At his studio in Beijing, artist Zhang Xiaodong piles hundreds of sheets of thin top of one another until they form a complete image. When there is a slight air, the pages flow, giving life to the book     1     (it).This dragon scale bookbinding(装订),     2    (stretch)back more than 1,000 years to the Tang dynasty.

With few of the books     3     (survive)to the present day, the bookbinding technique was     4     the risk of disappearing before Zhang decided to research and bring it back to life. After half a year’s study, he finally learned     5     the ancient bookbinding worked.     6     (source)materials traditionally used in bookbinding Zhang also visited old towns and heritage (遗址)sites. Then came the     7     (crucial)-and difficult-part of the binding process: controlling the placement of each page. In order to create a complete picture, each sheet needs to be placed in     8     (exact)the right place. Zhang said that an error of just     9     hundredth of a centimeter can produce a huge, visible error when a book’s hundreds of pages are displayed together.

Zhang’s     10     (prepare)that went into producing this particular work shows the very modern way that the artist tries to understand the subject matter.

Running for more than 20,000 kilometers, the Great Wall is a historical landmark of unparalleled glory, but climbing     1     is hard work. Not everyone has the strength or     2     (determine)to climb its tall steps and steep slopes (斜坡), while only a handful may have the special skills to     3     (physical) participate in the restoration of this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

However, a recently     4    (launch) WeChat miniprogram is allowing every history enthusiast to be a hero in a virtual world,     5     one not just climbs the Great Wall, but also protects it. Great Wall E-tour, co-produced by the China Foundation for Cultural Heritage Conservation and internet giant Tencent, among others,     6     (go) online on June 11 to mark the annual     7     (nation) Cultural and Natural Heritage Day. Offering an almost simulated (模拟的) experience of climbing the Wall and helping in preservation work, the program has created a lot of enthusiastic     8     (response) in recent weeks and won a large fan base.

Thanks     9    cutting-edge digital technology, the virtual model is “detailed to millimeters”. Around 50,000 high-definition pictures have been used     10    (offer) users the remarkable experience.

China has the world’s largest number of world natural heritage sites, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. The country is now home    1     14 world natural heritage sites and four mixed sites,     2     are noted for both cultural and natural features, both leading the world in terms of quantity, the administration said. These heritage sites     3     (effective) protected China’s representative geological relics, mountains, forests and lakes, along with the rare and     4     (endanger) animal and plant species, the administration said Friday at     5     news conference regarding cultural and natural heritage day, which     6     (fall) on June 8. In the past few years, the country     7     (enhance) legal, and technological support of the protection of its world natural heritage, establishing a management system with Chinese characteristics. China’s world heritage has contributed to the country’s socioeconomic development     8     presented its image to the world. These areas have also played an important role in the protection of cultural relics, intangible cultural heritage and historic cities, towns and villages,     9     (bring) in over 14 billion yuan in average annual tourism income for     10     (local).

An artistically decorated blackboard with ni hao, which means “hello” in Chinese, written on it, welcomes every guest to Pierre Lavi’s home in Jerusalem. As    1    Israeli publisher, Lavi     2    (devote) himself to translating Chinese books into Hebrew since 2016. Lavi began reading books about China as a boy in the 1970s. Through the books, he became    3     (increase) fascinated by the Asian country. After writing several books, he set up the Lavi Publishing House in 2019     4     (deepen) his connections with China through books. Now    5    his late 50s, what Lavi is experiencing is completely different from the one he learned about in his younger days. In 2019, he visited Chengdu, where he saw the pandas. As well as the cultural symbol, Lavi says he was more amazed by the convenient public services and rapid development in China. It was in 2019     6    he realized the real urgency of strongly promoting understanding between the two countries. Meanwhile, he     7     (encourage) by his parents to spread Chinese culture. So he made a decision. Apart from translating Chinese books, Lavi has also co-authored two books, both of     8    were published in Chinese by China’s Commercial Press.    9     (give) the distance between China and the Middle East, Lavi points out the importance of reducing     10     (understand) between peoples from both sides. He says he hopes to cooperate with more Chinese partners.

Traditional operas are finding ways to interest young people. Theater companies in Shanghai are doing everything they can     1     (give) young actors a wide range of ways to show off their skills. New plays and short opera films are giving traditional artforms a new life. Since 2011, the Shanghai Peking Opera Company     2     (fund) two seasons of “Youth Runway”, a long-term opera development project     3     (intend) to find and nurture young opera talent.     4     Peking Opera artists’ guidance, 118 young performers have mastered 200 plays and classical pieces.

Most of the young artists were born between 1995 and 2000,     5     (make) them the company’s newest generation. Together, they have appeared in almost a dozen plays. They will give 12 performances this year,     6     belong to four categories: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In addition to showing both classical and new plays in a variety of vocal schools and performing styles, the young performers will also demonstrate their involvement in the       7     (preserve) and creativity of the art form.

In China, a variety of initiatives have been made to make traditional art forms more     8     (access) to today’s youth. “Xiqu (traditional theater) has a huge potential to interest today’s young people because it can be     9     (creative) mixed with various art forms,” says Chen Daming, a theater critic. “Young performers have     10     important role to play in publicizing the art.”

Dating back to the Neolithic (新石器时代的) age, the time-honored tool, the writing brush in China is     1    (wide) used in Chinese calligraphy and painting. Together with the inkstone, inkstick and Xuan paper, these four writing implements are often referred to     2     the “Four Treasures of the Study.” The writing brush has been used by the Chinese to write and paint since 5,000 years ago. After paper     3    (invent) by the Chinese, bamboo slips, wooden tablets, brocade and silk,     4     originally functioned as writing surfaces, gradually faded out.

For many Chinese     5    (artist), the brush is more than a writing tool. “It seems in my blood that, when I pick up     6     ink brush, suddenly my thoughts, ideas, and even stories build a relationship with the ink brush, which offers a chance     7    (express) our inner world,” said Liu Qinghe, a contemporary Chinese artist.

“With a good ink brush     8    (hold) in hands, when we infuse our ideas into the brush, we give     9     life. When a writer picks the brush up, he can feel its fine details and subtleties,     10    (create) a dialogue,” Liu said.

Indeed, the “Four Treasures of the Study” have written the whole Chinese civilization, as it is.

Grain Buds, or Xiaoman, the     1     (eight) of the 24 solar terms of a year, usually falls on May 21,marking the     2     (arrive) of hot summer and downpours.

Just like its English name “ Grain Buds”, Xiaoman is a period of time when the grains are about to ripen but are not quite there yet,     3     is also referred to as the waterfall in the southern area of China. If the rainfall is sufficient, the following season of rice planting     4     (guarantee). When it arrives, rainfall increases across the country and temperature     5     (gap) between north and south narrow. During the period, waves of wheat are bright, pomegranate are red as fires, and lotus buds stand upright,     6     (create) a charming early summer scene.

The flavor (气味) for this period of time combines sweet and bitterness. Cherry with sweet and juicy taste is     7     (definite) the best choice for the beginning of summer. Bitter herbs, rich in diversified vitamins and mineral substances, are     8     must during the summer period.

Xiaoman, always used     9     a metaphor for the best state of life in Chinese culture,     10     (indicate) we should maintain a constant state of balance in the character and attitude towards life.

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.