At SIAL Shanghai, a major international food and beverage exhibition launched on May 18. Mario Garcia, a cheese supplier from Spain,     1     (surround) by visitors inquiring about his products. Some of them surprised him with their knowledge about cheese     2     his country. “As many Chinese have made trips to Spain, they have a better understanding of my country’s cuisine, including     3     (we) cheese,” he says.

Garcia’s company specializes in producing cheese of different ages and flavors, and     4     (do) business in China for about seven years. He says, participation in     5     (event) like SIAL can help him better reach potential customers and help them understand different cheeses and ways of enjoying them —     6     (particular) those with strong flavors unusual in Chinese cuisine.

“Our importers here have been hosting cheese tastings and offering     7     (variety) recipes for our Chinese customers to learn how to use cheese, not just with bread and wine, but also how to cook with it,” he says. Over the years, Garcia has found that Chinese customers have developed a fondness for European products,     8     benefits his business.

“They will learn about it and appreciate it once they find     9     new or strong flavor,” he says, adding that he is optimistic about the future of his business in China.

At the event, the Swedish Trade and Invest Council also displayed the country’s distinctive products,     10     (range) from ice cream to plant-based drinks, wine and fruit jams.

A type of glazed pottery(釉陶)with the main colours of yellow, green and white was very popular in the Tang dynasty. It was later called tri-coloured glazed pottery of the Tang dynasty, or Tangsancai.

Tri-coloured glazed pottery was usually used as burial    1    (object). Those human and animal figures have smooth     2     graceful(优雅的)lines. The soldier figures have strong muscles and carry swords or arrows. The human figures stand quietly,     3    (look)natural and elegant. The animal figures are mainly of horses and camels.

Tri-coloured glazed pottery of the Tang dynasty was mostly produced in Xi’an, Luoyang and Yangzhou,     4     were important cities along the Silk Road. Camels were the major form of transport     5     the ancient trade route during the Tang dynasty. Seeing these glazed pottery artworks, we can imagine the travellers and camels making their hard journey across the desert, depending on one another for     6    (survive).

Tang people were open-minded     7    (accept)different cultures from all over the world. Foreign traders, officials, and artists travelled thousands of miles along the Silk Road to visit the Tang’s capital city Chang’an. The evidence of cultural integration can     8    (find)in tri-coloured glazed pottery of the Tang dynasty.

Tri-coloured glazed pottery is the     9    (high)point of Tang pottery and it developed     10    (successful)during the dynasty’s early and middle period.

Praised by international media as a “winter wonderland” and “China’s ice city”, the city of Harbin attracted a record number of     1     (visitor) over the New Year’s Day holidays. The city’s     2     (popular) continued after the holiday as the 40th China Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival kicked off. Tourists from home and abroad     3     (draw) to the city by its grand and exquisite snow and ice sculptures. Among them, the 11 preschool children from Nanning, the subtropical capital city of Guangxi, over 3,000 kilometers away, were surely one of the     4     (high) profile guests.

Their trip, overloaded with cuteness, has become     5     online hit. Aged between 3 and 6 years old and accompanied by three teachers, the kids were affectionately given the nickname “little sugar tangerines (柑橘)” by netizens.     6     (express) gratitude for the great care and hospitality the kids received, Guangxi sent nearly 200 tons of fresh tangerines to Heilongjiang     7     a thank-you gift. The story continued with Harbin’s     8     (send) back more gifts to Guangxi,     9     gradually evolves (演变) to a “gift” and friendship exchange craze sweeping across the country.

More and more regions are joining in the exchanges between the north and south. The wave of exchanges     10     (bring) by the tourism boom in Harbin is a good sign and very encouraging.

As winter draws in, many flock to the south of China for its warmer climate and great beaches. However, those who are more daring head north looking for snowy adventures in the icy climates of Northeast China.     1     particular, an increasing number of tourists have been drawn to the frosty delights of Harbin, known as the Ice City.

Harbin, whose name is said to originate from a Manchu word that means “a place for drying fishing nets”, sprung up from a small rural     2     (settle) along the Songhua River to become one of the largest cities in Northeast China and capital of Heilongjiang province.

The city flourished with the arrival of the Chinese Eastern Railway,     3     connected it to the outside world, especially the Russian Empire. This paved the way for Harbin’s future development of     4    (it) unique culture where East meets West.

The city is     5     (distinguish) for its ice and snow festivals across the globe. These attract thousands of visitors, with sculptors     6     (travel) from all corners of the world to showcase their talents and a variety of winter-themed activities and sports.

Apart from these festivals, the city has much more to offer, from its     7     (tradition) European-style architecture to its more modern buildings, such as the Harbin Grand Theatre and the city’s most famous landmark, the Saint Sophia Cathedral. The unique cuisine, including Harbin-style smoky-savory red sausage, guo bao rou and kvass, a fermented cereal-based drink, can all     8     (sample) along Zhongyang Street.

While winter may be the best time     9     (visit) Harbin, the city has plenty to offer all year round and its individual charms make it     10     must-see spot no matter the weather.

A Great musician Brings Ancient Chinese Sounds to London

On the afternoon of the second Saturday of every second month, Cheng Yu dresses in traditional Chinese attire(服装)and takes a guqin and pipa to a special gathering she started in London 20 years ago. Cheng is a master of the two instruments who was trained at Xi’an Conservatory of Music before     1    (play)with the China National Traditional Orchestra. She later studied     2     master’s and doctoral degrees in University of London.

Cheng Yu has been active since she started educating people and performing Chinese music in the United Kingdom. To Cheng, sharing and promoting Chinese     3    (tradition) instruments and music to westerners brings her     4     greatest joy and fulfillment. The gathering she started, called yaji, is a tradition among Chinese literati(知识界)that goes back to more than 1,000 years ago, to a time    5     ancient scholars and artists got together to drink tea, write poems, appreciate art and enjoy music.

The bimonthly yaji in London     6    (organize)by the London Youlan Qin Society now and focuses on traditional Chinese music, with attendees playing music on Chinese instruments and     7    (musician)sharing their understanding of music. Over the years, the yaji gatherings in London     8    (attract)professional musicians, scholars, office workers and amateur appreciators of Chinese culture from all over the UK and sometimes from elsewhere in Europe.

Charlie Thomas from Birmingham said: “It’s not just Chinese people who come. I met a German lady who also liked guqin. People here are so welcoming and they have     9    (entire)different backgrounds but share similar interests in guqin.” Thomas has studiedguqin with Cheng for about a year. “    10    (compare)with violin, the sound of the guqin is calming,” he said, adding that playing the instrument helped him calm down and solved a sleeping problem he had.

On 12th January 2007, an experiment     1     (conduct). About a thousand morning commuters (通勤者) passing through a subway station in Washington, D.C. were treated to a free mini-concert     2     (perform) by violinist Joshua Bell, who played for about 45 minutes on his Stradivarius violin. Bell reportedly paid 3.5 million dollars for the violin. However, only 7 people stopped and stayed to listen for a while. About 27 gave him money but continued to walk at their normal pace. He collected $52.17. When he finished     3     (play) and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any     4     (recognize). No one noticed that one of the best musicians in the world had played one of the most difficult pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

When some children would stop     5     (listen), their parents would grab them and quickly take them away. The experiment was     6     (clear) disappointing but raised some     7     (interest) questions such as “In an ordinary setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty be recognized by most people?” Three days earlier, in fact, Bell had played to a full house at Boston’s Symphony Hall,     8     tickets went for over $100.

This experiment gives way to a comparison of     9     public’s awareness of art in different settings.     10     pressure, it also reminds us of the challenge of adapting to surroundings. Furthermore, it makes us aware of how our intentions and expectations can influence our perception of worth.

South Koreans have enjoyed their first close-up look of new baby giant pandas at a name-revealing ceremony that is also     1     early celebration of the 100 days since the twins’ birth.

What to name the twin sisters was widely discussed among netizens after they were born on July 7 in theme park Everland. The names were     2     (ultimate) decided on through two public voting     3     (procedure). One is named Rui Bao, which means wise treasure, and the other is Hui Bao or shining treasure. Half a million panda lovers helped choose their names with a handful of lucky fans     4     (invite) to the ceremony. “They are even     5     (cute) in real life than they appear on screen,” said a college student in attendance.

The baby pandas,     6     have just begun teething and crawling, are very healthy. Everland has shared videos documenting the pandas’ growth online. The twins’ birth has gained 640,000 views since it     7     (upload). “This feels like a great opportunity to call for better     8     (preserve) of pandas,” said Donghee Chung, head of the park’s zoo. Chung noted that between 40% and 50% of panda births result     9     twins.

Everland said it would monitor the twins’ health     10     (determine) when the twins are ready to be open to the public.

Chinese calligraphy is an artistic practice of writing Chinese characters, often with a brush and ink on rice paper. The     1     (develop) of Chinese calligraphy began alongside the earliest Chinese characters     2     (discover) to date from the Shang Dynasty in Anyang, Henan Province. Over time, calligraphy gradually took shape as a form of art rather than a mere means of record. Calligraphy is a     3     (demand) and advanced art. The type of brush, density (浓度) of ink and texture (质感) of paper can all affect the output. Structure and spacial layout (空间布局) as a whole determine its quality. Moreover, it is widely believed     4     the emotions and philosophy of the writer are directly reflected on calligraphy.

Calligraphy is refined art (高雅艺术). Lan Ting Xu, created by Wang Xizhi during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420),     5     (be) one of the most famous masterpieces of Chinese calligraphy.     6     (it) elegance and expressive brush work bestowed (授予) it both historical     7     cultural significance in Chinese literature. Calligraphy is also within reach, which means other common people can have access to it. Like     8     Spring Festival couplets, calligraphy has always demonstrated persons’ preference for the traditional cultures     9     hanging up some famous works of calligraphy. Without doubt, the artistry is still     10     (high) valued today, for it is more than just writing, it is a living heritage.

China has entered the business of making airplanes. The first Chinese-made commercial aircraft took     1     from Shanghai on Sunday and landed at Beijing Airport. The narrow-bodied C919 plane had 128 passengers on board. The company that made the plane     2     (be) the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd. This is shortened to “COMAC”. China’s President Xi Jinping praised the C919 aircraft as     3     success of Chinese innovation. Newspapers in China called the C919 “a symbol of national pride”. A passenger on the flight     4     (impress) with the plane. He said: “The flight was     5     (extreme) smooth, comfortable and memorable. I’ll remember this for some time to come.”

COMAC hopes to be a major     6     (play) in the commercial airplane market. It hopes to compete with industry giants such as Boeing and Airbus. COMAC started developing the C919 in 2008. Production began in late 2011. In September 2022, it was passed     7     (fly) commercially in China. COMAC’s first customer was China Eastern Airlines,     8     bought five of the aircraft. COMAC plans to build 150 planes each year for the next five years. A spokesperson said there were     9     (order) for more than 1,000 C919s from different Chinese airlines. He hopes airlines from other countries will soon start making orders,     10     (add) that the plane was an “important milestone” for China’s aircraft industry.

Print is a medium for mass communication, which has enabled     1     (artist) to be known and familiar     2     a wider audience.

The Prints-A Riot of Colors, an exhibition     3     (feature) some 130 prints created by generations of Chinese artists, the oldest one of     4     dates back to the 1930s, opened on Monday at the Guardian Art Center in Beijing. An online auction (拍卖) of most of the showpieces held by China Guardian Auctions is running with the exhibition.

    5     (divide) into five sections, the long-running show is aimed     6     (offer) art collectors and the general public alike an opportunity to learn about China’s modern, contemporary print art and     7     (far) explore the market value of prints, according to Liu Zehui, the person in charge of the show.

In 1931, the famous writer and social activist Lu Xun     8     (support) the New Woodcut Movement in Shanghai. He promoted the modern woodcut, which was popular in the West but still     9     essential Chinese form whose techniques reached maturity during the Tang Dynasty, as the most     10     (access) and efficient vehicle for circulating new revolutionary thought among the masses.