Dazu Rock Carvings refers to all of the 102 cliffside carvings in Dazu district, Chongqing. The     1     (construct) of those rock carvings dates back to 650, and continued into the 17th century. The scenic area     2     (add) to the World Heritage List in December 1999.

So far, 50,000 statues and 100,000 carved Chinese characters     3     (identify) and over 75 cliff statue sites are under state protection. The cliff statues are large in size, well carved and among the best     4     (preserve) of their similarities.

The Dazu Rock Carvings have     5     important position in the history of China’s grotto art. Artisans created these rock carvings not simply by replicating (复制) images that their ancestors had made     6     by combining religious figures with ordinary life,     7     recorded the transition (过渡) of society. The statues show the evolution of carving and national features,     8     (break) new ground in religious art and creating dynamic figures full of life. They stand on the peak of Chinese rock carving art with their historical values and aesthetic (美学) quality.

According to the UNESCO description, the Dazu Rock Carvings are remarkable     9     their rich diversity of subject matter and the light they cast on daily life in ancient China. Their existence proved the     10     (harmony) synthesis (结合) of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism during that period.

Are you familiar with pop star Jay Chou’s Blue &White Porcelain? Its original lines, just     1     the composer Fang Wenshan described, were inspired by Ru porcelain (汝瓷).

Ranked best among famous kinds during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Ru porcelain is known for its unique pale blue glaze (釉). Oceans     2     Ru porcelain flooded onto the market around the year of 1100, but the     3     (exist) of Ru ware now is actually rare. Thanks to the efforts of Ru porcelain inheritors, people can now appreciate it     4     (close) at hand than before.

Born in Ruzhou, Henan province, Li Chao has spent a decade     5     (better) crafting skills. Ru porcelain goes through 72 steps, the    6     (one) of which is knead (揉) mud. Any small errors could lead to disaster, said the 41-year-old inheritor. He then stressed that a Ru porcelain inheritor must be patient enough. Every item of artwork     7     (full) deserves our admiration.

Techniques of making Ru porcelain will     8     (lose) with senior inheritors gradually passing away. So,     9     Li spares no effort in doing is introducing it to wider masses.     10     (achieve) this goal, he creatively uses Ru porcelain in making daily ware popular among young people. Now he’s aiming to expand the market by introducing it to the whole world.

4 . Kids generally like Labor Day because they’re off school. But do they know what they’re celebrating every first Monday in September? Sure, we can explain how it’s the holiday devoted to American workers. However, there might be a better way to teach them about it with these ideas.

Write thank-you letters

Labor Day celebrates the labor movement and workers here in our great country. Even little ones can thank our nation’s hardest workers during this holiday weekend. Help your child write a thank-you card to a worker they admire and then deliver it by hand or by mail.

Have a sing-along with friends

Rally(召集) the kids and lead them in an epic American sing-along to celebrate our country and its amazing workers. Be sure to have a loud speaker on hand and print out words for the children to follow along. Don’t be alarmed if the gathering turns into a completely developed dance party!

Make footprint vehicles

Ask the kids to think of some of the vehicles our nation’s workers use to do their jobs. Paint the bottom of your child’s foot with washable paint and help them make a footprint on a piece of paper. Give them markers to help them turn their footprint into their favorite worker vehicle. So cute!

Create a career mobile

Buy or make a hanging photo mobile, and have the kids add photos of American workers. Ask the children what they want to be when they grow up — place their dream career in the center and hang others off to the sides.

Nowruz, also known as the Iranian New Year or the Persian New Year, is a holiday     1     (wide) celebrated in Asian countries like Iran. The holiday is believed to have been celebrated since 555 BC. But it was not until 2010 that the United Nations General Assembly officially     2     (recognize) it as a holiday.

Being     3     holiday marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature, Nowruz usually falls around March 20th on the Gregorian calendar. As with most     4     (holiday), it comes with its own set of traditions. They include the “Haft Sin” table,     5     is made up of seven symbolic items starting with the Farsi letter “S”, all representing a     6     (vary) of hopes for the new year, including health, wealth and prosperity. People also welcome the new year     7     sparkling (闪亮的) homes and new clothes. They visit friends and neighbors and share meals and host parties. Communities come together     8     (celebrate) the beginning of spring and do so in hopes they will be surrounded by healthy and clean surroundings in the new year.

Nowruz plays a significant role in     9     (strengthen) the ties among peoples. Its traditions reflect the ancient and     10     (culture) customs of the civilizations of the East and West, and they’ve influenced those civilizations through the interchange of human values for thousands of years.

7 . The day following Thanksgiving — commonly referred to as Black Friday — has become one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the United States.

It is believed by many that the term Black Friday comes from the concept that businesses operate at a financial loss, or are “in the red,” until the day after Thanksgiving, when massive sales finally allow them to turn a profit, or put them “in the black.” However, this is untrue.

A more accurate explanation of the term dates back to the early 1960s, when police officers in Philadelphia began using the phrase “Black Friday” to describe the mess that resulted when large numbers of suburban tourists came into the city to begin their holiday shopping and, in some years, attend Saturday’s annual Army-Navy football game. The huge crowds created a headache for the police, who worked longer than usual as they dealt with traffic jams, accidents, shoplifting, and other issues.

Within a few years, the term Black Friday had taken root in Philadelphia. City businessmen attempted to put a prettier face on the day by calling it “Big Friday.”

In more recent years, Black Friday has been followed by other shopping holidays, including Small Business Saturday, which encourages shoppers to visit local retailers, and Cyber Monday, which promotes shopping online. Giving Tuesday has also appeared to encourage charitable donations.

Historically, Black Friday has yet another meaning, one unrelated to shopping. In 1869 Wall Street financiers Jay Gould and Jim Fisk attempted to corner (垄断) the nation’s gold market at the New York Gold Exchange. On Friday, September 24, the government’s control caused their plan to fall apart, making thousands of Americans lose all their money.

Hanfu, or Han-style clothing, one of the     1     (old) types of clothing in the world, is becoming popular again. Walking in downtown areas or scenic spots in the Chinese mainland, one can’t miss the sight of girls and boys elegantly     2     (dress) in Han-style clothing posing for photographs with either     3     oil paper umbrella or a circular silk fan in hand.

Actually, the clothing style of Chinese Hanfu kept changing over the centuries due to the     4     (change) in people’s taste, requirements and the availability of new clothing materials. However, the development of Han-style clothing came to a sudden stop, when the Manchus, after establishing the Qing Dynasty,     5     (essential) banned people from wearing Hanfu.

For a long time, Hanfu was worn only by some brides and grooms during weddings and a few other special occasions. Attracted by the elegance and beauty of Hanfu, a few brave youngsters began to wear Han-style clothes a decade ago     6     (take) photos in ancient towns. They immediately drew the attention of the public and the media,     7     in turn prompted (促使) others to try on Hanfu.

Thanks to the country’s emphasis     8     cultural confidence, Han-style clothing has been developing into a trend. Some cities     9     (hold) Hanfu festivals or Hanfu fashion shows so far. The     10     (grow) popularity of Hanfu has also fueled public interest in other traditional cultural elements, Chinese painting, calligraphy, kung fu and so on.

As the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated nationwide, residents making the boats in Fangzhuang Village, Fujian Province, have been working     1     (tireless) for more than a month to meet     2     (order) from across the country. Dragon boats have been made in the village     3     (situate) in Minhou County, for over 700 years.

Fang Shaohuang,72, proudly     4     (carry) on his family’s boat making techniques as a third generation inheritor (继承人). He and his five brothers,     5     own a boat making factory, learned these skills from an early age.

“We stick to the family tradition of     6     (make) these boats to a strict standard. The procedure is complicated,     7     our patient work results in fine products,”   he said.

Among the family’s     8       (four) generation, only his nephew Fang Jianwei has inherited the techniques. The 34-year-old is also the youngest such inheritor in the village.

“The work is not particularly     9     (profit), but I’m determined to find dedicated apprentices (学徒) who can carry the profession forward,” said Fang Jianwei. He hopes that in the future the village will act     10     a base to showcase the evolution and history of dragon boats in China.