The apsaras, angel-like beings known as feitian in Chinese, are a symbol of the city of Dunhuang. Here, in     1     historic Silk Road oasis in Gansu province, feitian-themed decorations and designs are common, ranging from towering sculptures of heavenly musicians holding Chinese pipa lutes     2     complex drawings of charming beauties bearing flowers on the cups.

Dunhuang has amazed the world with its nearby Mogao Caves, one of the greatest “storerooms” of ancient Buddhist art.     3     (date) back to the 4th century, these artworks cover the     4     (gold) age of the Tang (618-907) and other influential dynasties,     5     the city played an important role as a centre of exchanges between East and West.

Today, the great impact of the murals, sculptures, scripts     6     other major objects discovered in the early 20th century at the UNESCO World Heritage Site still     7     (continue) to be felt beyond the cultural, historical and religious field.

As a major     8     (represent) of traditional Chinese culture, Dunhuang art also offers an important way     9     (distinguish) traditional Chinese culture and help spread an appreciation of     10     all over the world.

90 percent of the world’s fireworks are produced in China. The biggest importer is the US, which     1     (ship) in more than US $650 million worth in 2021.

The details of fireworks’ invention are lost to history, but     2     folk tale tries to fill in the gap. It goes that monk named Li Tian created fireworks around 1400 years ago by packing gunpowder into bamboo tubes     3     (scare) off evil spirits.

An explosive mixture of gun-powder and chemical compounds (化合物) is     4     makes fireworks flash in pretty colours and fun shapes. The images they make depend on the placement of these compounds inside the shell of the firework. Crowd     5    (favorite) include “comet”, featuring a long trail of sparks; “peony”, a flower-like burst; and “strobe”, which produces a blinking effect.

The single biggest firework shell ever shot was part of a 2020 winter-carnival display in Colorado, US.     6     (weigh) 1268 kilograms, it rose more than a kilometre into the sky     7     bursting, turning the night sky red.

For centuries we had to light firework     8     hand, but since the 1980s, there’s been another option: computer-controlled lighters, which made music at displays more     9     (precise) timed and safer. An even greener alternative recently     10     (adopt) is using drones to trace flashy patterns in the sky. The future of fireworks, like so much else, may be robotic.

The 37th International Kite Festival in Berck-sur-Mer opened on April 20 on a beach in France. As the largest and     1     (influence) kite-themed event in France, it attracted global visitors and kites from 25 countries and regions. China made a wonderful     2     (appear) as the first-ever guest country of honor at the event.

Chinese-inflected cultural activities took place at the festival, including flying performance at the opening ceremony, workshops for kite-making     3     (technique) by artisans (工匠) from Weifang, as well as performances and experiential activities from lion dances     4     martial arts and performances of traditional Chinese instruments and tea ceremonies.

Yan Zhenquan, minister counselor of the Chinese Embassy in France, Jacques Billant, governor of Pas-de-Calais,     5     Liu Hongge, director of the China Cultural Center in Paris attended and     6     (deliver) speeches. Liu said, “the kite is a key image representing     7     friendship between China and France.” In 1958, the two countries coproduced a film titled Fengzheng    8    (concern) the adventures and friendship between Chinese and French children     9     (create) by a kite. Liu also noted that as the organizer of guest country activities, the China Cultural Center in Paris would continue to use kites as a medium     10    (tell) stories about kite culture in China and France, foster mutual understanding between peoples, and contribute to the success of the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism.

In the soft glow of the Lantern Festival, a woman moves gracefully through the crowd in her Ma Mian Qun. As she walks, the folds of her skirt flow like waves,     1    （bring） the embroidered (刺绣的) dragons and phoenixes to life, as if they were whispering tales of ancient times.

Ma Mian Qun,     2    （common） known as the horse-face skirt, was the most typical style for Chinese women in the Song Dynasty. Traditionally, the skirt     3    （comprise） of two pieces of identical cloth tied at the waistband, wrapping around the body     4    （ensure） coverage in the front and back—a design particularly suitable     5     horse-riding. The cloth was decorated with delicate     6    （pattern） that represent joy and good luck, featuring dragons, phoenixes and historical stories.

Over the years, Ma Mian Qun     7    （experience） a series of changes, developing from the practical function of the Song Dynasty and adapting to the fresh and     8    （elegance） style of the Ming Dynasty, the luxury of the Qing Dynasty and finally the modern fashion innovation. Yet, the “horse face” design has been a constant feature.

Paired with Han suit Ao (袄), Ma Mian Qun displays an air of dignity and gentleness, making     9     a significant symbol of traditional Chinese costume culture,     10     influence on Western fashion has lasted for generations.

An ancient Chinese legend states that there is only one true path up Mount Hua — the 12 km track rising 1,800 m that took 3,000 years     1     (build). I still remember     2     (amaze) by photos of people standing on the Changkong Plank Trail (长空栈道), a wooden path only over 30 centimetres in     3     (wide), with part of their bodies hanging over the cliff. Years later, I found myself     4     (enthusiastic) pursuing the same ambition.

This is where I began—a trail initially pleasant and easy. While many chose to take the cable car     5     (mean) to minimize effort, I avoided the shortcut to the South Peak. I followed the river past some Taoist temples and climbed higher up steep stairs that     6     (carve) expertly into the stone. It took hours     7     I reached higher altitude where view expanded.     8     all directions, equally impressive summits stretched out before me.

Vertical (垂直的) ladders made higher points accessible, often with only chains to arrest your fall. By afternoon, I had reached the very spot     9     had captured my imagination about China. I just stood still, mouth open, leaning right out over the edge,     10     stared down into the vacant space below. Eventually, gathering my courage, I took a few photos. Who would have thought this girl would complete the world’s most dangerous hike?!

More young people are trying their hand at farming the soil. Guo Lan, 29, works in a vegetable greenhouse on his organic farm     1     (locate) in the suburban district of Hefei, East China’s Anhui province. It is the eighth time this summer that Guo has failed to grow vegetables     2    using chemicals. Despite trying various homemade pest solutions, such as plant ash and mixtures of pepper and alcohol, the vegetable     3     (leaf) were still being eaten by insects. “I will not give up     4     (try),” the 29-year-old accountant-turned-farmer says. He is determined to turn his farm into     5     organic one, cultivating fruits and vegetables with the same flavors as those from his childhood memories.

“Growing tasty and healthy food     6     (be) my dream since I was a teenager. I know     7     challenging it can be, but if you take the soil     8     (serious), I believe it will pay off,” Guo says. He adds that farming is not a business that can make quick money, but for him, it has become an uplifting activity that brings back memories of spending time on the farm with     9     (he) parents as a child. Guo’s passion for organic farming and commitment to producing healthy food will surely inspire more young people to explore     10     (sustain) agriculture.

For many of us in the UK and other parts of the world, having an electric kettle plugged in in the kitchen is a part of everyday life. But for people in America, it’s unusual     1     (use) a kettle–and the cultural difference has left many people     2     (confuse). Sophie Monk,     3     Australian host, recently sparked a debate when she     4     (detail) her experience of living in the US.

Sophie lived in America for 10 years before     5     (return) to her native Australia, and she was shocked at the fact that American people boiled their water on the stove. She said, “I was looking     6     a kettle, and they’re like, ‘Kettle?’ They don’t know     7     a kettle is. They don’t use them. They must heat water up on their stove. Yeah, no one has a kettle,     8     is crazy.” Although the concept of not using a kettle is more than a little strange to us Brits, there’s actually a pretty simple     9     (explain) for the decision.

In America, homes only have a voltage (电压) of 100-127,     10     in the UK and other countries, the voltage in a house is around 230. This means electric kettles in the US actually heat water more slowly than they do in the UK, so Americans haven’t bothered to invest in the appliances-choosing instead to boil on the stove.

The Ocean of Stars, a symphony (交响乐) concert by Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, was staged at the Jinji Lake Concert Hall in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, on July 15, 2023.     1     part of the ongoing Hua Xia Music Festival hosted by Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, the concert     2     (conduct) by Chen Xieyang, featuring famous pianist Wu Chun. Chinese music     3     (work), including The Ocean of Stars and Mulan Psalm, all by Chinese composer Guan Xia, were performed.

The orchestra teamed up with Suzhou Silk Museum, presenting a modern show, which saw musicians of the orchestra wearing and showing     4     (tradition) Chinese silk clothes at the Jinji Lake Concert Hall. Started by conductor Chen, artistic director of the orchestra, the two-week Hua Xia Music Festival,     5     was in the third year, aimed at     6     (promote) Chinese music works.

Suzhou Symphony Orchestra also announced     7     (it) 2023-2024 season on July 15, which would close in July 2024. It was the orchestra’s     8     (eight) season, which gathered music artists with     9     average age of 30 years old from around the world.

The year 2023 marked the 65th anniversary of foreign relations between China and Algeria. It was the first time the orchestra     10     (perform) in Africa at the 13th International Classical Music Festival in Algiers, Algeria.

A group of Chinese researchers issued a data map of the soil organic carbon (SOC) content for global black soil areas,     1     (reveal) the quantification of agroecosystems and global food security, according to the recent issue of the journal Remote Sensing of Environment.

Research has shown that carbon cycle is     2     (significant) influenced by agricultural soils. The accuracy mapping of SOC content can help to clarify the carbon sequestration capacity (碳汇能力), quantify agroecosystem and contribute     3    global food security. But it is still challenging to acquire     4     (rely) SOC content databasets.

The study     5     (publish) in the journal was done by researchers from the Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. According to the journal, the researchers     6     (collect) more than 191,000 scenes of remote sensing images and elevation model data, and used meta-learning convolutional neural network model     7     (generate) high-resolution data map for global black soil regions.

The data in the study indicates that the SOC content in the global black soil regions shows a decreasung trend, which can be divided into the significant decrease phase from 1984 to 2000,     8     the moderate decrease phase from 2001 to 2021.

The result from the study also shows that the four major black soil     9     (region) in the world have different rates of SOC decline. The SOC decline rates of the Russian-Ukrainian Plain and the Pampas Plain of South America are higher than     10     of the northeast China and the Mississippi River Basin in North America.