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 the most 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     6     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 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 culture heritage (非物质文化遗产) by UNESCO in 2009. Since then, in Jingxian County, Xuan papermaking     10     (teach) in schools.

2 . When you walk along a street in a big city in the United States, you may see clocks in most stores. Radio announcers give the correct time during the day. People there think that it is important to know the time. Most Americans have watches. They want to do certain things at certain times. They do not want to be late. Not all people all over the world value time. Suppose you visit a certain country in South America. You would find that people living there do not like to rush. If you had an appointment (约会) with someone, he would probably be late. He would not care for arriving on time. In some countries in South America, even the radio programs may not begin right on time, nor do the radio announcers think it important to announce the right time. Many people regard a clock as a machine. It seems to them that a person who does everything on time is controlled (控制) by a machine. They do not want a clock or any machine to have that much power over their lives.

4 . The Chinese word“Shanzhai”means a small mountain village, but now it becomes an accepted name for fakes, after “Shanzhai Cell­phones” produced by small workshops in southern China became popular in the mainland market over the past two years. Besides “Shanzhai” electronic products, there are “Shanzhai” movies, “Shanzhai” stars and even a “Shanzhai” Spring Festival Gala, a copy of the 25­year­old traditional show presented by CCTV on Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve.

“Shanzhai” has become a culture of its own, meaning anything that imitates something famous. In Chongqing, “Shanzhai” version “Bird’s Nest” and “Water Cube” woven by farmers with bamboo attract wide attention from tourists.Both are copies of the famous Olympic buildings in Beijing.

A literature critic said that taking the “Shanzhai” Gala as an example, when the traditional CCTV program becomes less and less attractive to the audience, the “Shanzhai” version appears timely to attract people. “Although it is often connected with poor techniques and operation, “Shanzhai” culture meets the psychological needs of common people and could be a comfort to their minds,” he said.

To the mainstream(主流)culture, the rise of “Shanzhai” culture is a challenge and a motivation(推动). People believe different kinds of cultures developing together is a perfect way and it is for the public to choose.

5 . Do you love seeing beautiful lanterns outside? The best time to do this is during the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first lunar (阴历) month. This year it is on Feb22, marking the end of Spring Festival celebrations.

Lanterns are a big part of the festival. One story says that the bright lanterns show respect for gods. Another says that people light lanterns to celebrate the declining (消退的) darkness of winter.

Watching lanterns is a great event. You see lanterns in any sizes and shapes you can imagine, from animals to plants and flowers. To make this activity more fun, people paste (粘贴) riddles (谜语) on the lanterns. “Ten plus ten, still is ten, ten minus ten, again is ten.” Guess what? It is a pair of gloves.

In some places, people like releasing sky lanterns, which are called Kongming lanterns. A sky lantern is a small hot air balloon made of paper, with an opening at the bottom, where there is a small fire source. When the bright lights fly high in the sky, people bless family members and make wishes. Releasing river lights is also a way to bless for each other. Usually, the lights are in the shape of a lotus (荷花).

In old times, the Lantern Festival was also romantic. At that time, young girls were not allowed to go out very often except during certain festivals. Therefore, looking at lanterns gave young people a chance to meet each other. A line from Xin Qiji, a poet during the Song Dynasty, shows this: “Anxiously, I searched for her in thousands, hundreds of ways. Suddenly I turned, and there she was in the declining light.”

7 . The Double Ninth Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. According to tradition, we should celebrate the festival by going mountain climbing. How many people today still keep this tradition?    1    However, they are an important part of Chinese culture, and we must protect and maintain them.

    2    The Dragon Boat Festival, for example, is celebrated in honour of Qu Yuan. By celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival with rice dumplings and dragon boat races, the story of Qu Yuan is passed down from generation to generation. Promoting traditional festivals helps spread knowledge about the past of our country. Moreover, traditional festivals enable us to learn more about fine Chinese values. Many festivals, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival, have a family-centred message at their heart.    3    With the celebrations of these festivals, younger generations learn to honour fine Chinese values.

Finally, traditional festivals area source of national pride and help shape (塑造) our national identity. For example, we celebrate the Hanshi Festival and the Lab a Festival with unique customs, and these shared experiences bring us together as a people.    4    

Traditional festivals have been passed down to us from previous generations. It is the duty of every one of us to protect them for generations to come.    5    We may even lose the festivals which belong to us.

8 . There is more of a connection between food and culture than you may think. On an individual level, we grow up eating the food of our culture. It becomes a part of who we are. Many associate food from our childhood with warm feelings and good memories and it ties us to our families, holding a special and personal value for us. Food from our families often becomes the comfort food we seek as adults in times of frustration and stress.

On a large scale, traditional food is an important part of culture. It also operates as an expression of cultural identity. Immigrants bring it wherever they go, and it is a symbol of pride in their culture and means of coping with homesickness.

Many immigrants open their own restaurants and serve traditional dishes. However, the food does not remain exactly the same. Some materials needed to make traditional dishes may not be readily available, so the taste and flavour can be different from what they would prepare in their home countries. Additionally, immigrants do not only sell dishes to people from the same countries as them, but to people from different countries. Therefore, they have to make small changes in the original dishes to cater to a wider range of customers. Those changes can create new flavours that still keep the cultural significance of the dishes.

We should not only embrace our heritage (传统) through our culture’s food, but also become more informed about other cultures by trying their food. It is important to remember that each dish has a special place in the culture to which it belongs, and is special to those who prepare it. Food is a window on culture, and it should be treated as such.

Thirty years ago, an elderly Canadian couple     1     (undertake) a unique project with the purpose of helping Canadians have a better understanding of China     2     (base) on how the Chinese view themselves and the issues they face.

Their efforts resulted in the birth of a 1985 book, Understanding China Through Cartoons. They     3     (official) donated it to China on June 10, 2019. To promote knowledge about China among Canadians, a masterpiece named the Society for a Better Understanding of China     4     (found) in the early 1970s, and it is now noted as the Canada-China Friendship Society.

The husband said, “China is a nation,     5     has been able to maintain its cultural growth for thousands of years”. This elderly couple     6     (be) determined to gift China with it as their     7     (admire) for Chinese culture — a role dating back     8     thousands of years.

In fact, communication has been the best way     9     (promote) each other’s understanding and trust. We need     10     (many) people like the elderly Canadian couple as well as more institutions like the Canadian-China Friendship Society.