The Great Wall of China with a total length of over 5,000 kilometers is one of the greatest     1     (wonder) of the world. The Great Wall starts from Jiayuguan in Gansu Province in west China and     2     (end) at Hushan Mountain in Liaoning Province in     3     east. The Great Wall stretches from west to east like a giant loong,     4     (wind) its way across mountains, through deserts and over valleys. It was built continuously over more than 2,000 years originally     5     (protect) the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by     6     (vary) nomadic(游牧的)groups. One of the most famous is the wall     7     was built between 220-206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains, and the majority of the existing wall     8     (build) during the Ming Dynasty.

The Great Wall is not only a brick wall, but also one of the world’s greatest historical architectural works. It played a significant role     9     Chinese history. The Great Wall has been a symbol of Chinese civilization,     10     it has become one of the most famous scenic spots in China, attracting tourists from all over the world.

Grocery store design is a carefully crafted art from both psychological and marketing standpoints, according to Reeves Connelly,     1     studied architectural design at the Pratt Institute. He explained there is a reason why fruit and vegetables are often located at the front of the store, “You’ll grab them first and then     2     (hope) feel less guilty about buying junk food later on.” Meanwhile, essential items such as milk and eggs     3     (place) at the back of the store to ensure customers walk through other aisles with many unhealthy options, potentially     4     (increase) the likelihood of impulse purchases.

There’s also a reason why you often feel lost in local supermarkets. They move things around. Reeves explained, “They are well aware that these strategies become less effective after you visit the store a few times, so they’ll regularly move the     5     (produce) to different aisles to confuse you. The practice is not limited to     6     specific store but is employed across     7     (vary) retail chains.”

“Their little tricks always work on me,” one regular shopper admitted, “I walk in to get three things and end     8     spending $300,” he said. On the other hand, some shoppers are proud to declare they have never fallen into the trap. “That’s why I always keep a shopping list on     9     (I),” another shopper shared.” “I’ve started having my groceries     10     (deliver),” he added.

Have you ever paused to see clouds when you rush to your destination? There’s a group of passionate “treasure finders”     1     (devote) to observing and capturing (捕捉) the beauty in the sky — cloud spotters.

Cloud spotters take a more serious approach to make sense     2     the sky. They would even take photos of the clouds they spot     3     match them to cloud type names.

Ji Yun, 36, is an expert in cloud spotting. He set up a WeChat group     4     (gather) together people with similar     5     (hobby) in 2013. As the number of group members continued to grow, Ji and several cloud enthusiasts     6     (create) dozens of online groups for different regions in China,     7     (form) the Sky Enthusiasts Association in 2019.

    8     (current), there are thousands of people across these different groups. There, enthusiasts share the clouds they have captured for discussion.

Cloud spotting, in fact,     9     (be) an invitation to be amazed by something so common every day that we’ve become blind to it.

“Clouds change in the blink of an eye. And when they roll over the sky, I feel the passage of time has     10     concrete shape,” said Jiang Na, a 25-year-old cloud spotter in Beijing.

An international team of astronomers used a database combining observations from the best telescopes in the world     1    (detect) the signal from the active supermassive black holes of dying galaxies (星系) in the early universe. The     2    (appear) of these active supermassive black holes is related to changes in the host galaxy. This means a black hole could have far reaching effects     3     the evolution of its host galaxy.

The Milky Way Galaxy     4     we live includes stars of various ages, including stars still forming. But in some other galaxies,     5    (know) as elliptical (椭圆的) galaxies, all of the stars are old and about the same age. This indicates that early in     6    (they) histories elliptical galaxies had a period of rich star formation that suddenly ended. Why this star formation stopped in some galaxies     7     not others is not well understood. One possibility is that a supermassive black hole disrupts(瓦解) the gas in some galaxies,     8    (create) an environment unsuitable for star formation.

To test this theory, astronomers look at distant galaxies. Due to the limited speed of light, it takes time for light to travel across the void of space. The light we saw last night from an object 10 billion light years away     9    (travel) for 10 billion years to reach Earth. Thus the light we see today shows us what the galaxy looked like when the light left that galaxy 10 billion years ago. So looking at distant galaxies is like looking back in time. But the longer distance also means that distant galaxies look     10    (small), making study more difficult.

Long-term tai chi exercise can be used as a treatment for patients suffering from early-stage Parkinson’s disease(帕金森病), said a research team from Shanghai.

Parkinson’s is     1     progressive and disabling disease of the nervous system, resulting in slowness of movement, uncontrollable arm and leg shakes and muscle inflexibility.     2     is predicted that there     3    (be)nearly 5 million Parkinson’s sufferers in China by 2030. Doctors say patients face problems with current treatments, including some side effects     4    (cause)by long-term medication, and the limited     5    (improve)of patients’ well-being.

In the research,     6     began in 2016, a total of 143 participants trained with coaches twice a week and practiced     7    (regular)at home. Their conditions     8    (compare)with a 187-patient control group. Evaluations of patients in the two groups showed differences in their yearly levels of disease progression, and the patients     9    (practice)tai chi also needed less medical treatment in terms of both drugs and deep-brain stimulus.

Tai chi has been pursued as a treatment for Parkinson’s since 2012 with the specific benefits of long-term practice now     10    (far)clarified by the Shanghai study.

Palace Museum at 600: Old Palace, New Vitality

An exhibition titled “Everlasting Splendor: Six Centuries at the Forbidden City“ was held at the Palace Museum in Beijing to celebrate its 600th birthday. With more than 450 cultural relics and historical photos     1     show, the exhibition brings history to life     2     allows visitors to better appreciate the cultural charm of the palace.

The Forbidden City was completed in 1420 and     3     total of 24 emperors lived and worked there. In many people’s eyes, its beauty lies in the palace complex, being an    4     (extreme) precious and splendid artwork. With more than 70 palaces of various sizes and over 9,000 rooms, it is one of the     5    (large) and most complete existing wooden structures in the world. It is also mysterious, because ancient Chinese philosophies were integrated into its design and     6     (construct). However, the sense of mystery     7     (fade) gradually since it was transformed into the Palace Museum in 1925.

The Palace Museum is now a world-famous museum     8     more than 1.8 million artifacts are collected. Recently, it has become a real “online celebrity” on the Internet. Creative products     9    (inspire) by aspects of the museum, such as make-ups and folding fans, have gone on sale viae-commerce platforms.

    10     (witness) China’s history, it has to some extent shaped the mental world of the Chinese people. But nowadays it has become a brand-new cultural symbol.

Chinese poetry, an ancient art form,     1     (date) back thousands of years. It expresses the thoughts and feelings of poets through beautiful images and rhymes. Poets often use natural elements like mountains, rivers, and flowers     2     symbols of various emotions.

The earliest form of Chinese poetry can be traced back to the Book of Songs,     3     collected various poems from different regions and periods. Over time, poetry evolved into various forms, which allowed poets to express their feelings more freely.

One of the most notable     4     (feature) of Chinese poetry is its use of imagery and symbolism. Poets often use     5     (nature) scenery, flowers, birds, and the moon to convey their emotions and ideas. For example, in the famous poem “Quiet Night Thoughts” by Li Bai, he compares the brightness of the moonlight to the frost on the ground,     6     (create) a peaceful and serene atmosphere.

In addition to imagery, Chinese poetry also places great emphasis on rhyme.     7     (combine) with the beauty of the language, these elements contribute to the charm and harmony of the poems. Many Chinese poems are     8     (wide) recited and appreciated for their musical quality.

In conclusion, Chinese poetry is     9     unique and precious cultural treasure. It not only conveys deep emotions and thoughts but also reflects the     10     (wise) and spirit of the Chinese nation.

During the recent Spring Festival holiday, China witnessed a remarkable increase in domestic     1     (tour), with record-high expenditure (开销) spent     2     domestic travel. Liu Jieyi, an official spokesman, emphasized at a news conference on Sunday that the increase reflects the     3     (significance) consumption potential of the Chinese people, driven by a desire     4     (enhance) their quality of life, and is bound to become a strong driver of economic development. The increase in tourism     5     (occur) with increased demand to visit museums during the holiday, leading to challenges for many     6     (individual) in securing tickets. Museums have become a widely discussed topic,     7     (remarkable) featured during the provincial two sessions in many regions. Last year, statistics from the National Cultural Heritage Administration revealed     8     museums in China welcomed 1.24 billion visits, surpassing (超过) the 2019 pre-pandemic figure of 1.23 billion. “The     9     (popular) of museums has not only recovered to the state before the pandemic, but also surpassed it,” said Pan Shouyong,     10     museum expert at Shanghai University.