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.

4 . While some feel that bookstores are fading away, one Chinese bookstore has found new life by marching into rural (乡村) areas in China.

By absorbing local characteristics, the village branches of the Library Advantage Bookstore (LAB) chain have changed into important platforms to display local history, culture and folk traditions. These village branches are not just bookstores; they are helping to relieve spiritual poverty and becoming centers for gathering and displaying country culture.

To better fit in the lives of local people, each village branch has its own characteristics, like one in Shaxi, southwest China’s Yunnan province. Many of nearly 20,000 books in the store are associated with the history, geography and folk customs of Yunnan and the Bai people.

“Making money is not our only aim. Our bookstore has become a public gathering space for villagers. They do not buy books, but pass time by reading or chatting there.” explained Liu Xia, the bookstore owner.

Besides, the bookstores add a good cultural atmosphere (氛围). Some turn to the books to find answers to the troubles they face, such as running a business or attracting tourists from big cities. One of the biggest benefits is that it helps provide a healthy environment for children’s growth. “My kids often come to the store. They love reading books here. They gain knowledge and curiosity about the outside world.” one villager said.

In the ancient times,there used to be so many myths about the moon, and all of     1    made the moon more attractive. On the moon, according to the Chinese myth, lived a goddess named Chang 'e who led a lonely life. In the west, up to now, scientists     2    (study) the moon for many years. I wonder if you have received an     3    (invite) to spend a Moon Day, which is officially celebrated on July 20 every year. Moon Day marks the first human landing on the moon    4    (success) that occurred on July 20, 1969. That explains it! Ever since 1969, Moon Day has been celebrated in the US to mark one of the     5    (great) achievements in human history.

Moon Day is largely celebrated by NASA and space fans. One way to celebrate Moon Day is to make something about the moon, like cutting paper moons. Children are made to bake cookies and cut them in the shape of the moon. They also consider     6    (learn) some facts about the moon on this occasion. Exploring the moon on Google Moon is a great idea to get familiar with our natural satellite. It is especially important that we celebrate Moon Day with children.     7     this way, children can learn about     8    happened on July 20, 1969, and understand the importance of this event in the future. It can be said with certainty that humans will devote all their     9    (life) to the research into the moon. As for young people, they must go to all lengths to study hard for the future even if there is a long way to go!

Should there be a chance for you to go to the moon, who would you like to have     10    (go ) with you ?

8 . Luo Dengping has become famous as the only woman in a group of “spider men”who climb cliffs of up to 100 meters high, without ropes or safety equipment of any kind, for the entertainment of tourists in China’s Guizhou Province.

Men of the Miao people, in Southwest China, have been free-climbing steep cliffs for centuries. They originally developed this skill as part of a custom, to lift coffins(棺材)of relatives up the cliffs and place them in small caves or just hang them on the cliffside, like the Tana Toraja tribe, in Indonesia. The Miao spider men continued climbing the vertical cliffs of Ziyun, in order to collect rare medicinal plants. Today, only a few members of the Miao people still practice this ancient tradition, and one of them is a woman.

Traditionally, only Miao men were considered brave and skilled enough to become spider men, but Luo Dengping had no choice but to break social norms and take up the practice. As the daughter of a skilled spider man, and with no brothers to carry on her family’s tradition, Luo began climbing the cliffs near the village when she was just 15 years old. In the beginning, she felt scared and could barely move on the precarious cliffside, but as time went by, she perfected her skills and, eventually, making her way up the giant rocks using nothing but her hands and feet became routine.

In her late teens, Luo Dengping left the village and became a migrant worker at a construction site in Guangzhou. She returned in 2000, married a villager and had two children. To support her husband, who drives freight trucks for a living, she occasionally climbed nearby cliffs in search of medicinal plants to sell. Then, in 2015, the local government decided to promote the karsts mountain as a tourist attraction, and started hiring spider men to practice their skills for entertainment purposes.

9 . 5 things you may not know about Grain Rain

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Grain Rain, as the last term in spring, starts on April 20 and ends on May 4.

Grain Rain originates from the old saying, "Rain brings up the growth of hundreds of grains," which shows that this period of rainfall is extremely important for the growth of crops. The Grain Rain signals the end of cold weather and a rapid rise in temperature.     1     .

Key time for agriculture

Grain Rain brings a marked increase in temperature and rainfall and the grains grow faster and stronger. It's a key time to protect the crops from insect pests.

    2    

Grain Rain falls between the end of spring and the beginning of summer, with infrequent cold air moving to the south and lingering cold air in the north. From the end of April to the beginning of May, the temperature rises much higher than it does in March. With dry soil, an unsteady atmosphere and heavy winds, wild winds and sandstorms become more frequent.

Drinking tea

There is an old custom in southern China that people drink tea on the day of Grain Rain. Spring tea during Grain Rain is rich in vitamins and amino acids,     3     . It is also said that drinking tea on this day would prevent bad luck.

Eating toona sinensis

People in northern China have the tradition to eat the vegetable toona sinensis during Grain Rain. An old Chinese saying goes ”toona sinensis before the rain is as tender as silk”. The vegetable is nutritious and can help to strengthen the immune system.     4     .

Grain Rain Festival

The Grain Rain festival is celebrated by fishing villages in the coastal areas of northern China.     5     . The custom dates back more than 2,000 years ago, when people believed they owed a good harvest to the gods, who protected them from the stormy seas. People would worship the sea and stage sacrifice rites on the Grain Rain festival, praying for a bountiful harvest and a safe voyage for their loved ones.

10 . Happy, angry, amazed – these are some of the emotions we like to express these days when we're sending a message on our smartphones! Many of us now add little pictures to our texts to brighten up someone’s mobile screen.     1    . Emojis have become a vital tool for communication.

The emoji was first invented in Japan in the late 1990s and the word 'emoji' comes from the Japanese words for 'picture' and 'character'.     2    Now we have a picture for every mood or situation.

So now we have the option to give this new creation the visual 'thumbs-up' but have you thought (puzzled face) why we've become so addicted to using emojis?     3    . Emojis are a sort of substitute for the visual or non- verbal signals we normally give when we speak to someone face-to-face.

Another advantage of emojis is that they are an international language – they don't use words but tell a message in pictorial form so they can be easily interpreted whatever your native language. However, the emojis you send need some thought.     4    – if a friend sends you an emoji of a hammer, you may think he is angry when he is saying he has hurt himself or he is clumsy!

Emojis are a good way for showing empathy—they are a virtual hug or a loving pat. But as linguist Neil Cohn says, "    5    ; to others, they are posing a threat to our language." It does show there is a lot more to our communication than words alone but does this mean the decline in traditional writing?