Lǎozìhào refers to the old and famous shops, which have always been reliable and trustworthy and still enjoy     1     irreplaceable position in people’s minds since long time. Not only do they represent high quality and good reputation, they have also become an indispensable part in     2     (people) daily life.

These famous and time-honored shops, eg, Quanjude and Tongrentang,     3     (locate) in Qianmen, the center of Beijing, all have represented the highly developed     4     (commerce) culture of old Beijing.

But these shops are more about businesses; they are also a historical and cultural phenomenon. He     5     has never tasted a roast duck will regret his whole life--such common sayings have made Quanjude a     6     (represent) of Beijing. Many other similar two-part allegorical sayings among the folks have also     7     (vivid) revealed the very characteristics of these old shops.

Nowadays, with the rapid development of economy and fierce competition in modern society, some Lǎozìhào shops have been keeping pace     8     the times and carrying forward their brands through continuous reforms and innovations. That’s why they    9     (stand) the test of time and survived in competition, while some others have faded into the history due to their inability     10     (adapt) to the rapid changes in modern social life.

Chengdu, a city with a permanent population of more than 21 million and an area of more than 14, 300 square kilometers, is home     1     both captive (圈养的) and wild giant pandas. The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding     2    (house) more than 230 pandas. Visitors can observe them from behind fences or glass windows.

When     3    (visit) Chengdu, one should not miss out on the local cuisine, either. Sichuan cuisine, listed as one of China’s eight major culinary styles,     4    (become) popular internationally in recent years. On the list of the UNESCO City of Gastronomy, Chengdu is     5     birthplace of classic Sichuan dishes such as Kung Pao Chicken and MapoTofu,     6     is famous for its spicy hotpot as well as its diverse street snacks. In this city.     7    (fill) with food, one can delight in a satisfying meal at any random roadside eatery.

The charm of Chengdu goes far beyond pandas and Sichuan cuisine. For visitors interested in experiencing the folk customs and scenes of old Chengdu, my     8    (recommend) is a visit to Kuanzhai Alleys. As a symbol of leisurely city life and local market culture, Kuanzhai Alleys is known as the”     9    (spirit) home of Chengdu people“. For those.     10     want to experience the hustle and bustle of Chengdu, Chunxi Road and Taikoo Li in the city center are the top choices.

A vast region with beautiful scenery, lush plants, a lot of rivers and lakes dotted around, Hulun Buir Grassland is like a huge, green picture scroll,     1     gives you boundless views. The name Hulun Buir, which means “the land of lakes and rivers”,     2     (date) back to a legend long long ago. It is the best-preserved grassland in China     3     recognized as “The Grass Kingdom”.

With the most plentiful and excellent pastures in China, Hulun Buir Grassland also has the name The Purest Grassland     4     there is hardly any pollution there. Its animal products, like meat, milk, leather, and wool     5     (favor) by people both at home and abroad. It’s a famous tourist destination now.

With the irrigation of thousands of rivers, the grassland presents     6     (it) as a green carpet underneath the blue sky and white clouds. You can ride on camels and horses, watch wrestling and horse racing, and enjoy a bonfire party—the unique lifestyle of nomads can be     7     (full) appreciated.

The region’s location makes it warm and pleasant in the summer, while cold and     8     (snow)in the winter. During the summer, the meadows are covered with     9     blanket of multicolored wildflowers. Even in ancient times, the beautiful scenery of this place gained     10     (popular)with poets and writers and was described in their literary works.

Wetlands are known as the"kidneys（肾）)of the Earth", providing a variety of ecosystem services such as water conservation and climate regulation and having     1    (remark) carbon capturing(捕捉) ability. They can store 50 times more carbon     2    rain forests do, helping to keep the greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.

China's wetland     3    (cover) represents nearly 10% of the global total. In China, about 300 million people depend on wetlands     4    survival. Wetlands are vital for the food production of the country.

This year marks     5    30th anniversary of China's joining the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. China has made great efforts to preserve wetlands. Xixi National Wetland Park, lying in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province,     6    (approve) as China's first national wetland park in 2005. Now, there are 901 national wetland parks in China, 90% of     7    are open to the public for free. Among the 43 "international wetland cities", 13     8    (be) in China, the most in the world.

And on June 1, the country's first law     9     (devote) to wetland protection came into effect. The country's goal is     10    (bring) 55% of wetlands under protection by 2025, and become a leader in global wetland conservation and restoration by 2030.

Bird-watching is one of the activities offered by the public benefit program “Park Classes”, which     1     (launch) in the city of Wuhan in 2016.

The program aims to help raise the awareness of environmental     2     (protect) among primary and middle school students, and to help     3     (child) get close to nature through a variety of outdoor activities developing their ability to explore and take action.

Among the courses on offer     4     (be) the restoration of small and micro wetlands,     5     requires a considerable amount of hands-on practice. Under the guidance of tutors, students are required     6     (conduct) research on a 500-square-meter wetland in a city park, and then take action to promote     7     (it) restoration.

Last summer, a team of 15 students conducted a physical examination of the biodiversity of     8     micro-wetland in Wuhan’s Houxianghe park. During their field research, the team found that there were few fish in the micro-wetland. After further study, they concluded that the problem is     9     (large) due to the lack of submerged (水下的) and floating plants, which kept fish and amphibians     10     reproducing in large groups.

The activity was meaningful and the students learned a lot and they are expecting to take more chances like this.

A sea creature renowned as the sunflower sea star was once     1     (abundance) in the Pacific Ocean along the coast of North America. But in the last 10 years, about 90 percent of them     2     (die).

Scientists at the University of Washington are trying to understand     3     the sea stars died.     4     (do) so, they are growing them in a lab.

The sickness that killed them is known as sea star wasting syndrome. Jason Hodin, the top     5     (research) at the Friday Harbor Marine Lab, said the sickness might have happened because of warmer water caused by climate change.

    6    lab is on San Juan Island, northwest of Seattle. Hodin called his lab the world’s only “captive breeding program for the world’s only     7    (endanger) sea star.”

The university’s neuroscience department is also working on the study,     8     (try) to find out if warmer water changes the way the stars move. The group is using special cameras to see how the stars move     9     to create 3-dimensional pictures that can show differences. The pictures would show differences even with small changes to their environments - such as a small water temperature change.

So far, researchers think the sea stars are able to survive in     10     (warm) water.

    1     (work) on building sites for over 20 years, Hua Shankui, 59, had never imagined he’d become an expert on planting grass. But this was     2     happened on a construction site he’s working on in Wuhan, Hubei Province.

The 18-hectare construction site of the Huashan section of Wuhan Metro Line 19 is situated near an ecological reserve. Efforts had to be made     3     (ensure) that the local environment would not be compromised. To reduce pollution, using dust nets to cover bare soil is a normal practice on construction sites. However, a     4     (decide) was made at the Huashan site to plant grass on the soil, a more eco-friendly method.

When Hua     5     (give) the task of leading a grass planting team, he knew nothing about gardening. The first question facing     6     team was what kind of grass they should plant. Hua turned to local gardeners,     7     recommended carpet grass, a species     8     (common) planted in urban landscaping.

However, months     9     planting the grass, few seeds of carpet grass grew roots as the soil at the site contains too many small stones. He tried different varieties of grass. After conducting     10     (repeat) experiments on a small piece of land, Hua found rye grass (黑麦草) to be the right species. Hua and his colleagues started to plant rye grass. Four months later, the piece of brown soil was covered in green grass, adding life to the construction site while cleaning the air.

Jiuzhaigou Valley,     1     (know) as a “fairyland on the earth”, is a nature reserve and national park located in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Region in Sichuan Province. It is so named because the scenic area     2     (consist) of nine Tibetan villages. With an altitude of 2,000-3,100 meters above sea level, the scenic area enjoys pleasant climate and beautiful colors all the year round,     3     (be) one of the world’s famous attractions with the best tourist environment.

Jiuzhaigou Valley National Park combines with green lakes, over flying waterfalls,     4    (color) forests as well as the custom and culture of the Tibetan and Qiang nationalities, characterized by     5     (it) primitive and natural features. The scenic area has an area of 1,320 square kilometers including 30,000 hectares of primitive forest     6     exists many state-protected animals and plants such as the giant panda, golden monkey and mono-leaf grass.

Water is     7     soul of Jiuzhaigou Valley. As it is purely and fairly clear and rich in color, there goes the saying that no water is worth your attention after your visit    8     Jiuzhaigou. The water, the reflections on the lake, the Tibetan villages, and the songs and dances of the Tibetan and Qiang people form the unique tourist culture of Jiuzhaigou. The beauty of Jiuzhaigou is beyond     9    (describe). Come to Jiuzhaigou and you will have a(n)     10     (forget) experience in this fairyland.

China has been pushing space exploration boundaries on its own over the past three decades. It embarked on (开始)a “three-step” strategy     1     (boost) its human space program in 1992 when     2     (construct) a manned orbiting laboratory was still a flight of fancy for the Chinese people.

The first step was to send astronauts into space     3     ensure their safe return. The second step was to develop advanced space flight techniques and technologies,     4     included extravehicular(舱外的)activity and orbital docking(轨道对接).The     5     (three) step was to assemble and operate a permanent manned space station.

In April 2021, the country     6     (official) kicked off the in-orbit construction of its space station by launching the core module Tianhe. “In the past 30 years, many technical difficulties     7     (overcome), such as the technologies of shuttling     8     space and Earth, extravehicular activity, rendezvous, and docking,” said Yang Liwei, the country’s first taikonaut in orbit since he     9     (enter) space with Shenzhou-5 in October 2003.

So far, a total of 12     10     (astronaut) on four missions. Shenzhou-12, Shenzhou-13, Shenzhou-14,and Shenzhou-15, have participated in the in-orbit construction of the space station.

With about half of the vast country covered in wilderness, China is the world’s third most species-rich country. Therefore, China’s     1    (achieve) in biodiversity conservation and wilderness protection are important to the future of global biodiversity conservation.

The vital biodiversity,     2    (combine) with a large population, has led the government to reconsider its protected area system and transform some wilderness areas such as the rainforest in Hainan     3    formal national parks. The new national park system will make it more practical     4    (preserve) habitats and species. The aim is to preserve biodiversity and ensure a     5    (harmony) relation between humans and nature.

The national parks cross China’s vast ecosystems, from the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the south     6    the Hainan gibbon—a critically endangered species lives, the Giant Panda National Park, the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, the Wuyi Mountain National Park to the Sanjiangyuan National Park on the Qinghai-Tibet Platau—    7    source of the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Lancang River. The diversity of species and habitats under protection     8    (reflect) in these parks’ names.

The national parks are open to all. Visitors can make reservations online in advance     9    book on the spot. They should acquire a little local knowledge to get     10     (they) ready for the amazing trip and maximize their enjoyment.