2 . The Sanxingdui Museum in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province enjoyed huge popularity during the three-day Qingming Festival holidays by receiving nearly 20,000 visitors on the peak day, after the new archaeological(考古的) discoveries brought international attention.

According to media reports, the museum saw over 15,000 visitors on Saturday, the first day of the Qingming Festival holidays, breaking its record for daily visitors. And on the next day, more visitors swarmed into the museum to exceed 19,800. To cope with the large flow of people, on Sunday afternoon, the official Weibo account of the Sanxingdui Museum released a message to remind visitors of avoiding rush hours or rescheduling their visiting time.

The Sanxingdui Museum showcases various kinds of precious cultural relics unearthed at the site, such as the 2.62-meter-tall standing statue, 1.38-meter-wide bronze mask, and 3.95-meter-high bronze tree. Earlier on March 20, Chinese archaeologists announced some new major discoveries made during the 37th excavation (挖掘) since its last excavation 35 years ago. The ruins were first discovered in the late 1920s and first excavated in 1934. More than 500 important cultural relics have been unearthed in the six newly-found pits. Since the new discoveries were known to the public, the number of people visiting the Sanxingdui Museum has increased sharply.

The museum said although it was open as usual, the newly-found pits had not opened to the public yet and the newly-excavated cultural relics were still under restoration and couldn’t meet the public currently. But a hall for cultural relic conservation and restoration would be in pilot operation in April and officially opened on May 18. Visitors to it can see how the relics are restored, according to Zhu Yarong, vice director of the Sanxingdui Museum.

Dating back about 3,000 years, the Sanxingdui Ruins have shed light on the ancient Shu civilization and cultural origins of the Chinese nation, and have been regarded as one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the 20th century.

3 . As the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Therefore, when you intend to run your business in France, you may as well get to know French culture, make marketing plans, and do business by local laws.

    1    The French take great pride in their language, so anyone who does not speak it may run the risk of being disrespected by his French colleagues or business partners. Also, another reason why learning French is important is that it is a great way to show every possible French business partner that you care and respect their country’s culture and language.

Use first names only after being invited to.    2    The French will sometimes introduce themselves using their surname first, followed by their first name.

Dress well. The French draw information about people based on their appearance. Your business clothing is a reflection of your success and social status.    3    Women are advised to dress simply but elegantly. Wearing make-up is practiced widely by businesswomen.

The French are passionate about food, so lunches are common in doing business in France, which usually consist of an appetizer, a main meal with wine, cheese, dessert and coffee, and normally take up to two hours.    4    

Do not begin eating until the host says “bon appetite”. Pass dishes to the left, keep wrists above the table and try to eat everything on the plate.    5    This may suggest that you find the food tasteless. If eating in a restaurant, the person who makes an invitation always pays.

4 . Singapore's tradition of eating out in places called hawker centers is now recognized by the United Nations for its cultural importance.

A hawker is a person who sells food or goods and advertises by shouting at people walking by on the street. Hawkers are an important part of Singaporean culture. Open-air eating areas where hawkers sell their goods are very popular. Famous chefs, such as Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay, have praised them.

On Wednesday, the United Nations' cultural agency, UNESCO, added the city's “hawker culture” to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Singapore sought to have hawker culture added to the list about two years ago. Now that it has been recognized, Singapore must provide a report every six years to UNESCO. The report must show the efforts it has made to save and support its hawker culture.

“These centers serve as ‘community dining rooms', where people from diverse backgrounds gather and share the experience of dining over breakfast, lunch and dinner,” UNESCO said.

In the 1970s, Singapore cleaned up its streets so the street hawkers moved to new eating centers. These areas were part of an effort to improve the island. Now, the centers offer many different low-cost meals to local people and provide a pleasing social setting. The 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians showed its stars enjoying meals at a famous night market. Some sellers even received Michelin stars from a famous restaurant rating system for their meals costing only a few dollars.

But, now the average age of hawkers in Singapore is 60 years old. Younger Singaporeans now want to work in offices. They are less interested in working in small restaurants. The COVID-19 health crisis also hurt sales, preventing foreign visitors and locals from eating out.

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.

6 . Maaseik, a city in Belgium, has opened an exhibition of about 200 relics and treasures of the Tang Dynasty(618 AD - 907 AD), showing China’s golden age of ancient civilisation (文明) .

The exhibition, which opened on May 11 and will continue until Oct. 20, is part of the city’s effort to create a centre of Chinese culture. Belgian Princess Mathilde formally announced the beginning of the exhibition, titled: China’s Golden Age: Treasures from the Tang Dynasty”.

The items, including gold plates and silver wares for royal families, Tang Dynasty tri-colour glazed figurines (小雕像) of women and paintings, have recently been on exhibit in the Dutch city of Assen.

All of the exhibited items are from Shaanxi Province, China. Its provincial capital Xi’an was the most populous (人口众多的) city in the world and once the capital of the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang period is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilisation-requal to, or better than that of the earlier Han Dynasty(202 BC-220 AD), a golden age of Chinese culture.

Several years ago, said Dirk Verlaak, vice-mayor of Maaseik, his city and Assen teamed up to host history and culture exhibitions of China’s first two imperial dynasties, the Qin (221 BC-207 BC) and the Han. The Chinese relics and treasures attracted 350, 000 visitors in Assen and 190, 000 in Maaseik.

“Westerners don’t know much about China’s ancient civilisation and history, and we hope the new exhibition in Maaseik can attract more visitors,” said Verlaak.

BEAUTIFUL IRELAND AND ITS TRADITIONS

Ireland’s beautiful countryside has always had a great influence on its people and traditions. The country has a long history of producing great writers and poets. Its beautiful countryside excites and inspires all, offering something for each of the senses. The peaceful landscape of the “Emerald Isle” and its many green counties is a true feast for the eyes, with its rolling green hills dotted with sheep and cattle. And down by the sea, the roar of the ocean waves and cries of the seabirds make up the music of the coast. On a quiet morning in the mountains, feel the sun on your skin, and breathe in the sweet scent of fresh flowers while birds greet the new day with their morning song. With all this beauty, it is not surprising that Ireland has developed strong traditions that include music, dancing, and dining. To have a chance of experiencing this, stop by a village pub and relax with a glass of wine or a local beer. Better yet, enjoy a delicious traditional Irish Beef Stew. If you’re lucky, you might be able to enjoy some traditional music and dancing, too. And if you introduce yourself to a friendly face, you are more than likely to experience local culture and customs first-hand.

9 . Thirteen-year-old American Jessica Goldstone wants to be a fashion designer when she finishes school. She thinks her designs would be more exciting than clothes bought from stores. But until this month, Jessica has never touched a sewing machine(缝纫机).

After her first class, Jessica and six other girls aged 9 to 13 said that sewing was fun, cool and challenging.

These students at Fabrics’ Sew Fun class show that the sewing machine is becoming popular again.

“There have been a lot of teens getting excited about sewing,” said a sewing company worker Donna Smith. “Some of them come from the Project Runway TV show,” she said. This TV show is an exciting weekly contest to make a great fashion designer. Every week one contestant (参赛者) fails the test and has to leave the contest.

The number of people who joined sewing class summer camps grew by 10 percent this year. That’s good news for companies that make sewing machines and publish sewing magazines. The Singer Sewing Company sold nearly 3 million sewing machines in the United States last year. This is about twice as many as in 1999.

Sewing machines have been around for more than 150 years, but they have changed a lot since your grandmother was a girl.

Spencer Carmel started sewing lessons after getting a sewing machine for her 11^th birthday. She has sewn a lot by hand, but she wants to make more difficult things. Spencer’s class recently made hats.

Another member of the class, Kelsey Oen, 9 years old, needed time to get used to her machine, but soon she could use it well. By the end of the class, Kelsey was happy and wearing her new hat.