role-playing is a game in which about five to eight players play roles in a fictional setting. ①一场游戏通常会持续4到7个小时。The players take responsibility for acting out these roles and win the game by finding clues.

A shop owner named Shen, who has had his shop in Beijing for more than ten years, said that besides well-qualified (高素质的) staff, a competitive role-playing game shop should also have a good location, a good script and rich experience. ②He pointed out that most of the players in his shop are from 18 to 35 years old.

Besides offline stores, online role-playing stores are also very popular. One owner said the number of their app’s users has increased by eight million, according to a CCTV report.

Lu Mengyue, a senior role-player who has been playing for six years, said that she likes reasoning, as she enjoys the process of collecting the clues. “I like watching Who’s The Murderer. And I like the feeling of success after using my knowledge to find out the answers,” said Lu. Li Yuyu, another role-player, said that she could get to know her friends’ personalities (性格) or even people she just met within a short period of time when playing role-playing games.

“It is a good game for making friends and getting familiar with them, especially when you just met some new friends,” said Li.

9 . Children’s games in ancient China

During ancient times, children didn’t have smart phone, iPad or computer to entertain them. Instead, they came up with interesting games to play in their childhood. Let’s take a look.

10 . Playing video games and getting money for it seems like a dream job for many of today’s teenagers. But is it all fun and games?

Big business

Pro (professional) gaming is certainly big business. In 2023, there were more than 5,000 gaming competitions and over one million professional players worldwide. A large number of people watch their competitions online, and successful games can get more than 100,000 dollars from prize money and ads. The industry is clearly thriving.

What it takes

Becoming a professional is not just about being good at playing games, it also takes a lot of hard work. Some processional games practice for fourteen hours a day. “You need to spend much time and put all your efforts to it”, says ex-game r George.

Not all fun and games

It can be a difficult job as well. Stress is a big problem for games. Tiredness is another, and injuries are common. Top player Hai Lam had wrist (手腕)   problems after years of pro gaming. Careers (生涯) are short, and many games retire (退休) before they are 30 years old and try to find another job.

However, the bad points probably won’t change the dreams of many teenage games. And angry parents are still likely to hear the excuse, “But I’m just practicing for my future job!”