1 . Almost everyone who has studied English has been warned about the way Brits love their manners. It is part of our national identity, as much as fish and chips or complaining about the weather. Recently I have been wondering where this comes from and I read online that we say sorry up to eight times a day. Probably the same amount of times that any other person says “hello” or “how are you”. It is almost like greetings to us! It was only when I was explaining how there are five steps of saying thank you when you buy something from a shop to a Mexican friend of mine that I realised how mad it sounded.

After some research online I have not been able to find any specific reasons why we are the way we are. I suppose for centuries manners and how we eat at the table and talk to other people have been the barriers between the lower and upper classes and represent your social status. Britain has traditionally been a quite conservative country. There are many articles suggesting that this seemingly polite attitude of always saying please and thank you is quite false because it is impossible to always feel that you want to thank someone or say please.

Maybe it is for this reason that people are going one of two ways: they are incredibly polite and hold back on their feelings or not polite at all, and express their true feelings. Some Brits are fed up of pretending that they are always content and having to please people. Sometimes because we feel we have to be polite, we are prevented from saying what we truly think. Do you think it is better to not hurt people’s feelings and be polite or to let people know the truth? In your country what is the custom? I know in some countries if someone is considered to be doing their job, the clients think that they do not need to be thanked.

3 . Language diversity is dying. While there are over 5,000 languages in the world, experts estimate (估计)that many are on their way out. Statista, a data provider, compiled(编译)the results of the ongoing work of the Endangered Languages Project to create a map of endangered languages highlighting what regions of the world are most affected.

The Endangered Language Project is an online platform administered by the University of Hawaii Manoa that collects information on the world’s languages, such as where each is spoken, the number of speakers left, what measures have been taken to preserve it, etc. For example, by perusing the Endangered Language Project’s website you can see that Irish Gaelic is an endangered language mostly spoken in Ireland and that consists of four different dialects; Irish Gaelic is spoken by 20,000 to 40,000 people worldwide.

Experts acknowledge that the rapid extinction of languages throughout the world is a fact that cannot be denied, but they also explain that it is very difficult to obtain exact numbers when it comes to languages and their extinction. This is because language information is outdated or limited, and it can be different in some cases to distinguish between languages and dialects. The Linguistic Society of America notes that some estimates state that 80 percent of the world’s languages could be gone by the next century as languages like English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Russian become even more of a majority.

On its website, the Endangered Language Project also features an interactive map of endangered languages that’s color-coded according to each   language’s level of threat. Each language is represented by a colored dot on the map, and clicking the dot will reveal the name of the language and its status. Clicking on the name of the language will lead you to a more detailed information card about the specific language.

4 . In the South China Sea, there is a group of Jiaoren, or Chinese mermaids (美人鱼), whose teardrops become pearls after they fall. To the north of Kunlun Mountains, there’s a monster called Xiangliu, which has nine heads with human faces but the body of a snake.

These magic creatures from the ancient book of legends Shan Hai Jing, which inspired J. K. Rowling for her Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series, are now brought back to life by a young Chinese girl in her photos.

Chen Xin, who learned painting as a child, said she started the photo series to commemorate (纪念) the days she spent with her grandma.

Every night before she went to sleep, her grandma told her stories in Shan Hai Jing. “I remember, especially in the summer nights, my grandma stayed outside to enjoy the light wind,” Chen said. “She sat on a rocking chair while I counted the stars and listened to her stories.” These stories opened her mind to an imaginative world with fantastic creatures.

To design the makeup and look of these creatures, Chen checked documents and combined the images with the appearance of animals. She used various means and materials to make the items look like horns or tails. “I used real yak horns (牦牛角). It’s difficult to fix them onto the head and face of models, as they will drop. So it takes a long time,” Chen said. She also chose places whose geographical conditions met the descriptions of the creatures for photos. “For example, some creatures live in areas surrounded by rocks, so I will try to find such a place,” she said.

Recently, Chen has been working on another two photo series about the 24 solar terms and Chinese food. “I’m happy that more and more people are now paying attention to and falling in love with Chinese traditional culture,” she said.

With exotic Silk-Road themed music     1       (perform) by musicians from the China National Traditional Orchestra, a grand art exhibition titled Silk Road: Artists’ Rendezvous kicked off on the afternoon of Aug 15 at the National Art Museum of China.

Attracting about 40 foreign diplomats and     2     (representative) from several international organizations, the exhibit presents over 190 works by artists from 112 countries in the Belt and Road Initiative. The exhibit also includes an interactive, immersive unit     3     visitors may click a mouse or use their fingers on a touch screen     4     (change) digital versions of the artwork.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism     5     (invite) influential artists from Europe, Africa, America, Oceania and Asia for field trips, residency programs and workshops across China over the last decade. Drawing inspiration     6     their China experiences, these artists have created a wide variety of works, including oil paintings, traditional Chinese ink paintings, sculptures and mixed media.

“The Silk Road was important over the centuries. It carried not only silk but also knowledge and cultures,” said Shahbaz Khan, director of UNESCO Beijing, at the opening ceremony.

The Silk Road is     7     invaluable world heritage to be celebrated for reminding the world of the importance of cultural     8     (diverse) and cross-cultural communication, Khan said,     9     (add) “cultural and artistic creations, no matter their specific forms, are all conducive to innovation and sustainable development in a country”.

Khan suggested that the exhibit     10     (bring) to countries in the Belt and Road Initiative.

6 . The concept “China chic”, or guochao, has become popular in recent years. According to relevant data, from January to July 2022, the search volume for “Guochao” as a keyword has increased by 392. 66% year on year. Big Data Report of 2021 Guochao Pride Search from Baidu revealed that the level of interest in guochao has skyrocketed in the past 10 years. Domestic（国内 的）products are in fashion, and domestic consumption has increasingly become an important choice for the new generation of consumers.

China chic mixes unique cultural elements with the latest trends in various industries, which not only satisfies younger consumers' needs for pursuing personality and fashion, but also plays a role in bringing back traditional culture. The rise of China chic is the result of China's rapid economic development and has some cultural motivations behind it. Besides, the continuous improvement of the consumption power of Chinese people is an important reason for the rise of China chic.

Most importantly, cultural confidence is the driving force for the rise of China chic. Five thousand years of Chinese civilization has left us a rich cultural heritage. Guochao is, in many ways, the perfect representative of the new wave of Chinese nationalism. Starting in the fashion industry, this trend shows Chinese consumers' newfound interest in Chinese cultural heritage. The guochao trend is at its strongest among young adults who live in an even more powerful China and thus have a strong feeling of national pride. China's national strength is increasing, and its soft power is also on the rise. Even so, we still have a long way to go to carry forward this China chic. But as it has become a part of people's lives, no doubt there will even be more diverse China chic products showing Chinese charm in the future.

Shadow theater is a unique art form in China. Thanks to the basic principle of light and shadow projected (投影) onto a screen, performers use puppets (玩偶)     1     (make) from animal skins to tell stories in a form of opera. Two thousand years ago, the sadness of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty over the death of his favorite lover was     2     (full) relieved by the projection of her figure through a game of lights. This started     3     is now known in China as the earliest form of shadow play.

Among all the country’s branches, Beijing shadow theater stands out     4     its techniques and its specific tunes. It     5     (experience) a long period of formation and now features unique performance methods. Its vocal (声乐的) tone and actual puppets draw     6     (inspire) from Kunqu Opera and Peking Opera.

In the past, the shadow theater     7     (perform) in the fields, with all performers hidden behind the scenes; some controlled the puppets and sang, while others managed the music. A performing group would consist of six or seven people and a box of puppets. When people put on     8     play at a market, a light box and a curtain would be enough     9     (start) the show. Requiring only a few things, the theater was characterized by its mobility, often     10     (appear) at weddings, dinner parties and Chinese New Year celebrations.

9 . The Ancient Chinese Game of Go

Weiqi, known in English as Go, is one of the four skills that an ancient Chinese intellectual (知识分子) could possess. It has a history of well over 4,000 years in China and remains popular. Culturally, this activity is really “more than just a game”.

    1     One of China’s classics, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, describes the famous general Guan Yu playing Go while receiving surgery on his arm.

History books have recorded quite a number of ardent Go fans from each dynasty. Today, there are still many in China, Japan and South Korea. Wu Yulin, a professional, explains its attraction, “In Go, you can learn the dialectics (辩证法) and military stratagems.     2     There are numerous variations within the game and you can never reach the bottom of it.”

    3     Hua Yigang, Secretary General of the China Go Association, remarks on the character-building qualities of Go. “You have to become entirely calm, otherwise you can’t play it. You have to be very strong of mind.     4     You might make mistakes during a game, and then have to readjust your mentality in order to fight to the end.”

In fact, all of our minds can benefit from playing Go, which officially has the capacity to make you smarter. Research has shown that children who play Go have the potential for greater intelligence.     5    

Today, the number of Go fans in China is at 36 million and rising. Some universities like Beijing University are even offering courses in Go to undergraduates.