Seeing these “gardens” is like looking at a universe in a plant pot. The miniature (微型的) branches spread and twist,       1       (demonstrate) the beauty of nature, so as to allow viewers to stop and reflect on the circle of life. The potted landscape of penjing.     2       (be) a representative of top-ranking garden art ever since its existence.

    3     (expected), the Suzhou-style penjing cultivation technique was listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) in 2011.     4     penjing, Suzhou gardens wouldn’t be as charming as they are today. Once the construction of a garden is completed, its buildings are set, but planting can grow and change, which makes gardens     5     (live).

The history of penjing     6       (date) back to the Tang Dynasty when the great poet Bai Juyi used some stones     7       (create) miniature landscapes in pots. And the Ming Dynasty marked a boom in the economy of Suzhou, the very period       8     turned the city into a major cultural center. Because of that long history, Suzhou-style penjing is often seen as       9     fundamental school of Chinese planting art.

Penjing works are beautiful, but people think that they were owned by the rich. However, only when they are enjoyed by general     10       (consume) can they benefit from being part of people's wider modern artistic taste.

At his studio in Beijing, artist Zhang Xiaodong piles hundreds of sheets of thin top of one another until they form a complete image. When there is a slight air, the pages flow, giving life to the book     1     (it).This dragon scale bookbinding(装订),     2    (stretch)back more than 1,000 years to the Tang dynasty.

With few of the books     3     (survive)to the present day, the bookbinding technique was     4     the risk of disappearing before Zhang decided to research and bring it back to life. After half a year’s study, he finally learned     5     the ancient bookbinding worked.     6     (source)materials traditionally used in bookbinding Zhang also visited old towns and heritage (遗址)sites. Then came the     7     (crucial)-and difficult-part of the binding process: controlling the placement of each page. In order to create a complete picture, each sheet needs to be placed in     8     (exact)the right place. Zhang said that an error of just     9     hundredth of a centimeter can produce a huge, visible error when a book’s hundreds of pages are displayed together.

Zhang’s     10     (prepare)that went into producing this particular work shows the very modern way that the artist tries to understand the subject matter.

5 . Many are fortunate enough to travel and see different cultures. For those who have not yet seen other cultures, here are five things you can learn from other cultures.

New language

Although learning a new language has become simpler through apps or programs, nothing compares to learning a language in the place where it is spoken.     1     Communications with others in another country is also important.

Knowledge

You can read books and even eat food from other countries. But those experience will never compare to the knowledge gained by being in another country.    2     If you are unable to travel, pay attention to cultural events that allow you to increase your knowledge.

Unique (独特的) traditions

    3     A tradition in Mexico is Day of the Dead. The people of Mexico believe that each year, the souls of the dead return to visit their loved ones and celebrate just as they did when they were alive.

    4    

It can be hard to imagine what life would be like if we didn’t have the things we take for granted (认为理所当然) every day, such as reliable transportation, clean water, education and a home to live. Therefore, we should value what we have and that we are able to work to provide for ourselves.

We’re not so different after all.

If you have traveled to another country, the experience is probably completely new. But no matter how much our lifestyles may differ, we are all working toward similar goals in   life.     5     Next time you travel to a new country, discover not only the differences, but also the similarities.

Yesang village is regarded as the birthplace of Tibetan woodblock art, a tradition that     1     (pass) down for more than 340 years.

The village,     2     (locate) in Polo township of Joda county in Tibet, has more than 60 woodblock artists. It lies in a remote valley far from the county’s downtown.     3     takes more than three hours of driving on the mountainous roads to get there, and the journey requires both     4     (drive) skill and courage.

Yesang is near a historical printing house of Tibetan Buddhism scriptures. More than 80 percent of the printing house’s woodblocks were produced in Yesang, according to     5    (villager).

“Three-hundred years ago, a great master called Kolha Lugye     6     (begin) the tradition of woodblock art in our village, after     7     the tradition has been passed on for generations. Therefore, our village has contributed     8    (great) to Tibetan cultural preservation,” said Tashi Tsephel, an instructor of the Woodblock art in Yesang.

Tsultrim Darje, another woodblock artist in the village, works     9     average of 11 hours a day. Each year, he works more than eight months on the woodblocks. “I earn about 40,000 yuan ($5,800) every year from working on the woodblocks,” Tsultrim Darje said.

“Every woodblock costs between 400 yuan and 800 yuan based     10     its quality, and I can finish four per month.”

10 . Qing ming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, is a traditional festival where Chinese pay respects to their ancestors and the dead. People in different regions of the country consume different foods on the day according to local customs. From green rice balls and omelets (煎蛋饼) to fried dough twists and pancakes, here are some traditional foods people eat on the special day.

Qingtuan, or green rice balls, are widely consumed in China’s Jiangnan area — the region south of the Yangtze River — around Qingming Festival. The seasonal delicious food is usually made from glutinous rice (糯米) mixed with pounded mugwort — an eatable wild herb thought to prevent toxic insect bites.

In both northern and southern China, it is an age-old tradition to eat sanzi, or fried dough twists, on Tomb-Sweeping Day. However, the sanzi in North and South China are different from each other in terms of size and material. Northern people prefer larger ones made from wheat, while people in the South enjoy smaller ones made from rice.

Thin pancakes are a popular food for people in Xiamen in Southeast China’s Fujian province on Tomb-Sweeping Day. To make it tastier, they usually add dried seaweed, omelet, vegetables and chili sauce to the pancakes.

In Qingdao in East China’s Shandong province, people eat spring onion and omelet on the day. They believe the special combination makes eyes brighter. In ancient times, pupils often sent eggs to their teachers to show respect on the day.

In many places in Southeast China’s Fujian province, people thought eating steamed rice with leaf mustard (芥菜) on Tomb-Sweeping Day could help prevent scabies and other skin diseases for the whole year.

The steamed bun is named after Jie Zitui, a famous hermit of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC). People in Shanxi province have a tradition of eating the bun on Tomb-Sweeping Day. Colorful dough animals and flowers are frequent decorations, while eggs and jujubes (红枣) are added inside to increase sweetness.