1 . Peter walked home from school. Salty tears ran down his cheeks. He didn’t know what to do. Grandma saw him and asked why. Peter replied, “I have to give a(n)________ about a family tradition. I know we have lots of beliefs and customs. Can you ________ me of one?”

Grandma smiled and nodded her head. She went to a closet and ________ to reach the top shelf. Pulling out a small box and ________ the dust, she handed it to Peter. Peter opened the box. He ________ a wooden hoop with string woven and twisted around. It was in the shape of a circle, like a spider web. Peter wiped away his ________ and smiled.

“This is a dream catcher,” said Grandma. “Our people have made these for many years. ________are symbols of unity and strength. Hang it over your bed and it will ________ your bad dreams in the web, and your good dreams will fall through the center. Maybe it will give you ________ to do your presentation.”

“Can I take this one to school?” asked Peter. “No,” said Grandma. “This dream catcher is ________ . It means a lot to me.”

Peter felt ________ because he wanted to share it with his class. “We could make you one,” said Grandma. They worked together and ________ a dream catcher. The next morning he told Grandma his plan — to show his class how to make one. “Great! Let’s ________ after your presentation. We will have a ________ party,” said Grandma.

Peter did as he had planned. Peter didn’t feel ________ or scared at all. He felt proud in his culture and felt pride in himself, too.

2 . Acupuncture(针灸), an ancient Chinese medical practice, has been the remedy for countless patients for thousands of years. Before modern medicine came to life, ancient Chinese used stone tools to ______ pain. Over time, this primitive practice ______ evolved into a comprehensive and profound medical system and ______ the root of acupuncture.

Acupuncture is a treatment that aims to ______ the body’s self-regulating functions. Its therapeutic principles are in line with the ______ concepts of traditional Chinese medicine, which emphasizes all-inclusive treatment, meridian(经络) adjustment, balance of bodily functions and overall physiological well-being.

Practices can ______ in forms, including needle insertion, cupping and scraping. Needle insertion, the most common method, is______ by inserting hair-thin needles into meridians, ______ specific points on the body that ______ vital energy (the qi). Practitioners lift, twirl and rotate needles to unblock the flow of energy; ______ yin and yang balance; and stimulate the body’s innate ______ to heal itself.

Looking beyond China, acupuncture has become a global ______. Over the years, acupuncture has seen many advancements in scientific research and modern medicine. It is now a mainstream ______ and complementary treatment for a variety of weaknesses. According to a 2019 WHO report, acupuncture is used in 113 of its 120 member countries, ______ its widespread recognition and application.

As an ancient Chinese medical ______ with a rich history and deep cultural significance, acupuncture is an embodiment of profound cultural heritage and a holistic path to healing.

5 . In some parts of Central China’s Henan province, daughters will _______ wild goose-shaped cakes for their parents before the leap month (闰月) comes, wishing for auspiciousness. There is a _______ surrounding the tradition.

Long ago, there was a girl living at the southern foot of the Songshan Mountain in Henan, who was very _______. In a year which had a leap month, the married girl _______ of her parents, who never had enough food to eat and might suffer from hunger due to the _______ month. So, she collected some leftover millet (小米) and headed toward her parents’ home. On the mountainous road, she _______ fell down and when she woke up, the millet was already _______ up by birds. Seeing this and thinking of her parents, she cried loudly and slowly fell asleep again.

Then she heard some weak voice and woke up again, seeing a couple of wild geese were staying in her bag and not willing to leave, so she took them with her. When she arrived at her parents’ home, the village was _______ famine and plague, and her parents were on the verge of _______. She hurriedly boiled the wild geese and fed them to her parents, and her parents recovered soon. She then gave the leftover food to the neighbors and the ________ miraculously disappeared the next day.

After that, before each leap month, daughters began to visit their ________ and bring gifts. As wild goose is a ________ bird, people use dough to make wild goose-shaped cakes in ________ of the actual bird for their parents, wishing them healthy and hoping to banish any plagues.

In some parts of East China’s Shandong province, the married daughters will send dough-made fish and toad to their parents, which ________ “wealth” and “health” respectively. ________, it is said that the dough fish is for a mother and the dough toad is for a father.

6 . 77-year- old Zhang Guohui, an inheritor (继承人) of the watertight-bulkhead (水密隔舱) technology of Chinese boats, has been making wooden ships and model boats for more than six decades.

Born in a poor family in a fishing town in Fast China’s Fujian province, Zhang began to make a________by fishing on the open seas when he was only 16, which were where he________an interest in making boats. Being a fast________, Zhang was later sent to shipyards in the cities of Quanzhou and Xiamen of Fujian where he________training and became a master of building traditional Chinese boats.

________the development of the modern technology, the________for large wooden ships decreased sharply. “I________that the traditional skills would die soon.________, in 2007, I met Wang Lianmao, the former curator (馆长) of Quanzhou Maritime Museum,” says Zhang. After their________, Zhang started to restore old ships and make models for the________. Thanks to________craftsmen like Zhang, the traditional boatbuilding skills can be inherited and________.

“Every time I see my works on display in the museum, I feel________,” he says. He adds that it is________for the younger generations to learn from________of those ancient ships that their________ had advanced shipbuilding technology at an early stage.

In 2016, Zhang was________to deliver lectures to university students. “Students were________by the skills of boatbuilding, and many of them________came to my workshop to learn about boatbuilding during holidays. As long as I’m alive, I’ll keep passing on my________” Zhang says.

8 . I still remember my father’s sheepish expression at breakfast the morning after he’d been invited to have dinner at a colleague’s house. _______ arriving in Brazil, back in the dark ages, he’d _______ his hosts by making a hand gesture which he had always understood to mean “OK”, but in Brazil, it meant something quite _______.

_______, he’d raised his fingers to his _______ and made a kissing sound, which again, he meant as a way of _______ that something-in this case the meal he’d just been asked to_______-was delicious.

The faux pas (失态，失礼) was_______forgotten. My father’s colleague and his wife understood he probably wasn’t yet_______of the local meaning of the gesture. I was ________of this moment myself a few months into my stay in China. After ________ a colleague’s WeChat message with a Van Gogh sticker that I thought meant “keep fighting”, a second colleague appeared.

“The Chinese version is a bit different,” she said, taking out her phone. “See these ________?” They mean “I will hit you.”

Needless to say, I didn’t use that ________ Van Gogh again.

Life is full of ________ meanings. We generally understand that even if it stings, a mistake is only an insult when it is________. Yet as we look around, much friction originates from ________, and history is full of the ________ outcomes of crossed communication.   

My father’s faux pas was________ because of context-he had just arrived, he could not know, and it didn’t make sense that he’d be offensive by design. But when ________ is missing or differently understood—perhaps it is time we all think twice before typing or talking, especially when the consequences can be much ________ than the misuse of a WeChat sticker.

9 . Every year, my high school’s Chinese club sponsors an event to celebrate Chinese New Year called “China Night.” During the evening, we show _________ Chinese culture with various booths (摊位) featuring activities like Chinese yoyo, calligraphy, and chess. There is also a finale with _________ that include dragon/ lion dances, songs, and classical Chinese instruments.

For this year’s event, I played cello (大提琴) in a string quartet (弦乐四重奏). We _________ famous scores (插曲) from Chinese cinema such as Raise the Red Lantern and To Live. Quartets remind me of Chinese dragon dances. Each player is _________ in the quartet just as each dancer contributes to the dance performance. The whole could not _________ without individual effort. Performing gave me a great sense of _________: not only was I playing music from my culture, but I was _________ it with others.

During one particular break, I told my friends to meet me at one of the _________ booths. My friends are quite _________, with ethnicities (种族渊源) from Germany, Russia and India. I was excited to see my friends __________ some traditional Chinese foods, although I __________ how they might react. As they tasted the mooncake, their facial expressions changed from caution to __________. They really enjoyed tasting Chinese foods. Perhaps more than any other __________ during the evening, this gave me a deep sense of pride in my culture.

Through attending China Night, I was surprised to see how enthusiastically my community __________ Chinese culture and how everyone was so __________ to trying new things.

10 . Wu Ming, a young German born after 1995, is a big fan of Chinese culture. As he thought some diseases can’t be treated _______ with Western medicine, he decided to _______traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In 2015, Wu came to Henan province, where a strong TCM culture can be _______. After a year of learning, he _______ the language barrier and started to learn Chinese medicine. Wu always _______ some Chinese herbal medicine by himself to know their flavours and effects, just like Shen Nong, a character in Chinese legend. In Wu’s opinion, TCM is one of the best-preserved _______ of Chinese culture.

Studying TCM also _______ Wu’s mind and lifestyle. He used to be _______ to electronic devices, playing video games every night. Instead of being trapped in the fast-paced but unhealthy daily _______, he now lives a(n) ________ and peaceful life, practicing good habits like drinking tea and reading.

Wu ________ what he has learned to help his family. He always provides his family members with some advice about staying fit after ________ their skin or tongues online. Over time, his family gradually began to understand his ________ for TCM.

Wu thinks there’s no big difference between China and Western countries. “________ comes from being out of touch”, said Wu. He plans to run a traditional Chinese clinic in Germany, which could serve as a(n) ________ between the two countries and publicize TCM and its culture.