My occupation is an     1     (architecture). I had only swum in open water a few times, and always in gentle lakes, so how rough Lake Windermere appeared on a cold day was not     2     I was prepared for.     3     was acknowledged that the water might feel colder than it had been measured, and that the water was a bit rough. But I, along with 10,000 others, was about to face the challenge. The task might sound     4     (ambition). I said to my family members, “At this time tomorrow I will be swimming in the lake.”

Most of the participants were doing a one-mile race, and 10 races were planned over the weekend. The participants ranged from very old people to very young swimmers. The oldest woman competing was 77, taking part in the two-mile race, alongside a man who last year swam in every one-mile race.

It was the third one-mile race of the day that     5     (chose) by me three days before. There were over 600 participants in my race. After being taken through a preparation area, we felt how cold the water was. “Not too bad” was everyone’s thought! Then we headed out towards the middle of the lake.

I stared at the lake for some time, wondering if I could finish the competition smoothly. Though     6     (warn) that the first 100 meters would be really rough, somewhere near the 750m mark I was still waiting for the calm. It felt more like swimming in the sea than a lake. I tried to focus on my breathing and skill, and just constantly made an effort     7     (swim). Hardly had I approached the 400m-to-go mark when my lower right leg became incredibly painful. I began to feel the entire le g tight and exhausted. No matter how terrible I felt, I didn’t want to stop, so I bent my right knee and just kicked with the left leg. The     8     (consume) of my energy was so high.

My finishing time was 38 minutes 25 seconds but that didn’t matter—the atmosphere was absorbing and everyone felt a sense of achievement, whatever their time was. It was my perseverance that contributed to my finishing the race. The success could boost my     9     (confident). I’m attracted and want to give it another go. If possible, I will sign up for my next open-water swim. Now this is an activity I am willing to engage     10    .

As I worked as a sports journalist for my first 10 years with China Daily, I have     1     (close) followed how China has grown from a minor player in the international sports arena into a global sports power.

    2     it had a huge population, China was not much of a global force in sports until the1980s. However, it was very good at table tennis at that time. The first major international breakthrough for China came in 1981     3     its women’s volleyball team won the Women’s Volleyball World Cup. Understandably, sports fans went crazy. Parades celebrating the victory     4     (hold) on many university campuses     5     some students shouting slogans such as “revitalizing (振兴) China”, which has since become the goal of the nation.

    6     (motivate) by the victory, China invested more of the limited resources in training athletes. The investment paid off, as China got     7     (it) first Olympic gold medal in shooting in 1984. In all, Chinese athletes won 15 gold medals in the Los Angeles Olympics,    8     (set) the course to becoming a global sports power. In     9     past decade, Chinese athletes have been winning about 120 gold medals in international sports games every year.

As China invests more resources in the sports sector thanks to the fast-paced economic development and winning world titles becoming normal for Chinese athletes, the government started encouraging ordinary     10     (citizen) to play sports.

In Ningbo city, a young woman has made the bamboo product brand (品牌) of her family’s company famous around the world,     1     (help) a number of bamboo farmers increase their Income (收入).

Wang Xiaoqing, born in the 1990s,     2     (find) that in the US. Chinese bamboo products were popular among customers,     3     many of them carried foreign brands. She decided to return to China and build a bamboo product brand after finishing her     4     (educate) abroad in 2013.

In 2018, a bamboo table     5     (produce) by the company of Wang’s family shined at the first Global Bamboo Congress. “What attracts westerners is the Chinese bamboo culture and its long history.     6     provides a solid foundation for the global development of China’s bamboo industry.” Wang said. Her company is     7     (current) engaged in the design, manufacturing and sales of bamboo products. It produces over 10 million bamboo products each year, 85 percent of which     8     (sell) in the global market.

Working     9     vice president of the Entrepreneurship Promotion Association for returned overseas students in Ningbo city, Wang plans to contribute more to rural vitalization (乡村振兴). “I hope that we can turn villages into more beautiful places and make villagers get     10     (rich).” Wang said.

The Huangmei Opera piece On Sun Mountain     1    (perform) by the Anqing Huangmei Opera Art Theater at the China Grand Theater of Pingju Opera in Beijing on Dec. 4, 2023.

The story takes place on Sun Mountain,     2     the story of Li Anben, a telegraph operator in a small town at the foot of the mountain, unfolds. Initially     3    (show) as greedy and lazy, as the plot progresses, Li undergoes a     4    (remark) transformation. Moved by the selflessness of the New Fourth Army soldiers, who sacrifice their lives     5    (save) his mother from Japanese invaders, Li’s character changes. In the end, he joins the New Fourth Army     6     becomes a courageous soldier.

This Huangmei Opera     7    (adapt) introduces audiences to the beautiful tunes, graceful dance movements, and singing style that characterize the traditional art form. The performance brings a fresh perspective to the stage, making viewers     8    (complete) absorbed in a heartwarming tale of bravery and sacrifice. There is no doubt     9     with this production, the Anqing Huangmei Opera Art Theater continues to ensure the vitality of the treasured cultural heritage.

It is part of a program of Anhui’s finest plays, which runs from November to next January.     10    (present) 12 exceptional plays, the program will tour major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing in Jiangsu province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, and Hefei in Anhui province.

Born into an ethnic Miao family in rural Guizhou Province, Zhang was exposed from a young age to the rich tradition of Miao embroidery (刺绣) —     1     cultural craft that has been passed down through generations. She spent countless hours as a child     2     (observe) her mother and grandmother stitching fancy patterns onto fabrics by hand.

Ten years later, Zhang     3     (establish) her own clothing brand focused on combining traditional Chinese-style qipao dresses with colorful customized embroidery patterns. “We have trained hundreds of local Miao women in the ancient needlework techniques,” Zhang     4     (proud) said. “The clothing line celebrates their breathtaking handiwork,     5     advances my home village’s revitalization.”

Her     6     (devote) to cultural preservation and rural development was recognized in 2019, when the China women’s Handicraft Competition     7    (hold). In an interview afterwards, she reflected on both preserving traditional skills     8     expanding economic opportunities for artisans. We attach equal importance     9     cultural inheritance and market expansion,” Zhang stated. “In the future, we’ll continue innovating designs     10    (display) Miao embroidery’s beauty and diversity.”

It is believed that Chinese knotting, also known as zhongguojie, originated for recording information and exchanging messages     1     writing was invented. Over the past thousands of years, knots     2     (play) an important part in the life of Chinese.     3     (initial), Chinese knots acted as good -luck charms to drive away evil spirits. Today, Chinese knots are widely used to decorate homes during festivities.

A major characteristic of Chinese knots is that they are often tied from a single continuous length of string. The knots are commonly named     4     the sentimental value it holds, such as the “true love knot” and the “double happiness knot” which are given or used at weddings to express mutual love and growing old together in fidelity. Chinese knots are created in a     5     (various) of colors such as gold, green, blue, or black, though the most commonly used color is red,     6     symbolizes good luck and prosperity.

Crafting the Chinese knot is a three-step process     7     (involve) tying knots, tightening them and adding the finishing touches. The knots     8     (pull) tightly together and are strong enough to be used for binding or wrapping, making them very practical.

Today, most of such knots are often mass manufactured in factories. Skilled knot artists weave complex knots that you might see     9     (sell) as souvenirs that you can take back with you. If you have time, why not try your hand at it? Perhaps these age-old charms can add     10     touch of good luck to your daily life?