Every Lunar New Year, China introduces a zodiac(生肖) sign from a cycle of 12 lucky animals. This year, it’s the Year of the Dragon, or more     1     (accurate), ”the Year of the Loong”. Then what’s the difference?

The Western     2     (describe) of dragons as “fire-breathing winged creatures” was inspired by literature such as Beowulf - the Old English epic about a Scandinavian hero     3    contribution was killing monsters, including a dragon. Greek fairy tales also presented dragons    4    violent sea monsters or guards of valuable     5     (possession). By contrast, “loong”, a word    6     (create) in the 19th century, reminds people of strength and fortune, and should    7     (distinguish) from its Western cousin. In Shiji,     8    2, 000-year-old Chinese history book, the emperor’s mother dreamed of a dragon lying on her body,     9     (predict) the birth of a future emperor. Exactly for this reason, Chinese people proudly claim they are “descendants of the Loong” .

Therefore, some culture experts have been calling for a switch to ”loong”     10     (tell) the Chinese dragon from the frightening monsters of Western tales. The call is also in line with the push for cultural confidence to choose the preferred translation of the Mandarin word for a creature long respected in Chinese culture.

Lijiang Old Town, also known as Day an Old Town, was a former trading town and as top for traders carrying goods on the Ancient Tea and Horse Road. It    1    (list) as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

In Lijiang Old Town, you’ll find a mix of architectural style influenced by several    2    (culture) — Naxi, Bai, Yi, Tibetan, and Han. The town also possesses    3    ancient water supply system of great creativity. Every year, millions of tourists visit Lijiang Old Town, which features ancient street sandstone bridges    4    (decorate) with flowers. In addition, there    5    (be) many ancient buildings, beautiful parks, and museums.

The Mufu is one of Lijiang’s famous attractions. It was the residence of the Naxi People’s Mu clan (宗族) who were in charge     6     Lijiang during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. It was     7    (actual) the heart of Lijiang Old Town for 800 years. Another    8    (attract) is the Black Dragon Pool. The water is as beautiful as jade and reflects Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, so it is also called Jade Spring Park. It is a wonderful place    9    (take) pictures of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Nobody will miss the Lion Hill, on the top of which there is Wangu Tower     10    you can lookout to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and the surrounding crop fields and villages.

What are you waiting for? Come to explore Lijiang right now!

Under the influence of the recent EL Nino,     1     is reported that the average global temperature in 2023 has set the record, making it the warmest year since 1850. The temperatures in most     2     (region) of China from this winter to next spring will be above the long-term average. This winter the     3     (combine) of EL Nino and global warming raised the chances of natural disasters     4     (cause) by extreme weather. The EL Nino is predicted to cause the sea surface temperature to reach its     5     (high) point between November 2023 and January 2024. EL Nino is     6     naturally occurring climate phenomenon that starts with unusually warm surface water in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, which then goes on to affect the weather worldwide. On average, it     7     (occur) every two to seven years, and one episode     8     (typical) lasts nine to twelve months. Since May, an EL Nino system has heated the atmosphere in the tropical Pacific,     9     (lead) to a rise in global temperatures. Research indicates that a mild EL Nino event can increase the global annual average surface temperature     10     about 0. 1℃, even 0. 22℃.

Known for its beautiful scenery, Mount Wuyi is the only place in the country     1     is home to Wuyi rock tea.

With tea farming dating back over 1,000 years, the mountain’s tea industry has a rich history. The area     2     (provide) tea for people at home and abroad since the first century CE, and in the     3     (eighteen) century, Wuyi rock tea was the most popular tea in Europe. However, its     4     (popular) was gained at the cost of the local environment. Illegal land reclamation (开垦) of tea mountains and the destruction (破坏) of plant resources have occurred frequently,     5     (damage) the environment in the area around Mount Wuyi.

The need to strike a balance between farmers’ livelihoods and the local environment has appeared as     6     unique challenge for the Wuyishan National Park, which covers 1,280 square kilometers as it straddles (横跨) the eastern provinces of Fujian and Jiangxi.     7     (found) in 2021, it was among the first batch of China’s national parks.

The park has a tea farming area of 34.54 square kilometers, accounting     8     2.7 percent of its total expanse. The     9     (authority) have cooperated with tea experts to develop measures for the protection and improvement of the Mount Wuyi tea industry and biodiversity, ensuring the sector’s sustainability for generations     10     (come).

With fossil records dating back to 400 million years ago, sharks have lived even     1     (long) than the dinosaurs and many other forms of life. There are more than 500 species of sharks     2     (discover) on earth.

These sharks,     3     are so important to the natural order of marine ecosystems, are faced with     4     (extinct). While they have been an important resource for coastal communities in the developing world for     5     (century), this unique balance is in danger of being lost forever.

As our oceans are     6     (serious) influenced by the greenhouse effect, to restore these water bodies is the key     7    protecting sharks. What’s more, sharks’ wide range of species adds difficulty to the conservation efforts of protecting these     8     (amaze) creatures. And the great demand for their fins     9     (increase) the urgency of the task over the past few years. Through the effective strategies, we are trying to restore the balance between humans     10     sharks.

Bird-watching, a hobby    1     (favor) by many westerners, has been included in a public benefit program “Park Classes” in Wuhan schools. In the past six years, the program has carried out over 3,000 activities in Wuhan’s thirty urban parks,    2    (cover) all of the city’s primary schools and welcomed by over one million students. Buried in books and having little access to the outside world, many students don’t have the     3    (little) idea of what nature really is. This program is designed to enhance the awareness of environmental protection among school kids,    4    often feel greatly refreshed by appreciating the grace of the adorable creatures through cameras.

Among the selective courses     5    (be) the restoration of small and micro wetlands .As for this course, what is needed is a lot of hands-on practice. Under the    6    (guide) of their teachers, students are required to conduct a research on a 500-square-meter wetland in the city parks. Focusing their attention    7    the wetland’s physical condition, they have recorded the number of plant and animal species to create a restoration plan. Thanks to    8    (they) efforts, the biodiversity of the wetland has been significantly improved.

“It’s very meaningful,” said Li Chenliang,    9    eighth grader from this project. “I have learned a lot of knowledge that cannot be    10    (direct) got from books. I should make full use of the city’s ecological advantages and get more chances to get closer to nature.”

Balesin Island lies in Lamon Bay, about 60 nautical miles east of Manila,     1     capital of the Philippines.

My family and I recently visited the small island,     2     is open for members only. The island is known     3     its slogan (标语): “Balesin, the most unique in the world.” What makes it so special? You can experience many     4     (difference) cultures and cuisines (菜肴) from around the world on one island.

Balesin Island is home to villas (别墅) representing several     5     (place), including the Greek island of Mykonos. Depending upon which villa you visit, the food and architecture make you feel like you’re in Bali, Tuscany, or the Greek island of Mykonos. There are also some stand-alone restaurants,     6     (offer) such choices as German, Japanese, Korean, and Mongolian food.

Most of the food     7     (serve) at the restaurants is grown on the island. Activities include bird watching, boating, fishing, gardening, and horseback riding.

J. J. Fernandez, a     8     (tour), said that she fell in love with the island during     9     (she) visit. Being on Balesin, she     10     (add), is like “traveling around the world in just three days.”

Humans    1    (make) about 9 billion tons of plastic since the 1950s, only 9% of    2    has been recycled and 12% has been burnt. The remaining 79% has accumulated (积累) in the    3    (nature) environment.

    4    (help) lighten nature’s load, researchers are now looking at alternative methods for plastic reduction. One such    5    (solve) comes in the form of a certain mushroom species with the ability to consume polyurethane, one of the main ingredients in plastic products. Scientists have discovered a few mushrooms that eat plastic over the years and while some are rare, others can    6    (find) in our local market.

Recently, students on    7    class research trip from Yale discovered a rare mushroom in the Amazon rainforest. According to the Yale research team, the plain-looking light brown mushroom can live in environments with or without oxygen, breaking down polyurethane before turning it    8    organic matter. The idea of    9    (use) mushrooms to break down plastic isn’t without its limitations. Releasing new organisms into new environments can be tricky business. One approach would be to collect the plastic debris (碎片) first and let the mushroom work its magic in a    10    (control) environment.

Giant Amazonian lily pads(睡莲叶) are the world’s largest and strongest floating plants and the giant Amazonian water lily has long fascinated scientists, architects and artists for    1    (it) beauty and sheer size. Yet how the lily’s leaves are able to grow as large as 10 feet across, strong enough to support the    2    (weigh) of a small child,    3    (remain) a mystery—till now. “    4    we showed through our experiments and modeling was that these leaves are uniquely strong and have great opportunities    5    (enable) them to grow really big,” says Thorogood, from a team of British and French scientists. In fact, the giant lily    6    (discover) by British explorers in South America in 1801 and symbolized the British Empire. But it became more than    7    symbol as botanists repeatedly attempted to grow it at home. The British gardener and architect Joseph Paxton was the first to    8     (success) grow the giant water lily. It inspired his design of the Crystal Palace, a London landmark of cast iron and glass that was built for the Great Exhibition of 1851. “Nature was the engineer,” Paxton said. “Nature has provided the leaf    9    special structures and supports that I,    10    (borrow) from it, have adopted in this building.”