Next week, I’ll be traveling to Australia to visit a friend over the school holidays and I’m excited to explore this new country. I’ve already researched many iconic sites ,     1     (include) the Sydney Opera House and the Great Ocean Road, and animals like koalas and kangaroos. But as a social study student,     2     interests me most is experiencing the culture, food, and way of life of Australians and meeting new people. So far, my trip     3     (take) me to Sydney, where my friend took me to my first open-air barbecue and introduced me to many of the country’s delicious dishes. I’ve learned that many     4     (type) Australian foods, like the Sunday roast, have British origins, but Asian influences have also led to new food introductions like bean curd and dim sim. I have traveled to Katherine as well , a town in Australia’s Northern Territory,     5     (learn )about the customs and ways of life of the Aborigines, the native people of Australia.     6     their population may be small, their influence is still visible, as seen in the Aboriginal meaning of the name of Bondi Beach. The Aborigines’ close connection with nature is seen in their music, like the didgeridoo, which     7     (make) from a hollow tree branch and requires proper lip vibrations and air blowing techniques to play. I tried playing the didgeridoo but failed. As my trip comes to     8     close, I am most impressed by the multicultural influences that have shaped the unique Australian culture     9     (contribute) by immigrants and minorities. The warmth and     10     (friendly) of the Australian people have made me feel at home and I wholeheartedly agree with the tourism slogan, “There’s nothing like Australia”.

In 1968, many precious relics were unearthed in the tombs of the Western Han Dynasty including the Changxin Palace Lamp, which is acknowledged     1     “the first lamp of China”.

The bronze lamp bears the shape of a girl on her knees     2     (hold) a lamp. The lamp plate is on her left hand while her right hand,     3     is covered by a loose sleeve (袖子), carries the lampshade. The brightness of the lamp and the direction of the light can be adjusted with a handle and it controls two movable shades.     4     (remarkable), the girl’s right sleeve traps smoke from the burning lamp oil     5     channels it into the hollow body where water is stored, thus preventing the lamp from polluting the indoor air. Apart from that, the six component parts of the lamp can all be taken apart, and     6     (be) easy to clean.

The delicate Changxin Palace Lamp provides a glimpse into China’s glorious past, showing     7     wisdom of ancient Chinese people as well as ancient China’s achievements in science and technology. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic flame lantern     8     (inspire) by the Changxin Palace Lamp. Being a perfect     9     (marry) of green initiative and the Olympic Spirit, it uses double glass and a hidden division channel     10     (reduce) the smoke and carbon deposition (沉积).

The Great Wall winds its way from west to east, across deserts, upon mountains, through valleys till at last it reaches the sea. It is one of the most famous places of interest in China and Chinese people are very proud of it. Every year a lot of people came to the Great wall to feel the     1     (great) of the ancient people.

The Great Wall has     2     history of over twenty centuries. The first part of it     3    (build) during the Spring and Autumn Period. During the Warring States Period,     4    (many) walls were put up to defend the borders of the different kingdoms. During the Qin Dynasty, the Emperor Qinshihuang had all the walls    5    (join) up. Thus, the Great Wall came     6     being.

    7    was very difficult to build such a wall in the ancient days without any modern machines. All the work was done by hand.     8    (thousand) of men died and were buried under the wall they built. It was made not only of stone and earth,     9     also of the flesh and blood of millions of men.

Today the Great Wall is a place of interest not only to the Chinese but also to people from all over the world. Many people know the famous Chinese saying: “He     10     does not reach the Great Wall is not a true man.”

Lindsay didn’t feel herself last month. She was a really good student, but to her     1    (anxious), her grades were falling. That was because she sometimes felt     2    (confuse) about what the teacher said and sometimes had trouble     3    (concentrate) on her study. Her behavior attracted her father’s attention. He asked what had happened     4    her, but she refused     5    (communicate) with him and just cried.

Worried that it affected her daily life     6    (terrible), the father turned to his neighbor — a knowledgeable architect for help. The architect told him     7     unique solution to the problem. He recommended that he     8    (plan) a trip for his daughter. By getting close to nature and experiencing a different life, Lindsay did recover from it.     9     you have such signs, don’t worry. Maybe travelling     10    (be) a good choice for you.

Dr Lin Qiaozhi once sad, “Life is precious... To a person nothing is more precious than their life, and if they entrust me with that life, how could I refuse that trust,     1    (say) I’m cold, hungry, or tired?” These words carried her    2    a life of hard choices. She    3    (choose) to study medicine instead of following the     4    (tradition) path like the majority of girls. After graduating from university, she     5    (immediate) became the first woman ever to be hired as     6    resident physician. When studying in the US, her American colleagues invited her to stay in the US.    7    , she refused because she wanted to serve the woman and children at home. In 1941, Dr Lin became the first Chinese woman     8    was appointed director of the OB-GYN department of the PUMC Hospital. But a few months later, the department was closed because of the war. Lin Qiaozhi,    9    (know) as the “mother of ten thousand     10    (baby)”, devoted all her life to medical work for Chinese women and children.

On a cool day in winter, I boarded a small bus for Nuanquan Town, or Warm Spring Town in Zhangjiakou. It is an old town with ancient walled     1    (village) dating from the Ming and Qing dynasties,     2    (relative) untouched by the influence of modern redevelopment.

I went there not for its springs or well-preserved buildings, but for its performances of Dashuhua, literally     3    (translate) as “striking tree flowers.” It is usually performed at the Lantern Festival, when ironworkers throw hot melted iron against a cold brick wall to create a splendid shower of sparks (火花), just like the     4    (flower) branches of a large tree, and hence the name.

When the freezing cold night fell, the visitors sat around the stage     5     the fire show was performed. As the performers took center stage, all thoughts about the bone-cracking temperatures     6    (forget). And in the following hour, we witnessed firework-like sparks light up the town.

Dashuhua is a game for the brave.     7     requires not only professional skills but also physical     8    (strong) and courage. Maybe that is the reason why fewer and fewer young people want to learn this skill and take better-paying jobs in     9    (large) towns.

Luckily, the tradition has been listed     10     an intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) in China.

The Chinese couplet (对联) refers to two poetic lines obeying certain rules, often written on red paper for     1     (appreciate).

As a form of Chinese literature, the couplet     2     (vary) in content and style. Some express people’s love to their motherland, some describe the beauty of nature,     3     some convey best wishes for the coming year.

Chinese couplets originated in the Five Dynasties, and     4     (become) ubiquitous (无处不在) in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was a custom for people     5     (hang) peach wood charms to drive away evil spirits during the Spring Festival. Nowadays, couplets are used     6     a similar way.

It was said that the     7     (early) couplet was written by Meng Xu, king of Houshu State and it was     8     (extreme) popular in the Northern Song Dynasty. Since the Ming Dynasty, to write couplets     9     (regard) as a mark of the cultured life of scholars.

The couplet has two equal-length lines. However,     10       number of characters in each line can be from four to seven or more. The first and the second lines have opposite tone patterns. The last character of the first line is of an oblique tone (仄声), and its opposite in the second line, of a level tone (平声).