The Old Town of Lijiang, lying in the northwest of Yunnan Province, is one of the last     1     (survive) ancient towns in China. The architecture of the Old Town of Lijiang is noteworthy for the     2     (combine) of elements from several cultures, and its ancient water-supply system still functions     3     (effective) today.

The Yulong Snow Mountain to the north-west     4     (serve) as the source of the rivers and springs. This town is made up     5     three parts: Dayan Old Town established in the Ming Dynasty as a commercial centre, Baisha housing cluster established earlier during the Song and Yuan dynasties, and Shuhe housing clusters located 4 km north-west of Dayan Old Town. These settlements lying in mountains and     6     (surround) by water display the mixture of local cultures, folk customs and traditions over several centuries.

It     7     (design) as a town around the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty. From 1253 on, the Naxi people of Lijiang developed     8     unique social system, customs and culture of their own. In the 18th century, the Qing Dynasty rulers carried out a policy of     9     (culture) interaction, and the Naxi people adopted the customs of the Tibetan     10     Han peoples. Despite several earthquakes, most of the old town keeps its original structure.

CHINA DAILY Oct. 20, 2022 Two giant pandas arrived in Doha,     1     capital of Qatar, on Wednesday, on a plane from China to fulfill a cooperation     2     (agree) on giant panda conservation and research between the two nations. They     3     (expect) to stay in Qatar for 15 years under the agreement.

According to the CCRC for the Giant Panda in Sichuan province, the two pandas—3-year-old female Si Hai and 4-year-old male Jing Jing—left the research center’s Ya’an base in Chengdu, Sichuan,     4     Qatar on Tuesday.

Mohamed, Qatar’s ambassador to China, said via video link during the farewell ceremony in Chengdu for the giant pandas that he appreciated the bilateral relations between Qatar and China, adding that the gift shows     5     deeply the relations have developed.

The ambassador said that the event was a milestone in cultural diplomacy,     6     (bring) the two sides’ relations to a     7     (high) level and a wider field. He also invited guests at the ceremony to visit Qatar and watch the 2022 Qatar World Cup,     8     (hold) on Nov. 20 in Doha.

“     9    is the first time that giant pandas have traveled to the Middle East,” the center said, adding that breeders and vet experts were sent to help the giant pandas adapt to the new environment. So far, the number of captive giant pandas worldwide     10    (increase) to 673, according to the center.

In every photo from our family vacation to Washington, D.C., I was showing off the souvenir I picked out at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo — a white, oversize, cotton sweatshirt with pandas     1     (dance) on the front.

Nearly 30 years later I found myself among     2     pool of photojournalists and video crews packed into the panda enclosure(围场), covering a small cub(幼兽) named Bei Bei for National Geographic.

After the photographs of Bei Bei     3     (publish), my editor suggested I ask zoo administrators if I could return periodically     4     (document) the first year of the cub’s life. They said yes.

On that first day with Bei Bei, I felt a little thrill as a zoo staffer took me down a quiet path to the back of the panda enclosure     5     the panda’s keepers were waiting. They introduced     6     (they), handed me shoe coverings and a mask, and led me through a series of gates and     7     (eventual) to Bei Bei.

Soon I was making regular     8     (stop) at the zoo to record the baby panda’s transformation. My kids had never been     9     (interested) in my job than when I was on the Bei Bei beat. When I mentioned the project     10     friends and neighbors, they would light up in ways I’d never seen. It turned out that everyone loved pandas.

Chongqing—Since August 21, thousands of firefighters, armed police, and volunteers have been fighting the wildfire in Beibei, as the forest of Jinyun Mountain was burning for the     1     (five) day.

Due to the     2     (extreme) hot weather in recent days, Chongqing     3    (fight) several forest fires around the mountains,     4     have drawn global attention.

Most of the sites have announced     5     (success) fire suppression (压制). Still, the fire is in a severe state.

Even though the road to the fire site     6     (block) due to safety concerns, warmhearted volunteers, mostly young people, still flooded in     7    (offer) help. On the scene, the volunteer leaders used loudspeakers to organize volunteers to carry and move     8     (supply), mainly water and ice. Liu Zhongliang, 24 years old, came with a veteran (退伍军人) organization of more than ten members.     9     group was waiting at the campsite at the foot of the mountain for a call for assistance.

“We are a community,” said Liu. “Let’s get together     10     try to solve this problem.”

The Asian elephant is     1     largest land mammal on the Asian continent. They live in forest and grassland habitats in thirteen     2     (country) in Asia. While they have preferred forage plants, Asian elephants are used to     3     (survive) on resources that vary in different areas.

Asian elephants are     4     (extreme) sociable, forming groups of six to seven related females     5     are led by an old female. Like African elephants, these groups sometimes join others     6     (form) larger herds, but these associations are relatively short-lived. In Asia, elephant herd sizes are much     7     (small) than those of Savannah elephants in Africa. Although an elephant spends half a day on the grasses, it can also eat large amounts     8     tree bark, roots, leaves, and small stems. Cultivated crops such as bananas, rice and sugarcane are favorite foods. Elephants are always close to a source of fresh water     9     they need to drink at least once a day.

In some Asian areas, people     10     (have) close associations with elephants over many centuries, and elephants have become important cultural symbols.

The Fanjingshan World Heritage property is located in South-West China,    1    (cover) a total area of 40,275 hectares(公顷), fully surrounded by a buffer zone of 37,239 hectares. Fanjingshan is located in a monsoonal(季风的) climatic context and    2    (be)an important source of water for the surrounding landscapes and beyond, with some 20 rivers and     3    (stream) feeding the Wujiang and Yuanjiang River systems, both of     4    run into the Yangtze River. The    5    (high) peak,Mt Fenghuangshan, has a height of 2,570 m above sea level.

Fanjingshan is an island of rock in a sea of karst and is home    6    many ancient plant and animal species which    7    (originate)in the Tertiary Period, between 65 million and 2million years ago.    8    total of 3,724 plant species have been recorded in the property,an     9    (impress) 13% of China’s total flora(植物群). Fanjingshan is the only habitat in the world for Fanjingshan Fir and Guizhou Snub-nosed Monkey, as well as 64 plant and 38 animal species that are listed as globally    10     (threaten).