This year, a board game     1     (name) “Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum” is popular around the United States. It is a competitive Dim Sum collection board game for five players. The pieces of the game are vivid, including five popular Chinese dishes, like shrimp dumplings and barbecue buns. The rules are very simple: Players collect food     2     (token) and Fortune cards     3     (benefit) themselves or to play against others. Once a set of Steamers of five Chinese dishes are collected, the player will get the     4     (high) score and win the game. The game     5     (create) by Pauline Kong and came online last year. As she said, the game will provide     6     opportunity for people to play and learn about Chinese culture     7     a fun way. People like it because it’s a medium-light game,     8     is suitable for a family to play. Parents can enjoy their quality time with the kids. Many board game lovers recommend that “Steam Up” have all of the elements of a family classic. It looks great and has an     9     (attract) theme and simple rules that are easy to teach.     10    , that’s not to say that the game is easy to play — it is full of very difficult decisions. Come and have a try!

“Alone holding an oil-paper umbrella, I wander along a long lane in the rain.” is quoted (引用) from A Lane in the Rain by Dai Wangshu,     1     famous Chinese poet in the 20th century.

The oil-paper umbrella, with a history of over 1, 000 years in China, used to be a water-proof (防水的) tool for daily use. People used a kind of paper     2     is painted with oil to make the umbrella’s surface. The umbrella has been of     3     (important) in traditional Chinese culture, standing for romantic and faithful love. In the area where the Yao people live, it has been used     4     a gift when they express their love to a lover.

In the past, the shops making oil-paper umbrellas were everywhere around the country. However, in the 1980s, the handmade oil-paper umbrella     5     (replace) by the nylon umbrella. Nowadays not many people are involved in     6     (produce) it. What’s more, the production of traditional oil-paper umbrellas     7     (require) skilled and time-consuming labor, resulting in higher costs.     8     the oil-paper umbrella is no longer a common tool for rainy days, it has never disappeared from people’s lives. Many places around China still keep the tradition of gifting a red oil-paper umbrella     9     (celebrate) birthdays, newborns, and moving houses. It is also     10     (wide) used in ceremonies honoring ancestors.

4 . Bells ringing around the necks of dairy cows eating grass lazily on a green field may sound peaceful, but if you live next door, it can be noisy.

Two residents( 住 户 )who recently moved to the small village of Aarwangen in the Swiss Alps, which has a population of just 4, 700 people, complained about the ringing of cowbells. They asked for the cows’ bells to be removed at night so they can sleep.

Long-term residents and the village’s remaining farmers were angry. They felt it was an attack on their traditional culture. Cowbells have been used in rural Switzerland for centuries. They were once useful for tracking herds( 牧 群 )in the Alps in summer. Older farmers say they could hear each individual cow by the sound of its own bell. Another resident, Mr Andreas Baumann, said cowbells were an important part of the Swiss soul. Referring to the sound of cowbells, he said, “As soon as I hear them, I know I’m back home.”

The noise level of these cowbells is usually between 90 and 113 decibels(分贝) —which is equal to the noise from an alarm clock, hairdryer or some power tools. In modern times, however. many farmers have changed to using electronic chips instead of bells.

This year’s argument is not the first time residents have complained about cowbells. In 2015, a Zurich court( 法 庭 )ordered a farmer to remove the bells from his 27 cows from 10 pm to am since they were safe in a farm and always keeping the neighbors awake.

Next month, Aarwangen’s villagers will gather for a public meeting to vote on the future of their bells. They will decide how the sound of the bells can continue without breaking noise pollution laws.

5 . Weddings are one of life’s biggest celebrations, and they are observed in just about every country and culture on the planet. Here are some wedding traditions from around the world.

Scotland

Scottish weddings usually feature the handfasting ceremony. During the ceremony, the bride (新娘) and bridegroom each hold a piece of cloth. These are carefully wound around the couple’s joined hands. When they pull their hands apart, the pieces become tied into a knot (结) — a symbol of the new union.

Germany

Guests at a German wedding get to see an interesting sight: the newly married couple — still dressed in their suit and wedding dress — cutting a length of a tree in half with a two-person saw (锯). In this way, they show their ability to work as a team to face any challenge they will meet in life.

Norway

A Norwegian wedding cake is made up of progressively smaller layers of iced cake rings, which give the cake the shape of Christmas tree. The inside is empty and has gifts or even a bottle of wine. The bride and g room lift the top ring of the cake, and the number of layers that stick to it is said to represent the number of children they will have!

England

Brides in England typically wear “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue” for their big day. The modern practice comes from a traditional English song, and the things themselves represent protection, cheerfulness, good luck, and purity, respectively.

Though the customs might vary, the feeling remains the same. Across the world, weddings are times to celebrate love, happiness, and family.