The craft of Shao Lujie, a 28-year-old Chinese craftsman from Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, is known     1     quilling — a form of art that involves the use of paper strips (纸条) that are rolled, shaped and glued together to form complex designs.

Shao’s works mainly feature flowers and other plants. He created multiple works for the 19th Asian Games, featuring the event’s three mascots (吉祥物) and logo. In the past few years, Shao     2     (develop) cultural and creative products with local characteristics. His another     3     (improve) is that techniques and equipment have been simplified, making it easier for people to try.

Since childhood, Shao has enjoyed painting and handicrafts.   Having finished the learning of quilling in 2016 from     4     master of the art, Shao began to devote himself     5     (entire) to the craft. Later, by imitating the works of his instructors, he learned how     6     (apply) new methods to his own works, combining this paper art handicraft with painting and different design elements.

In an age     7     AI-generated art works are entering the art market, Shao still sticks to this ancient craft. Every step — weaving, cutting, rubbing, folding, and pressing —     8     (do) by hand.

To get youngsters interested in the craft, Shao has gone online, sharing articles     9     (write) by himself and posting pictures of his latest works. Shao is considering     10     (open) an exhibition hall so that more people can learn about this craft and, ideally, pass it down, to future generations.

Knowing how valuable friendship is, we should be very careful in making friends. A real friend is someone who walks in when the rest of the world     1     (walk) out. A real friend is someone     2     support we can count on. A real friend is someone who sees our true self, not just the face that we show to the world. Yet these days, the modern tools that keep us     3     (connect) are eating away at the meaning of friendship. We may be able to make many friends online,     4     these friendships can be quite shallow. Social media like blogs has come between us and the friends whom we love. Texting and messaging cannot take     5     place of face to face chatting. “     6     (share)”our experiences on social media is not enough to express the     7     (value) which matter most to us. “Liking” our     8     (friend) photos online does not develop the connection which we share. To put it     9     (simple), to make friends a real part of our lives, we should put down our smartphones and meet them     10     person.

One Direction was one of the most popular bands, and it     1    (make) up of five artists. After years of breaking records, the band started to slow down. In early 2015, it was announced on Facebook that Zayn Malik, one of the members, would be leaving the band. In his first interview after leaving the band, Zayn Malik said that the reason why he left was     2     it didn’t fit his style. And he said he “never    3     (true) spoke to Harry”, his former bandmate and that he had never been under the    4    (impress) they would keep in touch after Malik left the band. “Our relationships     5     (change) since we were in a band together, but I think that’s just life,” said Malik. This came as    6    surprise to fans because in the Facebook post announcing his departure, Malik wrote that he had “four friends for life”. In contrast to the typical pop music, Malik shared an R&B album in 2016 and his    7    (late) album Nobody Is Listening, in 2021.

    8     (speak) with Vogue UK, he referred    9    One Direction as a “machine”. He describes the band’s sudden rise to fame and busy touring plans by saying, “I wasn’t really ever able    10     (enjoy) the experience. The machine had gone too fast.”

Living Heritage: Guqin

Wandering sounds, irregular rhythms and a carrier of gentle emotions. This is the musical language of guqin, a seven string instrument     1       (create) in ancient China.

The earliest piece of guqin in China, unearthed in Hubei province in 2016,     2     (date) back to the Zhou Dynasty. The body of a guqin is made     3     painted wood and the strings of twisted silk. Unlike its seemingly simple appearance, making a guqin is     4     (extreme) demanding. An outstanding piece can take anywhere from two to several decades to craft. It is a crystallization of art and time.

The guqin     5     (favor) by the literati (文人) in ancient China. The most renowned guqin     6     (music) was Yu Boya in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. As he played his guqin in the mountains, a woodcutter named Zhong Ziqi heard the music and understood exactly     7     Yu wanted to express. This deep understanding formed a strong bond between them, and they became close friends. This is     8     famous tale behind the guqin masterpiece, Flowing Water, High Mountains. The piece has been passed down through generations and is considered one of the most famous and important     9     (composition) in Chinese guqin music.

This graceful dialogue,     10       (flow) from brushed fingertips and travelling for thousands of years, is continuing to this day.

In the family,     1     (heat) arguments and cold silences are very common between     2     (teenager) and parents. Such family tensions     3     (cause) by teenagers’ physical changes, such as     4     (develop) at a different rate to your friends and shooting up in height or getting left far behind. Besides, it can be a big headache     5     (balance) teenagers’ developing mental needs.     6    , teenagers can take action to improve the situation. For example, they can communicate with their parents     7     (regular) and honestly.     8     such healthy communication, teenagers can learn when to back down and when to ask parents to relax their control. In fact,     9     is quite normal to struggle with the stress that parent­child tensions create. The stormy period will not last and everything     10     (turn) out all right in the end.

In the remote far north of Sweden, in Sarek National Park above the Arctic Circle, I wake up to the sound of the wind     1    (buffet) the cloth of my tent. In summer the sun     2    (bright) shines and never sets. Standing at the edge of the mountain, watching the Rapa River flowing through the valley below, I feel so     3    (bless) to be alive and have this rare opportunity to explore this unique territory     4     is almost unknown to the outside world.

Sarek’s mountains are covered    5     sheets of ice and they are home to the Sami, the native residents of the park. For hundreds of years,     6    (look) after reindeer was a way of life for the Sami. Today, most Sami have left their ancient cottage in the mountain valleys and live     7     modern life in villages near Sarek instead.

To keep its     8    (nature)state, except for the Sami, no one     9    (allow) to live in Sarak, and all new development is banned within the park     10    （boundary）.