Oracle bone script (or jiaguwen), the earliest-known Chinese characters     1     (carve) on tortoise shells (龟壳) and animal bones, today has made its way into modern life. Chen Nan, an     2     (enthusiast) professor with the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University, is among those responsible for its resuscitation (复兴).

The protection of Chinese character culture     3     (achieve) good progress in recent years. And the ancient characters have also gained growing global influence. In 2017, the script     4     (official) entered the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. Oracle bone script calligraphy exhibitions even took place in Morocco and Japan in 2018-19. International experts, too, have participated     5     the research on and promotion of the characters. One such expert is Adam D. Smith from the U.S., who said he once visited Anyang     6     (see) the unearthed script and further introduced the ancient characters through lectures and workshops abroad. He suggested     7     (take) the research online so     8     more people can better understand the roots of Chinese culture.

For Chen, the global promotion of oracle bone script culture is far from sufficient, given people from other cultural     9     (background) may still consider it mysterious and abstract. “I hope modern designs can break down cultural barriers,” said Chen,     10     newly made designs have been published and exhibited overseas.

Yiwu’s market bounces back after three difficult years

Orders from all over the world     1     (flood) into Yiwu factories since earlier this month, a snapshot of global trade in the post-pandemic era     2     indicates a strong recovery for foreign trade in Zhejiang province in early 2023.

Statistics show that on Feb 2, 75,000 merchants     3     (participate) in the opening ceremony at Yiwu International Trade City — the world’s largest     4     (distribute) center for small commodities — placing orders on-site after almost three years of being unable to do so     5     person since the COVID-19 epidemic began.

Lu Qingrong, manager of the Jingrong Toy Company, said that orders have already been scheduled for May and June,     6     that this year’s sales are expected to be 30 percent     7     (high) than the previous two years.

For the past three years, Yiwu’s manufacturing companies     8     (devote) more energy to innovation and quality as they have upgraded, in a bid to underpin steady and accelerated growth.

Lu added that Jingrong will focus on strengthening innovation and research     9     (satisfy) increasing demands and plans to launch at least 10 new products every week.

In addition, the company is currently adding more production lines, which will raise     10     (efficient) and is expected to increase production by 50 percent.

Jianbing has a     1     (long) history than almost any other Chinese street food. It is thought to have originated in Shandong Province during the Three Kingdoms Period (220–280 AD).

Jianbing is one of China’s most popular street breakfasts. The recipe     2     a modern-day jianbing holds fairly closely to this principle. A thick, sticky wad of dough (面团) is quickly spread into a giant pancake, using a thick wooden paddle. While the jianbing cooks, an egg or two are cracked onto its uncooked surface and spread evenly. Then topped with     3     (fine) chopped (剁碎) vegetables, the jianbing     4     (fold) in half like a fan,     5     sweet and spicy layer of sauces spread on the back to taste. And each one is cooked fresh to order on a circular cast-iron grill, just the way that you want it.

The batter (面糊) and fillings     6     (use) in jianbing differ by region. In southern China, the batter might be made from green beans,     7     in Tianjin, they use you tiao (fried dough sticks) rather than fried wontons (馄饨) as filling, calling them jianbing guozi. Other fillings vary too, ranging from Chinese sausage to chopped carrot, chicken, or even—in Shanghai—slices of bacon.

Jianbing     8     (stand) are the simple breakfast architecture of every Chinese city. Every city has its own jianbing vendor serving breakfast     9     dawn through mid-morning,     10     (satisfy) hungry locals on their way to work.

As one of the oldest ethnic groups in China, Yao people are     1     (wide) distributed across the southern part of the country. Every year on the 16th day of the     2     (ten) month of the traditional Chinese calendar, Yao people gather to worship their ancestor-King Pan-through song and dance. This day marks the Panwang Festival, a grand celebration that     3     (symbol) the essence and continuation of Yao traditional culture.

The Panwang Festival has     4     recorded history of more than 1, 700 years. There is a fixed procedure,     5     the first step is to make offerings to Panwang. Altars are set up and idols     6     (hang). After three fires of a musket and a chorus of firecrackers, elders offer sacrifices such as pig heads, sticky rice cakes, chicken, and wine at the altars in front of the idols. People bow their heads in silent prayers as a sign of respect and remembrance.

With no     7     (write) language of their own, the history and culture of the Yao ethnic group have been passed down through the generations orally     8     the form of songs, legends and stories. The “Panwang Song”, also known as the “Great Panwang Song”, is an epic and comprehensive collection of Yao poetry. The song covers a wide range of topics     9     (include) mythology, legends and ancient events, and encompasses everyday aspects of life.

In May 2006, the Panwang Festival was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists. The Panwang Festival has evolved beyond being solely a     10     (celebrate) for the Yao people, and it now attracts numerous tourists who come to experience Yao culture during this period.

Jennifer, a teenage girl, fainted at school after    1    (skip) meals. She    2    (send) to hospital immediately for treatment due to dangerously low blood sugar levels.    3     (fortunate), she is now out of danger. Her doctor says she will make a full     4    (recover) in a day or two. 

Her classmates hope to see her back at school soon. They say that she    5    (struggle) with eating problems for a long time. “Jennifer thought dieting would be a simple way    6    (reach) her target weight,” a friend reported. 

    7    is often the case with teenagers, they would adopt    8    (proper) weight-loss behaviours under peer pressure despite (尽管) health experts repeated warnings    9    such extreme methods. 

Experts maintain it’s important for teenagers to have    10    healthy balanced diet since they are still growing and their bodies need a lot of nutrition to function well. Teenagers should keep regular hours and get plenty of exercise to get into shape.

Have you ever noticed that some people can eat what they want and stay in shape,     1     others carefully watch what they eat and still put on weight? How     2     (annoy) ! However, scientists are beginning to believe that some people get the ability to stay thin from their parents.

Scientists say that when some people eat, their bodies will     3     (nature) store the excess energy from food as fat. These people gain weight if they eat more than they need each day. Meanwhile, other people eat more than they need but their bodies are able to “burn off” the extra food without making fat,     4     they rarely have weight problems.

    5    (show) that this is true, scientists have experimented on laboratory     6     (mouse). They gave them a special diet with a lot of fat. Some gained wight while others stayed thin, even though both groups ate the same amount of food and got the same exercise. Scientists     7     (conclude) that weight gain seemed to be influenced by genetic factors. They also believe they have now identified the very genes     8     may cause this tendency.     9     (arm) with this knowledge, they believe     10     may be possible to develop medicines that can target the genes and stop people from gaining weight.

If I Were a Boy Again

If I were a boy again, I would try hard to know about and then deal     1     (honest) with myself, to study up my own     2     (weakness) and strengths, and I would begin early enough, before faults had time     3     (become) habits.

If I were a boy again, I would build a habit of attention, and I would let nothing come between me     4     the subject at hand: an ice skater never tries to skate in two directions at once. One of our great mistakes, while we are young, is that we do not focus strictly on     5     we are doing at that particular moment. It is easy to learn how to pay attention, if we begin early enough.

If I were a boy again, I would try to become     6     fearless person. I would consider courage as one of the     7     (high) achievements of life. Dangers will arise in any place, at any time, but presence of mind will often conquer the worst of them. Be prepared for any fate, and there     8     (be) no harm to be feared.

If I were a boy again, I would look on the cheerful side of everything. Life is     9     a mirror; if you smile upon it, it smiles back again on you, but if you frown, you will be sure to get a similar look in return. Inner sunshine warms not only the heart of the owner,     10     all who come in contact with it.

Regular exercise does wonders for people’s physical and mental health. It can increase the     1     (efficient) of your heart and lungs. It tends     2     (improve) your immune systems. Moreover, it helps you reduce stress and negative feelings. When planning an exercise routine, it is wise of you to consider first     3     you’d like to improve, such as muscle strength or     4     (柔韧性). Then choose activities you enjoy and stick with them. However, that’s not enough. You should eat right and prevent     5     (injure). Eat foods     6     (contain) carbohydrates (碳水化合物) to keep up your energy. But don’t eat     7     (immediate) after exercise. You should drink throughout exercise to make up     8     water lost to sweat. Last but not least,     9     (wear) proper clothes and     10     (装备) is necessary for exercise.

The English class on Thursday was     1     (forget). During the class, we     2     (ask) to give a short speech about the first day at senior high. I had never delivered     3     speech in English before, and worse still, I didn’t feel quite at ease speaking in public. I was secretly hoping that nobody would notice me when suddenly I heard my name     4     (call). I was very nervous and stood up with nothing     5     (come) out of my mouth. “Don’t be shy! Just think of your first day at senior high and say     6     you want to express in mind.” The teacher’s words made me relax a bit, and I began to say something. With my shaking voice, I gave my first ever public speech in English     7     (final). It was hard, but it didn’t feel bad.

After school that day, I     8     (decide) to practise my English more often. I believe that by practising more I can improve a lot. While I was trying to pick up the courage     9     (talk) to someone, I heard a kind voice behind me. “Hello, I’m Tom. Nice to meet you.” Sitting side-by-side, he shared with me some tips     10     how to improve my English. The first week of senior high has been quite exciting, and I’m looking forward to making the most of senior high!

Instant noodle has been suffering a sharp decline in sales for various reasons, to     1     food companies responded with large quantities of advertising and promotion, hoping that the lost glory of the industry might one day     2     (restore).

Despite the efforts made by many companies, instant noodle is less likely     3     (regain) the popularity. For one thing, present prosperity of catering industry. combined with developed delivery service, promises every individual     4     easy and quick access to large varieties of delicious food.     5     contrast, the so-called convenient noodle appears to be not that convenient, not to mention the much     6     (poor) flavors. For another, with living standards     7     (rise) rapidly, consumers are now not content with food of convenience and various flavors.     8     they need now is food of higher standard, more tasteful, healthier,     9     more nutrients, which a pack of instant noodle can barely satisfy.

However, there being a still large demand in the market, we may reach the     10     (assume) that instant noodle won’t disappear for now and probably for ever.