Chinese book culture has a long history. Its roots can be traced back thousands of years, to the earliest known     1    (write) records in China. Over the centuries, books    2    (be) an essential part of Chinese culture, playing a vital role in preserving knowledge and    3    (provide) a source of inspiration for generations.

The first major development in Chinese book culture was the invention of woodblock printing by Bi Sheng in the 11th century. This revolutionized book production, making it much    4    (easy) to produce and distribute books. During China’s Ming Dynasty there was a great booming of books and it    5    (see) the birth of China’s best-known book, Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en, which is still    6    (wide) read and studied today.

In modern times, new genres such as science fiction and fantasy have grown in    7    (popular), while electronic books are becoming increasingly popular. The development of book culture has had a profound impact     8    Chinese society, with many books becoming cultural touchstones and inspiring people to think about their lives and the world around them.

With its rich history and diverse genres, Chinese book culture provides a window into Chinese society. From ancient classics to modern bestsellers, Chinese books can open up    9    new world of ideas and knowledge for readers around the globe. As such, it is an important part of our collective global culture, and one    10    should be learned more about.

3 . Today was another enlightening day at my new American school. Back in China, lunchtime is a ________ hour. We eat, talk, and most importantly, take a short nap (小睡) to ________ for the afternoon. This relaxing routine of our midday break allowed for a ________ escape from the day’s demands. But here? It’s like a ________ against the clock.

The bell rang, and everyone ________ to the cafeteria. I followed, naively (天真地) thinking I’d have ________ time to eat and perhaps even close my eyes for a moment. However, I barely had time to finish my sandwich before the next bell hit. Where did the time go?

And the nap? Forget about it. There’s no ________ for that comfort here. In China, we have these cozy mats in the classroom for our post-lunch rest. But in America, the ________ of napping in school seems as ________ to them as the absence of a nap is to me.

At first, I felt quite sleepy in the afternoon classes. I ________ that brief break we get in China. But then I noticed something. Even without the nap, my classmates were hardly tired. Perhaps they’re used to this fast schedule, or maybe they ________ on pure youthful energy. Who knows?

I’m beginning to ________ that life here is simply faster. People eat ________, converse rapidly, and shift swiftly. It’s a(n) ________ with the life style back in China, but perhaps it’s not harmful, just another ________ of life.

4 . Canada is diverse and vast, and the festivals celebrated there reflect this. Here are some exciting ones that attract visitors worldwide.

Vancouver Celebration of Light

The largest fireworks competition in the world is held every summer in Vancouver. It consists of concerts, food stalls, and the Seawall Challenge, a popular urban adventure race. The festival, which lasts about a week, makes for a great way to get to know the city from a local standpoint.

Edmonton Folk Festival

From its humble beginning in 1980, Edmonton Folk Festival has grown to be one of the world’s famous folk festivals. Held each August, the lineup of the 10-day-long festival is always outstanding and ticket prices stay reasonable. Edmonton is also a gateway to Jasper and the Canadian Rockies, about two hours away in case you have extra time to explore after the festival.

Toronto International Film Festival

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is one of the leading film festivals in the world, ranking closely with Cannes and Sundance. Films such as Hotel Rwanda, American Beauty, and The Big Chill made their premieres (首映) at this famous star-filled event held each September. The 11-day-long festival is also known as the kick-off of awards season, with many films that make their first public performance at TIFF going on to get nominated for Oscars and Golden Globe awards.

Montreal Comedy Festival

Since 1983, Montreal Comedy Festival, or, Just for Laughs as it is more commonly known, has been inviting people to get together just for fun, just for entertainment-just for laughs. The festival, which takes place every year for two weeks in July, has grown in popularity and reputation and today features some of the world’s greatest comedians and it also resulted in a television show that is broadcast internationally.

7 . Like reading? Interested in Chinese classical novels? Have a look at the following four books which are we known to most Chinese as Four Masterpieces.

The Water Margin

The Water Margin, also known as All Men Are Brothers in Pearl Buck’s translation, Shui Hu Zhuan in Chinese, is along chapter novel with the Song Jiang Uprising in the late Northern Song Dynasty as the main background and type of heroic legend. It is an immortal (不朽的) novel and has inspired many storytellers. The author of the novel is generally regarded as Shi Nai’an (1296~1371).

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms is the first full-length historical romance novel in China. Its author is Luo Guan zhong (about 1330~1400), a famous novelist in the late Yuan Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty. Characters such as Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhuge Liang have become household names among the Chinese.

Journey to the West

Journey to the West is the first romantic chapter novel about gods and devils in ancient China. There are 100 copies of Journey to the Westin the existing Ming Publications without the author’s signature. Wu Yuxuan, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, first proposed that the author of Journey to the West was Wu Cheng’en (1500~1582) of the Ming Dynasty.

The Dream of the Red Chamber

The Dream of the Red Chamber, also called The Story of the Stone, is said to be the greatest masterpiece of Chinese fiction. It is generally believed to be written by Cao Xueqin (about 1715~1763), a writer of the Qing Dynasty. With hundreds of persons and their stories, the story is very complex but also very interesting for its encyclopedic character(百科全书式的人物).

Chinese embroidery (刺绣) is one of the     1     (tradition) Chinese handicrafts (手工艺品). Chinese embroidery has     2    long history in China. In ancient times, Chinese girls in towns and cities had to learn the embroidery skill at their early age,     3     will give them an advantage when they are going to get married. Embroidery was first developed by local women    4     (decorate) their clothes, bags and bedclothes. The themes of Chinese embroidery are    5     (main) flowers and birds.

With its designs rich in life and full of    6     (color), it has gradually developed into a national art. What’s more, China’s large production of silk has promoted the    7     (develop) of embroidery art.

The two pieces of Warring States Period embroidery unearthed from Chu tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province are known as the    8     (early) Chinese embroidery and evidences    9     a high level of embroidery craftsmanship. Embroidery pieces of Han Dynasty (202BC-220AD)     10     (find) at Dunhuang’s Mogao Grottoes (Thousand-Buddha Cave), Hebei’s Wuluchong tomb, Changsha’s Mawangdui tomb. The embroidery patterns of this period were mainly the wavy cloud, flying phoenix (凤凰), running animals and other patterns.