1 . In my latest novel, Aphrodite’s Tears, I wanted to draw on this ancient Greek tradition of sponge (海绵) diving; and explore the traditions surrounding the way of life. My fictional island of Helios, therefore, has a long association with sponge diving, and the heroine Oriel, a newcomer to the island and a diver herself, is keen to learn all about it.

Damian, the leader of the island, explains to Oriel that in his father’s generation, sponge diving was one of the main industries on the island. A sizeable group of islanders would leave each May-yet in the autumn, a smaller group would return. “In those days,” Damian explains, “one man in three was either dead or crippled (残疾的) from the caisson disease before they reached marriageable age.” Under Damian’s leadership, other means of earning a living are being developed-such as olive oil production. But some of the men continue to follow in their ancestors’ footsteps and dive for sponges, and each year there are still two or three deaths.

The emotional impact of these losses on the little island community is apparent to Oriel when she comes across a shrine (祠堂) by the port. There she sees tiny paintings that tell the story of the sponge divers, and before the paintings, so many flowers and gifts. They are laid by the women of the sponge-diving families, as offerings for protection for their men and as thanks for the miracle of their safe return.

Why, Oriel wonders, would these men take the risk? After all, with synthetic (合成的) sponges flooding the market, sponge diving is nowhere near as lucrative as it used to be. “It comes down to tradition,” Damian explains: “To the romantic young, it naturally seems a grand thing to sail away every summer to the shores of Africa and to come back, pockets full of money, hailed a hero... I have seen young boys playing at sponge fishing: swimming underwater, wearing the sponge-fisher’s mask and carrying their spear, pretending to detach sponges from the bottom of the sea. An aura (气息) of heroism surrounds the profession.”

4 . The last Wednesday in August marks Spain’s messiest festival. Held in Buñol, 40km west of Valencia, La Tomatina is a tomato-throwing spectacle that draws more than 20, 000 tourists each year.

There are a number of stories related to its beginning of this festival but no one knows for sure the exact origin. One story states a fight between the locals and the city councilmen over an issue, forced the locals to throw tomatoes at the councilmen. The event somehow transformed from a method to display anger to one of fun and entertainment and year after year, the “tomato fight” began to attract the public of Buñol.

On the day of the festival, trucks arrive at the center of town, carrying truckloads of tomatoes belonging to the relatively cheaper kind. The trucks then empty the tomatoes on the streets to be picked up by the participants. The tomato-throwing often starts at about 11 a. m. People pick up the tomatoes on the streets, throwing tomatoes at each other. Certain rules apply during this period. People are expected to squash the tomatoes before throwing to minimize the chances of injury and no other objects except for tomatoes can be used in the play. After the tomato throwing ends, cleaning operations begin. The town authorities get busy cleaning the streets while local residents often help the tourists clean themselves with water from pipes. Many take dips in locals’ pools and rivers to clean themselves.

Over the past years, tourists in Buñol have heavily increased due to the increasing popularity of La Tomatina. However, such a huge gathering in a small town center is believed to be a risk to people. This has forced the government to regulate the number of participants at the festival to 20,000. An entry fee has also been charged while free passes are kept for the locals. Safety officials, police forces and ambulance services are also kept ready to meet any emergency needs during the festival.

Stone lion is carved out of stone,     1     is the common ornament (装饰物) in Chinese traditional architecture, such as temples, bridges, gardens and so on. Lion indicates     2     (safe) and luck in China.

It is said that the lion     3     (introduce) into China in Han Dynasty from the Western Region. In Chinese culture, lion is     4     mythical (神话的) figure rather than real animal. After its introduction, lion gradually became the mascot outside the gate, for Chinese people think that lion can drive away the evil spirits. Another saying of why people take stone lion     5     the gate keeper is related to the pronunciation of stone lion (Shishi) in Chinese. Stone sounds like ‘Shi’ in Chinese with the meaning of solid, and the second ‘Shi’     6     (refer) to lion sounds similar to ‘Si’ which means ‘to think about’.

Stone lions have the obvious local     7     (feature). The lions from the South are     8     (vivid) with many sculptures than the lions from the northern China. The stone lion is carved     9     (base) on a kind of architectural ornament frequently used as the base for decent building.

    10     (general), the location of the stone lion is settled with female in the right side and male the left according to Chinese traditional Yin and Yang philosophy.

6 . In early February, an old stove with rich vivid images (zaotou painting) took center stage at a village Spring Festival gala in Haiyan county, Zhejiang province.     1     . They feature historical and legendary figures, animals and flowers, which are painted in bright colors and have a way of drawing attention from admiring viewers. Zaotou is a part of a kitchen stove in the shape of a square or rectangle, on which are some images showing the beauty of nature and humanity.

    2    . In ancient time, villagers would hire bricklayers (瓦工) to build a mud stove in their new home and then painted pictures on a day of good fortune.     3    . They whitewashed (粉刷) the mud-made stove with lime-water, sketched out the patterns based on the shape of the stove, applied the final coat of paint and even created a three-dimensional effect.

At first, simple tools had been used to produce such art, including a selection of brushes, rulers, and paint. With people’s aesthetic appreciation growing, watercolors were used, mostly red, yellow and blue, the three auspicious (吉祥的) ones to the Chinese people.     4    . No matter what material is available, the stove painting is always symbolic and harbors good wishes for the owners.

Now many people are devoted to the inheritance and popularization of zaotou painting and more and more support has been received from various sides including local authorities.     5     .

7 . Each year in different parts of the world, many countries celebrate different kinds of flower festivals where you can witness some splendid views in the world.

Chelsea Flower Show (London, United Kingdom)

London celebrates the world’s most famous flower festival for five days in May with flower arrangements every year. There are innovations and creativity, both of which make the event one of the most lively festivals in the UK. Every year, London gathers the best garden designers, plant specialists, and nurseries to make the flowers and plants the most beautiful flower exhibit around the world.

Floriade Festival (Canberra, Australia)

From mid-September to mid-October, Canberra celebrates Floriade every year with some of the amazing events and beautiful sight of blossoms with different colors and patterns. It is one of the biggest festivals in Australia. Hosted in Canberra’s Commonwealth Park, the event is a 30-day celebration with lots of food, entertainment, music etc.

Pasadena Rose Parade (California, United States)

Pasadena Rose Parade is celebrated on January 1st as an American New Year Tradition with some extremely fantastic flower parades and music celebrations. You can either witness this personally or even see the live broadcast which takes place throughout the local channels across the country.

The Rose Festival (Kazanlak, Bulgaria)

The Rose Festival is one of the most popular events in Bulgaria. The celebration for the blossom of the roses takes place in the first week of June every year. This is the season when the gentle Kazanlak roses come to bloom, filling the air with its sweet smell. The most beautiful girl in the city is chosen in a beautiful pageant (选美) activity.

As traditional tea processing techniques and their     1    (associate) social practices in China were recently included on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the world is paying more attention to Chinese tea.

Southwest China’s Sichuan province has the     2    (early) history of tea growing in China, with one place in particular standing out: Mengding Mountain in Ya’an. The average annual temperature there is 14.5 degrees, and the year-round mist and rain is     3    (benefit) to the forming of nitrogenous (含氮的) substances in tea     4    (leaf).

Its superior natural and ecological conditions, along with a     5    (high) developed production process, contribute     6     the quality of Mengshan tea.

    7    (origin) in the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD24), the tea has more than 2,000 years of history. Since the year 742 during the reign of the Xuanzong Emperor of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Mengshan tea     8    (serve) as a gift for the royals.

A traditional green tea,     9     includes five varieties, is represented by Mengding Ganlu. Famed as one of the 10 most famous teas in China, the technique for making Mengshan tea was listed     10     the national-level intangible cultural heritage in 2021.

9 . Rabbits are a courageous little species able to live on every continent, except Antarctica. Alongside the beginning of 2023, the new Year of the Rabbit has started!     1    

Cultural image of rabbits in China

Rabbits are instinctively quiet but agile (敏捷),which suits traditional Chinese aesthetic values of being gentle and cultivated. There is a view of rabbits in Chinese culture as being smart and gentle.     2     , a Chinese idiom praising people who are smart and agile like a rabbit.

Legend has it that there is a Jade Rabbit living on the moon which is the pet of Chang’e, a goddess widely known in China. This can explain why rabbits are regarded as an auspicious sign.

Also, in ancient China, it was common sense that the more children you had, the luckier and happier you would be. This belief made the rabbit a popular sign of good fortune.     3    

Cultural image of rabbits in the West

Similarly in the West, rabbits are full of vitality and fertile in nature, with populations growing to enormous sizes in short amounts of time. Rabbits are also considered to be incredibly lucky in the West, with several traditions illustrating how to gain the animal’s good luck for yourself.

A hunter being able to catch a rabbit in the first place is also a sign of good luck. Another tradition for good luck found in North America and the UKKis to say the word “rabbit” on the first morning of every month.

    4     It is a rabbit that Alice follows in the story of Alice in Wonderland to escape the normal world and helps to begin her adventure. Rabbits are also related to Easter, with the Easter bunny being thought to be in some way related to the chocolate eggs eaten at this time of year: While the animal appears in many different places, it is always seen as an animal to be welcomed.

So, now it is the lucky animal’s turn on the Chinese zodiac.     5    

A 23-year-old Chinese American vlogger is riding a new trend: mixing and matching modern clothes with traditional Han Chinese dress, or hanfu.

    1     latter refers to a historical dress of the people in China, which is said     2     (date) back more than 4,000 years. In recent     3     (year), when Chinese people talk about hanfu, they usually picture a long flowing robe (长袍) with loose sleeves and a belted waist. However, it is     4     (actual) a diverse term including different wardrobe trends from different dynasties.

In daily life, the vlogger often wears either an entire hanfu set     5     a blend of Chinese and Western elements.     6     (know) as an Internet celebrity on social media, she     7     (post) videos of herself dressed in a mixture of ancient Chinese styles, with matching makeup since last year. Her social media account now has over 628,900 followers. She has also attracted many fans on Chinese lifestyle and an e-commerce and popular video-sharing platform mainly     8     (target) young generations.

“I love hanfu and I love sharing it     9     the world. So I make videos for people to learn about this ancient type of dress,     10     allows me to learn more as well.” the Chinese American vlogger said in an interview.