Learning Chinese calligraphy     1     (list) as one of the must-do things when I came to China. Now, I’m in the course of learning this unique art,     2     value is considered very high in China, even across East Asia today. It is not only     3     ancient artistic form of human language, but it also reflects Chinese traditions.

As someone who paints, draws, and loves all     4     (create) things, at first, I assumed I would be rather good at Chinese calligraphy. I was     5     (total) wrong. Using thick brush tips to produce awkward brush strokes (笔画) is very difficult for a     6     (begin). I have no idea about the different types of calligraphy and the meanings     7     (hide) behind each one. Also, I have to hold the paintbrush in a very specific way;     8     (like) a pen or pencil, the paintbrush is held upright in the hand. I need to be extra careful when     9     (change) the angle or direction of the brush, especially if I press too hard on the paper.

After taking the lesson, I now understand the difficulty of calligraphy and that it will take efforts and commitment     10     (master) this art form. Yet, I am grateful to learn such a special Chinese tradition.

Esmeralda and Quasimodo were still for several moments, as they considered their predicament     1     (silent), she very graceful, he very repulsive. How anyone could     2    (form) in such a way was beyond her comprehension.     3    , she gradually adapted to it.

Eventually he was the first     4     (break) the silence and he actually knew what she meant. She could hear so significant an     5     (aware) of sadness from the accents of the unfortunate man that she had not the strength to utter a word. Ouasimodo thought that he was something terrible,     6     human nor beast, whilst she was a ray of sunshine, a drop of dew, a birdsong. He laughed, laughing at himself,     7     showed the most heartbreaking sound in the world.

But she wanted to obtain his     8     (explain) why he would rescue her. He said he was the unfortunate man who attempted     9     (kindness) her, the same person to whom she showed kindness when he was in trouble. A drop of water and & little pity were more than he could repay with his life.

She listened to him with profound tenderness. A tear     10    (swim) in his eye, but didn’t fall down. He seemed to make it a point of honour to keep it at bay.

To write his own medical text, Li Shizhen referenced over 800 medical texts, countless books on history and geography, and works of literature. He even studied the complete works of many ancient poets, from     1     he selected a surprising number of verses about medicine. However, the greatest issue he encountered was the widespread inconsistency (不一致) in the use of drug names. Realizing the importance of field research outweighed     2     of extensive reading, Li travelled far and wide into the mountains and wilderness in 1565. He covered what are today's provinces of Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu, and many other places.

After over a decade of field research, Li     3     (successful) completed the first draft of his masterpiece, Bencao Gangmu, or the Compendium of Materia Medica in 1578. He revised     4     work at least three times right up until his death in 1593.

Since its first publication in 1596, the book     5     (receive) world-wide recognition. British naturalist Charles Darwin acknowledged the book     6     an “ancient Chinese encyclopedia (百科全书).” In 2011, the book     7     (list) on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. In 2017, an international conference was held in Beijing     8     (celebrate) Li’s 500th birthday.

Today, there are a     9     (grow) number of international exchanges centering on Li Shizhen and his book, and many people around the world can still find the     10     (wise) of human development in this ancient classic.

A journey enriched with cuisine and culture

As reported by China Tourism News, the combination of culture and tourism has inspired several cities in China to explore their cooking heritage while transforming food tours into cultural experiences.

Recently the sharp increase in popularity of Zibo barbecue is a clear proof to this effort. Zibo,     1     (locate) in East China’s Shandong province, was not     2     (wide) known as a tourist destination. However, over the past three months, the industrial city’s delicious barbecue     3     (gain) large popularity and attracted a massive arrival of visitors who have turned it into a tourist hot spot.

“I never expected Zibo barbecue     4     (become) so popular all of a sudden!” said Zhang Linlin, deputy director of the business management department at Shandon g College of Tourism and Hospitality. “With the recent much publicity, many of my young colleagues have rushed to try     5     out. They all praised its great taste and reasonable price.”

Zhang is researching the Zibo barbecue craze to identify sustainable strategies     6     can promote youth tourism and support the recovery of the tourism industry.

China boasts a diverse range of cuisine, and     7     (area) throughout the country have been actively exploring the potential of food as a catalyst (催化剂) for tourism growth.

Food plays a vital role in driving tourism spending and     8     (win) a traveler’s heart. Wu Liyun, an associate professor at the China Academy of Culture and Tourism of Beijing International Studies University, illustrated this point by reflecting     9     her own experience: “The attractive skewers (烤肉串) of Dujiangyan, the tasty Yimeng stir-fried chicken of Linyi and the pleasant grilled oysters (蚝) of Guangzhou were not only among the most memorable and important components of my plans, but they were the     10     (great) motivators (动力) for me to return,” Wu said.

The food commonly associated with Qingming Festival is Qingtuan, a glutinous rice dumpling dyed green with mug-wort (艾蒿) juice or wormwood grass. The tradition of serving Qingtuan at Qingming Festival is believed     1     (date) back to the Zhou Dynasty more than two thousand years ago,     2     the food was a common ritual (仪式)     3     memory of the ancestors.

Up to now, the practice has stood     4     test of time. Time-honoured brands of Qingtuan have struggled to show off their inventiveness. In recent years, Chinese consumers have gone wild for time-honoured brands of Qingtuan. Before Qingming Festival, customers stand in lines stretching down city blocks,     5     (wait) to get a taste of these variations before they sell out. Despite their smallest similarity to the classic variety, many people still believe that the     6     (innovate) helps to keep the ancient food tradition alive by getting younger people interested in them. Time-honored brands need to stay fresh by evolution and novelty. Otherwise, they’ll get     7     (leave) behind by more creative brands.

However, many Chinese people     8     (simple) aren’t interested in the debate about     9     these novel products are appealing or objectionable. Many are quietly used to eating Qingtuan the way they     10     (serve) for hundreds, or thousands of years.

New research has found that eating regular balanced meals is more effective (有效的) in managing a healthy weight     1     dieting.

Carried out by researchers at the University of Helsinki, the study looked at 2, 452 women and 2, 227 men, who     2     (ask) to answer surveys which looked at factors (因素) influencing weight changes at age 24, and ten years later at age 34.

The researchers found among both men     3     women, irregular eating and dieting in order to lose weight were two of the main factors that led     4     weight increasing. A woman’s risk of putting on weight was also increased by giving birth to two or more children, regularly drinking sugary drinks and feeling     5     (disappoint) with life. For men, smoking was another important factor for putting on weight.

    6     (usual), people try to prevent overweight by dieting. In the long term, it seems to make people     7     (get) fatter, rather than prevent it.

Besides eating regularly and avoiding diets, physical activity was a main factor in     8     (help) to protect women from putting on weight, while for men a higher level of     9     (educate) and having a greater weight at the beginning of the study appeared to have a protective effect.

The researchers suggested that those     10     want to keep a healthy weight in the long term should now consider eating regular meals.