I am fully convinced that you must have heard about Chinese paper-cutting, haven’t you? Paper-cutting is     1     important art form in China. Paper-cuts were used for many purposes, and everything can become the theme of paper-cuts, from people to the things that can be     2     in everyday life such as birds, flowers and animals.

Each paper-cut brings out the personal     3     of the writer. People express traditional culture or     4    own feelings with different styles of paper-cuts. For example,     5     someone marries, we put up some red paper-cuts     6     the wall, dressing table or other furniture to express our best wishes. It is easy to learn paper-cutting     7     very difficult to make it perfect. We need a long-time practice to learn how to     8     the scissors (剪刀) and how to paint. Moreover, we     9     need to learn some cutting skills.

From history until now, in many parts of China, paper-cutting skill     10     become necessary for women and a symbol of a clever mind.

Chinese calligraphy has developed along with China’s     1    . It is difficult to say when     2     calligraphy started. Chinese writing was first done by carving symbols onto bones and shells, but as it developed into a writing     3    , it also developed as a form of art done with a brush. It is believed that Chinese calligraphy dates back to at least the Han Dynasty. Soon after that, the idea developed that calligraphy was not only a beautiful art form but also a     4     of showing the character of the “man behind the brush”. Today, anyone from small children to old people can enjoy practicing the     5     art of Chinese calligraphy.

When naming a child, the culture is not the same in different places.

In many European countries, children are named after the names of relatives within their families. For example, in Italy, children are     1    named after their grandparents. Naturally, the parents     2    use the father’s family names, then they will use the mother’s family names,     3    in big family.

In China, some names are connected with the     4    of the date and the time of the children. It is thought that a name can     5    a child. If a boy is given the first name “坤”, maybe, he is short of earth according to his birth. The Chinese character “坤” is made up of two parts. The     6    part means earth in English. Parents believe that the boy with a name of earth will not be short of earth any longer in his life.

In an African country called Ghana’s Akan, the time when they were born     7    his or her name. But there are some     8    between boys and girls. For example, a boy born on Friday is named Kofi,     9    a girl born on the same day is named Afua.

No matter where the name comes from, a name is the first gift to a child in life. For that reason, all names are     10    .