1 . “When I first started learning calligraphy, I just copied the teacher’s strokes (笔画), and my work was ugly.” said Aryan from Afghanistan. He is currently a graduate student in Beijing, ________ in International Education of the Chinese language.

During his six-year stay in China, he discovered the ________ of Chinese culture. He also realized that Chinese is steadily becoming a(n) ________ language, and more people around the world want to communicate smoothly with Chinese.

To his surprise, the curriculum for foreign students in China ________ the classroom. The school organizes extracurricular ________ to help them learn and experience ________ and culture. After closer and deeper ________ with Chinese culture, Aryan found his hobby: calligraphy.

“Initially, I didn’t know much Chinese and thought calligraphy would be difficult,” Aryan said.” Later on, I found out that calligraphy can help me ________ my Chinese language skills and my understanding of Chinese culture.

He used to ________ the idea that writing Chinese characters was all about writing them neatly. But he later found out that this view is ________.Calligraphy helps him to understand both each stroke and the Chinese ________ toward life. The horizontal, vertical (垂直的) and left and right falling stokes on the paper ________ Chinese people’s unique symbols and memories. They are also the hidden ________ to better understanding Chinese culture.

Not only did Aryan gain a deeper ________ of Chinese characters, but also developed a more mature personality along the way. Calligraphy gives him strength when he feels ________ and lost, finding his inner peace.

4 . Culture shock is a complex topic, but I’m a simple man with simple perspective. So my experience of foreign culture boils down to (归结为) three basic stages: anger, acceptance and appreciation.

When I _______ my life in China, I was often filled with frustration and anger over the way things were. Things were seen as clearly “_______” and I rejected the view of there being other ways of doing things. Afterwards I came to _______ different ways of doing things _______ still saw my own ways as superior.

My views were still heavily colored by preferences and I often accepted situations I felt _______ by simply coining the phrase “That’s China”, _______ China was a backward country that simply didn’t do things correctly. Finally, _______, I came to understand and appreciate the new culture and ways of doing things, sometimes using them as effectively as the _______

For example, fish is never _______ with the head in my country, thus my feelings went from “Ugh! I can’t eat this! The fish is ________ at me saying, ‘You’re a cruel man.’ Take this off the table.” to “I’ll let my friends enjoy it, but I’ll just stick with the other ________.” and to “Would anyone mind if I eat the eyeball?”

It is not the same with every westerner, and some take longer than others to go through the three stages. It all depends on how ________ you are and how tightly you________ to your own culture. It took a little over a year of living in China ________ I finally appreciated the new culture. Now, I’m more ________ in China than in my own country.

6 . Fan Jinshi, known as the “Daughter of Dunhuang”, has made protecting and researching Mogao Grottoes her lifelong passion.

In July 1963, shortly after graduating from Peking University, Fan made her way to Dunhuang without ______ to serve the nation. The living conditions there were extremely ______ with no fresh water or electricity, only oil lamps and earthen beds. Besides, she felt ______ as the newspapers were probably a month ago. The thought of leaving ______ through her mind, but seeing the ______ view in the caves, she took roots there.

To protect the treasure, Fan and her colleagues put doors on the caves, planted trees and started monitoring temperature in the caves. Mogao Grottoes took on a new look ______ their efforts.

In 1979, Mogao Grottoes were ______ opened to tourists. Since 2000, visits to Dunhuang have ______ for the extended holidays, causing some murals (壁画) to become seriously damaged or even disappear. Faced ______ this, Fan decided to take responsibility for the caves, striking a balance between heritage protection and ______ .She ______ the idea of digitizing Dunhuang to permanently preserve the murals, painted cultures and historical data. In 2016 Digital Dunhuang was ______ online, enabling people around the world to enjoy clear images of the caves. ______ , Fan actively promoted international exchanges and partnerships for the popularization of Mogao Grottoes.

In December 2018, Fan was awarded the ______ “Reform Pioneer” by the nation. This May, Fan donated 10 million yuan to Peking University to promote the study of Dunhuang. Now the 85-year-old Fan Jinshi is as busy as ______ , still toiling (辛苦) to conserve and manage the caves.

7 . Newcomers always have a good time during Spring Festival.

Huda Mohammed, a doctoral student is looking forward to ________ her third Spring Festival in China. Her favorite part of Lunar New Year is the ________. She went out with her friends to the street at 11 pm on New Year’s Eve in 2021 to see the fireworks. Her friends even searched online to ________ locations where fireworks could be seen, and visited them to ________ the displays. After the eye-catching fireworks, they returned to the ________ and had some dumplings. She also had ________ with the online red envelope games on WeChat. People can give and ________ digital red envelopes, or hongbao, ________ real money.

The best thing about spending Spring Festival in Beijing is the lack of passengers on public transportation. For foreigners, it’s a good time to ________ around and enjoy the city. Many people leave the city and it’s really easy to get around. Bill Siggins, 60, an editor from Canada, loves to go to Miaohui — a type of fair (集市，集会) ________ during Spring Festival — to enjoy traditional food and ________ shows in public parks and buy a Chinese New Year symbol to ________ on the door. He often travels to his wife’s hometown, Xi’an, to spend the festival with her ________. “It’s always good to see my mother and father-in-law. We eat too much food, have too much fun ________ the TV gala (盛会，演出) on New Year’s Eve,” he said. This year, he ________ to drive to Xi’an for the coming holiday.

Lunar New Year becomes increasingly recognized across the world.

10 . It was a cold December, at the end of the Great Depression, and things were tough. Mum had a _________ time raising us kids on her own. Looking back, I realize what Mum _________ sending us to school. Constant _________ was typical for my family, and it didn’t look like we’d be in our current house much longer. Rent was $25 a month, but Mum couldn’t pay it.

The holidays were fast _________ , and we received S25 for Christmas from social services. Mum said instead of buying food and Christmas gifts, she was going to pay back our _________ with it. That way we’d have a roof over our heads for a little while longer.

Unknown to Mum, I had been _________ Christmas trees, shoveling (铲) snow and doing odd jobs to earn enough money to buy a new pair of boots.

The _________ day came on Christmas Eve afternoon. I was very _________ as I hurried to catch the bus into town. On the way a house with Christmas decorations reminded me that at our house, we had no such things and no _________ for Christmas goodies. Suddenly, I felt a sense of __________ . Here I was going to spend S23 on a pair of boots, while Mum was probably home __________ , wondering how to explain why there were no __________ . As I arrived at the bus stop, the driver opened the door. I stood there for what seemed a century, until __________ the driver asked, “Son, are you getting on this bus or not?” I finally blurted out, “No thanks, sir. I’ve __________ my mind.”

The bus drove off and I stood alone, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I went into a __________ across the street, with __________ and excitement. I bought a turkey, ham and all the Christmas trimmings. I spent every dime of my __________ money.

Two boys with carriers on their bicycles ran those groceries to our house. After we __________ piled (堆) the groceries against the door, I __________ the door. I could hardly wait to see my mother’s face! When Mum opened the door, some of the groceries fell inside onto the floor, and she just stood there, extremely __________ . Holding back the tears, I yelled, “Merry Christmas, Mother! There really is a Santa Claus!”