Two new entries, Tai Chi and the Wangchuan ceremony, were listed as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage(非物质文化遗产) on Thursday.

Tai Chi is a traditional physical practice that is known     1     (have) relaxed, circular movements. Tai Chi works in harmony with breath regulation and the delicate development of a righteous mind.     2     (appear) during the mid-17th century in Wenxian County, Henan Province, China, it is now practiced throughout China by people of all ages. Tai Chi’s basic movements consist     3     wubu (five steps) and bafa (eight techniques) with a series of routines, exercises and tuishou,     4     means hand-pushing skills and is performed with a counterpart.

The Wangchuan ceremony,     5     other newly-selected intangible cultural heritage, was jointly put forward for UNESCO intangible cultural heritage status by both China and Malaysia. First     6     (observe) in Fujian Province, China many hundreds of years ago, it now     7    (main) exists in the coastal areas of Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as in some overseas Chinese communities.     8     (perform), including different local operas, dragon and lion dances, and amazing puppet shows, among many others, are presented during the ceremony. UNESCO holds the belief     9     the ceremony brings back historical memories of ancestors’ ocean-going stories, reshapes social connections when faced with emergencies, and     10     (honor) harmony between humans and the ocean.

On December 28th 2021, a winter fishing -themed tourist festival opened at Chagan Lake ---- one of China's     1    (large) freshwater lakes, marking the beginning of the golden season for winter fishing. Over twenty     2    (activity) will be held during the annual festival,     3    runs through Feb 28 next year. The highlight of the event is skiing contests, nature watching and an ice dragon boat    4    (compete).

Yet mere decades ago, Chagan Lake was a very different place. By the end of the 1970s, the lake     5    (cut) down to only dozens of square kilometers due to drought and overfishing. Thanks to the government' efforts    6    (restore) Chagan to its former glory, the lake now covers an area of 500 square kilometers,    7    its fish resources have also recovered. The lake has received more than 1.8 million visitors so far this year, a 29.4% increase    8    (compare) with the same period of the previous year.

The charm of ice fishing at Chagan Lake lies in keeping the fishing culture of our ancestors alive and     9    (carry) it forward hand-drilling holes through the thick ice and lowering nets into the frosty waters to catch fish. The technique has been listed    10     a national-level form of intangible cultural heritage.

6 . Besides individual models who choose to live a simple and sustainable life, a growing number of eco-minded business are going all out to lead a green living culture in communities.

    1    This brand offers shoppers all sorts of organic and green living necessities, including but not limited to spices, dry food, raw noodles, spaghetti, body wash, and skincare products.     2    Instead, customers are encouraged to bring their own containers when they shop.

In 2018 when Dora Lam co-founder of slowood, gave birth to her daughter. she and her husband wondered where they could find organic and sustainable products for the baby.    3     Therefore, the new parents decided to set up a one-stop environmentally friendly shop Where residents are able to buy almost all living necessities.    4    

According to Dora Lam, there are some misunderstandings over the price of “zero waste” products. Some people have the stereotype that these products are expensive or even unaffordable. Referring to the spices and food sold at Slowood she said they are more economical than those sold at supermarkets. For example, a bottle of basil that is on sale at Slowood for less than HK$10 goes for about HKS35 at supermarkets.    5    

Dora Lam hopes the concept of zero waste could be more widely accepted in the future. “Everyone can help by forming easy eco-habits, such as using reusable bottles, ordering takeaway food as les s as possible, or using less tissues.” she said.

7 . The term “Metaverse” is the latest buzzword (流行语) to capture the tech industry’s imagination — so much so that one of the best-known internet platforms is rebranding to signal is embrace of the futuristic idea.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that he’s changing his company’s name to Meta Platforms Inc. might be the biggest thing to happen to the metaverse since science fiction writer Neal Stephenson coined the term for his 1992 novel “Snow Crash”. But Zuckerberg and his team are hardly the only tech visionaries with ideas on how the metaverse, which will employ a mix of virtual reality and other technologies, should take shape.

What is the metaverse? Zuckerberg has described it as a “virtual environment” you can go inside of — instead of just looking at on a screen. Essentially, it’s a world of endless, interconnected virtual communities where people can meet, work and play, using virtual reality headsets and glasses, smartphone or other devices. The metaverse also could be a game -changer for the work-from-home shift amid the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of seeing co-workers on a video call, employees could join them in a virtual office.

Zuckerberg’s embrace of the metaverse in some ways contradicts a central tenet (信条) of its biggest enthusiasts. They envision the metaverse as online culture’s liberation from tech platforms like Facebook that assumed ownership of people’s accounts, photos, posts and traded off what they collected from that data. “We want to be able to move around the internet with ease, but we also want to be able to move around the/Internet in a way we’re not tracked and monitored," said Steve Jang, who focuses on cryptocurrency (数字货币) technology. There is a growing concern about Facebook trying to lead the way into a virtual world that could require even more personal data and offer greater potential for abuse and misinformation when it hasn’t fixed those problems in its current platforms.

8 . It was a night in July 2020. As I applied lotion to my hands, I noticed that my diamond wedding ring was ________. I looked in every drawer. No such ________ I sat, bitterly disappointed. My mind travelled back to the time when I had caught my first ________ of the man I married.

I was five years old then. On that particular day as I with my dad drove down on our truck, we ________ a large herd of cattle being driven near the roadside. “We are going to New Underwood for water.” The man in ________ told my dad. I was looking at the youngest rider. I waved to him, but he just ________ to the cattle.

Next my memory ________ to my senior year in the university. It was on such a day that a group of students went by, among whom was the young cowboy who hadn’t responded to my ________ 15 years before!

The daydream passed. My daughter ________ me to a second-hand shop. At the shop, I picked up a ring and ________ it on my finger. “Here’s my lost ring! See how it just ________.”

I’m still ________ that I should find my ring. Why did I go to that very shop? It was really a ________, but I did learn that sometimes things are gone for a while ________ they reappear, just like my man, and just like my ________.

9 . Viruses are biological zombies (僵尸). They have one mission: to find a host and use it to produce masses of copies. They reproduce by taking control of the host’s cells, eventually causing them to burst and die. That’s why viruses that infect humans nearly always cause illness.     1    

◆     2    

There’s a popular myth that once you’ve had a virus, you’re immune to it, but that’s not always the case. When you get a virus, your body builds up antibodies to fight it.     3     However, not everyone makes enough antibodies, and they can wear off over time, which is why you need several shots of some vaccines (疫苗).

◆You can be infectious without ever showing symptoms.

Some viruses, including those that cause herpes and AIDS, can be spread via a symptomatic people who never had signs of the illness or don’t have symptoms yet. Some people may even be “super spreaders,” infecting dozens to hundreds of other people without even realizing it.     4    

◆If you’re very overweight, you need to be extra cautious.

Overweight people are infectious with the flu virus 42 percent larger than those who aren’t overweight.     5     Extra weight may make the flu shot less effective too.