The farming-themed reality show Become a Farmer has taken Chinese social media by storm, shining a spotlight on agriculture — an essential part of Chinese culture. The word “farming”, however, may be entirely unfamiliar     1     many young urban Chinese.

To connect these individuals with the agricultural industry, the 50-episode variety show tackles the topic by asking 10 young men from various fields     2     (taste) farm life. During the 190 days, the cast members     3     (they) engaged in diverse tasks such as sowing, fertilizing and harvesting. They started with limited resources and gradually     4     (build) their lives almost from nothing. The     5     (influence) show that not only entertains but also educates is an interactive reality program     6     (present) in a documentary style.

Yang Changling, chief director of the program, said the show’s intention is to showcase     7     practice of farming and to enhance the audience’s understanding of agriculture and raise awareness of food     8     (secure) by sharing these young people’s experiences and stories of personal growth.

One viewer said, “The distinctive program has enlightened me the process of cultivating a grain of rice.” Whoever watches the program will realize     9     it takes to grow grain. “I won’t waste food anymore. Another said, “I don’t deny     10     (amaze) by the advanced modern agricultural technology and I feel sorry for the back-breaking work of farmers who establish deep roots in the land but only rely on the weather for their harvest.”

Chinese TV drama Awakening Age, which narrates (叙述) the story of how the Communist Party of China (CPC)     1     (found) in 1921, ended several months ago, but it remains a hot topic on social media,    2    the discussion shows that it has influenced young people    3    (positive).

The TV series     4     (celebrate) the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC has won high praise online. The stories of the young people in the drama—who devoted everything, even their lives,     5    the revolution— have touched a large number of viewers. The storytelling in the show has also been praised by viewers for successfully showing the    6    (deep) of the CPC’s history and spirit, as well as the warmth of China and every family in the country.

Many audiences were inspired to find background information about the series and commented that this was their first time    7     (learn) the history about the founding of the Party and the country. “I read many of Lu Xun’s novels such as A Madman’s Diary when I was in elementary school, but I couldn’t understand why he wrote them or the angry feelings hiding in the characters. After watching the drama, I read     8     (they) again and found that I could understand     9    they wanted to convey to readers,” said Li Lin,     10     18-year-old viewer.

Two rare volumes of an ancient Chinese encyclopedia sold for more than €8 million ($9 million) at auction Tuesday, more than 1,000 times the     1     (estimate) price. The encyclopedia, known as the Yongle Dadian, was    2     (original) commissioned by the Yongle Emperor, the third ruler of the Ming Dynasty, who reigned (统治) from 1402 to 1424. More than 2,000 scholars worked     3     the encyclopedia between 1404 and 1408, according to a press release from Beaussant Lefèvre, the Paris-based auction house that made the sale.

The Yongle Dadian is the largest encyclopedia in the world, and originally consisted of 22,877     4     (chapter). In 1562, the Jiajing Emperor, the 11th Ming ruler,     5     (order) two copies of the encyclopedia to be made, but the original     6     (lose) due to the many wars, thefts and fires that occurred under the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the auction house said.     7     the two volumes sold Tuesday are copies, they are extremely rare, with only 400 known volumes, or 4% of the original encyclopedia, left in     8     (exist),   according to Beaussant Lefèvre.

The books,     9    measure 20 inches by 12 inches, were written in red and black ink on paper. While     10     (print) techniques had been developed at the time, the encyclopedia was written by hand due to its length.

Du Fu is to Chinese literature what Shakespeare is to English Drama. "We have Dante, Shakespeare and Du Fu. These poets create the very values by     1     poetry is judged," remarked Harvard Professor Stephen Owen in Du Fu, China's Greatest Poet, a new BBC documentary that aired on April 7.

    2     (aim) at introducing the charm and beauty of traditional Chinese literature to viewers     3     the world, the documentary invited famous British actor Ian McKellen, who     4     (play) the Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings in 1999, to read 15 of Du's poems that have been translated into English.

The one-hour film traces the poet's life    5     (experience) in detail. Born in 712 AD, Du lived in the time governed by the Tang Emperor Xuanzong, which was marked by extraordinary prosperity. However, as the An Lushan Rebellion (安史之乱) in 755 AD     6     (complete) shocked the empire, Du Fu had to take his family on the road as refugees (难民)，and endured     7     (starve), poverty and other sufferings. Despite the ups and downs, the poet never stopped and about 1,500 poems     8     (pass) down over the ages.

In these poems, he expressed he was     9    (concern) for his country and people. Besides, the importance of     10     (celebrate) the simple joys of life was also emphasized.

Cultural TV programs experienced a come-back at the start of 2017. Two weeks after the     1     (conclude) of the hit show Chinese Poetry Competition 2, a new program, Readers, has become     2     (wide) popular, inspiring fresh enthusiasm for literature in China.

The weekly talk show, produced and hosted by renowned TV personality Dong Qing,     3     (invite) people from all walks of life to read aloud excerpts of poems, essays and books they like or wrote. The     4     (participate) also share stories from their own life explaining why particular pieces touched their hearts or shaped their lives.

Three days after     5     (it) first broadcast on CCTV-1, Readers has enjoyed instant success and struck thousands of people. Through the poetic words, Readers has brought the     6    (lose) habit of reading aloud back into the public spotlight.

Readers is one of the culture-themed TV programs to restore the country’s passion     7    literature in recent years. Its success is very    8    (encourage) in today’s television world    9    reality shows have played a leading part so far.

With more people     10    (reflect) on their own reading habits, the question now is: when is the last time you read a poem or book excerpts aloud?

Cultural TV programmes experienced a come-back at the start of 2017. Two weeks after the     1     (conclude) of the hit show Chinese Poetry Competition 2, a new programme, Readers, has become     2     (wide) popular, inspiring fresh enthusiasm for literature in China.

The weekly talk show, produced and hosted by renowned TV personality Dong Qing,     3     (invite) people from all walks of life to read aloud excerpts of poems, essays and books they like or wrote. The     4     (participate) also share stories from their own life explaining why particular pieces touched their hearts or shaped their lives.

Three days after     5     (it) first broadcast on CCTV-1, Readers has enjoyed     6     instant success and struck thousands of people. Through the poetic words, Readers has brought the     7    (lose) habit of reading aloud back into the public spotlight.

Readers is one of the culture-themed TV programs to restore the country’s passion     8     literature in recent years. Its success is very encouraging in today’s television world     9       reality shows have played a leading part so far.

With more people     10    (reflect) on their own reading habits, the question now is: when is the last time you read a poem or book excerpts aloud?