Books are the most valuable intellectual wealth of humanity. However, there are quantities of ancient Chinese     1     (classic) suffering from different degrees of damage due to various reasons. This led to the     2     (emerge) of the profession of ancient book restorers. “People call us the ‘ancient book doctors’,” said Yang Mingli,     3     ancient book restorer at the Wuhan Library in Hubei province.“I really like this name, and our     4     (young) ‘patient’ is at least 100 years old.”

Yang started off in the library     5     (work) in reader service and data entry for ancient books. In 2012, she     6     (voluntary) requested to further her studies in the ancient book restoration skills courses offered by the China National Centre for the Preservation and Conservation of Ancient Books. Since then, she     7     (go) on to become a full-time restorer for the next 10 years and has restored about 10,000 pages of ancient books.

The fragments (碎片) of the book range in size, with the smallest being only a few millimetre     8     length. “It could disappear with just one blow,” she joked. The primary causes of illness     9     (see) in damaged ancient books are aging, acidity (酸性), fire, and other factors,     10     may bring about easily broken pages as well as deterioration (变质) and yellowing of the paper. In some cases, the pages of the book could be completely stuck together as solid as a brick

This year, a board game     1     (name) “Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum” is popular around the United States. It is a competitive Dim Sum collection board game for five players. The pieces of the game are vivid, including five popular Chinese dishes, like shrimp dumplings and barbecue buns. The rules are very simple: Players collect food     2     (token) and Fortune cards     3     (benefit) themselves or to play against others. Once a set of Steamers of five Chinese dishes are collected, the player will get the     4     (high) score and win the game. The game     5     (create) by Pauline Kong and came online last year. As she said, the game will provide     6     opportunity for people to play and learn about Chinese culture     7     a fun way. People like it because it’s a medium-light game,     8     is suitable for a family to play. Parents can enjoy their quality time with the kids. Many board game lovers recommend that “Steam Up” have all of the elements of a family classic. It looks great and has an     9     (attract) theme and simple rules that are easy to teach.     10    , that’s not to say that the game is easy to play — it is full of very difficult decisions. Come and have a try!

The Chinese New Year, beginning on Feb.10, 2024, will be the Year of the Dragon. In Chinese culture, the dragon is     1     mythological (神话的) animal. It represents beauty, good fortune, pride and     2     (honest).

China Philately, a well-known stamp company, always makes efforts     3     (promote) Chinese culture and share Chinese art and culture     4     (global) through stamps and souvenirs. So as usual, it     5     (launch) a series of postage stamps and souvenirs    6     (feature) a variety of dragon patterns on January 2, 2024 in Beijing to mark the coming of the new year. New issues include an album of all the albums of this year and an album of selected stamps over the past four decades.

Gold plates, silver coins, and bracelets,     7     (decorate) with color stones and fur toys and combining traditional and modern elements, are provided for collectors of varying ages. Pop culture themes     8    enjoy a large base of youngster fans have also been integrated into the design of this year’s     9     (collection), such as the Minions and Panghu, the cartoon tiger.

The launching ceremony ended     10     a fashion show presented by children wearing clothes designed with dragon themes and displaying new souvenirs.

“Alone holding an oil-paper umbrella, I wander along a long lane in the rain.” is quoted (引用) from A Lane in the Rain by Dai Wangshu,     1     famous Chinese poet in the 20th century.

The oil-paper umbrella, with a history of over 1, 000 years in China, used to be a water-proof (防水的) tool for daily use. People used a kind of paper     2     is painted with oil to make the umbrella’s surface. The umbrella has been of     3     (important) in traditional Chinese culture, standing for romantic and faithful love. In the area where the Yao people live, it has been used     4     a gift when they express their love to a lover.

In the past, the shops making oil-paper umbrellas were everywhere around the country. However, in the 1980s, the handmade oil-paper umbrella     5     (replace) by the nylon umbrella. Nowadays not many people are involved in     6     (produce) it. What’s more, the production of traditional oil-paper umbrellas     7     (require) skilled and time-consuming labor, resulting in higher costs.     8     the oil-paper umbrella is no longer a common tool for rainy days, it has never disappeared from people’s lives. Many places around China still keep the tradition of gifting a red oil-paper umbrella     9     (celebrate) birthdays, newborns, and moving houses. It is also     10     (wide) used in ceremonies honoring ancestors.

Nowadays about one     1    (five) of the global population celebrate the Spring Festival, making it a worldwide festival. The Spring Festival, widely known as Lunar New Year,     2    (honor) as the United Nations Floating Holiday on December 22, 2023.

    3     is announced that the UN will try to avoid     4    (arrange) conference activities on the day. This resolution reflects the great influence of Chinese culture. It will promote Chinese tradition     5    (global) as well.

With a history of 4000 years, the Spring Festival has continued all the way to today and it has spread     6     many countries in the world. Therefore, it is     7     bond between China’s present and past. It is a strong connection between Chinese people at home     8     abroad. Why has this been possible? Featuring family reunion and well-being, the Spring Festival inherits the treasure of Chinese culture: harmonious coexistence. It also expresses a common goal     9     all countries should pursue: to create a world with a     10     (share) future of harmony and prosperity.

An exhibition titled Symbiosis of the Chinese Zodiac (生肖) opened at the Tocumen International Airport in Panama on Dec 19 and would run until Jan 20.

Sally Huang,     1     Chinese Panamanian artist and a doctor of art from Beijing Normal University, presented thirteen paintings,     2     combined the freehand brushstrokes of traditional Chinese paintings with the beautiful colors of Latin America, and presented the zodiac animals. Also there were some sculptures (雕刻品) of zodiac animals     3     display, which were created by Chinese artist Zhang Yong, graduating from the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

The exhibition     4     (include) in the project Painting Our Canals (运河), which was sponsored by the Beijing Culture and Arts Fund this year. The Beijing Culture and Arts Fund is a nonprofit fund     5     (found) by the Beijing Bureau of Culture and Tourism to provide support in the three major fields of stage art, cultural exchange     6     the cultivation (培养) of art talents.

The lead institution applying for the project was Beijing Normal University,     7    (feature) a series of events themed on the canal culture in both China and Panama, also inviting artists from both countries     8     (attend) the exhibition as well as hosting academic forums.

The opening ceremony was joined by representatives from both countries, such as the Chinese ambassador to Panama and the vice-minister of culture in Panama.

The ambassador expressed some     9     (message) congratulating the artists in his speech, while emphasizing that China and Panama should work together to promote     10     (globe) peace and development.

For more than 2,000 years, the teachings of Confucius     1     (be)an important part of Chinese culture. Scholars in ancient China were expected     2     (educate)in the philosophy and moral values of Confucius. Even today, Confucian thought is still greatly valued     3       in China and in other East Asian countries.

When you read the writings of Confucius, you will see a constantly appearing word, a Chinese character that represents the heart of Confucian thought:     4     character ren. What is ren? If you look     5     (close)at the written character, you can understand     6     it means. The left—hand element of the character represents a person: the element on the right stands for the number two. The two elements, when     7     (join), indicate relationships between individuals, or with all of society.

Confucius taught that ren was the     8     (high)moral principle, the standard     9     which all other morals were measured. Mencius, one of the greatest scholars famous for his in-depth     10     (analyze)of Confucian thinking, explained ren like this: “love one’s parents, love people, love everything in the world.” This kind of love should direct everything we do. It leads the way to all other virtues in life.