When Zhang Lingshan was a child, she would watch the Chinese period drama Palace on television, attracted by the characters’ ancient clothing. She didn’t know what these beautiful clothes     1     (call)—only that they were from some     2     (distance) past. “They looked fairy-like, dreamy,” she said. “I was     3     (complete) drawn by the beauty of these clothes, and then eventually came to understand the culture of Hanfu, and I liked it more and more.”

Now aged nineteen and     4     (live) in Beijing, Zhang is     5     member of China’s growing “hanfu movement”—a renaissance (复兴) of the ancient clothing traditionally worn by ethnic-majority Han Chinese before the Qing dynasty. Tight-knit Hanfu communities and university clubs often meet for themed activities. Zhang and her friends sometimes visit places with ancient architecture, like Beijing’s Forbidden City,     6     emperors once lived, to take     7    (photo) in costume and post them on social media. They have more than 20,000 fans who often ask them     8     more pictures.

Nowadays, Hanfu is seen as a way     9     (celebrate) Chinese culture and improve national self-esteem. In the past few years, Hanfu clubs and social media platforms     10     (help) to bring the Han clothing back under the spotlight. “It’s the confidence of the younger people, the confidence of the country,” said Christine Tsui, a fashion columnist and researcher in Shanghai.

New Year’s Eve is the last day of the year. It is always     1     exciting time because people look forward to     2     (welcome) a new year. It is also a good time to think back and say goodbye     3     the old year. New Year’s Eve is a     4     (nation) holiday for many people around the world. In lots of countries, people go back to their hometown for the New Year, so the roads, trains and buses     5     (pack) with people. In England, there is always a New Year’s Eve party     6     usually takes place in someone’s home and the host invites friends, families and neighbours. Everyone then waits until midnight     7     (hear) Big Ben chime(鸣响) twelve times.

I have lots of good     8     (memory) of New Year’s Eve. I once spent one freezing New Year’s Eve in Trafalgar Square in the centre of London. It snowed and was     9     (real) cold. I also spent many wonderful New Year’s Eves in Japan. There,     10     is traditional to visit a shrine(圣坛) and pray for good things. I think wherever you are, New Year’s Eve is always fun.

On the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, a year is divided into 24 solar terms. The solar terms     1     (create) thousands of years ago to guide agricultural production.

White Dew (Bailu) is the 15th solar term and indicates the real beginning of cool autumn. The temperature declines     2    (increasing) with the white dew on the grass and trees seen in the morning. In many places of China, the air is clear, with the sky in great     3    (high) and the clouds in peace. The gentle wind can often be felt blowing.

Back in the old days, gathering the white dew from plants was a Chinese tradition. Bencao Gangmu, a Chinese herbology document,     4    (write) by Li Shizhen over 400 years ago says the white dew can be used as tea which     5    (taste) sweet with its pleasant smell and has cooling effects on the body and keeps people healthy.

In Southern China, people tend     6    (eat) longans on the day. They believe the fruit can bring good luck, make people stay calm     7     cure some typical conditions.

Yu the Great was an admired ruler in ancient China,     8     was famous for controlling floods, his governance of the Xia Dynasty, and his moral character. When     9     comes to White Dew every year,     10    (fisherman) in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces will hold a week-long ceremony to honor Yu the Great.

The kite is believed to have originated in China. Since its invention, there    1    （be）many adaptations to the kite by    2    （vary）cultures around the world. A Chinese kite in ancient times would have used simple materials such as wood and cloth. They were often made    3    （resemble）the shapes of birds. Today, beautiful and large designs can be seen flying above parks in China. They often resemble real animals and members of the Chinese Zodiac（生肖）. Some kites have LED lights    4    （attach）to allow for night flights and fun light shows.

Kites    5    （invent）in the early Warring States Period（475-221BC）by Mozi and Lu Ban, two philosophers     6     came after the teachings of Confucius. The kites were specific to China for many years before the knowledge of    7    to make and use them gradually advanced. The period saw many attacks from foreign    8    （power）, as well as civil unrest. Kites played a role    9    providing military intelligence for the Chinese forces. The first Chinese kites were used for measuring distances, which was useful information for moving large armies. They were also used to calculate and record wind readings and provided    10    unique form of communication similar to ship flags at sea.

There are some traditional tools that people use to paint Chinese paintings. In Chinese we call     1     (they) as “Wen Fang Si Bao”, meaning the Four Treasures in the Study. They are the brush, ink, paper and a piece of stone. In     2     (west) painting, people use a kind of a flat brush, but in Chinese painting, we use a round one, and we call it “Bi”, which sounds     3     (exact) the same as we call it pen in English. And “Mo”, Chinese ink, is different     4     watery ink in English. It has to     5     (use) together with a piece of stone that is “Yan” in Chinese.

    6     we pour some water into the stone and then rub an ink stick on it, we can get a kind of black water for painting and     7     (write). Chinese “Xuan Zhi” is very strong but soft. It’s very easy for the     8     (paint) to use such ink to have some special effects they want     9     (create) on this kind of paper. Now,     10     you know about the Four Treasures of the Study in Chinese traditional paintings?

Sugar sculpture blowing is    1    Chinese folk art where artists blow and sculpt hot sugar to create 3D    2    (figure). The finished sculptures not only look good，but also have a good taste,    3    (make) them popular among children.

The main raw material for sugar sculpture blowing is malt sugar (麦芽糖).The malt sugar used in sculpture blowing has to be heated to high temperatures. It can only    4    (use) after several steps,    5    include the sorting and cooking of the malt sugar followed by the firing and melting of it.

Sugar sculpture blowing is    6    (careful) made. It can be divided    7    two methods—one uses molds (模子)；the other does not，and involves sugar figures taking shape through a combination of blowing air into the processed malt sugar and the artist’s flexible hand skills.

The complex process may explain    8    there are fewer people making sugar sculpture. To protect and promote this traditional craftsmanship, the government of Hebei Province founded a sugar figure art    9    (organize) in 2011. Now it    10    (consist)of over 90 artists recognized as the inheritors (继承人)of the technique.

Different countries have wildly different forms of greeting.

In the USA, when you pass by someone you know, a nod is acceptable, and you usually shake hands with someone you first meet. But in Latin countries, a firm handshake    1    (consider) rude. In my home country, Mauritius, when people meet, they usually kiss each other     2     the cheeks. This is also common in France,     3     the act is called faire la bise. However, this is not     4    universal rule.

During my first week in the USA, I kissed every single girl I met. My friends had to tell me that that was inappropriate,    5    (leave) me in great embarrassment. What is common here, however, is for friends    6    (hug) each other – something I was not used to. Hugs always make me     7    (frighten) because I don’t really like that. This may seem strange since even kissing     8    (stranger) is normal in my country. Now that I think about it, I hate cheek-kissing as well.

Wouldn’t it be     9    (enjoy) to have a greeting code that is     10    (wide) acceptable? I’m not saying we should start doing that, but we can surely do something to avoid misunderstanding.

The Chinese New Year red envelope (红包) is one of     1     most popular Chinese traditions for children on the Chinese New Year. They receive red envelopes with money inside! Little kids     2     (usual) learn the words “hong bao” in Mandarin (普通话) very quickly.

The red color     3     (stand) for good luck for the Chinese. Traditionally the envelopes are decorated with gold letters and messages of     4     (happy) or Chinese lucky symbols like the Chinese dragon, the phoenix, etc. Nowadays, in     5     (keep) up with the times, you can find anything from Mickey Mouse to Hello Kitty on the red envelopes.

Generally, kids     6       are unmarried all get red envelopes during the Chinese New Year from their grandparents, uncles, aunts and parents of course. Close     7     (friend ) also give red envelopes to children during the festival. Who gives money and how much money     8     (give) mainly depend on the personal relationship and the age of the kids. And     9       is quite common for an adult     10       (receive) a kid’s greeting for a red envelope during the Chinese New Year.