Mamianqun, also known as “Horse-faced Skirt”, is     1     kind of traditional Chinese dress. Actually, the name “Mamianqun” has nothing to do with the animal. There is a theory that the “skirt doors” of Mamianqun     2     (close) look like “Ma Mian”, a kind of structure used for defense on the ancient city walls, so the skirt got the name “Mamianqun”. But this is still a question to be verified.

Mamianqun, dating back     3     the Song Dynasty, had become the most typical style for women by the Ming and Qing dynasties. It became prominent due to     4     (it) use by nobility and the rich as a status symbol. The style of Mamianqun     5     (go) through a series of changes since it emerged. However, the “Ma Mian” structure has always been deeply rooted.

Silk, the most revered (受尊敬的) fabric in ancient China, was the     6     (prefer) material for making a Mamianqun, particularly for the upper class of society. Mamianqun has numerous pleats (褶) on either side,     7     (create) uniquely beautiful and graceful waves when walking. The most attractive aspect is the elegant patterns on the skirt     8     represent people’s beautiful aspirations in Chinese clothing culture, such as the Depiction of Birds Adoring the Phoenix and Prosperity and Blooming Flowers.

Mamianqun, with deep historical roots, has transitioned into modern fashion, where it serves as a bridge between the past     9     present. Nowadays, Mamianqun is gaining increasing     10     (popular) among both Chinese and foreigners.

Homegrown nature documentary “Snow Leopards and Friends” is the first Chinese factual film about snow leopards (雪豹).

It     1     (document) how three herdsmen (牧民) photographers from Xizang, who may be the people     2     (close) to snow leopards in the world, track the trail (踪迹) of snow leopards and finally become protectors of the species.     3     addition to being about snow leopards, the film also explores a new way of coexistence between human beings and wild animals. The documentary     4     (screen) during the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival, which kicked off on June 9, and won great praise.

It took director Xi Zhinong and the photographers six years     5     (shoot) the film on the snow-covered highland,     6     the severe environment is tough not only for snow leopards, but also for other species like brown bears and antelopes.

Many of the movie’s viewers were touched by the power and     7     (strong) of life shown in the film. The documentary presents the most primitive forces of nature through its visual wonders and     8     (act) creatures. It also caused viewers to reflect on wildlife and conservation of nature.     9     movie viewer said that the film is also a course on     10     (respect) life and nature and everyone needs to learn this lesson.

“Cheesy but captivating.” “Addictive.” These are among the most frequent     1     (comment) made by netizens on micro-dramas, a new video entertainment format increasing in popularity online. For many Internet users, micro-dramas, with their episodes (集)     2     (last) just a few minutes each but sometimes numbering over 100     3     total, are more appealing than traditional TV dramas. Micro-dramas have become many netizens’ “digital pickles” or dianzi zhacai,     4     term that describes videos people enjoy while eating, enhancing their dining experience and making their food taste even     5     (delicious).

The development of micro-dramas     6     (date) back to as far as 2009,     7     video streaming platforms were still in their early stage in China. With the appearance of mobile Internet and the widespread embrace of short video platforms among smartphone users, the micro drama market     8     (begin) to take off in 2018.

In     9     (compare) to traditional TV series, micro-dramas with significantly shorter time in each episode are more suitable for audience with fragmented (碎片的) viewing habits, Lu

Fan told China News Service. But, he added, because of their small scale and short production cycles,     10     (couple) with the need to catch viewers’ attention and gain traffic in a short period of time, the market has witnessed the appearance of plagiarized (剽窃的) works.

In February, I traveled to York in the UK to participate in the Jorvik Viking Festival, Europe’s largest Viking festival, which     1     (hold) annually since 1985.

In the city center were hundreds of people with swords, axes and helmets, all dressed as Vikings. Some played old instruments as more than a hundred Vikings took part in a great march through the city center. Stalls were busy selling Viking tools, costumes and mead, an old Viking wine     2     (make )from honey.

According to the Archeology in Europe Educational Resources website, the Vikings conquered York in     3     late 1800s and ruled there for almost a century. This was part of the Viking Age, which lasted     4     800 to 1150. During this time, approximately 200,000 Vikings from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark left Scandinavia in boats to settle in     5     (vary)parts of the world, including England.

    6     this period was far from peaceful. The Vikings were a warrior people who believed that being killed in battle would send them to Valhalla, the resting place for warriors. So their expansion took the form of brutal war, as well as exploration and trade. Their influence is still     7     (strong) remembered across Britain.

Today, there is a great fascination in the UK with Viking history. Besides the Jorvik festival, people hold Viking weddings     8     the couple may tie their hands together, drink from animal horns and even jump over a sword to get blessings from the Viking gods. In these ceremonies, guests are encouraged to dress in Viking clothes. Some people even name their children after Viking legends! For instance, one of my     9     (nephew) is named Heimdall, after the watchman of the gods in Norse mythology. The Viking legacy continues to interest and inspire people in the UK,     10     (find) its way into different aspects of our culture.

Recently, Tianshui in Gansu Province     1     (go) viral (走红) on social media with its local street dish malatang.

According to the China News Agency, one restaurant     2     (own) in Tianshui said that he has been serving at least 400 customers a day, as people from other provinces drive to the city just to get     3     taste of the local cuisine (菜肴) .

“There has been a long queue outside my restaurant even on weekdays,” said the shop owner.

Many Malatang restaurants have extended (延长) their opening hours     4     (satisfy) the increasing number of customers     5     (arrive) from all over the country.

The growing popularity of this kind of street food can also be reflected in its main ingredient (原料), the Gangu chili pepper,     6     (grow) in Gangu county. The sales of products such as the broth (汤底) for Tianshui malatang and Gangu chili peppers have     7     (great) increased in the past two weeks. Young customers born in the 1990s have become the leading force for its consumption, taking up 40 percent of chili pepper product sales. Related     8     (topic) such as “going for malatang in Gansu by high-speed train” have been trending on China’s Sina Weibo, while on the short video platform Douyin, the topic Tianshui has been viewed more than 12 billion times.

The successful tourism experience earned by the cities of Zibo and Harbin have already paved the way for Tianshui,     9     is also famous for its culinary dish (美食).     10     a stop along the ancient Silk Road, Tianshui is a must for visitors from home and abroad to experience the charm.

The daily list of my 18-year-old daughter, Julia, became a reminder of the     1     (important) of kindness to others.

I walked into the kitchen and saw Julia, who was mixing flour and milk     2     (make) muffins (松饼). “Chocolate muffins for you and banana nut muffins for Dad,” Julia said with a smile. The following afternoon, at     3     end of her shift at the grocery store, Julia picked up milk and other items she     4     (clear) knew our family needed. The next time she went to work, she got groceries for my mother-in-law,     5     lives across the street. Over the next week, Julia unloaded the dishwasher, made dinner and swept the floor — things I normally would have done — all without     6     (ask) to do so.

On Friday, I saw Julia’s to-do list on the kitchen table, on which the last item     7    (catch) my eye: “Do something nice for someone else.” I looked through the notebook, finding that every day’s list included that same task, so suddenly I remembered the muffins she’d made, the dishes she’d washed     8     the groceries she’d bought. “What a great girl!” I said to     9     (I). My daughter reminded me loving others by doing something nice for them is important, which is     10     important that it makes my to-do list each day.