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.

Could the Moon Help Fuel the Earth?

Fossil fuels have been powering the earth for over 200 years, but reserves of coal, crude oil (原油) and natural gas may run out one day.

The long-term solution may lie nearly half of a million kilometers away on the moon. It contains large quantities of helium-3 (氦-3), a form of gas that could     1     (potential) be extracted (提炼), brought back to the earth and used as fuel without damaging the environment.

“The real     2     (attract) of helium-3 is that it is a nuclear process,     3     doesn’t release any greenhouse gases,” said     4     engineering professor. “That would be the     5     (big) advantage-nuclear power without nuclear waste, and it would be a goal for the earth.”

Present on the earth in small quantities, helium-3     6     (use) in medical diagnostics (医学诊断), but it is yet to be used as a source of energy. However, there are large enough quantities of helium-3 on the moon to power the earth for a thousand of years or so and provide the earth     7     all of the energy.

But     8     (bring) helium-3 back to the earth is a complex process. The gas,     9     (find) in the moon’s soil, would need to be heated to 600℃ before being extracted and transported back to be turned into fuel in nuclear power     10     (plant). Even so, the project is beginning to interest some of the world’s leading nations in the environmental and economic potential of helium-3.

Yuncheng,     1    (know) as “Hedong”, is one of the birthplace of Chinese civilization. With its rich cultural heritage spanning thousands of years, Yuncheng has become a destination for those interested in     2    (explore) China’s roots. From the earliest hominid fossils(原始化石) to salt mining techniques, Yuncheng is home     3     some of the most significant artifacts(史前古器物) and sites in Chinese history.

The Hedong Salt Lake is one of the oldest salt fields in the world, with     4     history of over 4, 600 years. “The Five-Step Salt Production Method”, which     5    (origin) during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, became a vital technological     6    (contribute) to the salt industry in China and the world. This technique predates European salt production methods by nearly one thousand years and     7    (list) as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2021.

    8    (recent), Yuncheng has increased its     9    (ecology) restoration efforts of “returning salt to the lake”. The salt lake has changed from a mining area to a tourist hot spot,     10     offers visitors a new appearance.

Beijing — Planetary scientists in China found hints of water “reservoirs (水库)” on the moon. Over billions of years, the surface of the moon     1    (hit) by space rocks, causing the soil     2    (melt) and be ejected (喷射) into space. Then it is cooled down and falls back to the lunar surface,     3    (form) beads (珠子) of glass. The Chang’e 5 probe,     4     returned to Earth on Dec 17, 2020, brought back     5     total of 1,731 grams of rocks and soil from the lunar surface, including glass beads.

After looking into the glass beads from the sample, the international research team     6    (find) that about one ton of glass beads may contain 0.5 kilograms of water. Hui Hejiu, one of the study authors said, “This ‘water’ wasn’t a liquid     7     instead took the form of hydrogen (氢气). The hydrogen     8    (contain) in the glass beads can     9    (easy) be turned into the water we can use.” If the water in the beads is easy to get, it will be a “really big deal” for deep space     10    (explore) missions in the future.

China has planted millions of trees in its northwest over the past two decades as part of its     1     (amaze) fight against the expanding deserts.

The effort has paid off. Around 2000, deserts across the country were still increasing by 10,400m² a year. But in 2017, they were decreasing by more than 2,400m² a year. The     2     (achieve) was confirmed by a study from the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences in Paris.

“In 1999, the Chinese government began planting millions of trees in its Grain for Green Program. It     3     (carry) out to repair damaged farmland in northwestern China,     4     is roughly the size of France,” says Philippe Ciais, a researcher at the laboratory. “I was there a few months ago, and it is indeed surprising that once bare landscapes are now almost fully covered by plants.”

“The growth of forests is significant     5     necessary progress in the fight against desertification,” says Jianping Huang, a researcher at Lanzhou University. “But it’s still too early to determine whether it has solved the problem. Researchers have found that many of the plant species     6     (introduce) to the region use more water     7     native vegetation. It could lead to water shortages for humans.”

The national forestry department has recognized the error. In recent years, it has worked more closely with researchers and communities to find ways to plant less     8     (thirst) plants that have economic value.

“All     9     (program) need to take into account local conditions,” the forestry department said in March “    10     (we) efforts should go towards keeping vegetation sustainable, rather than simply planting more trees.”

BEIJING, Nov. 30(Xinhua)—The three astronauts aboard China’s Shenzhou-15 spaceship entered the country’s space station and successfully met with another astronaut trio on Wednesday, a historic     1     (gather) that added the manpower at the in-orbit space lab to six for     2     first time.

It is the first time that Chinese astronauts aboard the space station     3     (see) the visit of a crewed spaceship, according to the CMSA.

Chen Dong, the commander of the Shenzhou-14 crew, opened the hatch at 7: 33 a. m. (Beijing Time). The three space station occupants greeted the new arrivals with warm hugs     4     then they took a group picture     5     their thumbs up,     6     shouted in chorus—“China’s space station is always worth     7     (look) forward to.”

The space reunion     8     (kick) off the first in-orbit crew rotation in China’s space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The six astronauts are projected to live and work together for about five days to complete     9     (plan) tasks and handover work, said the CMSA.

The whole process took     10     (approximate) 6.5 hours, the CMSA said.

Environmentalists are getting more worried about the harmful effects of fast fashion on the environment.

Fast fashion is the mass production of clothes at a low cost, which are put in shops and online quickly     1     (create) a high demand. Manufacturers (制造商) make 100 billion items of clothing every year and this is expected to grow     2     60 percent by 2030. It is reported     3     many of the clothes end up in the trash and are not recycled. The way people are buying clothes also adds to the problem of clothing waste. Many years ago, people went to stores and     4     (try) clothes on. They took more time and thought     5     (careful) before they bought clothes. They also wore them for a much     6     (long) time compared with current consumers. Today, people order cheap clothes on the Internet for     7     (convenient) and if they don't like them, they throw them away. This is possibly leading to     8     throwaway society.

Another negative effect on the environment that can not     9     (ignore) is caused by the chemicals used to make the clothes. These chemicals cause pollution to the environment as well as health problems for people     10     (work) in clothes factories.

March 12th is China's annually National Tree-planting Day. On this day, millions of Chinese, from all walks of life, will put their works at hands aside for     1     moment, take shovels and buckets as well as saplings, and trek out to green up their hometowns.

First     2    (create) by the US agriculturist Sterling Morton in 1872, Tree-planting Day was set in order to inspire people's passions for planting and protecting trees, and     3    (protect) and improve the     4    (nature) environment on which people depend on for their living.

China's Tree-planting Day could date back     5     a proposal made by Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), a great China revolution leader, to Beiyang Government (1915-1927) in 1915 and then regulation was     6    (formal) publicized that Tomb-sweeping Festival (April 5th)     7    (adopt) as Tree-planting Day. However, April 5th was a late time for tree-planting in Southern China and so it was changed to March 12th by the Nanjing National Government (1927-1949) in order to memorize Sun Yat-sen,     8     passed away on March 12th.

In February 1979, the 5th National People's Congress of People Republic of China made a     9    (resolve) that March 12th would be taken as Chinese Tree-Planting Day, requiring the whole country to carry out tree-planting     10    (activity) on this day and support the construction of forestry.