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.

Mid-Autumn Festival is a harvest festival     1     (celebrate) in most East Asian countries, such as China and Korea. The festival     2     (take) place on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. In 2021 it’s on September 21th.

It is     3     second most important festival in China after Chinese New Year. To the Chinese, the festival means family reunion and peace. It is also called “the moon festival” as it is celebrated when the moon is believed to be the     4     (big) and fullest.

Chinese people celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival     5     many traditional and meaningful activities, such as eating dinner with family, hanging lanterns, guessing lantern riddles, and worshipping the moon. Since 2008, the festival     6     (be) a 3-day public holiday in mainland China.

New celebrations have developed in recent years. The younger generations prefer     7     (travel), surfing the Internet, and using smart phone apps to celebrate with their families.

Mooncakes are the must-eat Mid-Autumn food in China. They are a kind of traditional Chinese pastry (糕点). Chinese people see in the roundness of mooncakes a symbol of reunion and     8     (happy). Other foods eaten during the festival are harvest foods, such as crabs, pumpkins and grapes. People enjoy them at their freshest and most nutritious.

Festival food traditions are also changing. The younger generations have     9     (they) own ideas about what should be eaten. Most of them don’t like mooncakes, and prefer to eat     10     they like.

Xuan paper, known as one of the Four Treasures of Study, first came into     1     （exist）in Xuan Prefecture in the Tang Dynasty. The traditional skill of making the paper     2     hand has been passed down through generations. The process takes as many as 108 steps, all of     3     require a level of delicacy.

Take papermaking master Zhou Donghong for example. He uses a fine screen to filter（过滤）a mixture of water and fibers. He lifts it up, and it's a sheet of paper. It takes him and his partner only 15 seconds     4     （form）and shape it, but they've devoted     5     （they）to perfecting the skills for decades.

“There are a lot of tricks of filtering the fibers, and timing is     6     （difficult）part of all. We have only one chance to filter the right amount of fibers, and only the proper weight guarantees the paper is neither too thin nor too thick, and the margin（差额）for error is     7     （extreme）small," said Zhou. With just the right degree of thickness, top quality Xuan paper holds ink and water tightly.

The skill of papermaking,       8     （recognize）as a national treasure, has also proven to be an international one. We felt     9     great sense of pride as it was listed as a world intangible cultural heritage（非物质文化遗产）by UNESCO in 2009. Since then, in Jingxian County, the making of Xuan paper     10     （teach）in schools.

The art of paper-cutting in China may date back to the second century, since paper    1    (invent)by Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty in China. As paper became more affordable, paper0cutting became one of the most important    2    (type) of Chinese folk art. Later,    3     different regions adopting their own cultural styles, this art form spread to other parts of the world.    4     (usual), the artworks are made of red paper, as red is associated with    5    (happy) in Chinese culture, but other colors are also used.

With    6    (it) long history, paper-cutting,    7    originated in China, has been very popular among the ordinary Chinese people. People put up papercuts on walls, windows and doors at wedding ceremonies or festivals     8    (strengthen) the cheerful atmosphere.

Chinese papercuts are rich in content. The auspicious（吉祥的）designs symbolize good luck and the avoidance of evil. The child, lotus and bat designs suggest a family with    9    large number of children and grandchildren. Birds, livestock, fruit, fish and worms are also familiar objects    10    (accept) by Chinese farmers. In a word, papercuts used in different occasions have different meanings.

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.

Traditional Chinese culture is beginning to capture the attention of the world. Kung fu,       1     (special), has had a great effects     2     the millions of people who first learned about China through it. From that, they may come to China and learn about some other     3     (aspect) of this culture. Other Asian nations have long known about the     4     (great) of ancient Chinese culture. Their own cultures are     5     mix of native ones and those Chinese characteristics. Korea and Japan long ago adopted Confucianism, something that continued today even as it     6     (challenge)by pop culture. This strength comes from the ideas     7     (give)in the Four Books of Confucianism, which built upon the ideas of an even     8     (much)ancient period codified (编纂)in the Five Classics. From them, the West learns     9     is uniquely Chinese, for example, feng shui. So far China has taken steps     10     (further) this spread of its culture by establishing Chinese Cultural Centers in such places as the United States and Europe.