My friends were surprised when I told them my plan to further my learning in China. But up to now, choosing China     1    (acquire) my advanced study is one of the best decisions I     2    (make) in my life.

My first     3    (impress) of China is its large population. When I arrived at Wuchang Railway Station, I was     4    (amaze) by many crowds of people with their luggage     5    (wait) for taxis and private cars to transport them. At the time I couldn’t speak Chinese,     6    made the local people surprised. I realised later that it was     7    (probable) because I am from Thailand and have no apparent difference in appearance. I thought it would be difficult for me to get familiar     8     the environment. But as soon as I told them where I come from, they just warmly smiled and said, “You are our neighbour. And if your friends have time, bring them to China.” These words made me much more welcomed. I     9    (feel) really safe and secured with my surroundings; I have been helped enthusiastically when I am in need and I am so proud     10     Chinese people mainly because of their kindness and generosity.

When Zhang Lingshan was a child, she would watch the Chinese period drama Palace on television, attracted by the characters’ ancient clothing. She didn’t know what these beautiful clothes     1     (call)—only that they were from some     2     (distance) past. “They looked fairy-like, dreamy,” she said. “I was     3     (complete) drawn by the beauty of these clothes, and then eventually came to understand the culture of Hanfu, and I liked it more and more.”

Now aged nineteen and     4     (live) in Beijing, Zhang is     5     member of China’s growing “hanfu movement”—a renaissance (复兴) of the ancient clothing traditionally worn by ethnic-majority Han Chinese before the Qing dynasty. Tight-knit Hanfu communities and university clubs often meet for themed activities. Zhang and her friends sometimes visit places with ancient architecture, like Beijing’s Forbidden City,     6     emperors once lived, to take     7    (photo) in costume and post them on social media. They have more than 20,000 fans who often ask them     8     more pictures.

Nowadays, Hanfu is seen as a way     9     (celebrate) Chinese culture and improve national self-esteem. In the past few years, Hanfu clubs and social media platforms     10     (help) to bring the Han clothing back under the spotlight. “It’s the confidence of the younger people, the confidence of the country,” said Christine Tsui, a fashion columnist and researcher in Shanghai.

8 . China is one of the first countries to breed a medical culture. In comparison with Western methods, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) adopts a vastly different approach. For thousands of years, Chinese people have accumulated rich experience in fighting all sorts of diseases, therefore forming a unique medical theory under the guidance of ancient Chinese philosophies (哲学).

The core behind TCM is that the human body's life is the consequence (结果) of the balance between Yin and Yang. Yang functions to safeguard us against outer harm, and Yin is the inner base to store and provide energy. When the balance between the two aspects is disturbed, people fall ill.

One of the traditional techniques of TCM, acupuncture (针刺疗法) means insertion of needles into superficial (表面的) structures of the body—usually at acupoints (穴位)—to restore the Yin Yang balance. It is often accompanied by moxibustion (艾灸疗法), which involves burning mugwort on or near the skin at an acupoint.

The first known text that clearly talks about something like acupuncture and moxibustion as it is practiced today is The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon. It is the earliest and most important written work of TCM and is considered the fundamental and most representative medical text in China.

Acupuncture and moxibustion have aroused the interest of international medical science circles. And TCM is gradually gaining worldwide recognition. The WHO issued a document in 2002 that appealed to more than 180 countries to adopt TCM as an alternative in their medical policies. In 2010, acupuncture and moxibustion of traditional Chinese medicine were added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO. Presently, TCM has been back in the news for its effectiveness in improving the cure rate of the COVID-19 since its outbreak in January 2020.

9 . The meaning of silence varies among cultural groups. Silences may be thoughtful, or they may be empty when a person has nothing to say. A silence in conversation may also show stubbornness, uneasiness, or worry. Silence may be viewed by some cultural groups as extremely uncomfortable; therefore attempts may be made to fill every gap（间隙）with conversation. Persons in other cultural groups value silence and view it as necessary for understanding a person's needs.

Many Native Americans value silence and feel it is a basic part of communicating among people, just as some traditional Chinese and Thai persons do. Therefore, when a person one of these cultures is speaking and suddenly stops, what may be implied（暗示）is that the person wants the listener to consider what has been said before continuing. In these cultures, silence is a call for reflection.

Other cultures may use silence in other ways, particularly when dealing with different conflicts among people or in relationships of people with different amounts of power. For example, Russian, French, and Spanish persons may use silence to show agreement between parties about the topic under discussion. However, Mexicans may use silence when instructions are given by a person in authority rather than be rude to that person by arguing with him or her. In still another use, persons in Asian cultures may view silence as a sign of respect, particularly to an elder or a person in authority.

Nurses and other care-givers need to be aware of the possible meanings of silence when they come across the personal anxiety their patients may be experiencing. Nurses should recognize their own personal and cultural construction of silence so that a patient's silence is not interrupted too early or allowed to go on unnecessarily. A nurse who understands the healing（治愈）value of silence can use this understanding to assist in the care of patients from their own and from other cultures.

10 . It was 1939, and the Great Depression had made all our lives much harder. But we didn’t know how poor we were until our father sat my brother and me down on the couch in our living room to have a talk.

I will always remember the sad look in Father’s eyes as he stared down at his hands, rubbing them back and forth, while he searched for the words to tell us that our family wasn’t going to be celebrating Christmas this year.

A month later, on Christmas Eve, I lay awake in bed late into the night, trying to talk myself out of sneaking into our living room to see if Santa had come. I gathered my courage, then tiptoed down the hallway, hoping I would see the bright sparkling lights of our Christmas tree standing proudly in the corner of our living room, like it did every year.

Instead, I was greeted by my seventeen-year-old brother, Frank, who slept on our living room couch. “Hey, little one, what are you doing up?” he whispered.

I started to cry. “There’s no Christmas tree.”

There would be no presents, no singing, no Christmas dinner. It felt like we were the saddest family in the world. My disappointment overwhelmed me. I looked forward to Christmas each year. It wasn’t only the presents. It was that special feeling I got from seeing my family happy. We hadn’t been happy in such a long time.

On Christmas morning, the sun shone into our chilly bedroom, waking me up. “Maybe Santa came! Maybe he came!” I suddenly insisted. My eyes searched the living room, but there was no Christmas tree. I broke into uncontrollable tears.

I ran to Father in tears and threw my arms around him. “ We aren’t going to have Christmas this year.”

“Now, now, now, calm down. Go on in and see your mother. She will comfort you.” Dad slowly pushed the bedroom door open, leading me into the room.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something different in the bedroom.

With my question answered, everything dawned on me.