Patrick Sommier, a French theater director, is dovoted to passing on the true meaning of Chinese operas to the French public.

On the occasion of the     1     (celebrate) for the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France in 2004, Sommier     2     (invite) to cooperate on a joint project to spread Peking Opera in France. Sommier says that when he arrived in China, like many other     3     (European), he showed great interest in Chinese operas. The beauty of Peking Opera     4    (immediate) caught his heart, he says.

Recalling his first cooperation with the Chinese team, Sommier says he was impressed by the actors’ makeups, costumes,     5     the characters of incredible strength. He was also touched by the Chinese professors’ effort     6     (pass) their acting skills to their students by acting with them. One professor explained, “In China, opera is     7     art requiring lifelong devotion and the effect of the performance largely     8     (depend) on the actors’ inner strength and acting skills.”

Sommier began exploring into different performance forms and suggested introducing Chinese operas     9     the French audience. The team then gave some     10     (origin) performances, some without makeups or costumes and some with students performing classics in a traditional way.

3 . MUSICAL HERITAGES FROM ANCIENT CHINA

Since remote antiquity, Chinese people have used music to record their lives and describe the ideals in their hearts. Catchy tunes are not only played on precious instruments, but also visualized in carvings, paintings, and buildings. Feel free to explore here!

Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220)

This period marked the significant development of the manufacturing of gugin and its music. The example unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Dynasty Tomb in Changsha, Hunan province, proves that gugin had developed into the form known today during that period. It shows 7 strings and 13 markers indicating the pressing positions of overtone series.

Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534)

Buddhism and its musical culture spread extensively during this period. Buddhist temples provided places for musical activities, which were recorded in. many of the-existing stone carvings. Located in Gongyi, Henan province, the Grotlo Temple is-famous for its reliefs representing musical events. They are precious historical materials reflecting the music characteristics of the dynasty.

Song Dynasty (960-1279)

With economic development, a variety of musical cultures emerged to meet the entertainment needs of different social classes. Part of the painting Life along the Bian River al the Pure Brightness Festival vividly reveals a storytelling performance. The painter adopted delicate techniques to truly record a street performer, whose superb skills are reflected by each listener’s show of appreciation.

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

At this time, traditional Chinese operas developed rapidly, promoting the formation of many singing styles. People began to enjoy operas and drama stages were built. Covering a construction area of more than 160 square meters, the Fancun village drama stage in Shanxi province provides rich materials for the study of the local folk culture.

4 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。

5 . I love learning about customs and practices in other countries. For this post, I asked all of my friends in the Multicultural Kid Blogger group to give me their favorite birthday traditions!

CHINA

The most special of the birthday traditions in China is for babies. New parents give red eggs (an even number) to friends and family for good luck. Common presents include food, silverware, and money wrapped in red paper. On birthdays, it is common to eat longevity noodles (长寿面) without breaking them for good luck to live a long life.

ISRAEL

Sometimes children in Israel wear a crown (王冠) made from leaves or flowers for their birthday. The birthday child sits in a chair, and gets picked up and raised and lowered the chair one time for each year of age, plus one more for good luck. Guests at the birthday party sing and dance around the chair. At birthday parties, kids often play games, such as races with potatoes on spoons.

GHANA

In Ghana, one of the most common birthday traditions is that kids get to eat oto for breakfast: sweet potatoes mixed with onions, made into patties, and fried with hard boiled eggs. Later in the day, Ghanaians sometimes have a party for the child with stew, rice, and kelewele. At the party, girls often like to play a game called ampe.

MEXICO

Mexico families love parties, and celebrate birthdays en grande (盛大地). The 15th birthday, quinceañera is the most important, formal, and well-prepared. Mexicans always sing Las Mañanitas to wake up the child on their birthdays. When the birthday girl or boy blows out their candles, guests call for them to take a bite of the cake (“mordida-mordida!”) and always push their face into the frosting. A Mexican birthday party always has a piñata filled with little toys and candies.

7 . With the arrival of the summer heat, cultural-themed ice creams are once again trending across social media platforms in China.

Museums, scenic spots, amusement parks and even universities have once again rolled out their unique cultural-themed ice creams this year. These ice creams are often tiny copies of famous landmarks or cultural relies that offer visitors a delight for the taste buds.

The trend of cultural-themed ice creams began in 2019 when the Old Summer Palace in Beijing was one of the first scenic spots in China to introduce lotus-shaped ice creams. It was inspired by that in 2017 eleven ancient lotus(莲花)seeds were discovered in a pool at the Old Summer Palace. Six of these ancient lotus seeds bloomed in the summer of 2019. So to mark the occasion, staff at the Old Summer Palace designed ice creams shaped like lotus blossoms. These ice creams were widely loved by visitors, not only serving as a cold treat but also offering a unique way for visitors to sample and connect with their cultural heritage.

To protect their cultural relics, many museums have put up signs prohibiting photography or the use of a flash. However, cultural-themed ice creams provide an alternative way for visitors to catch memories of their visit. Various flavors offer visitors a choice of colors and ingredients for the ice cream, which reflect the local characteristics and charm of these cold treats. It is also suggested by the museums that the visitors can take the carved ice cream bars home with them to use as bookmarks.

For many young people, taking photos of themselves standing alongside cultural landmarks is an artistic preference from their parents’ generation. To them, a selfie(自拍)with a cultural -themed ice cream is a much cooler way to show off their travel experiences and bridge the gap between modern life and distant historical relics.

Xi’an, capital city of Shaanxi, served as the capital of 13 dynasties in Chinese history, which in total     1    (last) about 1,100 years. Consequently, the ancient history of Shaanxi is to some degree the ancient history of China. Shaanxi History Museum considers     2     a duty to be a showcase of Chinese ancient civilization.

People call Shaanxi History Museum “Bright Pearl in Ancient Capital and Precious Treasure of China”, for it is an art palace     3    (full) showing Shaanxi history and culture as well as Chinese ancient civilization. Its architectural buildings and exhibits have made it famous as a first-class museum in China     4     it was opened to the public in 1991. It covers     5     total area of 65, 000 square meters.

The basic halls in the museum are divided into three exhibition halls     6     2,000 cultural remains to display the history of ancient times in chronological (编年的) order. The first exhibition hall     7    (locate) on the ground floor while the other two are on the second floor.

While     8    (design) the buildings in Shaanxi History Museum, the great designer used     9    (tradition) palace construction of Tang Dynasty for reference. Adopting symmetry axis (轴对称) layout with main and supporting buildings in order, the complex     10    (architecture) show the unique presence of Tang Dynasty.