Have you ever wondered how people type Chinese characters? The answer lies in the wonderfully useful phonetic system     1     (call) pinyin. It's the most commonly used system for spelling out the Chinese sounds, and it uses the letters in the Latin alphabet that you are already familiar       2     .

Pinyin is     3     extremely useful tool and should be the foundation of your Chinese learning. Besides, it's not just for Chinese learners like yourself.     4     (actual), all native Chinese speakers know pinyin,     5     is the first thing Chinese children learn at school before learning characters. So even if you don't know Chinese characters, you can type in pinyin and make     6     (you)understood.

Every single sound that exists in Chinese can     7     (display) easily in a pinyin chart. Once you master these 409 sounds along with the tones, you'll have practically mastered the pronunciation of every single word in the Chinese language. We've also created a series of video     8     (lesson)with practice tools that enable you to record yourself and listen back to it to     9     (sure) that your pronunciation matches the examples. Combined with our Tone Pairs practice tool, you now have everything you need     10     (master)pinyin, tones, and Chinese pronunciation.

Statistics show that there are more than 1. 9 billion videos related to stove-boiled tea on a popular Chinese short video platform. Stove-boiled tea, a newly     1    (emerge) social activity among young Chinese people, has been filling up social media feeds in recent weeks. Usually several friends sitting around a fire stove enjoy     2     smell of charcoal-grilled snacks and socialize while waiting for the tea     3     (boil). In many ways, it is the perfect activity in the winter,     4     (warm) body and soul in the colder months.

    5     it has recently regained popularity, cooking tea on a stove actually has a long history in China. Stove-boiled tea is derived from an intangible cultural heritage from southwest China’s Yunnan province: huotang roasted tea and a kind of huotang culture thus     6     (form) around it.

The reason why stove-boiled tea is gaining such popularity, apart from its embodiment of traditional Chinese tea culture, is     7     (part) because of its portrayal in the costume television drama “A Dream of Splendor”, which     8    (broadcast) last summer. The activity also shows young people’s pursuit of a sense of ritual, with their     9     (long) for traditional tea culture and aspirations returning to the pastoral (田园). It also helps that tourism is gradually recovering.     10    , stove-boiled tea acts as a social way of combining ancient and modern elements, attracting many young people who love both tourism and traditional tea culture.

A map has gone viral (走红) online. Contrary     1     traditional maps, the map was     2     (entire) filled with dotted signs clearly marking the country’s historic sites and cultural relics. The map was made by Wu Yunjie,     3     was born in the 1990s, CCTV News reported

Wu has a     4     (prefer) for history, especially cultural relics. When he was in college, he would often devote his spare time to     5     (travel) around the country and visiting ancient places. In 2020, he started collecting information on cultural relic protection all over our country and uploaded the information to the mapping software. So far, he     6     (visit) over 2,000cultural relic sites and more than 200 museums, and taken over 300,000 photos.

Now, the map includes nearly 10,000 historic landmarks with     7     (vary) colors representing them. Red signs, for instance, show the cultural relic sites under state protection. As     8     matter of fact, even ancient temples and bridges in the faraway areas are also marked on the map.

As far as Wu is     9     (concern), the map is not perfect, because it only records about two percent of the 760,000 cultural relics. It is also a pity that the map cannot be shared as an online map yet because of technical limitations. But Wu is bound     10     (improve) it and make it available online.

Xie Lei left her hometown to study in London as an exchange student. The first challenge was     1     she had to adapt to life in a different country. She learned how     2     (ask) for things she didn’t know the English names for. And she chose to live with a host family, because living with them     3     (comfortable) could ease her homesickness. Another challenge for Xie Lei is the     4     (academy) requirements. She had to read a lot to form a wise opinion of her own. Students’ participation in class     5     (include) as part of the final result. After having worked hard for a few weeks, Xie Lei found herself     6     (speak) up in class. And her     7     (present) on traditional Chinese art was a great success, which boosted her confidence.

As well as studying hard, Xie Lei had been involved     8     social activities. British people were fascinated by Chinese culture and eager to learn more about     9    . So while she was learning about business, she     10     (act) as a cultural messenger building a bridge between China and England.

I studied medicine at college, and then I realized that it wasn’t for me. I didn’t know    1    to do until someone told me    2    (try) teaching English abroad. This way I could travel and take the time to find my passion. And I discovered that teaching was my passion.

I found a job in Qingdao in China. It’s a(n)    3    (wonder) city and is a great place to live in. Now There    4    (be) six foreign teachers in my school from the UK, America and Canada. I teach    5    large number of students. Most of my day    6    (spend) teaching young children now.

My favorite class is one    7    I’ve had for. over three years. When they started they were three years old and didn’t know much English at all. Now, they have talks    8    English and can’t wait to tell me about their day.

I love the moment when a child, who has worked on an article for a long time,    9    (final) understand it. It always makes me want to improve my teaching. Over the last three years I    10    (see) them all grow and change a lot, and for that I feel happy.

Cui Chenxi became China’s youngest ever Asian Games gold medalist on Wednesday after the 13-year-old skateboarder won the women’s street event in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

The teenager,     1     is the Chinese national team’s youngest athlete, won the gold medal by scoring 242.62 points. Cui said this victory means a lot to her. “I always wanted to win gold. This competition is different from other competitions, so I     2     (particular)wanted to win this one.”

    3     (ask) if she was nervous before the competition, she shook her head and said, “My dad told me     4     (stay) relaxed, enjoy the competition and show my skills. As long as I give it my all, I have no regrets.”

Skateboarding, which is rooted     5     street culture and closely tied to lifestyles and attitudes of young people, is a sport that stresses freedom and personal techniques.

Cui only     6     (take) up skateboarding in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic did not allow her to practice rollerblading. However, her father,     7    skateboarding enthusiast, suggested that she try skateboarding at home instead.

“I remember the day I stepped onto the board for the     8     (one) time. It felt incredibly smooth. It was love at first sight,” Cui said.

In skateboarding, injuries are unavoidable, but when     9     (discuss) the pain and the setbacks, Cui displayed a level of     10     (determine) beyond her age. “I realized people receive a lot of injuries while skateboarding. But that is where the spirit of skateboarding lies,” she said.

I like reading in my free time. I’ve read all kinds of books which are    1     (write) by many famous writers from all over the world. But I like a Chinese writer     2     (well). His name is Xu Zhimo.

Xu was born in a big family. His parents were good at writing. His father taught little Xu by     3     (he). When Xu was very young, he was interested     4     reading. Fables (寓言) and novels were his favorites. He loved reading very much and he often forgot to eat and sleep.

When Xu was about six years old, he began to write some     5     (story). He kept practicing writing and did better and better. But he still kept on reading,     6    he always believed “    7    (read) makes a full man”.

When he grew up, his dream came true. He became a world-famous writer. Not only Chinese but also people     8    other countries worshiped (崇) him. His works (著作) were     9     (enjoy) all over the world. Everyone     10    (think) his works were nice and great.

Hotpot has a long history of over 1,000 years in China. It used to     1     (favor) only in winter, but recently hotpot has been appearing on tables all year round.

    2     the delicious flavor, there are two other important reasons for the Chinese to like hotpot. First, it is a great way     3    (socialize) — people gather around the pot, chatting, eating, drinking     4     having fun. Second, hotpot is a healthy meal. Boiling is better than frying, with bone nutrients     5     (release) into the soup. In addition, eating hot pot can warm the body in winter, and increase perspiration (排汗) to help cool the body in summer. Some seasonings (作料) used in hotpots can help relieve some minor     6    (illness) like colds, blocked sinuses and headaches.

Chongqi ng Hotpot is the staple dish of the city. Hotpot restaurants in Chongqi ng are everywhere — if you look up on the street you are in, chances are that you     7    (stand) exactly near a hotpot restaurant.

    8    (usual), the taste of food can reflect the attitude and ‘status of life there. As a    9     (symbol) food in Chongqing, it reflects that people there have the sense of integrity and embrace the diversified culture. Almost everything     10     is eatable can be cooked in hotpot, so eating hotpot is a must when you come to Chongqing!

A recent report shows an amazing 400 percent year-on-year increase in global durian(榴莲)demand because of the     1    (prefer) of Chinese consumers. China now plays a key role in the market , consuming as much as 91 percent of global durian. Over the past two years, imports of durian     2     (reach) an amazing $6 billion.

In 2022, ASEAN durian exports covered 90 percent of the global total, with Thailand leading as the main exporter, contributing to an     3     (impress) 99 percent of ASEAN’s total exports.

Durian,     4    (know) as the “King of Fruits”, is     5    tropical(热带的)fruit rich in vitamin C for immune(免疫)support, dietary fiber for digestion(消化)an tioxidants(抗氧化物)an d plenty of essential minerals,     6    makes it a healthy choice.

    7    ,durian is among the high-sugar and high-calorie fruits. Typically, every 100 grams of fresh durian flesh contains about 140 to 160 calories and approximately 16 to 30 grams of natural sugars. It is    8    (strong)recommended that adults consume no more than 200 grams of durian per day.

Durian serves     9     a key ingredient in making a delightful series of treats, including delicious durian pastries,cakes, and ice cream. No wonder so many Chinese    10    (addict) to the special taste of this remarkable fruit,regardless of its price.

A new chain of coffee shops has sprung up in the city of Wuxi, East China’s Jiangsu province, themed on the ancient Huishan clay figurine (泥人) culture—with a few modern adaptations. The Nanimomo Cafe chain has expanded     1     (rapid) since May last year and now has 11     2     (branch) in operation. The coffee shops display     3     range of figurines and related creative cultural products. In addition     4     drinking coffee, visitors can choose whether     5     (have) a go at making clay sculptures on site.

Huishan clay figurines are made from the black clay found at the foot of Huishan Mountain in Wuxi. They are said to have a     6     (record) history of more than 400 years. And they     7     (list) among the first batch (批) of China’s national intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) in 2006. In Wuxi dialect, Huishan clay figurines are pronounced nanimomo. The two most famous     8     (tradition) figurines are A Fu and A Xi, meaning “good fortune” and “joy”, and the factory has designed and produced several new figurines, such as Nani and Momo,    9     are more modern and attractive to young consumers. There are also several cute and colorful characters,    10     (carry) different types of food for which Wuxi is famous: spare ribs (排骨), peaches and steamed buns.