Pan Yuzhen, a master of embroidery (刺绣), was embroidering flying butterflies and flowers with her back     1     a window, saying, “Foreigners are so fond of our embroidery products     2     they even queue up just to buy one for their families. I never     3    (think) the traditional skills handed down by my ancestors would become so marketable abroad.”

“As you can see, Miao embroidery is not only the     4    (proud) of our Miao people, but tha tof our Chinese people,” Pan said,     5     wants to pass her embroidery skills down to the younger generation, hoping that they can continue to promote the unique skills. Now, almost all families in Taijiang County together with Pan     6    (involve) in the Miao costume business.

Zhang Yanmei, Pan’s daughter, having difficulty     7    (walk) like normal people, has taken over her mother’s business and helped her run a clothing processing plant. Zhang also serves as the chairwoman of an association for the     8    (physical) disabled, helping them to grow special plants used for dyeing (给……染色) cloth and instructing some of them     9    (complete) Miao embroidery orders. Today, the Miao embroidery industry has become     10     major distinctive industry in Taijiang County.

Beautiful Ireland And Its Traditions

Ireland’s beautiful countryside has always had a great influence on its people and traditions. The country has     1     long history of producing great writers and poets. Its beautiful countryside excites and inspires all,     2     (offer) something for each of the senses. The     3     (peace) landscape of the “Emerald Isle” and its many green counties is a true feast     4     the eyes, with its rolling green hills     5     (dot) with sheep and cattle. And down by the sea, the roar of the ocean waves and     6     (cry) of the seabirds make up the music of the coast. On a quiet morning in the mountains, feel the sun on your skin, and     7     (breath) in the sweet scent of fresh flowers while birds greet the new day with     8     (they) morning song. With all this beauty, it is not     9     (surprise) that Ireland has developed strong traditions     10     include music, dancing, and dining.

4 . Psychologists tell us that there are four basic stages that human beings pass through when they enter and live in a new culture.

Culture begins with the “honeymoon stage”. This is the period of time when we first arrive in a country where everything about the new culture is strange and exciting. We may be suffering from “jet lag” but we are thrilled to be in the new environment, seeing new sights, hearing new sounds and language, eating new kinds of food.

Unfortunately, after we have settled down into our new life, we can become very tired and begin to miss our homeland and our family, friends, pets. All the little problems in life seem to be much bigger and more disturbing when you face them in a foreign culture.

The third stage is called the “adjustment stage”. This is when you begin to realize that things are not so bad in the host culture. Your sense of humor usually becomes stronger and you realize that you are becoming stronger by learning to take care of yourself in the new place. Things are still difficult, but you are now a survivor.

The fourth stage can be called “at ease at last”. Now you feel quite comfortable in your new surroundings. You can cope with most problems that occur. You may still have problems with the language, but you know you are strong enough to deal with them.

There is a fifth stage of culture shock which many people don’t know about. This is called “reverse culture shock”. Surprisingly, this occurs when you go back to your native culture and find that you have changed and that things there have changed while you have been away. Now you feel a little uncomfortable back home. Life is a struggle!

5 . When another old cave is discovered in the south of France, it is not usually news. Rather, it is an ordinary event. Such discoveries are so frequent these days that hardly anybody pays heed to them. However, when the Lascaux cave complex was discovered in 1940, the world was amazed. Painted directly on its walls were hundreds of scenes showing how people lived thousands of years ago. The scenes show people hunting animals, such as bison or wild cats. Other images depict (描绘) birds and, most noticeably, horses, which appear in more than 300 wall images, by far outnumbering all other animals.

Early artists drawing these animals accomplished a monumental and difficult task. They did not limit themselves to the easily accessible walls but carried their painting materials to spaces that required climbing steep walls or crawling into narrow passages in the Lascaux complex. Unfortunately, the paintings have been exposed to the destructive (破坏性的) action of water and temperature changes, which easily wear the images away. Because the Lascaux caves have many entrances, air movement has also damaged the images inside.

Although they are not out in the open air, where natural light would have destroyed them long ago, many of the images have deteriorated (恶化) and are barely recognizable. To prevent further damage, the site was closed to tourists in 1963, 23 years after it was discovered.

In the 1950s, the Egyptian government wanted     1     (build) a new dam across the Nile,     2     led to protests. Faced with the big challenge, the government had to turn     3     the United Nations for help.

A committee     4     (establish) to prevent the loss of cultural relics. They asked for contributions from different    5     (department) and raised funds within the international community. After investigating the issue and     6     (conduct) several tests, they made a proposal that temples and other cultural sites     7     (take) down piece by piece, and then moved and put back together in a place where they were safe from the water.

Over the next 20 years, thousands of engineers and workers rescued 22 temples and countless     8     (culture) relics and fifty countries donated nearly $80 million to the project. The project was     9     great success, and proved that big challenges can sometimes lead to great solutions. The countries learnt that     10     was possible for them to work together to build a better tomorrow.

8 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（一个词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Every Wednesday afternoon, Le Duc An, a Vietnamese PhD student at Beijing University of Technology, practices calligraphy in the calligraphy group.

The 33-year-old     1     (study) Chinese calligraphy for nearly three years. “I was exposed to Vietnamese calligraphy when I was a child, and it was one of the things that made the biggest impression     2     me,” An says.

When he came to Beijing in 2019 for his PhD studies focusing on the environment, he also spent time practicing Chinese calligraphy,     3     (commit) himself in earnest to the journey of learning the art.

    4     (initial), An says that he did not understand the techniques in Chinese calligraphy, but with the help of Professor Liu Hongli, he gradually came to understand the meaning behind the characters and the techniques in calligraphy.

    5     (gain) a deeper understanding of calligraphy, An has visited many ancient sites in Beijing, including the Confucius Temple and the Forbidden City. He has also participated in a number of calligraphy competitions, both at school     6     international events.

An says that places     7     he has seen treasured scrolls of calligraphy have left a profound impression, and are     8     major source of inspiration. “Calligraphy has become a part of me,” An says. “Whenever I see Chinese calligraphy from different     9     (dynasty), and on sculptures and at historical sites, I find myself     10     (impress) by the vastness and depth of Chinese culture.”

Helping My Parents with Lunar New Year’s Eve Dinner

10 . Minor Cold is the 23rd solar term of the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms. For most areas of China, it marks the start of the coldest days of the year. Still, bitter cold can’t prevent people from enjoying their lives.     1    

Enjoy Mutton hot pot and baked sweet potato.

Mutton hot pot, and baked sweet potato are two recommended foods for Minor Cold.     2     It can help prevent cold from harming their organs. The yang energy in the three types of food is strengthened through their method of cooking: boiling, stir frying and baking.

Eat Laba porridge.

Another important traditional food for Minor Cold is Laba porridge.     3     Local people in Beijing often cook Laba porridge on the night of the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month. After one night’s slow simmering, all the ingredients melt into the porridge in the morning of the eighth day, becoming a warm delicacy to enjoy on cold days.

    4    

People in Nanjing used to take Minor Cold quite seriously, and they still keep a custom of eating vegetable rice to celebrate this solar term. The rice is steamed with aijiaohuang, sausage and salted duck that are all the specialties in Nanjing.

Make Chinese traditional herbal medicine.

    5     Many people need them to prepare new medicines, which will be consumed before the Lunar New Year.