While wandering around a Swedish Christmas market, you’ll likely come across booths     1     (sell) carved wooden horses, typically in an assortment of bright colors and floral patterns. These     2     (tradition) Swedish toys are much more than a classic holiday gift or travel souvenir: the Dala horse has become intertwined (交织) with the very image of Sweden     3     .

The little wooden horses of Sweden were originally carved by men that worked in the forests during     4     winter. When they returned to their villages, they gave the horses to children as playthings. This was in the 17^th century during     5     the horses were also sold at market in small towns and villages in the Dalarna region, in central Sweden. The horses were painted in bright colors that were inspired by the furniture in the region.     6     (eventual) , even young children learned to carve wooden horses.

The global attention didn’t come until the 20 ^th century in the World’s Fair in New York 1939. That was because an enormous painted Dala horse was placed outside the Swedish pavilion, which caused excitement throughout the crowds of     7     (visit) . After this, the Dala horses were seen     8     a symbol of Sweden and mass production of the horses started. Since then, Dala horses     9     (be) popular souvenirs and inspired other products as well. You can now find anything from clothing to tableware and phone cases with a Dala horse     10     (decorate) .

The lantern fair in Zigong. Southwest China’s Sichuan province, boasts a history of more than 1, 000 years. To mark the Year     1     the Dragon, many of the lanterns show the Chinese sign of the zodiac(生肖), but there are also     2     wide variety of other lantern designs to meet different needs. Visitors     3     prefer traditional lanterns can find lanterns with flowers and birds, and legendary figures, while lanterns with modem patterns such as cultural     4     (trend) and online games are gaining popularity among young people

In addition to the     5     (elegance) craftsmanship, modem technologies such as 3D printing and artificial intelligence have also been used to make the lanterns     6     (nice) and more vivid. The lantern show is also accepting the concept of environmental protection. A set of lanterns     7     (feature) the famous Chinese statue “Bronze Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow” from the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220AD) was created by using 21 different kinds of waste materials, including tires and plastics     8     (form) its outside decorations.

This year’s show will run until July 30. The sets of lanterns     9     (update) to keep up with other traditional Chinese festivals, such as the Qingming Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival. Visitors can also enjoy folk arts and Chinese music performances during     10     (they) lantern-viewing tours.

The celebrations of Chinese New Year, also     1     (call) Chinese Spring Festival, were born out of fear and myth (神话). Legend (传说) spoke of the wild beast Nian (which also is the word for “year”)     2     appeared at the end of each year,     3     (attack) villagers. Loud noises and bright lights were used     4     (scare) the beast away, and the Chinese New Year celebrations were born. Today, the Spring Festival     5     (observe) with a week of vacation in China. Much like the Western New Year (January 1st), the biggest celebration is on the eve of the holiday.

The Chinese New Year’s Eve meal is the most important dinner of the year.     6     (typical), families gather at a designated (指定的) relative’s house for dinner, but these days, more and more families choose to hold New Year’s Eve dinner at a restaurant. Many restaurants require     7     (reserve) months ahead.

There are also some families that hire (雇用) a professional chef to come cook at home. Chefs are often busy running from one home     8     another cooking dinners for different families on New Year’s Eve.

Chinese New Year is a 15-day celebration and each day, many families take turns to hold celebrations among homes of     9     (they) relatives. The festivities are day-long and sometimes, a family ends up cooking two meals for relatives, once at lunch     10     once at dinner.

For the past twenty years, Chen Huili,     1     cultural heritage monitor and guide, has devoted herself to protecting the carvings of the Yuanjue Cave, part of the Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing.

While showing visitors around, Chen became     2     (pain) aware of the serious damage to the cave caused by the passage of time. The flat-roofed cave lacked something to support its     3     (weigh). As a result, the ceiling (顶部) was coming off in pieces, posing a great threat to the priceless carvings. With related knowledge and great eagerness     4     (save) the sculptures, Chen joined the protection center.

As time     5     (go) by, Chen’s experience grew and eventually her unique approach to     6     (protect) cultural heritage was developed. She     7     (involve) in a number of major projects so far, including the eight-year restoration of the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara (千手观音). And with her team’s hard efforts,     8    (measure) such as hydraulic iron frames (液压铁架) have now successfully been introduced to support the roof of the Yuanjue Cave.

    9     her remarkable achievements, Chen remains unsatisfied. In her opinion, it’s highly necessary to improve the role of technology in cultural heritage protection     10     to train young talent for this field. For Chen, Yuanjue Cave will remain a focus and she believes there will be many fruitful discoveries further down the line.

It’s a race against time, as generations of cultural heritage conservators at the Dunhuang Academy make a great effort to protect the artistic charm of the Mogao Caves,     1     UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The team     2     (devote) to protecting the 45,000 square meters of murals (壁画) and more than 2,400 painted sculptures of the 735 caves of the site, the construction of     3     takes about a thousand years, from the 4th century to the 14th century. The cultural relics are the product of the cultural exchanges that took place over     4     (century) on the ancient Silk Road.

Commonly     5     (see) “diseases” affecting the murals include cracking and flaking, as well as erosion that is caused by changes in temperature and humidity of the caves, and the deposition of salts. To restore a mural requires an all-rounder. Restorers should know painting, master the skills of a mason (石匠) and have some knowledge of chemistry and physics     6     (be) able to recognize the problems ad their corresponding causes and deliver a solution. They must also select proper materials and tools, and conduct experiments,     7     formally carrying out the restoration and evaluating the effect afterward.

The restoration should respect the     8     (origin) work and aim to maintain the status quo of the murals rather than repainting them. When the restorers find some parts of murals missing    9     fading away, they never repaint them to create a “perfect”     10     (appear) in restoration.

The English word “garden” gives an entirely wrong idea of the Chinese yuan, for “garden” suggests a lawn and a wide     1     (vary) of flowers, altogether too formal and tidy to suit Chinese taste. The Chinese yuan suggests first of all a wild landscape, perhaps better arranged and more artistically     2     (plan) than nature, but still a bit of nature itself, with trees, creeks, and flowers. Dotted in this natural landscape are the human structures like pavilions and long winding corridors, so     3     (perfect) belonging to the scenery as to become a whole with it. The Chinese garden     4     (characterize) by studied disorderliness. There are no even-cut bushes or symmetric (对称的) rows lining avenues.

No Chinese house allows an outsider     5     (look) through the iron gates, for that would be against the principle of concealment (隐蔽). Facing the gate, we see a small courtyard giving no idea of the expansiveness of space inside, and leading one step by step into newer views, in     6     continual series of surprises and astonishments.     7     wooden framework supporting most of the weight of the house, windows, doors and walls are not limited to certain locations. The essential idea of interior (室内的) decoration is the beauty of simplicity. Home designs are not something     8     (impress) we buy from a first-class firm.     9     tells a home from a public building is the personal touch that we give it. It is only when the spirit of leisure and loving care exists     10     living at home can become an art and a pleasure.

Adaptation from My Country and My People by Lin Yutang