Under the intense inspection of the public eye, the highly anticipated drama “Blossoms Shanghai” has finally announced its appearance on this year’s Spring Festival Gala stage,     1    has not only sparked excitement among viewers but has also emerged as a popular topic of conversation among the media.

“Blossoms Shanghai” is a TV drama     2    (set) in the backdrop of the 1990s, telling the story of a group of ordinary people living in Shanghai’s alleyways. With its realistic and delicate storyline and the     3    (act) outstanding performances, the drama quickly gained     4    (popular) and captured the hearts of many viewers after its broadcast. As one of the     5     (large) stages in China, the Spring Festival Gala undoubtedly provides the “Blossoms Shanghai” crew with     6    excellent opportunity to showcase their talents.

In preparation for the Spring Festival Gala performance, the drama crew has carefully prepared several attractive acts. It     7    (report) that they will showcase classic scenes and characters from “Blossoms Shanghai” through various forms such as singing, dancing, and skits.     8    (additional), renowned singers and performers have been specially invited to join the performance,     9    (promise) to deliver a refreshing audio-visual feast for the audience.

The directorial team of the Spring Festival Gala has stated that the inclusion of the “Blossoms Shanghai” crew will add a unique charm     10    this year’s show.

Animated film ‘Chang An’ love letter to golden age of poetry

A Chinese animated (动画) film, Chang An, featuring some of China’s most well-known poets has been a surprise hit at the box office. Since its release on July 8, the film     1    (fetch) over 700 million yuan, leading the domestic box office over the weekend. It is also a success by     2     (arouse) enthusiasm for poetic romance in the hearts of moviegoers.

The film is set in the Tang dynasty,     3     is often seen as a golden age in Chinese history from 618 to 907 due to its     4     (economy) and cultural prosperity, describing the stories of Gao Shi and Li Bai, their struggles to better themselves and society in the Tang dynasty.

Sitting in cinemas     5    (crowd) with moviegoers of all age groups, the audience     6     (eager) recited poetry alongside the actors on screen as they headed down memory lane. The movie is undoubtedly a masterpiece showing the characteristics of Chinese culture to the world. “The most fascinating part of the film is realizing that these familiar names were not just great poets but real people with flesh and blood,” Liao Kun, a Guangdong resident who watched the movie Saturday,     7     (tell) Sixth Tone.

Zou Jing,     8     chief director, emphasized, “We created Chang An to explore into the limitless treasures of Chinese culture through animation”. Xie Junwei, who co-directs the movie with Zou Jing, says the film is aimed at increasing     9    (aware) among young Chinese of traditional Chinese culture and history. “We wanted to tell the stories of these brilliant figures to young people through an animated film so that they can have a deeper understanding and more passion     10     our history and classic works,” Xie told domestic media Beijing Daily.

Videos of 77-year-old Xu Xiuzhen,     1     speaks different languages with foreigners while working at a scenic spot selling water, postcards and headdress flowers, have brought her instant fame.

Xu’s village is located at the base of Moon Hill,     2     popular tourist destination in Yangsuo, Guangxi, which is famed for a moon-shaped hole at the summit.

    3     (support) her family, Xu, who dropped out of junior school in the third grade, began to learn different languages in order to attract more foreign customers. Xu said she would change words in any language into Chinese characters     4     (base) on their pronunciation and then memorize them. Repeating the words in her head before going to bed and immediately after waking up has given her     5     (fluent) in basic conversations with foreigners, she said.

Over the past two decades, Xu     6     (teach) herself 11 foreign languages, including English, Spanish, Japanese and Korean. In addition to     7     (make) her incredibly popular, her linguistic prowess has made     8     easier for her to communicate with foreign tourists.

Xu has also become one of the busiest tour guides in Yangsuo. Not content to     9     (simple) serve as a tour guide, she now owns a popular restaurant and operates a reputable hotel.“More and more foreign tourists are coming to Yangsuo, and I hope they will feel     10     home here with my help,” she said.

As COVID-19 continues to spread in China, watching a fitness livestreaming (网络直播) video,     1     (host) by Liu Genghong, has been a daily must for millions of people stuck at home.

Liu,     2     was a little-known singer born in Taiwan, took the Internet by storm and became the hottest fitness broadcaster on Chinese social media, with his videos     3     (attract) 230 million followers. Since the popularity of Li Jiaqi, China’s “Livestreaming King” famous     4     his eye-catching online sales strategy, no one     5     (enjoy) such a rise in livestreaming field. A comment says, “Li empties our wallets, while Liu empties our bodies.”

Experts voiced     6     (different) on whether the new trend would last long. “It has driven people to exercise, but in the long term, I think     7     difficult to form a new area within livestreaming”, according to Wang Peng from Renmin University of China. But Huang Haidong,     8     expert from the Chinese online fitness platform Keep, says the fitness wave is certain to be a firm, long-term trend, whether it’s about Liu Genghong or not.

China has the largest fitness market in the world. However, whether this trend has long-lasting power will depend on how money     9     (give) to the livestreaming platforms. Now broadcasters mainly have three     10     (source) of income including fans offering cash “gifts”, advertising brands, and selling products through videos. Yet, organizers and networks haven’t found a better solution to the problem.

The South Korean survival drama “Squid Game”,     1     didn’t catch audiences’ attention at first,.has gained popularity     2     (gradual), even in remote places.

In China, the dystopian(反乌托邦的) series     3     (base) on a children’s game has become one of the most talked-about topics on social media sites over the past week. Moreover,    4     (view) its short videos more than 1.8 billion times    5     the micro blogging platform Weibo is a wonder in the drama history and the audience are unwilling to cease    6     (play ) it in an instant.

In the nine episodes（剧集）streaming on Netflix, 456 people competed against each other to play several games for     7     chance to win more than $37 million. The players participated in those dangerous games, hoping the money    8     (help) in repaying     9     (debt) or reduce their     10     (finance) pressure. Issues in this drama, experts said, reflected the inequalities in South Korea.