Around twenty years ago, I was     1     (go) through hard times. I couldn’t find a satisfying job. To my shame, I had to drive a school bus     2     (make) ends meet.

One afternoon, while driving though a suburban neighborhood, I was so sad that I kept     3     (ask) myself, “Why has my life become so hard?” “What’s wrong with the world?” Then I pulled over the bus to drop off     4     little girl. As she passed, she     5     (hand) me a pretty earring, saying she found it on the floor and I should keep it in case the owner came to look for it.

In the evening, the owner did come to look for     6     (she) earring. When I gave it to her, she got excited and said, “Thanks, you are a     7     (really) gentleman.” I told her that she should thank the little girl     8     had found it. She said, “Yes, and you are a good driver, too. What a lovely world it is!” Then she left with satisfaction. I     9     (touch) by her words. I had thought something was wrong with the world just because     10     my poor condition. In fact, nothing was wrong with the world. I should change my attitude towards life.

The best time to see beautiful lanterns is during the Lantern Festival,     1     falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. Last year it was on Feb. 8th, marking the end of Spring Festival. However, because of the COVID-19, we     2     (have) to stay at home last year.

As is known to us,     3    (watch) lanterns is a great activity. Lanterns are in different kinds of sizes and shapes, from animals to plants and flowers.     4     (make) it more fun, people paste riddles(贴谜语) on the lanterns. In some     5    (place), people “like releasing sky” lanterns(放天灯), which are called Kongming Lanterns. A sky lantern is a small hot-air balloon made of paper with an opening at     6     bottom where there is a small fire source. When the bright lights fly high in the sky, people can bless members and make wishes. In old times, the Lantern Festival was also     7     (interest). At that time, young girls were not     8    (allow) to go out very often except during certain festivals. Therefore, looking     9     lanterns gave young people a chance to meet each other. A line from Xin Qiji, a poet during the Song Dynasty, shows this: “Restless, I searched for her in thousands, hundreds of ways.     10    (sudden) I turned, and there she was in the receding light.”

A Chinese university has built the world’s longest 3D-printed bridge. The creation has a     1    (long) of 26.3 meters and a width of 2.6 meters. Its design came from the historical Zhaozhou Bridge     2    (build) in AD 605.

    3     the ancient Zhaozhou Bridge required a decade to build, the team spent only 450 hours    4    (complete) all of their new bridges concrete parts. Besides, the bridge’s cost came in at just two thirds of that of     5     ordinary bridge.

The bridge consisted     6     44 individual 3D-printed concrete units, each of them approxi-mately 3 by 3 by 5 feet. The sides, influenced by the Zhaozhou Bridge,     7    (make) with 68 single concrete plates moved into place by robot arms.

The leader of the team noted that “the demand for labor in construction projects will be in short supply increasingly” in the future. If China cannot find people to build bridges, “intelligent construction will become an     8    (importance) channel to solve this problem”.

There     9    (be) other 3D-printed architectural projects over the last few years, as the technology has become    10    (popular) than before. A team at MIT built a sample house in 14 hours. If there are ever houses on Mars NASA suspects the houses also will be built by robots using 3D printing.

My time in China was a (n)     1     (enjoy) experience. Every day was a new adventure. I worked out regularly and made     2     (prepare) for Chinese material arts. While I was in Beijing, I climbed the Great Wall of China,     3     visited Tian’anmen Square, the Palace Museum and the Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium. I also     4     (have) the opportunity of being stuck in a Beijing thunderstorm, bargaining in the market, and     5     (ride) the high-speed train. While I was in Tianjin, I studied at Nankai University. I was taking the Chinese language and culture courses.

What I enjoyed most is that whatever I learned in class, I would use it outside     6     (communicate) with people. Having the opportunity to speak Mandarin every day     7     (real) improved my learning. In the afternoon I would have culture classes     8     I would learn about Chinese calligraphy, Beijing opera, Chinese martial arts, Chinese cooking and many other subjects. The mix of learning about the language and culture made each day of class     9     (amaze). I believe that the key     10     studying abroad successfully is the attitude you carry. Going to China, I was open-minded and had a very positive attitude.

Chinese Language Day

Language Days at the Untied Nations seek     1    (celebrate) multilingualism (多语言) and cultural diversity as well as promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the     2     (organize).

The date for the Chinese day was selected from Guyu, which is the     3    (six) of 24 solar terms in the traditional East Asian calendars (日历),     4     (usual) beginning around April 20.

Chinese was established as an official language of the United Nations in 1946.     5    , in early years, Chinese was not commonly used in the work of the United Nations. The situation     6     (improve) after the Peopled Republic of China regained the lawful rights in the United Nations in 1971. In 1973, they     7     (include) Chinese as a working language,     8    was used by more and more UN offices and staff members.

In celebration of United Nations Chinese Language Day 2021, UNSRC Chinese Book Club     9    (be) organizing three events under the theme “Highlighting Pictographs (象形文字)”. The three events focus     10    three types of characters connected with three cultures and three UNESCO World Heritage sites. All the three events will be shown live.

In the USA the high school graduation ceremony is of great     1    (important). 12th-grade students, or seniors, who are about 17 or 18 years old, look forward to     2    (attend) this event.

The graduation ceremony itself takes place at the end of May or beginning of June,     3     usually includes music, awards, and a guest speaker. After the speeches, students walk to the front of the room to receive their diplomas from the headmaster. Students start preparing for graduation a long time     4     it happens. They order rings designed     5    (especial) for their class.

    6     tradition is to have their photographs taken. These photographs are used for the class yearbook, which is a     7    (print) book about all the students in the school. Students have special cards called announcements printed to send to friends and relatives to tell them about their graduation. The cards often include     8     invitation to the ceremony. If you receive it, you should send a present     9     money to the graduate. A few weeks before the ceremony, the students     10    (measure) for the cap that they will wear at the ceremony. After the ceremony, families usually have graduation parties for friends and relatives. It’s a day and a night that high school seniors remember for a long time.