The farming-themed reality show Become a Farmer has taken Chinese social media by storm, shining a spotlight on agriculture—an essential part of Chinese culture. The word “farming”, however, may be entirely unfamiliar     1     many young urban Chinese.

To connect these individuals with the agricultural industry, the 50-episode variety show tackles the topic by asking 10 young men from various fields     2     (taste) farm life. During the 190 days, the cast members     3     (they) engaged in diverse tasks such as sowing, fertilizing (施肥) and harvesting. They started with limited resources and gradually     4     (build) their lives almost from nothing. The     5     (influence) show that not only entertains but also educates is an interactive reality program     6     (present) in a documentary style.

Yang Changling, chief director of the program, said the show’s intention is to showcase     7     practice of farming and to enhance the audience’s understanding of agriculture and raise awareness of food     8     (secure) by sharing these young people’s experiences and stories of personal growth.

One view er said, “The distinctive program has enlightened me on the process of cultivating a grain of rice.     9     watches the program will realize what it takes to grow grain. I won’t waste food anymore.” Another said, “I don’t deny     10     (amaze) by the advanced modern agricultural technology and I feel sorry for the back-breaking work of farmers who establish deep roots in the land but only rely on the weather for their harvest.”

A seminar (研讨会) was held in Beijing recently. According to its report, the Chinese TV series     1    (adapt) of Liu Cixin’s Three-Body Problem, the first Asian novel to win the Hugo Award, has gained popularity overseas.

Statistics show that     2     series has gained a rating of 7.9 out of 10 on the foreign review company IMDb and has accumulated 5 million views on YouTube, one of the     3    (popular) video platforms in the world.

Gao Changli, director-general of the TV drama department at the National Radio and Television Administration, said that the drama contains a lot of thoughts and knowledge     4    (inspire) by China’s traditional philosophy and culture,     5    (offer) a distinctive edge for homegrown tales in the world’s sci-fi landscape. He also mentioned that the drama has been     6     preparation and production for seven years and has done a good job of bringing to life the typical     7    (scene) described in the novel.

Producers have also revealed that currently they     8    (produce) Three-Body Ⅱ: The Dark Forest,     9     is the second episode in Liu Cixin’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy. Meanwhile, more quality works will be produced to     10    (positive) publicize Chinese culture in the overseas markets.

Up to now, the two episodes of Three Bodies released     1     (gain) more than 100 million views on the website. The latest animated (动画的) adaptation of China’s award-winning sci-fi novel The Three-Body Problem has become a quick hit online, adding to the list of popular     2     (domestic) produced animations.

    3     (Call) The Three-Body Animation, the 15-episode series is based on the second book of Liu Cixin’s trilogy (三部曲) and has gained praise from fans online after     4     (release) on Dec.10. The “Three-Body” series is Liu’s best-selling science-fiction trilogy,     5     has since gained a massive following home and abroad. Due to the growing desire     6     the sci-fi type in China, Liu’s works have been adapted into various     7     (form), including animations, games, films, and TV series.

A previous animation based on the “Three-Body” series also appeared as a hit when released in 2020. In the same year, the movie, The Wandering Earth, based on Liu’s short story of the same name,     8     (become) one of the most profitable movies in China, and the sci-fi movie lovers elected     9     the most influential one of the year. One global streaming platform is also releasing     10     adaptation of the “The Three-Body Problem” series next.

8 . People have been predicting (预测) the death of cable TV (有线电视) for a long time, but this really might be it. Just a decade (十年) ago, nearly all Americans — more than 85 percent of U.S. households — paid for packages of TV channels from cable or satellite ( 卫 星) companies. That started to drop slowly at first and then far more quickly in the past few years. Now, the share of American homes that pay for traditional TV service is approaching 50 percent, according to expert Craig Moffett and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Kagan research group.

For comparison, cellphones were around for decades before the percentage of Americans who didn’t have a landline ( 座 机) at home reached 50 percent, around 2017. Maybe it seems predictable that cable TV would go the way of the landline. I promise you that it was not necessarily obvious, even once Netflix started to take off. Old habits die hard. Old industries that make a lot of people rich die even harder. And don’t forget that some new technology habits catch on fast but don’t stick.

What may be a final drop in America’s cable TV industry is a big deal. It shows that technology can change deep-rooted ways of doing things slowly, and then suddenly.

Ian Olgeirson, a research director at Kagan who has been following America’s TV market for about 20 years, told me that he was surprised by how quickly the monthly cable bill went from being standard to outdated for many Americans. Olgeirson and other TV experts I’ve been speaking to didn’t single out a turning point in cable TV’s big drop. They said the downward trend ( 趋 势) was more like a series of progressive changes building up.

It’s clear that the cable TV system that for decades brought joy and headaches to tens of millions of Americans is wearing thin. The wild card is whether Americans keep turning away from cable and satellite TV relatively slowly, or whether it will fail suddenly.

I have always loved TV. I felt like a real grown-up when I first started to pay a huge bill for television, partly to watch my favorite football team. I had reduced my cable TV package, but then a few months ago I was told that my bill was going to increase by about $10 a month. That was it. I’m a no-cable household now, too.

A Lifelong Journey, a TV series     1    (adapt) from writer Liang Xiaosheng’s novel has been a huge hit on TV and online. Some famous actors, such as Lei Jiayin, Song Jia, and Yin Tao, join in the show, which     2    (focus) on the ups and downs of Zhou’s family over five decades. It is set in the 1970s so it’s not     3    (surprise) that the family has to deal with lots of social changes. The show explores themes of family, friendship and romance. Many viewers describe the show     4     a time machine reflecting how we get here.

Painting a picture of ordinary Chinese people living in the changing times, the novel won the writer Liang, the 10th Mao Dun Literary Award, one of China’s top literary     5    (award). Millions of people have been touched by the family’s story,     6     makes readers find out what lies deep in their hearts.

Translating such a series of stories to the small screen had been     7     challenge for scriptwriter Wang Hailing. “    8    (frank) speaking, it is very difficult,” Wang said. “The lives of the three siblings (兄弟姊妹) are telling the story of a small family. But when we consider the bigger picture, the country     9    (it) is made up of millions of such small families.” According to Cheng Wu, producer of A Lifelong Journey, a deep sense of responsibility inspired him     10    (produce) the best adaptation of the work.