Yours,

Hu Xiaobei

In Beijing this weekend, several young ladies in flowing clothes became the center of attention. They invited passers-by     1     (complete) ancient Chinese poems written on a board, and people     2     made it would get a flower. The ladies are hanfu lovers from a club whose aim is to spread the culture of hanfu, a style of clothing     3     (traditional) worn by the Han people. “We     4     (hold) several similar events recently in some big cities,” said Fu Jiamei, one of the activity’s     5     (organizer). “We hope that more people will understand the beauty of hanfu and the culture behind it,” she added.

“The growing popularity of hanfu     6     the young people comes from their increasing interest in traditional Chinese culture and     7     (they) desire to wear something Chinese to show their cultural identity,” said Gao Wenjing,     8     expert at Tsinghua University Art Museum. Gao believes that many young people love hanfu as a result of increased cultural     9     (confident), while the love for hanfu, in turn, helps them to learn more about Chinese culture and history. “This is     10     (meaning),” she said.

3 . When we’re facing a problem, we often gather a group to brain-storm. We’re looking to get the best ideas as quickly as possible. I love seeing it happen, except for one question—group brainstorming usually has opposite effects.

In brainstorming meetings, many good ideas are lost. Research shows that when attending brainstorming meetings, people tend to bite their tongues either because they don’t want to look stupid, or they avoid talking all at once, and sometimes they just follow the crowd. As a result, we end up waving goodbye to different ideas and saying hello to group thinking.

To find the hidden strength in teams, instead of brainstorming, we’d better turn to a process called “brainwriting.” The first steps are done individually. We start by asking everyone to create ideas separately. Next, we collect them and share them without names among the group. Only then does the team come together to select the best choices. By developing and judging ideas individually before choosing them, teams can present possibilities that might not get attention otherwise.

Research by organizational behavior expert Anita Woolley helps to explain why brainstorming fails and brainwriting works. She finds that a key to group intelligence is to offer people equal chances to voice their ideas. In brainstorming meetings, people tend to follow the loudest voices and the most powerful people. However, the brainwriting process makes sure that all ideas are brought to the table and all voices are brought into the conversation. The goal isn’t to be the smartest person in the room—it’s to make the room smarter.

4 . Andrew Powell was pulling envelopes from the large mailbox outside his contemporary house when he noticed something ______: A tiny doll couple were sitting on a love seat inside the mailbox. A small note was attached.

“We’ve decided to live here,” the ______ read. It was signed from Mary and Shelley. Andrew initially figured that somebody must have left them there ______ . So he asked the neighbors whether anybody had left ______ in his mailbox, and everyone said no. Soon, Andrew and his wife discovered that the small couple had ______ a tea table, a pretty carpet and a pillow.

Over the next few months, additional items mysteriously ______: a bed, a painting and a wood-burning stove, to name a few. For Christmas 2022, a decorated tree was left with tiny presents. But the gifts were taken back right after Christmas ______ Andrew could open the boxes to see if anything was inside.

More than a year later, Mary and Shelley are still living rent-free in the mailbox, to the delight of the neighbors who now ______ Andrew’s updates on the village’s website to check the ______. Andrew first posted about the tiny dolls on Aug. 21, 2022, hoping his fellow villagers might help solve the ______.

“It’s just somebody out there who is having some fun, giving us all a little community ______. But whoever is doing this is obviously very ______ and clever,” says Andrew’s next-door neighbor.

Andrew says he now doesn’t want to know who is ______ for the mail-box affair because he’s hoping it will continue. “Also, people in the neighborhood are ______ it and some ask if I’ve thought about installing an outdoor ______ , but personally, I like the mystery of it.”

How can I describe the wonder I felt the first time I saw my favorite painting, George Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte? I     1    (admire) the work for years in art books, but I had never thought I would see the actual painting,     2     was housed far from where I lived.

The first thing that struck me as I     3    (enter) the room where the painting was displayed was the size of the work. It was huge! It covered a large part of     4     even larger wall. The painting was painted with dots, a technique     5    (call) pointillism. To create such a huge painting     6    (use) this technique seemed an almost impossible task. Seurat had done it, though, and had made it look easy!

What’s more impressive, however, was the     7    (beautiful) of the painting. Viewed from a distance, the colors looked soft and gentle, describing the happy and     8    (peace) mood of a summer day in the park.

When I approached the painting, though, its colors exploded into many more colors, showing the artist’s skill in combining colors     9    (create) a mood. Even the parts of the painting that appeared white from a distance were lively and had many different colors when viewed up close. I sat and stared     10     the painting in wonder for a good part of the afternoon.

9 . Before this COVID-19 pandemic, family vacations were simple. They consisted of a trip to Disneyworld, a week at a resort, or perhaps a booking on a cruise line that every family member was excited about, The only thing many had to worry about was forgetting the passports or a child forgetting the toothbrush or losing the favorite toy somewhere between the airport and the hotel. Now, the days of vacations look completely different and for those who have taken one during the pandemic, many things have changed.

Many families have routine (例行的) vacations that they take every year and this year. But due to the pandemic, many vacations didn’t happen as planned, So, vacations were put on the back burner and weren’t taken until much later in the year and for many people, change in their work lives allowed this. With more parents working from home and more kids taking part in homeschooling at home, families found going on vacation became much easier without the physical need to be somewhere else. This was also the year that many people remembered that they’re surrounded by nature. Rather than booking the typical vacation to the most-visited destinations or popular theme parks， many people-families especially-chose the lesser-crowded destinations. This meant that more families chose vacation activities such as camping, preferring to connect with nature rather than walk the busy streets. This also meant that vacation rentals (租用的房屋或汽车、设备等) were up in popularity and even in popular destinations, such as beach towns, The possibility of small crowds didn’t stop some families due to the fact that they rented the whole place.

It now looks like these changes might be here to stay, at least for some time longer, before the world returns to a state of normality.