Homegrown nature documentary “Snow Leopards and Friends” is the first Chinese factual film about snow leopards (雪豹).

It     1     (document) how three herdsmen (牧民) photographers from Xizang, who may be the people     2     (close) to snow leopards in the world, track the trail (踪迹) of snow leopards and finally become protectors of the species.     3     addition to being about snow leopards, the film also explores a new way of coexistence between human beings and wild animals. The documentary     4     (screen) during the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival, which kicked off on June 9, and won great praise.

It took director Xi Zhinong and the photographers six years     5     (shoot) the film on the snow-covered highland,     6     the severe environment is tough not only for snow leopards, but also for other species like brown bears and antelopes.

Many of the movie’s viewers were touched by the power and     7     (strong) of life shown in the film. The documentary presents the most primitive forces of nature through its visual wonders and     8     (act) creatures. It also caused viewers to reflect on wildlife and conservation of nature.     9     movie viewer said that the film is also a course on     10     (respect) life and nature and everyone needs to learn this lesson.

Imagine a vehicle that can pick you up outside your home, drive to the nearest railway line, and change itself into a train. It may sound like a story from “Thomas the Tank Engine,”     1     that’s exactly what Japan’s DMV Road-Rail buses have been doing since they    2     (launch) on Christmas Day 2021.

With a capacity of 23, the DMV is a diesel-powered (柴油驱动的) bus fitted with a set of retractable (可缩进的) rail wheels    3    can be put in place in about 15 seconds. Lighter than a traditional train, the DMV also consumes less fuel and is    4     (cheap) to maintain.

    5     (advertise) as “the world’s first operational dual-mode vehicle,” it is actually the latest in a long series of similar experiments    6     (improve) rural rail services. As far back as the 1930s, similar vehicles    7    the DMV were tested in England and West Germany.

Tokushima government hopes that the DMV buses    8       (become) a tourist draw in their own right. It also believes that the vehicles could also be useful for reaching isolated communities in the event of natural    9     (disaster) such as earthquakes, which can leave sections of roads or railway lines    10     (usable).

When we think of the Silk Road, the first thing that appears in people’s minds is trade. However, trade isn’t just limited to goods     1     includes culture.

Since ancient times, strong connections between the Chinese and the Turkish people     2     (build) by cultural exchange along the Silk Road. Some historians believe Karagoz, Turkish traditional shadow puppetry (皮影) , drew     3     (inspire) from Chinese shadow puppetry art. Karagoz originally     4     (find) its place in Bursa, a city in northwestern Turkey, and it first rose to popularity in the 16th century.

Karagoz is a dramatic form of storytelling     5     shadows are projected onto a white screen, with a multitasking performer     6     (sing) the tunes and words of the story and the lead puppeteer controlling the movement of the puppets. The performances     7     (main) center around social events and public criticism, whose primary objective is     8     (educate) people via entertainment.

The tradition’s popularity in Turkey is credited     9     people’s sense of nostalgia (怀旧) . Historically, Karagoz performances served as     10     educational tool for people of all classes. As society progresses, there is often a tendency to reconnect with the past.

In November 2023, China launched a three-year action plan to promote the use of bamboo as a replacement     1     plastic. Actually, I’ve been using bamboo products more often over the years.

The look and feel of bamboo are absolutely above and beyond plastic,     2     there must be more positive aspects to bamboo other than just aesthetics (美学). When compared to    3     (healthy) plastic, bamboo is a highly renewable, natural material that is biodegradable (可生物降解的) and     4     (become) the “green gold” of modern times in recent years because it has so many good qualities.     5     (live) in a time when most of our homes are filled with plastic, I think it’s time     6     (wake) up to the green alternative and realize     7     (it) full potential as a planet protector.

This super-powered plant is actually a grass and looks like a weed in terms of     8     quickly it can grow and where it can live. The production costs of bamboo are     9     (extreme) low due to the easy availability of this material, and it requires almost zero adjustment when people produce bamboo products. From household objects to decorative settings, the quantity of uses bamboo has     10     (go) beyond our wildest dreams and I’d love to see it becoming more popular as time goes on.

Chinese speakers tend to use “spear and shield”     1    (describe) anything that’s contradictory. Actually, now the Chinese phrase for “contradiction”     2    (call) Mao Dun or “spear and shield”.

Nearly 2, 000 years ago, there was a man living in the State of Chu. One day, he went to a market to sell spears and shields—two most common     3    (weapon) at that time. When a small crowd gathered around the seller to look at his goods, the man     4    (decide) to advertise his shields first. He said, “Please look at my shields. They are certainly the     5    (strong) ones you can ever find in the world.”

Then some of the potential buyers came closer to have a careful examination of the shields,     6     they couldn’t see anything special about them. The seller then moved on to brag about his spears. “Now please have a good look at my spears. They are the sharpest weapons     7    have ever been produced. So, no matter how firm a shield is, my spears will pierce (刺穿) through it     8    (easy).” After listening to the seller’s pitch, a man stepped forward and said, “You just told us that your shields are the strongest in the world and then you claim your spears are the sharpest. How about     9    (use)your spears on your shields?” The seller was unable to respond.

So today, instead of saying “you are contradicting yourself”, Chinese will say “you are attacking your shield     10     your own spear”.

Space tourism is fast becoming a reality, thanks to pioneers like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson who have ventured to the edge of space, making it     1     (access) to individuals. The era of space vacations is on the horizon,     2     (offer) multi-day escapes that rival traditional getaways.

A space hotel will have been opened     3     2027 by Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC). Voyager Station, the world’s first luxury space resort,     4     (accommodate) 280 guests and 112 crew members with complete facilities, providing an unparalleled space experience in the near future.

    5     space tourism may seem novel, it dates back hundreds or thousands of years, with Voyager Stations design inspired by the concept of a rotating wheel that generates artificial gravity.     6     (initial), the station will offer lunar-level gravity, like Earth’s gravity. This unique lunar environment     7     (promise) exciting possibilities for individuals with disabilities and the able-bodied.

Guests will embark on their celestial journey, arriving at a central, zero-gravity docking hub (对接枢纽) before     8     (transport) to habitation modules(独立仓) not far away. It’s at the edge of the wheel     9     centrifugal (离心的) force will provide gravity for daily activities.

As technology advances and transportation costs decrease, the dream of space tourism could soon become       10     reality. The rapidly growing space commerce industry and competition among companies further support the possibility of this ambitious vision.