Chinese dragons（龙）are fictional creatures, a root of Chinese people who considered themselves as the descendants（后代）of dragons. Since their creation, Chinese dragons     1    （win）the deep love from Chinese people, because of     2    （they）strong power and symbolic meanings. They played     3    important role in the history of Chinese nation, politics, religion, culture and Chinese language and became a symbol of China and Chinese people.

Dragon is a belief of Chinese nation and a     4    （gold）Chinese element（元素）. When a person hears the name of dragon, China     5    （come）to his or her mind. As the strongest animal     6    （select）by Chinese people, dragon has the strongest power       7     helps it go to the Heaven and the Hell, and make cloud and rains. In ancient times, as a belief, dragon gave strong supports to the ruling of a big nation, and to people’s fragile spirits and hard life because people suffered from extreme natural disasters and lack     8     the supports from science. The     9    （important）of dragon to Chinese people is like water to creatures, and it     10    （reflect）in people’s spirit, beliefs, and ideology.

Confucianism (儒家思想),     1     (develop) from thoughts by Confucius during the Spring and Autumn   Period,   is   a philosophical system which   has   become     2     important part of Chinese culture. It was first set up by Confucius (551–479 BC) and later was developed by philosophers, including Mencius, Dong Zhongshu, Wang Yangming and others.

Confucianism means a lot not only to China, but also to the world. In 1988, 75 Nobel prizewinners said that     3     mankind is to survive it must go back 25 centuries in time to tap the     4     (wise) of Confucius. Today, sentences from Confucianism are     5     (frequent) heard in speeches or talks given by famous foreign people. Besides, people around the globe can have access     6     Confucius ideas in Confucius Institutes and Chinese Culture Centers abroad. The institutes and centers serve as non-profit public institutions to help foreigners     7     (well) understand China than before through language teaching and culture introduction.

So far China     8     (open) 465 Confucius Institutes in 123 countries and regions. There are   also   713   Confucius   Classrooms   operating   in   middle   and   primary schools.   What’s   more, Chinese   Culture   Centers   in   Cairo,   Paris,   Berlin,   Tokyo   and   Denmark,   to   name   a   few,   are introducing   China   by holding   cultural     9     (activity),   opening   training   classes,   and     10     (build) libraries.

Qing Ming     1    (associate) with Jie Zitui, who lived in Shanxi province in 600 B.C. Legend goes that Jie saved his starving lord's life by serving a piece of his own leg. When the lord     2    (success) in becoming the ruler, he invited his     3    (faith) follower to join him. However, Jie turned down his invitation,     4    (prefer) to lead     5     simple life with his mother in the mountain.

Believing that he could force Jie out by burning the mountain, the lord ordered his men to set the forest     6     fire. To    7     astonishment, Jie chose to remain     8     he was and was burnt to death.     9    (remember) Jie, the lord ordered all fires in every home to be put out on the anniversary of Jie's death. Thus began the "cold food feast", a day when no food could be cooked since no fire could     10    (light).

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Awakening of Insects (惊蛰)     1       (fall) on Mar 6 and ends on Mar 20 this year.

Awakening of Insects signals a rise in temperature and increased rain fall. As the     2     (three) solar term in the lunar year,     3     (it) name suggests the fact that animals sleeping in winter are awakened     4     spring thunder and that the earth begins to come back to life. It is the key time for spring agricultural     5     (activity). It is also a good time for people to enjoy fun outdoors, especially for people living in the city.     6     (drive) to the suburbs, fishing in a lake or enjoying the singing bird will make for a perfect weekend in spring. The most popular fruit in this season is pears.

Eating pears around the Awakening of Insects     7     (be) a widely-practiced custom in China. As the weather gets     8     (warm) and the air becomes drier, people tend to feel their mouths and tongues are dry,     9     can cause colds or coughs. A pear is sweet, juicy and cold, moistening (湿润) the lungs to arrest a cough.     10    , pears are highly recommended during the Awakening of Insects.

On January 25, 2020, over a billion people in China and millions around the world will celebrate the Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival. The ancient tradition,     1     date is determined by the lunar calendar and falls somewhere between January 21 and February 20 each year, is the    2     (long) and most important of all Chinese festivals.

The preparations will     3     (official) begin with Little Year on January 17 , 2019. It is observed with a day of memorial and prayer ceremonies. Other Little Year activities include cleaning the house     4    （sweep) away bad luck and hanging spring couplets —-red decorations hung in pairs —on doorways for wealth. Since red     5       ( believe) to keep misfortune and evil spirits away, it can be noticed in everything from clothing to     6    (lantern) used to decorate houses.

Often     7       ( consider) the most important meal of the year, the reunion dinner is   both delicious and rooted in Chinese tradition.     8    whole chicken symbolizes family togetherness, while long uncut noodles show longevity (长寿）. Wealth is represented by dumplings and spring rolls. Children receive red envelopes filled     9     money and inspiring messages from elders and are often allowed to stay up late to watch the     10    (amaze) fireworks shows.

The two-week long celebrations will end on February 8 — the day of the full moon — with the Lantern Festival.

Paper-cutting was recognized as a national cultural heritage(遗产)in 2006.According to   experts，paper-cutting conveys the culture shared between China     1     the West to wish for family reunions and maintain links with loved ones，alive or dead.

In the movie Coco，for instance，the 12-year-old Miguel and his family dance and sing to   celebrate the Day of the Dead，a       2     (tradition)festival in Mexico，when colorful paper-cuts are hung on the street.Chinese people also cut images of small figures     3     (call) back the spirits of the dead.The difference is that most Chinese paper-cuts are red，while those in other countries       4     (be)often made in many other colors.

Fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen liked to cut     5     (character)，such as princesses and angels，out of paper while     6     (tell)stories to children.In China，female friends and family members used to chat and make paper-cuts together.

“     7    the patterns and colors may be different，paper-cuts share the same function of   maintaining emotional ties among people，”says Yang Huizi，     8     art teacher at Beijing Union.

Yang     9     (study)and performed the art for over a decade.Besides routine university   courses，she also organizes nonprofit paper-cutting activities     10    are open to the public in   Beijing to promote basic knowledge of paper-cutting.

Beijing Opera     1     （consider）as a national treasure in China, which     2     （date）back to 200 years ago. The early Qing Dynasty saw the great     3    （develop）of this opera. Qianlong emperor in the Qing Dynasty had     4     interest in the local opera.     5     （celebrate）his eightieth birthday, he asked opera troupes（戏班）    6     different places to perform for him in Beijing, so the four big Huiban Opera Troupes entered the capital.     7    （gradual）, they combined with the Kunqu Opera, Yiyang Opera, Hanju Opera and Luantan, and formed the present Beijing Opera.

Beijing Opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre     8     combines music, performance, and dance. Many audiences from different     9     （country）think that it is the     10     （large）and most influential kind of opera in China and the influence is incomparable in China.

The makeup of British families has changed    1    （rapid） over the last two hundred years． The traditional family structure （结构）before the Industrial Revolution was the extended family in    2    three generations lived under one roof． The early twentieth century saw the    3    （ grow） of the nuclear family﹣parents and a small number of    4    （child） would form a single family． In the last thirty years， however， the UK    5    （ see） a breakdown of the typical nuclear family．

Increased divorce rates， later marriage and a move away from marriage altogether have resulted    6    new forms of family； divorced parents will develop new relationships and take their kids with them． A survey    7    （ conduct） by researchers shows that over 50% of kids are now born to parents who are not married．

Some minority communities stick to the extended family structure， and it is common    8    （find） that three generations are living together in an Indian family． They say that apart from strengthening traditional family ties，    9    can provide security for older people when they cannot work anymore． They believe that the phenomenon of other old people living in care homes    10    （indicate） that many old people in the wider community are abandoned in their old age．

9 . There are many festivals in Guizhou Province. One of them is Dong New year,     1     falls in the eleventh lunar month after the harvest. In some villages, the festival     2    (take) place in the tenth month. Dong New Year is as     3    (importance) as the Spring Festival. In the days     4    (lead) up to the new year, the Dong people make new clothes, clean their houses, and make rice cakes.     5     the eve of the New Year, the prepare “cold dish” with bean curd and homemade vinegar. It     6     (give) as an offering to one’s ancestors. Dong New Year is     7     (usual) celebrated in many Dong villages in the area of Rongjiang in Guizhou Province. The exact date varies but falls during the period late October to early November. Public     8    (celebration) include the Lusheng Festival and water buffalo fighting.

Another one, Miao Sisters Festival, is celebrated from the 15^th to the 17^th day of the third lunar month calendar, when     9    (marry) women make a return to the homes of their mothers. At home, they prepare and eat     10     special kind of food, black rice cake. When they return to their own homes, they bring with them some of it and give it to their husbands as gifts.

Singles’ Day falls on November 11th every year in China,     1     is recognized as a day for people who have no girlfriend or boyfriend. Couples and lovers have Valentine’s Day in celebration of their love, but how about the singles? There must be a day they can celebrate even     2     a partner. That’s     3     people created Singles’ Day.

    4     Singles’ Day many singles choose to say goodbye to their single lives,     5    (attend) blind date parties, and some people even decide to get     6     (marry) with strangers.     7     this day has recently become more of a time for shopping, because many shops online will give customers great discount to promote their goods.

More and more people are willing to shop online to get    8     they want, and I am one of them. I just can’t help     9    (buy) things whether I need them or not.     10    (honest) speaking, some of the things that I bought have been put aside forever in my closet.