The Chinatown in San Francisco is the     1     (big) in America. It is a very popular tourist draw     2     receives many visitors each year.     3     (historical), Chinese immigrants settled in the area during the railroad construction and gold rush period. Now the     4     (major) of residents in Chinatown are still ethnic Chinese.

Most of Chinatown     5     (destroy) in the 1906 earthquake, but the city and residents rebuilt it,     6     (take) care to include lots of Chinese architecture. There are many famous sites in Chinatown including the Tin How Temple, Bank of Canton and Portsmouth Square,     7     (name) but a few. People can find     8     unique range of souvenirs, goods, and clothing in the stores in the Chinatown. But perhaps     9     people treasure most is its food that     10     (suit) everyone’s taste.

I experienced the Naadam Festival in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for the first time this year. Naadam means “games” in Mongolian, and it     1    (represent) by three events: horse racing, wrestling, and archery. Mongolian wrestling is different from the wrestling in the Olympic Games. There are no rounds, and     2    (wrestle) are not separated by weight. Though the three events all left a deep impression     3     me, I liked horse racing best. I was surprised     4    (see) that riders were boys and girls! People say it is     5     children are lighter and the horses can run faster and farther.

MY AMAZING NAADAM EXPERIENCE

I experienced the Naadam Festival in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for the first time this year. The festival falls on the fourth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, usually lasting for three days. Naadam means “games” in Mongolian, and it is represented by three events: horse racing, wrestling, and archery, which are all so exciting to watch!

On the first day, I set off to the games early with my friend Burin. I saw a lot of people wearing fancy Mongolian robes. Some were feeding their horses, some were practising archery, and others were chatting or taking photographs. Burin told me that Mongolians travel every year from near and far to attend the festival, just as their ancestors had done for centuries.

After the opening ceremony and some amazing performances, the wrestling competition began. Mongolian wrestling is different from the wrestling in the Olympic Games. There are no rounds, and wrestlers are not separated by weight. The wrestler loses if any part of his body above his knee touches the ground. After singing some songs, the competitors danced onto the green field, waving their arms in the air as if they were eagles. I was quite moved by their show of strength and grace.

I absolutely enjoyed the archery, too, but the horse races were my favourite part. However, I was surprised to see that the riders were boys and girls! I heard it is because children are lighter and the horses can run faster and farther. At first, I was a little worried about the children’s safety, but Burin said, “Don’t worry. They’ve been riding horsed all their lives. They’ll be just fine.” That was the moment I started to understand why people say “Horses are at the heart of Mongolian culture”.

I’m finally back home now, feeling really tired, but celebrating Naadam with my friend was totally worth it. He invited me back for the winter to stay in a traditional Mongolian tent and eat hot pot. I can’t wait!

6 . Happy April Fool’s Day! In celebration of the day, we have put together a list of some of the greatest hoaxes (恶作剧) in history. They are the lies that have been designed for innocent people who are ready to believe them.

▲INSTANT COLOR TV

In 1962 there was only one TV channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station’s Kjell Stepson, appeared on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, all viewers could now quickly and easily transform their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their TV screen, and they would begin to see their favorite shows in color. Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of people, were taken in. Actual color TV transmission only started to appear in Sweden on April 1, 1970.

▲SAN SERRIFFE

In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven ­page supplement (增刊) in honor of the tenth anniversary of San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately asked for more information about the beautiful holiday spot. Few noticed that everything about the island was made up.

▲NIXON FOR PRESIDENT

In 1992 American National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, “I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won't do it again.” Accompanying this announcement were audio clips (片段) of Nixon delivering his election speech. Listeners responded immediately to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and anger. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Huckleberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon’s voice was copied by comedian Rich Little.

7 . The 24 solar terms (节气) originated and was firstly used in China. It was created thousands of years ago on the basis of practical needs of agriculture. Ancient Chinese people used it to guide agriculture production, special climate signs and even healthy living tips. The 24 solar terms was added to UNESCO’s world cultural heritage list in 2016.Now, it has been brought to life thanks to a creative designer from Southwest China’s Guizhou Province.

On the eve of the Qingming Festival, Shi Changhong released (发布) his version of reproduced and packaged characters for each solar term in the form of   “moving art” of Gifs. Since their first release on Zcool on March 29, the Gifs have won great praise among the general public and quickly flooded social media with millions of hits during the festival period.

To maximize publicity, Shi released his work in three forms: video, animation and picture. The background sounds add to the brilliance.

“When I watch the short video, I can strongly feel the Chinese ­style elements hidden in them. And it is really cool to liven up Chinese traditional culture in such a unique way,” WeChat user Xiao Feifei said.

“It is really a comfort to me to see so many people like my latest work. To be honest, it would really surprise me if the work does not arouse great interest among Chinese people. The 24 solar terms is a deeply rooted concept that covers the essence of Chinese wisdom. However, only a small portion of people know all the names or the correct order of those terms. My intention is to increase Chinese people’s self-­awareness to learn more about our traditional fine culture. Actually, the 24 solar terms work is only a part of my whole design program ‘Charm China’, which I started over a year ago，” Shi told China Daily.

Welcome to the Great Wall. I’m very delighted to be your guide here.

Thanks again for listening. Wish you a good time in Beijing!

China, the hometown of tea, owns a profound tea culture. Since ancient times, Chinese people have been planting, picking, making and drinking tea. Tea producers have developed six     1     (category) of tea: green tea, yellow tea, dark tea, white tea, oolong tea and black tea.

Tea is     2     must in Chinese people’s daily life. Boiled tea     3     (serve) at homes, teahouses, restaurants or other places and used     4     an important medium for communication. In China, traditional tea processing techniques are so     5     (close) associated with the geographical location and natural environment     6     they are distributed (分布) in certain areas.     7     tea-related customs originated in China, they influenced the rest of the world through the ancient Silk Road and trade routes. In recent years, Chinese tea     8     (receive) top-level global recognition as a shared cultural treasure of mankind. There are over 40 colleges     9     majors in tea science or tea culture are set up,     10     (result) in over 3000 graduates specializing in tea production and art every year.