Yu Rong, a Chinese artist, thinks of a new way to introduce     1     ancient story of Hua Mulan in her picture book. In the book, I Am Hua Mulan, she tells the story by     2     (combine) Chinese paper-cutting with international artistic styles. She places Shaanxi papercuts over western-style pencil sketches (素描)    3     (create) typical presentation of Chineseelements (要素), which turns out to be a     4     (success) and impressive breakthrough.

Hua Mulan,     5     story has been told by generations in China, was a fighter from the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). As a devoted daughter, she dressed herself as a man to serve in the army     6     place of her father. Mulan’s character, such as courage, kindness and a disinterested attitude towards fame and fortune, made     7     (she) one of the most respected historical Chinese heroines. Mulan’s story has been adapted     8     (frequent) in modern media. For example, in 1998, Disney produced a film named Mulan, which     9     (consider) a great success by critics and the public right after its release.

To better tell the story, Yu Rong takes inspiration from her several     10     (visit) to sites of ancient battles and Henan Province’s Yu Opera. After years of preparation she finally makes this extraordinary work.

Since an early age, I have developed an interest in art. I must admit that I am crazy about the paintings by Vincent van Gogh (1853—1890).

    1     (consider) as one of the greatest artists all the time, this Dutch Post-Impressionist artist had a great influence on     2     20th century art. Vincent spent his early adult life working for a firm of art dealers. Later he tried to be a minister, but was not     3     (success). Vincent had mental problems and was often emotional, which made     4     difficult for him to succeed. It was not until 1880     5     Vincent began his career as an artist. However, during the last ten years of his life, he produced more than 2,000 pieces, including around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings. Most of his best-known works     6     (produce) during his final two years, when he was     7     (serious) ill..

In 1890, at the age of 37, Vincent shot himself. The only painting he sold during his lifetime, The Red Vineyard, was created in 1888. It is now     8     exhibition in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Russia. Several     9     (painting) by Vincent rank among the most expensive in the world. On March 30, 1987, Vincent's painting Irises was sold for a record of $53.9 million. On May 15, 1990, his Portrait of Dr. Gachet was sold for $82.5 million, thus,     10     (set) a new price record.

Tai Chi Chuan,     1     is famous as a kind of martial art, has been practiced China for centuries. It combines slow movements, deep breathing and thinking. Every movement in Tai Chi represents     2     important part of old Chinese philosophy—harmony.

Tai Chi is a term in the Chinese     3     (tradition)philosophy. It comes from The Book of Changes(《周易》). In the time of Song Dynasty, Zhou Dunyi     4     (write) the book Theory of the Tai Chi Pictures. The inventors of Tai Chi     5     (inspire)by this book and invented Tai Chi Chuan with the continuous movements of drawing circles in the air by     6     (guide) the breath with the willpower. They also absorbed the thoughts of the Taoist, such as the concept of Yin and Yang. Tai Chi provides the mental relaxation and physical     7     (fit).

Tai Chi is an unusual form of martial arts where we believe     8     building mental and physical strength. It is     9     (particular) different from western types of sports such as football where the harder and quicker are the better.

Today, Tai Chi is so popular in the west. Some health professionals have regarded Tai Chi as one of the     10     (benefit) forms of exercise.

The piano is one of the world's most popular instruments. It was perfected in 1709 by an     1    (Italy)instrument maker, Bartolomeo Cristofori, because the instruments in the string classification hadn't inspired more music or attracted a larger number of     2    (play). Cristofori was a maker of     3    harpsichord which was similar to the piano. Later he     4    (replace)the harpsichord' s plucking mechanism(弹拨装置)with hammers,    5    could strike strings. Special things used to reduce the level of sound were also added     6    (give)the piano a different and     7    (high)enjoyable sound. While Cristofori's piano had two strings     8     each note, the modern piano has one string for the     9    (low) notes, two for the middle and three for the highest. Like other string instruments, the piano's sound     10    (strengthen)by a soundboard.

Did you grow up in one culture, your parents came from another, and you are now living in a     1     (total) different country? If so, then you are a third-culture kid.

The term “third-culture kid”     2     (use) in the 1960s for the first time by Dr. Ruth. She first came across this phenomenon while     3     (research) North American children living in India. In general, third-culture kids benefit     4     their intercultural experience and they often reach excellent academic results.

Yet many     5     (difficulty) may arise from this phenomenon. Third-culture kids may not be able to adapt     6     (they) completely to their new surroundings. Also, they often find it hard     7     (develop) new friendship. Additionally, for a third-culture kid, it is often     8     (easy) to move to a new country than to return to his homeland. For example, after living in Australia for many years, Louis finally returned to the country     9     she was born. She didn’t know anything about current TV shows     10     fashion trends. And she didn’t share the same values as other teens of her age.

For some people in China, the aim of travel is to create 15-second    1    (video). It’s not about where you have been, but about where you’re seen to have been.

    2    (situate) on cliffs above a river, Hongyadong is a stilt house complex(建筑群) in Chongqing . The bars, restaurants and golden neon lights    3    (be ) a popular draw since it was built in 2006. Last year the number of visitors increased sharply.

The main reason, it seemed, was Hongyadong’s sudden popularity on an app, Douyin,    4     aim is not to produce a well-crafted video, but    5    (simple) to show that you have also been to the popular places. The beauty of the attraction is less important than the fact    6    people are flocking there to daka.

A subculture of young people who embrace daka as a lifestyle has developed. So-called daka zu--- “daka tribes”---can    7    (find)hanging out in various scenic spots,    8    (check) out as many hot locations as possible within a single day.

The daka craze may have practical origins. China’s young urban professions don’t have so much free time. Sometimes, they need to work overtime. So they have to make    9    best use of their limited leisure time. Douyin captures the mood with    10    (it) slogan: “Make every second count”.

Jeremy was a Bolivian teacher. He came to America in search of a better life 5 years ago. He worked hard to learn English and teach himself American teaching standards in order to succeed     1     a teacher in this country. Because of his many failures, Jeremy understood the value of hard work and determination in     2     (achieve) goals. But when he first stepped through the doors of Garfield High School, Jeremy didn’t know     3     influence he would have on his students.

As a maths teacher at Garfield High School, Jeremy’s     4     (difficult) was huge — the school had a very low graduation rate, and many of the kids     5     (consider) “unteachable”. After knowing his challenge, Jeremy felt a bit     6     ( disappoint), but he was not willing to accept that. Instead, he started a maths program with a group of students,     7     (teach) them the value of hard work and determination, and showing them that he believed in them. As     8     result. most of these students passed a test that allowed them     9     (get) into Advanced Placement Calculus, one of the     10     (hard) maths classes at the high school.

While     1     (visit) Hangzhou’s West Lake and its surrounding beautiful hills, you'll understand why it's been a great source of inspiration for artists, poets and philosophers     2     Chinese history.

Though     3     rest of the country is moving from two wheels to four, cycling culture is thriving(繁荣的) in Hangzhou. The city     4     (develop) China's first bicycle-sharing system in 2008. Since then, it's grown into the world’s     5     (big) and one of the world’s best public bicycle systems.

Hangzhou grows some of China's finest green tea--- Longjing. Every spring, before the traditional Qingming Festival, tea     6     (love) from all over the country come to Longjing, a village     7     lies just south of West Lake, for the first cup of top-quality tea. During tea season--     8     (usual) late March and April-- the air is filled with smell from the tea, when leaves     9     (pick) and roasted in the village. The village is open to the public and you can pick your own tea after getting     10     ( permit) from the local tea farmers.

Nezha is the subject of the latest cartoon film, which     1       (official) opened in cinemas in China on July 26. Nezha has got wonderful reviews and is rated higher than Monkey King : Hero is Back. Since July 26, the film     2     (earn) more than 140 million yuan at the box office, and the film has a score of 8. 8       3     (point) (out of 10) on China's largest filming rating site,   Douban.

Yang Yu,       4    is the director of it, made up his mind     5       (produce) a film on the theme of breaking old rules and changing fate. Yang chose Nezha as his character, the    6     (combine) of the rebellious (叛逆的)but straight youth. The film is loosely based on the Chinese novel The Investiture of the Gods. In the novel, Nezha is born during the Shang dynasty and is famous     7     fighting against the Dragon King.

It took Yang Yu two years to polish the script, and the film was in production for three years. It is    8    most complex cartoon production ever     9     (make) in China. It has more than 1 ,300 special effects shots, and it took over 20 Chinese special effects studios,     10    (employ) more than 1, 600 people, to realize the film's fairy tale setting, the mysterious Dragon King's palace. One spectacular scene alone took two months to complete.