A group of researchers and scientists from China and other countries are working together to help increase     1     (appreciate) of China’s ancient cultural heritage. They are recording and collecting digital images of cultural relics from the Magao Caves,     2     were a key stop along the Silk Road throughout China’s ancient history. Nearly 500,000 high-quality digital photographs     3     (produce) since the international project started in 1994.

The Magao Caves have long been     4     meeting point for different cultures. Today, the caves are just as international as they     5     (be) at the time when people travelled the Silk Road. Tourists from all over the world visit Dunhuang to see the caves, and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles has even reproduced a copy of the caves and paintings for people     6     (admire) in America.

By    7     (share) so many digital photos over the Internet, the group hopes to promote even     8     (wide) interest around the world in China’s ancient history, culture, and traditions. They also hope to further educate people about the importance of safeguarding historic and cultural relics for future     9     (generation) to understand and appreciate. As one researcher who is working     10     the project explains, “Appreciating the cultural heritage is very important for international communication and understanding.”

Culture conflicts can occur anytime you travel, but every once in a while they happen in some truly unexpected ways. From shopping with many coins to     1     (light) up a cigarette outdoors, these are strange and embarrassing travel mistakes     2     (travel) would do their best to avoid. For example,           3     is illegal to feed pigeons on the streets of San Francisco. The city     4     (know) for the Golden Gate Bridge blames the common birds for spreading disease and damaging property. Anyone           5     is caught providing food to San Francisco's pigeons could face a heavy fine. Moreover, citizens           6     (encourage) to report pigeon feeders to the city's police department. For another example, you'd better think twice before you smoke in Singapore. Singapore has     7     (serious) smoking penalty（处罚）in the world. Smoking in public will earn a tough fine. More     8     (surprise), if you' re shopping in Canada, don't expect cashiers     9     (accept) many coins as your sole method of payment. According to Canada's Currency Act, stores can legally refuse excessive amounts     10     coins. With pennies, for example, customers' payments may be rejected if they try to use more than 25 one-cent coins at a time.

The Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. It was created thousands of years ago     1     (guide)agricultural production.

Grain in Ear(芒种)，the     2     (nine)solar term，begins on June 5 this year and signifies the ripening of wheat. Regions near the Yangtze River     3     (be)about to enter the Plum Rains season. Plum Rains，often     4     (occur)during June and July，refer to the long period of continuous rainy or cloudy weather. It happens to be the time for plums(李子)to ripen，    5    explains the origin of its name. Green plums contain a variety of natural and high-quality organic acids and are rich in minerals.     6     ，fresh plums are acerbic(酸的)and need to be boiled before serving. There was an allusion(典故)that Cao Cao and Liu Bei，two central figures in the Three Kingdoms period(AD 220—280)，talked about     7    (hero)while boiling green plums.

“An Miao”(meaning seedling protection)is a traditional farming activity of southern Anhui province that     8    (practice)since the early Ming Dynasty(1368—1644). People make different types of bread with wheat flour and color them with vegetable Juice. The bread is used     9     a sacrificial offering(祭品)to pray for a good harvest and people’s     10     (safe).

Have a go in Guizhou

Listed among the 52 places to go in the world by the New York Times in 2017 and "one of the most worthy regions in China” by CNN in 2018, Guizhou province has become a     1    (promise) travel destination.

On Oct 22, it made another big list. Lonely Planet     2     (rank) it among the top 10 regions to visit in 2020.

With its     3     (locate) in southwest China, Guizhou has been praised by CNN as one of China's “natural jewels". The landlocked (内陆的) region has beautiful mountains, lovely lakes and distinctive karst (喀斯特)landforms.

Visitors can see an amazing view of 700,000 cherry trees in bloom in March. The area also boasts Asia's tallest waterfall, Huangguoshu, and Asia's longest cave, Shuanghe Cave. The China Tour Guide website calls Guizhou an unforgettable "wonderland".

Along with this beautiful scenery, a unique local culture also makes it     4     (particular) eye-catching. "It's a good place to experience authentic minority cultures in China,” the domestic travel agency China Highlights noted. Guizhou is home     5     17 aboriginal ethnic groups, the Miao, Dong, Shui, Gelao, Yi and Tujia     6     (include).

The region has a mountainous landscape, as a result of     7     modernization has been slow to arrive, allowing many people     8         (keep) their traditional lifestyles and cultures. For example, many of the Miao people still live in wooden houses on stilts(桩子)，while the Dong people have traditional wind and rain bridges, providing shelter from the weather.

Food varies by ethnic group—sour and spicy     9    (flavor) are common in Guizhou cuisine. “With its use of tomatoes and just a touch of chilli peppers, Guizhou cuisine is loved by anyone unwilling to try the spicier Sichuan cuisine," CNN said.

With picturesque natural scenery, colorful locals and impressive food, it’s no wonder    10       Guizhou's name translates to “precious land".

Kilns (窑) had to burn day and night in Jingdezhen, a city in Jiangxi province of southeastern China,     1     (meet) demand from around the globe.

Today, though demand is much     2     (low), people are making porcelain the same way they have for hundreds of years, with Jingdezhen’s old masters still     3     (pray) to the kiln gods.

Meanwhile, across town, creative new craftspeople are bringing new     4     (idea) into the art and new life to the once factories and villages. It’s fair to say that Jingdezhen people live and     5     (breath) porcelain, but they aren’t doing it alone.

“Jingdezhen is more than a historical town. The old and new are combined perfectly here.” Says Hu Chunxiao, a local artist     6     family has worked in the industry for generations. The traditional and modern exist in harmony, which makes     7     one of the most interesting towns in China for travel.

Despite being a center of porcelain for 1,700 years, Jingdezhen is never short     8     great natural scenes. The surrounding area is famous for abundant     9     (hide) landscape — mountains, streams, farms and forests. Artists who desire a peaceful life     10     (draw) here since the ancient times.

When HarmonyOS, the Chinese self-developed operating system for Huawei mobile devices,    1    (release) on August 9, it quickly became a hot topic on    2    (society) media.

Many believe it not only represents the rise of the country as a tech power, but also    3    (show) respect for classical Chinese culture by    4    (name) the system "Hongmeng" in Chinese.

Besides "Hongmeng", Huawei has also registered many of its    5    (product) under the names of legendary creatures from Chinese mythology. For example, the company’s server chip is called "Kunpeng", a mythical creature    6    changed from a fish into a giant bird.

In fact, Huawei is not alone in using traditional culture for modern enterprises.    7    (base) on the well-known work of classical Chinese mythology The Investiture of the Gods, Ne Zha is shown as a rebellious underdog, who has to overcome hardship and his dark fate to become a hero,    8    (like) his attractive heroic character in previous cinematic works.

As Global Times put    9    ，“Ancient mythology has the power to stimulate contemporary imagination in young people." After all, imagination is    10    beginning of creation.

The Qingming Festival is one of the 24    1    (tradition) Chinese solar terms, which falls on April 4^th or 5^th every year. As a culture, it is a time    2    Chinese people visit the graves of their ancestors,    3    (clean) the tombs and showing respect to the dead.

But this year, the day also included a national mourning, which offered people an opportunity     4    (remember) those who lot their lives the fight against the novel coronavirus. Starting at 10. m on April 4, Chinese people observed a three-minute silence to mourn the dead    5    all national flags lowered to half-mast ( 旗杆) and horns wailing. This is the first time that China    6    (hold) a national mourning due to a major public health emergency. China paused for three minutes，making the world see the unity and    7    ( strong) behind the 1. 4 billion Chinese people.

More than 3,300 lives were lost due to COVID-19 on the Chinese mainland. On April 3,14 people who died on    8    frontline of fighting the virus were identified a the first martyrs (烈士). The national mourning makes people    9    ( deep) realize that the god results of fighting against COVID-19 don't come easily. Everyone should treasure life , and understand the significance of those hard    10    ( struggle).

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

Legend has     2     that Chong'er, a prince of Jin, 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 to serve     4     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.

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.

China has a very rich and brilliant tea culture. It is one of the most important parts of Chinese tradition. A small cup of tea contains the spirit and     1     (wise) of the Chinese people. It seems like the most     2    (enjoy) thing to drink a cup of tea on a quiet day.

Just like coffee, tea grown in different areas     3     (have) different flavors. Some needs drinking with small and delicate tea cups, and some can     4    (drink) from a big bowl.

Chinese people believe tea needs drinking quietly,     5    many of the tea shops are located in a corner of a Hutong, providing customers     6    a very quiet and comfortable environment---but the fast pace of life sometimes doesn’t allow that. So there are tea shop owners who, just     7     Starbucks does, locate their shops in the downtown area to provide service for quick customers.

Take Heytea as an example. It was just a small tea shop    8    locate) in a small lane in a small city of Guangdong province in 2012. But in only 5 years, it     9    (expand) 83 stores over China, including big cities like Beijing. Waiting in lines for more than an hour for their tea is a common     10    (occur).