The Dunhuang Academy’s cultural relics protection team was honored with the title of National Outstanding Engineering Team early this year, China’s highest honor in the field of engineering.

Su Bomin,     1     (direct) of the Dunhuang Academy and head of the protection team, has been involved in protection work for nearly 40 years, and the protection team has expanded (扩大) from four members in 1992     2     over 200 members today. However, during     3     protection process, Su’s team met many challenges.

They have     4     (successful) rescued and protected cultural heritage sites (文化遗址) in153 locations across 13 provinces and regions,     5     ( provide ) a Chinese solution for the protection of ancient murals (壁画) worldwide.

“Through the continuous efforts of several     6     (generation) at the Mogao Grottoes, effective results of protection and management     7     (achieve) until now,” Su said.

The Mogao Grottoes,     8     meets all six standards for World Cultural Heritage, is the largest     9     best-protected Buddhist cave art site in the world.

“There is nothing that can be kept for a very long time; the fate (命运) of the Mogao Grottoes is continuous degradation (退化). What we, throughout our lives, are doing is trying our best     10     (stop) destruction, making the Mogao Grottoes stand for a longer time,” said Su.

Since respect for elders is very important in Chinese culture, there is a special festival     1     (call) the Qingming Festival in Chinese. The words “Qingming” literally mean “clear” and “bright” — quite a fitting     2     (describe) of the beautiful weather around this time of the year.

During the festival, Chinese families     3     (usual) visit the graves of their ancestors to sweep away dust and fallen     4     (leaf) in order to keep the family tombs clean. That’s     5     it is also known as the Tomb-Sweeping Day. After that, many families will go on a spring outing,     6     (take) full advantage of the nice weather and the opportunity to gather with family members. In Mandarin, we call this outing “taqing”,     7     refers to families gathering upon the soft green grass to play and eat. Flying kites     8     (be) also very popular with children in this festival due to the fine weather.

In Chinese culture, it’s important to respect our elders. In life, we respect them by making them     9     (pride) and taking care of them in their old age. After death, we respect them by keeping their tombs clean and remembering them. Therefore, the Qingming Festival is not meant to be a day of sadness,     10     a day for remembering one’s heritage. Celebrate this festival by taking some time to remember your heritage.

On Jan 10, YOLO (You Only Live Once) officially announced     1    (it) with a poster. YOLO is directed by Jia Ling, and was premiered on the first day of the lunar new year,     2     fell on Feb 10 this year. Jia Ling stars in the movie     3     Lei Jiayin and Zhang Xiaofei among others.   

The big story behind this movie is that Jia Ling stepped away from the public eye while     4    (film) it, and recently, a screenshot started spreading on Weibo, along with the gossip     5     the 41-year-old actress had lost 110 pounds. On Jan 10, Jia Ling shared a personal message on Weibo. “My dear friends,” she began. “Haven’t seen you in more than a year. Miss you guys much. In the year I’ve disappeared, I’ve made a movie     6    (call) YOLO. I shot this movie for an entire year, covering all four seasons. I also     7    (success) lost 110 pounds, and trained to look like a boxer.     8    (look) back, I felt like a warrior holding her trophy!” She went on to explain, “This movie has nothing to do with weight loss, or even boxing. It is     9     movie about how kind people find themselves, and learn to love themselves. There is a past me and a new me in the movie. I hope you like them both. Lastly, I’ve been really hungry and     10    (tire) this past year, and it’s felt like a lifetime.”

The dizi, the Chinese flute, is a traditional Chinese woodwind instrument     1     has been played for thousands of years. It is one of the oldest     2     (know) bamboo wind instruments and is still widely used today in various     3     (style) of Chinese music.

The dizi is     4     (typical) made from bamboo. It is a thin, long and hollow（空的）pipe with a blowing hole at one end and several finger holes along the body. It produces a clear and bright sound. It is used in a variety of     5     (music) contexts, including traditional folk music and classical bands. Usually, it     6     (play) an important role in Chinese opera and dance accompaniments（伴奏）. Dizi players use a variety of skills     7     (improve) the instrument’s expressiveness. These skills include circular（循环）breathing, which allows for continuous play without taking a breath.

The dizi is     8     unique and necessary instrument in traditional Chinese music. With     9     (it) beautiful sound and rich history, it continues to attract audiences around the world     10     remains an important part of China’s cultural heritage.

Zong Qinghou,     1     founder of China’s drinks giant Hangzhou Wahaha Group, has died after medical treatment proved ineffective, according     2     a company statement. He was 79.

As the chairman of one of China’s     3    (large) drinks makers, Zong was ranked the nation’s wealthiest businessman in 2010 and 2012 by the Hurun Research Institute’s China Rich List.     4    (bear) to a poor family in Hangzhou in October 1945, Zong became one of the “sent-down youth” in the 1960s, which saw him spend 15 years     5    (stay) in the countryside. The group was established in 1987 with over 30,000 staff members currently, more than 180 subsidiary     6    (company) and over 80 production bases, as well as 35 years of cumulative sales of 860.1 billion yuan ($119.54 billion).

Zong returned to the provincial capital in 1978     7    (work) as a salesman. Together with two retired teachers, Zong took over a grocer in 1987 at a local school     8     started as a drinks and ice cream distributor—his first step in creating a leading beverage firm. He founded and headed Hangzhou Wahaha Nutritional Foods Factory in 1989, which     9    (become) Hangzhou Wahaha Group two years later when it acquired an insolvent local canned food factory. On Dec 9, 2021, Wahaha announced on its official website     10     Zong Fuli, daughter of Zong Qinghou, was appointed as vice-chairman and general manager of Wahaha, responsible for daily work.

Actress Jia Ling topped the social media topics on the second consecutive day of the Chinese Lunar New Year as her surprising weight loss of 50 kilograms during the shooting of her movie Yolo brought about heated discussions over healthy lifestyle and     1     (allow) some viewers to draw much     2     (inspire) from her tough weight-loss journey.

Topics related to Jia’s surprising weight loss were dominating (主导) Weibo like “Jia Ling     3     (total) shocked me,” as netizens discussed whether it was time to develop a more     4     (balance) habit starting from the Spring Festival. “Her achievement is quite inspiring and it deserves (应得) a movie ticket,”said moviegoer Li     5     regularly visits the gym to lose weight.

Jia noted that the movie is not about boxing or losing weight,     6     rather is a heart-warming story about “learning to love yourself.”     7     (finish) the filming of the movie, Jia had to increase her weight by 20 kilograms before starting to lose weight in only six months.

However, not everyone agreed on Jia’s weight loss program. “Not everyone can manage to shoulder the burden (重担) of     8    (lose) 50 kilograms in just six months,” said Jiang, a fitness expert. “To lose weight     9     a healthy way, we need to set several reachable short-term     10     (goal). It would be better to work out a schedule and stick to it.”