1 . Liu Zhihua has become a star at a ski resort in Urumqi. Dressed in her baby blue suit and white helmet, she blends in with the other skiing _______, moving smoothly among them. _______, she is already 87 years old this year.

Though a _______   skier now, Liu only _______ the sport when she was 72. “The beginning was challenging. I experienced _______ in my waist and legs. However, with _______ practice, I found my footing,” Liu recollects. _______the fear of falling became a turning point, and _______ her interest blossomed into a(n) _______ to the sport.

When asked about the ________ she had come across during her years of skiing, Liu ________ that she fell over while going down a slope due to a lack of experience. “But skill comes from practice. Just get used to it,” she says.

Despite being the oldest ski enthusiast at the resort, Liu thinks she is just as ________ as younger skiers. “No one can ________ your age when everyone’s in a ski ________ and with snow caps and goggles on,” says Liu with a smile.

For Liu, sports have brought health and ________ into her life. “I don’t think age has much to do with my mindset. Old or young, I have been brave and optimistic.”

Diaojiaolou is a masterpiece of Chinese traditional construction. It’s said that when the first ancient pioneers set out from northern and central China in the hope of    1     (settle) in southern China, they came upon difficulties. In the forests of southern China, they met with beasts, poisonous snakes and insects. They managed to settle a colony and set fires to drive away beasts.    2    , they were still troubled by snakes and insects, until one leader,    3     distinguished wise old man in the community at that time, came up with an idea of putting up a building hung on wooden stilts (支柱). The colony then agreed on the idea and such buildings     4     (construct) with joint efforts did help the early settlers stay safe from the dangers. These buildings    5     (gain) popularity among several minorities since then.

Diaojiaolou typically has two to three floors. The upper floors are held up by stilts,     6     appearance makes the building look unsteady. But these stilts    7     (strengthen) by some stone blocks at their base so as to make Diaojiaolou still.

The ground floor is    8     (primary) made up of stilts without walls. This floor tends to be used    9     a place for keeping farm animals or putting firewood and farming    10     (equip). The upper floors are mainly living spaces.

4 . As archaeologists (考古学家) examined ancient tombs in Turfan in western China, they discovered some surprisingly well-preserved and familiar relics. Though hardened from over 1,000 years, there sat little dumplings.

Exactly who invented dumplings remains a mystery. But some scholars suspect they were first spread by nomadic (游牧的) Turkic peoples living in western China and Central Asia. This is thought to be the case because “manti,” meaning “dumpling” or “steamed bun” in many Turkic languages, appears to be the root word for dumpling in several other languages. Ancient Turkic people probably filled their dumplings with meat. But it’s unclear when this practice began, or whether they learned the art of dumpling-making from others. However this happened, dumplings certainly gathered steam in ancient China.

Dumplings continued to take off and diversify in China over the next thousand years. Instead of the traditional meat filling, some communities chose vegetarian (素食) dumplings. People developed new cooking methods. The relationship between Chinese dumplings and those in other areas is tricky to trace, but food historians have made their best guesses based on available clues.

Besides Turkic tribes, some scholars believe that the Mongol Empire also contributed to the spread of dumplings, perhaps introducing them to parts of Eastern Europe. These dumplings could have come by way of China or directly from some of the Turkic peoples the Mongols hired to run their empire. One theory is that this gave rise to dumplings like pelmeni in Russia, pierogi in Poland and vareniki in Ukraine. The Mongol Empire also controlled Korea and might have likewise introduced dumplings there. Later, after Chinese dumpling varieties were introduced to more countries, English speakers began calling them dumplings, which means “little lumps”. During the Second World War, Chinese “jiaozi” were brought to Japan. So what about the Italian dumpling-like pasta? Some historians think it might be brought by Arab conquerors.

It’s unlikely that all dumpling dishes came from the same root tradition. However, we can appreciate the mysterious historical web that made dumplings so various.

5 . In his 1936 work How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie wrote: “I have come to the conclusion that there is only one way to get the best of an argument — and that is to avoid it.” This distaste for arguments is common, but it depends on a mistaken view of arguments that causes problems for our personal and social lives — and in many ways misses the point of arguing in the first place.

Carnegie would be right if arguments were fights, which is how we often think of them. Like physical fights, verbal (言语的) fights can leave both sides bloodied. Even when you win, you end up no better off. You would be feeling almost as bad if arguments were even just competitions — like, say, tennis tournaments. Pairs of opponents hit the ball back and forth until one winner comes out from all who entered. Everybody else loses. This kind of thinking explains why so many people try to avoid arguments.

However, there are ways to win an argument every time. When you state your position, formulate (阐述) an argument for what you claim and honestly ask yourself whether your argument is any good. When you talk with someone who takes a stand, ask them to give you a reason for their view and spell out their argument fully. Assess its strength and weakness. Raise objections (异议) and listen carefully to their replies. This method will require effort, but practice will make you better at it.

These tools can help you win every argument — not in the unhelpful sense of beating your opponents but in the better sense of learning about what divides people, learning why they disagree with us and learning to talk and work together with them. If we readjust our view of arguments — from a verbal fight or tennis game to a reasoned exchange through which we all gain respect and understanding from each other — then we change the very nature of what it means to “win” an argument.

6 . On October 20th comes “Killers of the Flower Moon” from the director Martin Scorsese. At nearly three and a half hours, its length is nearly double that of the average film last year. Even movie fans struggle to concentrate for that long. During the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, some viewers dozed off. Afterwards there was a mad dash (and long queue) for the toilets. When did watching a film become such a labor?

Film-makers started producing long-lasting movies at a rapid pace in the early 1960s. Cinema was booming and filmmakers wanted to distinguish their art from television. Epics surpassing the three-and-a-half hour mark graced the silver screen. Back then, audiences enjoyed an interval while the projectionist prepared the reels for the next act. Runtimes of popular films experienced ups and downs over subsequent decades. But they have ballooned since 2018.

Movie series is one driver of this trend. Studios want to squeeze the most out of their costly intellectual property, but they are competing with streaming platforms for eyeballs. The hope is that a spectacular, drawn-out blockbuster (大片) will tempt audiences away from the small screen and into cinemas. This approach has often paid off: “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), which showcased Marvel superheroes remarkably with a runtime of three hours, achieved the highest box office revenue among all films in that year.

Anything that attracts people away from their sofas to see a film in theatres is good news for cinemas. But lengthy runtimes also pose a “fundamental problem”, complains Clare Binns of Picturehouse, a British cinema group and film distributor. Long movies can mean abandoning two showings per night, which hurts ticket sales and profits.

Another explanation for longer films has to do with directors’ growing influence. Who would dare tell the likes of Mr Nolan to shorten his masterpieces? Streamers, which do not have to worry as much about concision because viewers can pause whenever they like, may attract big names with deep pockets and promises of creative freedom. “Killers of the Flower Moon” will debut on AppleTV+ after its theatrical release.

7 . Valentina Dominguez, a nine-year-old from Texas, was travelling with her parents and her doll, Beatrice. After finishing their _______ in Bali, Indonesia, they stopped over in Tokyo before _______ their flight back home.

However, upon arriving home, they _______ that Beatrice was missing. Only then did they realize they hadn’t seen her since they were on the airplane. Valentina’s family was extremely _______ at losing the doll. Her father expressed his sadness. The family reached out to the airport and airline but weren’t able to _______ Beatrice, they took to social media.

First Officer James Danen, an American Airline pilot saw the post and located the missing doll in Turkish Airlines’ Lost and Found. Since Danen’s flight routes often included Tokyo, he realized that he could help out Valentina. “It’s my _______. I like helping people,” he explained.

And that’s how First Officer Danen ended up _______ the doll to her home in Texas. The New York Post _______ that he took pictures of the doll in the airport. He also brought along Japanese treats and a map showing Beatrice’s _______. “Was she well behaved on the flight?” Valentina asked. “Very well behaved,” Danen answered.

Valentina is ________ to be reunited with Beatrice. Valentina shared, “She brings me ________ and she’s my best friend. When she was missing, I felt like my heart was broken.”

First Officer Danen could ________ have overlooked the social media post owing to so many on it. But, instead he took the time to ________ someone else. This heartwarming story serves as a reminder of the ________ a simple act of kindness can have. That kindness knows no ________ is the message conveyed in the story.

8 . While it’s true that introverts tend to enjoy alone time, it’s not true they dislike people or social environments. Just because you show more reservation than enthusiasm in these settings, it doesn’t mean you need to change or that you can’t make new friends. Kat Vellos, a speaker and connection coach, advises introverts to “Resist pressure from the outside world and don’t hide your true nature or force yourself to be extroverted.”

Danielle Bayard Jackson, a friendship coach, says that introverts can be good friends. “I think we sometimes joke about them being incapable or not knowing what to do…and they actually have a lot of superpowers that we don’t give credit(赞扬)to. They’re very observant. They’re really good listeners. And I think that makes for really good friends.” So, how can introverts use their strengths and make new friends in the process?

“One of my favorite ways to do this is by going to a social event, then camping out on the edge with other highly sensitive people who don’t want to be in the center of the action.” Vellos, who is an introvert herself, says. “The kitchen and the edge of the yard are where I’ve often found the best conversations and feelings of connection at an otherwise overwhelming(令人难以应对的)party.”

The key for introverts is to be mindful of how they spend their energy so that when they spend it, they spend it well. “If you know you have a small social battery and you can show up for one hour after which it’ll be overwhelming for you, make good use of that information about yourself.” Jackson says. “If you know you only have an hour to spend, choose carefully the things that you say yes to.”

As an introvert, you feel and think deeply, so this means that you have the rare(罕见的)ability to go deeper more quickly with someone new. An hour or two nay be just the amount of time you need.