The living heritage, Kunqu Opera, is harmonious, elegant and emotional. These romantic features make Kunqu Opera one of the most loved art forms in China.

Born in Suzhou, Kunqu Opera distinguished     1     (it) by its rhythmic patterns. It became     2     (wide) popular during the Ming Dynasty. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in Ming and Qing dynasties, opera players often     3     (gather) in Suzhou, staging dramatic works in ancient China. Combining tunes performed in the Suzhou dialect, graceful body movements, martial arts and dance, Kunqu Opera uses a variety of movements to express specific     4     (emotion). It also pays attention to each difference. Graceful movements animate (使具有活力) the fingertips and unique tunes make     5     rich and poetic world.

Kunqu Opera had an important influence     6     many forms of operas in China, including Peking Opera, which is about 200 years old. It is therefore known as the mother of all Chinese operas. As a     7     (tradition) representation of Chinese culture, stories     8     (perform) in Kunqu Opera have gone beyond time and space. The Peony Pavilion, written by playwright Tang Xianzu, who     9     (compare) to Shakespeare, is still loved by fans from around the world.

A living heritage is an endless dialogue between the present     10     the past, and Kunqu Opera is a carrier to pass that legacy on.

I’ve had my fair share of travelling around China, and a recent week-long trip to Guizhou was my first time to the province. It was     1     true learning experience.

I tried looking up meaning of the name Guizhou in the dictionary     2     advance, basically to have a reasonable idea of what is waiting for me.     3     that was a hard task, so I asked from a Chinese colleague among a group of local and foreign     4     (reporter) on the trip. From what she said, the province was named after a famous mountain called “Gui” and “zhou”, which     5     (simple) means province in Chinese.

Our trip began in Zunyi city, which enjoys great popularity among Chinese for the famous ‘Zunyi Conference’. Yet not much     6     (know) about this famous conference in Africa and the western world even today, but obviously it was at this place     7     China’s first leader and Chairman was elected.

The following journey was mind blowing as I went on to explore Anshun, a place that never fails     8     (attract) every visitor with its largest waterfall in Asia. I     9     (dream) of this place for a long time and am more than thrilled to witness the breathtaking views, which leave first-time visitors like me     10     (impress).

Finding yourself at the doorway of any temple or ancient building in China, you may encounter y     1     attractive but seemingly odd piece of wall, only     2     (slight) larger than the entrance itself. You would be forgiven for thinking this is just the remainder of another building, with the rest lost to history, as was my initial assumption the first time I     3     (spot) one. However, the reality is far more fascinating.

Out of     4     (curious), I asked around,     5     (bother) friends for information, and was finally able to get not only the name, but also the purpose of these walls. Zhaobi, or spirit walls, have a long and storied history of 3,000 years. Zhaobi could be found outside the entrance of various buildings. They     6     (reserve) for only the highest members of society once. Seeing zhaobi outside a building would let passersby know this was the residence of someone of extreme importance, while protecting the privacy of     7     (it) residents.

In more modern times, zhaobi,     8     (adopt) by companies that practice fengshui, still exist.     9    zhaobi can help bring them good luck is questionable. But what can be said for sure is that these structures, like any other in history, stand     10     the development of Chinese history.

Every year during the Spring Festival, a small village east of Beijing puts on a special show. It’s about -15°CS and a man dressed in a straw hat and sheepskin coat who     1    (throw) spoon after spoon of heavy molten iron (铁水)at a massive, icy wall. The collision (碰撞)between the l,600°C liquid metal and the frozen brick creates a waterfall of sparks (火花)     2    (fall) over him, equally beautiful and dangerous.

This is a very performance     3     requires extraordinary courage, skill and strength. Known as Da Shuhua, it has a history of 500 years in Nuanquan, a highly-developed steel town. Da Shuhua translates literally into “beating down the tree flowers,”     4     agricultural activity of hitting fruit trees to increase growth.

In ancient times, fireworks weren’t always     5    (wide) affordable. So people in Nuanquan made use of scrap iron and developed Da Shuhua as a way     6    (celebrate) festivals. As a result, they brought firework displays     7     a whole new level.

Today, Da Shuhua has become more popular than ever, because of     8    (rule) of banning on fireworks to reduce air pollution in some parts of China. Every year, this unique firework display attracts tons of people in spite of the freezing cold weather     9     draws attention for its protection. Since 2021, it     10    (list) as an intangible cultural heritage of China.

The Chinese couplet (对联) refers to two poetic lines obeying certain rules, often     1     (write) on red paper for     2     (appreciate).

As a form of Chinese literature, the couplet     3     (vary) in content and style. Some express people’s love to their motherland, some describe the beauty of nature,     4     some convey best wishes for the coming year.

Chinese couplets originated in the Five Dynasties, and since then they     5     (become) commonplace everywhere in China. It was the custom for people     6     (hang) peach wood charms to drive away evil spirits during the Spring Festival. Nowadays, couplets are used in a similar way.

It was said that the     7     (early) couplet was created by Meng Chang, king of Later Shu and it was     8     (wide) popular in the Northern Song Dynasty. At present, writing 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, and its opposite in the second line, is of a level tone.

Who invented the ATM? There have been     1     (argue) for years over who should officially go down in history as “the inventor of the ATM”. Now the UK government is     2     (clear) saying it was James Goodfellow who invented the ATM.

Back in the mid-1960s, James Goodfellow was working     3     a development engineer for Glasgow firm Kelvin Hughes, and had been charged with inventing a way to enable customers to withdraw (取) cash from banks when Saturday opening ended. “Most people    4     (work) during the week couldn’t get to the bank. They wanted a solution. The solution was a machine which would issue cash on demand to a     5     (recognize) customer,” he said. “I set out to develop a cash-issuing machine, and     6     (make) this a reality, I invented the pin (personal identification number) and an associated coded token (代币).”

So far, the cash machine     7     (become) a world-conquering piece of technology. There are now 3 million ATMs worldwide, with     8     number forecast to hit 4 million by 2020. The good news for Goodfellow is     9     people are beginning to know him for his invention. Even     10     (good) for him, the Home Office has now officially recognized his other achievement.