The British sense of humor differs from that of other     1    (country) because it is generally more negative although it is very     2    (influence) all around the world. When it comes to     3    (make) the British laugh, there is nothing     4    (effective) than a socially inappropriate joke.

Popular British comedy shows such as Fawlty Towers, Blackadder and the Office are full of sarcasm (讽刺), teasing and self-deprecation (自嘲). It reflects the culture where mocking (嘲笑；嘲弄), moaning (抱怨) and ridicule is part of everyday life.

    5     most British people don’t take these jokes too     6    (serious), foreigners are often puzzled by them. A recent survey found that most foreigners     7     visited Britain     8    (realize) that the British are “arrogant (傲慢的)”, unfriendly and have almost no sense of humor.

Do foreigners not understand British humor or are the British just not so funny     9     they think they are? McKinstry certainly thinks the British are funny. “Accusing the British of having no sense of humor is like telling Rolls-Royce that its cars are down-market.”

So what about your     10    (impress) of the British sense of humor?

Crying marriage?     1     (surprise), isn’t it? Factually, the custom of crying marriage existed a long time ago in many areas of Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, and     2     (remain) in fashion     3     the end of the Qing Dynasty. Though not so popular as before, the custom is still observed by people in many places, especially Tujia people, who view it as a     4     (necessary) to marriage procedure. It is very much     5     same in different places of the province. According to elderly people, every bride had to cry at the wedding.     6    , the bride’s neighbors would look down upon     7     as a poorly cultivated girl and she would become the laughing stock of the village. In fact, there were cases     8     the bride was beaten by her mother for not crying at the wedding ceremony.

In a word, crying at wedding is a means by custom to set off the happiness of the wedding through falsely sorrowful words. However, in the     9     (arrange) marriages of the old days of China, there were indeed quite a lot of brides who cried over their     10     (satisfy) marriage and even their miserable life.

Yu Rong, a Chinese artist, thinks of a new way to introduce     1     ancient story of Hua Mulan in her picture book. In the book, I Am Hua Mulan, she tells the story by     2     (combine) Chinese paper-cutting with international artistic styles. She places Shaanxi papercuts over western-style pencil sketches (素描)    3     (create) typical presentation of Chineseelements (要素), which turns out to be a     4     (success) and impressive breakthrough.

Hua Mulan,     5     story has been told by generations in China, was a fighter from the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). As a devoted daughter, she dressed herself as a man to serve in the army     6     place of her father. Mulan’s character, such as courage, kindness and a disinterested attitude towards fame and fortune, made     7     (she) one of the most respected historical Chinese heroines. Mulan’s story has been adapted     8     (frequent) in modern media. For example, in 1998, Disney produced a film named Mulan, which     9     (consider) a great success by critics and the public right after its release.

To better tell the story, Yu Rong takes inspiration from her several     10     (visit) to sites of ancient battles and Henan Province’s Yu Opera. After years of preparation she finally makes this extraordinary work.

A skywell, or “tian jing” (天井) in Mandarin, is a typical feature of a     1     (tradition) home in southern and eastern China. Different from a northern Chinese courtyard, a skywell is     2     (small) and less exposed to the outdoor environment.

Skywells are     3     (common) seen in homes dating to Ming and Qing dynasties, which housed different     4     (generate) of relatives. Skywells helped cool buildings in     5     era well before air-conditioning existed. When wind blows above a skywell house, it can enter the indoor space through the opening.     6     outdoor air is often cooler than indoor air, the incoming breeze travels down the walls to the lower stories and creates airflows by replacing warmer indoor air,     7     rises and leaves through the opening.

    8     (design) to serve as a gathering space for families or communities as well, skywell buildings     9     (exist) in China for hundreds of years. Although in recent times they have often been forgotten by people     10     (prefer) modern facilities, due to a revival of traditional Chinese architecture, skywell buildings have been making a comeback.

Cold Food Festival is a    1     (tradition) Chinese holiday celebrated before Qingming Festival, which usually falls    2     April 4 or 5.

Legend has it that Chong’er, a prince of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period, experienced many hardships while he moved around the warring states. Once, when the prince suffered from     3     (starve), Jie Zitui, offered him food. Later, when Chong’er became the duke of Jin, he ordered a search for Jie who had gone into hiding in the remote mountains with his mother. The duke wanted Jie    4     ( serve) as one of his ministers. Contrary to    5     many people might assume, Jie, who preferred living a simple life in the Mianshan Mountain to     6     (become) a politician, refused the duke’s invitation. Chong’er ordered the mountain to be burned down to force Jie out of hiding.     7     (fortune), Jie did not give in and the fire ended up killing him and his mother. Feeling extremely sorry, Chong’er required that the setting of fire    8     (forbid) on the anniversary of Jie’s death. This meant all food was eaten cold. Therefore the festival is thus named.

Mianshan Mountain,     9     the tragedy happened, is now a famous tourist destination in Shanxi Province. In many areas of Shanxi, locals still remember this tradition.     10     cold food is not the only choice for people during the celebration, the practices of making typical cold dishes for the event have been preserved.

With his wrinkled fingers, Wang Qiming put traditional makeup on the faces of young performers before dawn, making final preparations for the shehuo parade (游行庆祝).

The shehuo parade, a time-honored performance enjoying widespread    1    (popular) in rural areas across China,    2    (date) back to about 2, 000 years ago when sacrificial (祭祀的) activities were performed to pray for a good harvest. Later on, as dancing and singing became part of the parade, it developed into a folk custom    3    (stage) during the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival    4    (remove) bad luck and bring a fresh start in the new year.

Wangmazui is in Longxian county,    5    (previous) known as Long Zhou, which is famous for shehuo parades    6    (feature) authentic performances and simple yet delicate facial makeup. The county was named the hometown of shehuo performances by the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association in 2013.

More than 100 shehuo festivities are held in Longxian every year, each of    7     involves dozens or hundreds of villagers. Participants usually perform on horses     8    pickup trucks, showing different performances including stilt (高跷) dances and land boats.

Wang, 65, has clear    9    (memory) of the annual performances when he was a child. “My family has been engaged in shehuo performances     10    generations, ” he said. “I started to watch the show in my childhood, and now I joined them by making face-painting. ”

Since the pre-Qin period, Chengdu     1     (be) an important cultural town in China. But     2     really sets the city apart, culturally, is its opera. An important aspect of Sichuan Opera is     3     magic of “face changing” where vividly coloured masks are changed within the blink of an eye. In opera gardens and tea houses across the town, audiences     4     (want) a glimpse of the local culture love to drink tea while listening to Sichuan Opera and watching face changing.

It is believed that “face changing” has its roots in evolution. Early humans needed     5     (survive) strategies to avoid fierce animals and foreign invaders. Often, aggressive facial gestures and non-verbal cues were part of it. The Sichuan Opera is said     6     (bring) this range of emotions on stage.

Once the performance starts, the actor keeps pulling down one mask after     7     in swift movements to convey different emotions.     8     (surprise), no matter how close one is     9     the stage, they just can’t tell how the masks change.

In fact, the different kinds of characters and personalities that Sichuan Opera brings alive can     10     (find) among common people. This is why its emotions will continue to resonate with people for a long time.