The South China National Botanical Garden opened on July 11 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. It is the second national botanical garden in China,     1    (follow)the Beijing National Botanical Garden. With both gardens located in different climate     2     (zone), the species of plants that can be conserved in Guangzhou differ     3     (complete) from those in the Beijing garden.

With a total area of 333 hectares of exhibition and scientific research, the Guangzhou garden is the     4    (large) subtropical (亚热带的) botanical garden in the world, as well as one of China’s oldest institutions for botanical research and conservation. It is home     5     about 17,000 species of ex-situ (异地的) plants away from their natural habitats, including 643 rare and endangered plants     6     337 wild plant species on national key protection lists. So far, 36 species of rare and endangered plants, such as Camellia azalea and Dunnia sinensis,     7     (return) to the wild thanks to the garden.   

As one of the countries with the richest plant diversity in the world, China has more than 37,000 known species of land plants,     8     account for about 10 percent of the total in the globe. The     9     (found) of the national botanical garden system will enable the country     10     (protect) its plant diversity more effectively.

Picking tea leaves is     1     important spring activity in South China. Ancient Chinese     2     (agriculture) production has long been guided by solar terms, and so has tea production. Tea leaves are ready to pick before Qingming; tea     3     (pick) at that time is called Mingqian tea. Because of the small output and good quality, Mingqian tea     4     (consider) quite valuable.

China has been a big tea producing country since ancient times. According to official data, China’s tea planting area     5     (grow) in recent years, with an increase of more than 1.81 million hectares in 16 years since 2000 and     6     (it) yearly tea production has ranked first in the world for several years in a row.

In spring, local hillsides are often filled with tea pickers as well as farmers     7     (plant) on their land. The beautiful scenery of tea farms in the countryside has also contributed     8     an increase in tourism in these places. Many families take their children to experience the fun of picking tea leaves during spring outings with     9     (laugh) ringing in the mountains. Picking tea leaves reflects hard work of Chinese people,     10     is one of the traditional virtues (美德).

The loquat(枇杷) is native to southeastern China. The     1     (leaf) of the loquat tree bear a similarity to the pipa,     2     ancient Chinese instrument. That's     3     it shares the same Chinese pronunciation with that of the instrument. The loquat was first planted by the Chinese people 1,800 years ago and spread abroad later on.

When     4     (study) in Japan in 1988, Lin Shunquan, a Chinese professor, found that the scientific name for the loquat was “Japanese plum“ internationally     5     that it was thought to be native to Japan. Since     6     (he) return to China in 1989, Lin Shunquan has been working to correct the name of the loquat. In 1998, his paper Loquat: Botany and Horticulture was published in a     7     (profession) journal, arguing that the loquat originated in China. Since Japan     8     (acknowledge) that the loquat originated in China in 2006, the name, “Chinese plum”, has been accepted worldwide.

In addition,     9     (devote) to advancing the loquat planting techniques, Professor Lin helped to develop the loquat industry. Due to the demanding techniques of growing loquat and the high cost of labor, few young people     10     (willing) take over. Lin Shunquan has also worked with Alibaba to establish a direct base, which has attracted young people to return to their hometowns to set up online shops.

As the world    1    （large）cotton consumer and the second largest producer of cotton, China has a long history of cotton cultivation. It is worth    2    （mention）that Xinjiang cotton is highly regarded because of its high yield and high quality.

    3    （locate）in the inland of Eurasia（欧亚大陆）, Xinjiang has a typical mild continental climate. Drought, little rain, sufficient heat, big temperature    4    （different）between day and night and long day make a good growth environment for cotton.

Though Xinjiang has little rainfall, it has a large number of snow-capped mountains, from which meltwater gives cotton abundant water resource. Meanwhile,    5    contrast to the instable rainfall in the monsoon（季风）regions, mountain snowmelt has the characteristics of stable water transportation,    6    is very suitable for the growth of cotton.

Xinjiang is lightly populated and has a vast planting area. It has    7    area of 1.66 million square kilometers and a population of about 23 million. The cotton planting area    8    （cover）25,019.3 square kilometers in 2020，according to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Xinjiang.

The combination of advantaged    9    （nature）conditions and mechanical technology makes Xinjiang cotton have good quality. Endless white cotton has also become one of the    10    （symbol）of great beauty in Xinjiang.