Stone lion is carved out of stone,     1     is the common ornament (装饰物) in Chinese traditional architecture, such as temples, bridges, gardens and so on. Lion indicates     2     (safe) and luck in China.

It is said that the lion     3     (introduce) into China in Han Dynasty from the Western Region. In Chinese culture, lion is     4     mythical (神话的) figure rather than real animal. After its introduction, lion gradually became the mascot outside the gate, for Chinese people think that lion can drive away the evil spirits. Another saying of why people take stone lion     5     the gate keeper is related to the pronunciation of stone lion (Shishi) in Chinese. Stone sounds like ‘Shi’ in Chinese with the meaning of solid, and the second ‘Shi’     6     (refer) to lion sounds similar to ‘Si’ which means ‘to think about’.

Stone lions have the obvious local     7     (feature). The lions from the South are     8     (vivid) with many sculptures than the lions from the northern China. The stone lion is carved     9     (base) on a kind of architectural ornament frequently used as the base for decent building.

    10     (general), the location of the stone lion is settled with female in the right side and male the left according to Chinese traditional Yin and Yang philosophy.

4 . In early February, an old stove with rich vivid images (zaotou painting) took center stage at a village Spring Festival gala in Haiyan county, Zhejiang province.     1     . They feature historical and legendary figures, animals and flowers, which are painted in bright colors and have a way of drawing attention from admiring viewers. Zaotou is a part of a kitchen stove in the shape of a square or rectangle, on which are some images showing the beauty of nature and humanity.

    2    . In ancient time, villagers would hire bricklayers (瓦工) to build a mud stove in their new home and then painted pictures on a day of good fortune.     3    . They whitewashed (粉刷) the mud-made stove with lime-water, sketched out the patterns based on the shape of the stove, applied the final coat of paint and even created a three-dimensional effect.

At first, simple tools had been used to produce such art, including a selection of brushes, rulers, and paint. With people’s aesthetic appreciation growing, watercolors were used, mostly red, yellow and blue, the three auspicious (吉祥的) ones to the Chinese people.     4    . No matter what material is available, the stove painting is always symbolic and harbors good wishes for the owners.

Now many people are devoted to the inheritance and popularization of zaotou painting and more and more support has been received from various sides including local authorities.     5     .

5 . Each year in different parts of the world, many countries celebrate different kinds of flower festivals where you can witness some splendid views in the world.

Chelsea Flower Show (London, United Kingdom)

London celebrates the world’s most famous flower festival for five days in May with flower arrangements every year. There are innovations and creativity, both of which make the event one of the most lively festivals in the UK. Every year, London gathers the best garden designers, plant specialists, and nurseries to make the flowers and plants the most beautiful flower exhibit around the world.

Floriade Festival (Canberra, Australia)

From mid-September to mid-October, Canberra celebrates Floriade every year with some of the amazing events and beautiful sight of blossoms with different colors and patterns. It is one of the biggest festivals in Australia. Hosted in Canberra’s Commonwealth Park, the event is a 30-day celebration with lots of food, entertainment, music etc.

Pasadena Rose Parade (California, United States)

Pasadena Rose Parade is celebrated on January 1st as an American New Year Tradition with some extremely fantastic flower parades and music celebrations. You can either witness this personally or even see the live broadcast which takes place throughout the local channels across the country.

The Rose Festival (Kazanlak, Bulgaria)

The Rose Festival is one of the most popular events in Bulgaria. The celebration for the blossom of the roses takes place in the first week of June every year. This is the season when the gentle Kazanlak roses come to bloom, filling the air with its sweet smell. The most beautiful girl in the city is chosen in a beautiful pageant (选美) activity.

6 . Rabbits are a courageous little species able to live on every continent, except Antarctica. Alongside the beginning of 2023, the new Year of the Rabbit has started!     1    

Cultural image of rabbits in China

Rabbits are instinctively quiet but agile (敏捷),which suits traditional Chinese aesthetic values of being gentle and cultivated. There is a view of rabbits in Chinese culture as being smart and gentle.     2     , a Chinese idiom praising people who are smart and agile like a rabbit.

Legend has it that there is a Jade Rabbit living on the moon which is the pet of Chang’e, a goddess widely known in China. This can explain why rabbits are regarded as an auspicious sign.

Also, in ancient China, it was common sense that the more children you had, the luckier and happier you would be. This belief made the rabbit a popular sign of good fortune.     3    

Cultural image of rabbits in the West

Similarly in the West, rabbits are full of vitality and fertile in nature, with populations growing to enormous sizes in short amounts of time. Rabbits are also considered to be incredibly lucky in the West, with several traditions illustrating how to gain the animal’s good luck for yourself.

A hunter being able to catch a rabbit in the first place is also a sign of good luck. Another tradition for good luck found in North America and the UKKis to say the word “rabbit” on the first morning of every month.

    4     It is a rabbit that Alice follows in the story of Alice in Wonderland to escape the normal world and helps to begin her adventure. Rabbits are also related to Easter, with the Easter bunny being thought to be in some way related to the chocolate eggs eaten at this time of year: While the animal appears in many different places, it is always seen as an animal to be welcomed.

So, now it is the lucky animal’s turn on the Chinese zodiac.     5    

A 23-year-old Chinese American vlogger is riding a new trend: mixing and matching modern clothes with traditional Han Chinese dress, or hanfu.

    1     latter refers to a historical dress of the people in China, which is said     2     (date) back more than 4,000 years. In recent     3     (year), when Chinese people talk about hanfu, they usually picture a long flowing robe (长袍) with loose sleeves and a belted waist. However, it is     4     (actual) a diverse term including different wardrobe trends from different dynasties.

In daily life, the vlogger often wears either an entire hanfu set     5     a blend of Chinese and Western elements.     6     (know) as an Internet celebrity on social media, she     7     (post) videos of herself dressed in a mixture of ancient Chinese styles, with matching makeup since last year. Her social media account now has over 628,900 followers. She has also attracted many fans on Chinese lifestyle and an e-commerce and popular video-sharing platform mainly     8     (target) young generations.

“I love hanfu and I love sharing it     9     the world. So I make videos for people to learn about this ancient type of dress,     10     allows me to learn more as well.” the Chinese American vlogger said in an interview.

Before coming to China to teach, I wrongly assumed that there would be much     1     (difficult) for me since I couldn’t speak Chinese well. Nevertheless, while it presented some interesting challenges, I cannot stress enough how warm the majority of people I met     2     (be).

Making friends was my big concern     3     first but I soon settled in and became good friends with the fellow teachers. There weren’t many foreigners at the school in     4     I was teaching, but I had plenty of friendly neighbours     5     (keep) me company. They often had me round for dinner!

In China, teachers     6     (normal) get several weeks off for Chinese New Year, so I was fortunate enough to travel a bit. I loved walking along the Great Wall and visiting the Forbidden City.

When it comes to my favourite Chinese food, how can I possibly choose?! Every meal was a feast, especially with the low cost of living which meant eating out wasn’t just something     7     (luxury). While I loved the big crowded dinners with 20+ dishes on the table, I was     8     big fan of the homemade dumplings my friend made for me. I'd strongly consider going back just to taste them again!

Overall, it can't be     9     (good) if you can have the chance to teach in China for some time. I’d absolutely do it again if     10     (give) the chance.

9 . Every year on the third Sunday in June, Father’s Day is celebrated by families all around the world. We celebrate and honor fathers and their influence in our lives. Apart from your biological father, you can also celebrate grandfathers, stepfathers, and others you consider father figures.     1    

The history of Father’s Day goes back to 1908, when a church in West Virginia honored 362 men killed the previous year in a coal mining explosion. The following year, a woman named Dodd started her quest to establish Father’s Day as a national holiday.     2     So she thought fathers should be honored in the same way as mothers.

    3     It was finally declared a national holiday in 1972. It took more than 60 years from the birth of the idea to Father’s Day actually being recognized as a holiday.     4     In the 1920s and 1930s, there was a national movement to get rid of both Mother’s and Father’s Day and replace them with one “Parent’s Day”. Meanwhile, many fathers didn’t want such a holiday. After all, as the only breadwinners at the time, they didn’t particularly want their hard-earned cash spent on flowers and chocolates.

    5     Struggling businessmen pushed the gift-giving holiday during the Depression, and during the War, Father’s Day became a way to honor the many fathers serving overseas. By the time President Nixon signed the Father’s Day as a holiday, it was already a national institution.

10 . From grand museum openings to music, art and theatre, these are the coolest new things happening anywhere this year.

This townhouse, where the controversial French singer Serge Gainsbourg spent the last 20 years of his life, has been completely closed off to the public since Gainsbourg's death in 1991, but next spring it'll finally open as a museum. The main attraction will be Serge's famously odd living area, with its huge collection of sculptures.

Just 90 minutes by train from Copenhagen, Odense is best known as the birthplace of Christian Andersen, and it's now home to the new HCA Museum. With its biographical exhibits and inanimate projects that come alive, this thoroughly fun museum would have delighted the “Little Mermaid” and “Snow Queen” author himself.

When it finally opens in November 2022, the Grand Egypt Museum will be the biggest museum in the world for a single civilization. Costing $1 billion, this museum will be about the size of the Louvre in Paris. Most importantly, this will be the first time that all 5,000 pieces of King Tut's treasure will be displayed in the same place.

Serbia's second-largest city will wear the crown of European Capital of Culture for the year. Ever fancied checking out of an exhibition in an abandoned pasta factory? The Mlin Cultural Station awaits. Novi Sad's unique architecture and history have long made it a major destination.