Naturally green, red, yellow, or white, jade (玉) is a special rock. It’s important to Chinese culture largely due to     1     it represents. Here is a brief     2     (introduce) to jade.

Jade     3     (classify) into soft jade and hard jade. One type of hard jade is called feicui in Chinese that is now     4     (valuable) than soft jade in China today. As a pat of Chinese civilization, Chinese jade has been in use for practical and decorative     5     (purpose) since it was found.

Chinese people love jade not only because of its aesthetic (美学的) beauty     6     because it represents social value. In Li Ji, Confucius said that there are 11 virtues, represented in jade: justice, truth, intelligence, etc.

Jade is so firmly established in Chinese culture     7     there are many stories about Jade. Among them the most famous is He Shi Zhi Bi,     8     (tell) the story of Mr. He and how he found a piece of raw jade and tried to give it to two generations of kings, but they didn’t recognize it as priceless and cut off his feet     9     (punish) him for trying to pass off an unworthy stone. Afterwards, the grandson of the first king, Wenwang, had his jeweler cut the stone open and found the raw jade; it was carved into a disc and named     10     Mr. He.

Tai Chi is often described as “mediation in motion”. There is     1    (grow) evidence that this mind-body practice which originated in China as a marital art, has value in treating or preventing many health problems.

    2    far Chi is slow and gentle and doesn’t leave you breathless, it deals with the key components of    3     (fit) —muscle strength, flexibility and balance. Tai Chi improves balance and, according to some studies,    4    (reduce) falls. Proprioception (本体感受)一the ability    5    (sense) the position of one’s body in space—declines with age. Tai Chi helps train this sense and also    6     (dramatic) improves muscle strength and flexibility, which makes     7    easier to recover from a stumble (绊倒). Fear of falling can make you more likely to fall. Some studies have found that Tai Chi training helps relieve that fear.

Tai Chi is very safe, and no fancy equipment    8    (need), so it’s easy to get started. Don’t be frightened by the names. Names like Yang, Wu, and Cheng are given to different    9     (branch) of Tai Chi, in honor of people who designed the sets of movements called forms. In some forms, you learn a, series of movements, while others more focus on breathing and meditation. Finding an approach    10    matches your interests and needs is the key.

International Day of Peace

At a time when war and violence often monopolize our news cycles, the International Day of Peace is     1     inspiring reminder of what we can create together-PEACE.

In 1981, the United Nations General Assembly declared the third Tuesday of September as International Day of Peace. This day coincided with the opening day of the annual sessions of the General Assembly. The purpose of the day was and still     2    (remains), to strengthen the ideals of peace around the world.

Two decades after establishing this day of observance, in 2001, the assembly moved the date to be observed     3    (annual) on September 21. So,     4    (begin) in 2002, September 21 marks not only a time to discuss how to promote and maintain peace among all people but also a 24-hour period of     5    (globe) ceasefire and non-violence.

Peace is possible. Throughout history, most     6    (society) have lived in peace most of the time. Today, we are much less likely to die in war than our parents or grandparents. Since the     7    (establish) of the United Nations and the creation of the Charter of the United Nations, governments are obliged not to use force     8     others unless they are acting in self-defense or have been authorized by the UN Security Council to proceed.

Life is better in a world     9     peace exists and, today, we look to those who have been peacemakers and peacekeepers to learn what we can do individually     10     (make) the world a more peaceful place.

5 . For a decade, Xie Jincheng has been buried in his duties at the National Library of China (NLC) in Beijing. When asked how old he was, the 37-year-old had to pause for a few seconds to _________.

Each working day, he sits at a desk and focuses on handling ragged yet _________ pieces of paper in front of him. As one of 17 restorers of _________ books at the NLC, he shakes off centuries of old dust to _________ the works he deals with.

Xie doesn’t require a large _________ to use his skills. Using glue, scissors, tweezers (镊子), brushes and several other simple _________, he skillfully restores the pages in front of him.

It’s estimated that the NLC _________ more than 3 million ancient Chinese books. The world’s biggest _________ of its kind, it comprises about 10% of such books in the nation. In China, the term “ancient books” _________ works before 1911.

Xie, who majored in chemistry at college, __________ to cultural relies conservation at graduate school, realizing that there was a __________ of restorers of ancient books in China.

It took Xie more than two yeas of __________ his tutors and developing his talent before he was formally assigned to __________ his first page.

Restoration of books is like seeing a doctor. If the doctor is good, your illness will __________ immediately following treatment. But if not, you may die taking the medicine. So if you cannot see a good __________, you’d better keep your item as it is.

7 . At one time, the inheritance of traditional drama was difficult. People of insight screamed “save drama”. Many celebrities and big names put down their figures and went to the community to carry out public welfare performances of opera, and did everything possible to expand the coverage of drama. In recent years, traditional Chinese culture and art has gained a foothold on short video platforms and attracted a large number of young followers thanks to the explosive growth of the short video industry. Relaxing, emotional and fragmented, these video contents perfectly match the demands of the users. With the application of new technologies such as social communication and immersive experiencing, short video platforms are seeing more users, becoming a shining spot of new Internet media.

Recently, Huangmei Opera “ Female Consort Prince ” became a hit on short video platforms as a lot of young users covered the aria (咏叹调) in their own way and showed great artistic talents. The interactive platforms are expanding the charm of the traditional opera among young people.

Peking Opera was also well-received on short video platforms thanks to a series of augmented reality (AR) effects. Users love to film clips with a set of virtual facial makeup, headwear and costumes. Statistics indicate that these effects were applied by more than 18 million users, most of whom were young people.

In addition to Chinese operas, intangible cultural heritage items, such as embroidery, paper-cutting, printing and dyeing, shadow play works, oiled paper umbrella making, and bamboo weaving are also actively promoted on short video platforms. In a word, short video platforms are becoming an important channel to display China’s intangible cultural heritage.

Short video platforms, offering a fun, popular and easy way to explore the traditional art forms, are receiving a lot of positive feedbacks from China’s young generations. The seconds, or minutes long videos, along with unlimited possibilities as well as richness of styles, have produced remarkable achievements in promoting traditional Chinese culture.