A teahouse is a special house which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. Its function varies widely    1     (depend) on the culture. In China, a teahouse is a place     2     people gather to enjoy tea, chat and socialize. It     3     (consider) as a symbol of Chinese tea culture and people’s leisure life.

Chinese teahouses enjoy a long-standing history. They developed from tea stands in the Western Jin Dynasty,    4     (take) shape in the Tang Dynasty, developed gradually in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties and became booming in modern times.

In the Song Dynasty, teahouses existed all over cities and villages, at a rate comparable with     5     of restaurants. The owners preferred to decorate their teahouses     6     paintings of celebrities and rare and precious plants     7     (attract) customers. In the Ming and Qing dynasties,     8     number of teahouses went beyond that of restaurants, gaining more popularity and becoming more famous. Later, the acculturation of Western culture forces traditional Chinese teahouses to take on a new look. After reform and opening up, with the rapid development of the economy and     9     (evidence) improvement of people’s living     10     (standard), teahouses flowered in China.

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).

Acupuncture ( 针 灸 ) is a traditional Chinese medical practice of treating     1     (vary) physical and mental conditions. It gained respect and interest in the United States after New York Times journalist James Reston visited China with President Nixon and needed an operation. Chinese doctors used acupuncture on Reston after surgery     2     (reduce) his pain, and his recovery was swift. Curious about this, Reston     3     (allow) to watch surgery on patients     4     received acupuncture for anesthesia ( 麻 醉 ). Patients talked with their doctors during the operation and then walked back to their rooms     5     their own.

The effectiveness of acupuncture left Reston such a deep impression that he wrote a front-page article in the New York Times about his operation     6     (immediate) after he returned to   the United   States. “A leading       medical specialist sent by Premier Chou En-lai     7     (remove) my appendix ( 阑 尾 ). I was conscious in     8     whole process.”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) began to sponsor some of their top physicians to visit China to investigate acupuncture and its   possible     9     (function) in western medicine. With years     10     (go) by,   acupuncture has earned itself a great reputation across the world with magical effect.

Move over, mochaccino — Chinese tea culture is coming! If a group of senior high school     1    (student) get their way, the world will quite soon be drinking Chinese tea instead     2     coffee. The students created     3     project to make Chinese tea and tea culture     4     (popular) at home and abroad. They     5     (give) speeches on the history and traditions of Chinese tea     6    organized a lot of exciting activities, in     7     people could taste different kinds of tea and even try     8     (pick) tea leaves. The students also used the internet     9     (make) teenagers more interested in tea culture. The project was so     10     (succeed) that the students won second prize in a big international competition. Best of all, they learned to work as a team and use their creativity.

The mascot (吉祥物) for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games     1     (show) to the public at Beijing’s shougang Ice Hockey Arena on September 17th, 2019. The name of the mascot is “Bing Dwen Dwen”,     2     is closely associated with the host nation’s culture.

The image of it is designed based     3     the giant panda.     4     (dress) in a full body suit of ice, a symbol of purity and     5     (strong), the panda wears a helmet with colored halo (光环). The lines of the halo represent the snow tracks and 5G technology. The heart shape in its left palm represents the host country’s hospitality.

The name “Bing Dwen Dwen” is a     6     (combine) of several meanings in the Chinese language. “Bing” is the Chinese character for ice, while “Dwen Dwen” is     7     common nickname in China for children that implies healthiness and cuteness.

The mascot     8     (perfect) combines the best elements and characteristics of China to show China’s warm invitation to friends from all over the world. It is also designed     9     (promote) the Olympic spirit. There is no doubt that it will be a     10     (wonder) ambassador for China and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

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.

Hakka Earth Building is a bright pearl of Chinese civilization. It is praised as a magnificent architectural work of village houses in     1     world for its long history, unique style, smart structure and magnificent scale, which is     2     (close) related to the history of Hakka people in the mountainous areas in Fujian.

Earthen houses are made     3     earth, stone, bamboo and wood, all readily available materials which are used     4     (form) walls up to 6 feet thick. The end result is a windproof, quake-proof building that is warmer in winter and cooler in summer     5     others. The top has gun holes for defensive purposes. In addition to the unique function of defending against the     6     (enemy), the earth building also has the characteristics of fire prevention, guarding against wild animals and good lighting. What is amazing about these earth buildings     7     (be) the fact that some of them are over 700 years old, surviving through natural elements, including earthquakes.

In 2008, a total of 46 Fujiantulou sites     8     (list) as World Heritage Site by UNESCO. They’re exceptional examples of a building tradition and function     9     (represent) a particular type of group living and defensive organization in a     10     (harmony) relationship with their environment.

8 . During last year's two sessions （两会）, Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum,     1     （push） for major renovations （修复） inside the palace museum. And during this year's two sessions, he proposed adopting     2     new set of regulations on how to best protect and preserve the historic complex.

"The Regulation of the Preservation of the Great Wall     3     （adopt） over the past years, and it has proved very effective, so this year we've drafted an outline for new regulations and we hope to pass the cultural relics of the Palace Museum on to many generations     4     （come）. " Shan said.

The Palace Museum faces serious pressures. An increasing number of     5     （tour） want to see the palace's treasures, but overcrowding could harm preservation efforts. And     6     urbanization （城市化） progressing in Beijing, construction around the Palace Museum may end up damaging     7     （it） ancient buildings.

The Forbidden City's image as a museum has grown     8     Shan's last measures were approved in 2012. To make more room for more visitors, Shan has proposed moving 750 employees,     9     （rough） half the museum's staff, to offices outside the complex. He has also called for transforming an archaeological site which     10     （be） unearthed in 2016 into a new public archaeological museum for the public to enjoy.

Tea culture is defined (定义) by the way tea is made and consumed, by the way the people interact (互动) with tea,     1     by the aesthetics (美学) of tea drinking. It includes tea production, tea brewing (冲, 沏), tea arts and ceremony, society, history, etc.

Tea ceremony, with     2     (it) roots in the Chinese tea culture, differs among eastern countries, However, it may also differ in preparation, such as in Tibet,     3     tea is commonly brewed with salt and butter.

Different regions also like different     4     (variety) of tea — black, or oolong, and use different flavourings (调味品) such as milk, sugar or herbs,     5     (satisfy) people’s tastes. The temperature and strength of the tea likewise vary     6     (wide).

Due to the importance of tea in Chinese society and culture, tea houses     7     (find) in most Chinese neighbourhoods and business districts nowadays.

Tea culture in China is different     8     that of Europe, Britain or Japan in such things as preparation methods, tasting methods and the occasions for which it is consumed. Even now, on both casual and formal Chinese occasions, tea is consumed regularly. In addition to     9     (be) a drink, Chinese tea is used in     10     (tradition) Chinese medicine and in Chinese cuisine.

The day of February 2nd brings the most-watched weather forecast of the year because of a kind of little animal. Legend says that     1    this morning, if a groundhog(土拨鼠)can see its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.     2    it cannot see its shadow, spring is on the way.

Since a groundhog hibernates for the winter, its     3    (come)out of the ground is a natural sign of spring. Centuries ago, people in Europe watched for other hibernating animals     4    signs of winter's end. Germans     5    immigrated to Pennsylvania in the mid1800s began keeping an eye on the groundhog. The widespread population of the little animal made     6    easy for them to forecast the weather.

    7    (origin), February 2 is a holiday called Candlemas Day(圣烛节). Early people believed that if the sun came out on Candlemas Day, winter     8    (last)for six weeks more.

In the 1880s some friends in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, went into the woods on Candlemas Day to look for groundhogs. This outing became     9    tradition, and a local newspaper editor nicknamed the seekers "the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club".     10    (start)in 1887, the search became an official event centred on a groundhog called Punxsutawney Phil. The ceremony still takes place every year.