In recent years, food has apparently become a new hot spot for Chinese cities to attract tourists. Following Zibo and Harbin, Tianshui,     1     ancient city in Northwest China's Gansu Province, became the     2     (hot) tourists destination of 2024 because of malatang, a local street dish.

Malatang,     3     (literal) meaning “numbing, spicy, and hot” in Chinese, is a common street food that can be found all over China, but its tastes differ depending     4     the region. In Tianshui, malatang features a mix of fresh vegetables and meat     5     (boil) in a hot, spicy chicken soup.

Tianshui went viral when a student     6     (post) a seven-second video in February on her social media. In the video, she suggested     7     (make) Gansu malatang a national dish. The video,     8     quickly received millions of likes online, attracted food lovers to the city     9     (experience) this local dish firsthand. Malatang also helps draw more visits to key     10     (attraction) in Tianshui, such as Maijishan Grottoes and Fuxi Temple.

Since last year a fascinating new phenomenon     1     (sweep) through major cities across China — the explosive rise of night schools catering to young professionals. Usually with one class a week, these schools offer short learning courses regarding     2     (subject) from dancing to vocal training, from traditional handicrafts, beauty, and fitness classes, to wine tasting and vlog filming, and the list of possibilities for new learning experiences is seemingly     3     (limit).

The pacesetter has been the Shanghai Night School, which offers 12 classes     4     (lead) by masters in their fields for only 500RMB ($70). When Shanghai’s autumn 2023 semester enrollment began, a striking number of students, approximately 650, 000,    5    (immediate) flooded on to the registration website. Soon the trend     6     (follow) by some major cities like Beijing, Xi’an, and Shenzhen, which launched their own distinctive night schools.

These night schools do not just provide standard academic content,     7     are tapping into the personal passions and unfulfilled dreams of China’s urban youth. Yang Song, a student at Shanghai Night School, said, “I have many hobbies and I want to learn all the things     8     I didn’t take the time to learn when I was studying in the past.”

For ambitious yet overworked urban professionals, these schools also promise self-cultivation, community bonding, and most importantly, a happy environment     9     (lack) in the irregular workplaces, which seems to offer an escape     10     the burnout workplaces, even only for a few hours each week.

Many highly successful figures had     1    (previous) faced great challenges before they make achievements. Take for example J.K Rowling and J.D. Salinger, both of     2     received rejections from several publishers. Despite these failures, they refused to give up. Instead, they still concentrated     3    their works and do    4    they can to realize their dreams. Eventually, their books, Harry Porter and The Catcher in the Rye,     5     (regard) as global successes. Another example is Helen Keller, who was an American writer, lecturer and social activist. Aged 19 months old, she lost her hearing and sight. But with the help of her teacher, she overcame her disabilities and went on     6    (earn) a bachelor degree.

Through their lives, a conclusion can be drawn: Although talent, hard work and luck all play     7     important part in their success,     8    (persevere) is the key.     9    (inspire) by their stories, we may get some hints. Don’t complain about the setbacks    10    (harm) you, just keep walking and you will eventually make your dream come true.

China has launched six improvement plans to boost a flagship high-quality grain project. The plans,     1     involve green storage, brand promotion, quality tracking, mechanization, emergency supply and food loss     2    (reduce), are expected to ensure sustainable national food security.

The green storage plan     3    (propose) building new high-standard granaries (谷仓) and improving warehouses. A system to measure and control grain conditions should     4    (establish), while the ability to clean grain is expected     5    (improve).

The quality and brand improvement plan said that     6     2025, the supply of high quality food will be more abundant, and the amount of high quality grain will see     7     annual increase of 10 percent. The country will cultivate more grain and oil brands with increasing market competitiveness.

The online and offline grain markets, which include emergency supply     8    (center) and staple kitchens, should be improved to progress from “eating enough” to “eating     9    (health) diet”.

The plan aims to improve quality and safety inspection and monitoring by using big data, the internet of things and other information technologies, further     10    (ensure) authenticity and accuracy.

As families prepare for the Spring Festival, no Chinese New Year celebration is complete without mandarin oranges.

The     1    (popular) of the fruits during the festive season has a long history. During the Qing Dynasty, Chinese parents would place fruits like oranges, lychees beside the pillows (枕头) of their children, as well     2     red envelopes containing money under the pillows,     3    (keep) away mythical monsters (神话中的怪物). The children would then eat the fruits on     4    (wake) up the next morning.

There are     5    (variety) explanations for why oranges have come to be considered     6     lucky symbol — a major part of which comes from the pronunciation. Some say the Mandarin pronunciation of the fruit (ju)     7    (sound) like the word for “good luck”(ji).

Apart from its lucky name, oranges are valued for their reddish-gold color and round shape,     8     are believed to bring good fortune. They’ve inspired Chinese art for     9    (century). An ancient poem called Ju Song     10    (create) by poet Qu Yuan from the Periodof Warring States, using the fruit and tree as a metaphor (比喻); a letter from Wang Xizhi, a renowned calligrapher from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, included a gift of oranges and remained famous after almost two thousand years.

Fish and chips, or rather, “fish'n'chips” is an important experience for the visitors. Britain is    1    island and eating fish     2     (remind) us of our practical and spiritual dependence on the sea. The chips symbolize our people: no two chips are the same, but we are united because we are all cut from the same bag of     3    (potato), all deep-fried in the same oil.

A fish and chip supper is the     4    (old)fast food in Britain, perhaps in the world. The visitors should ask for cod or haddock, the fish of choice for any true Brit. The fish comes dipped(蘸)in batter, a mixture     5     flour, eggs and milk. When it is dropped into the hot oil, the batter acts as a sponge(海绵)absorbing the maximum amount of oil,     6       makes it nice and juicy. A     7     (tradition) fish fryer will wrap your order in yesterday's newspaper. Before     8     (wrap)it he will ask, “Salt and vinegar?”, to which you should reply “Yes, please!”

This supper should     9     (eat)almost at once, with the fingers, walking along the street, preferably in the dark, and with a taunt rain falling. Do NOT take the fish'n'chips home because it is known that this is not the British way. Just empty     10     (they)onto a plate and eat them with knives and forks.

Gumbo

The dictionary definition of gumbo does not make gumbo sound as delicious as it really is. The dictionary     1     (define) gumbo as a “thick soup made in south Louisiana”. However, anyone     2     has tasted this delicious dish knows that this definition is too plain     3     (describe) gumbo. It is true that gumbo is a thick soup, but it is much more than that.

Gumbo, one of the most popular of allCajun    4     (dish), is typically made with different kinds of seafood or meat     5     (mix) with vegetables, such as green peppers and onions. For example, seafood gumbo     6     (actual) contains shrimp and crab. Other kinds of gumbo include chicken, sausage or turkey. It is made up of     7     wide variety of ingredients and can vary from place to place in Louisiana. The first mention of gumbo dates back     8     the beginning of the 19th century in culinary manuals published in Louisiana. However, it was not until the end of the 70s and 80s     9     it gained popularity. Regardless of the ingredients in gumbo, this     10     (region) dish is popular in the southern United States.