Li Kang,     1     high school student, lives in Hebei Province. Today is his first day at Senior High school. He     2    (feel) that his new school is very good and classrooms are     3    (amaze) since all of them have     4    (computer). He likes his English teacher, a woman     5    (call) Ms Shen. Ms Shen tells them reading comprehension is important and encourages     6    (they) to speak a lot in class. Li Kang and his classmates are interested in Ms Shen’s teaching method,     7     is completely different from that of the teachers at Junior High school.

Today, after Ms Shen gave students instruction, they introduced themselves in class. Ms Shen also helps students improve their spelling     8     handwriting. They do spelling games in a fun way. After this class, Ms Shen ask them to write a     9    (describe) of the street where they live. Most of them look forward to     10    (do) it.

Hongbao is commonly seen across China. But what are these little red     1    (envelope) stuffed with money really for, and what do they mean? Hongbao is a gift of money in a red envelope. They are given on some important occasions, such as Chinese New Year, birthdays, and weddings in China as a way     2     (send) good wishes. The color red symbolizes energy, joy, and good luck in Chinese culture. Traditionally, red envelopes     3     (decorate) with beautiful Chinese calligraphy and symbols.     4    (actual), the important meaning of red envelopes is the red paper, not the money inside. Wrapping lucky money in red envelopes is expected to bring more     5     (happy) and blessings to the receivers. When it comes to receiving the hongbao, remember to always receive your hongbao with both hands. It is     6     (polite) to accept a red envelope with just one hand. When you receive a red envelope, you should express thanks     7     greet the giver with a pleasing phrase. Finally, never open your red envelope in front of the person     8     just gave it to you. You should do it     9     private or when you get home. In recent years, it     10     (become) popular to send electronic hongbao via WeChat as a greeting. Sending digital red envelopes has become a new way to greet friends or relatives that cannot physically be reached during the Chinese New Year period.

3 . It takes a lot of courage to make a painting or drawing. All your skills, or lack of them, are plain to see and open to praise or criticism. It’s hard and takes persistent courage to keep going when things are not going your way.

Everyone knows that it is a good thing to practice drawing and painting every day.     1     Daily drawing can easily become a repeated and boring activity that needs great effort it, it simply occupies the busy life without any reflection or sense of purpose. If you can practice frequently with an air of relaxation and small achievable goal, you will find it more rewarding and enjoyable.

If you produce frequent small-scale paintings, you will learn much faster.     2     Of course, when you are producing so much work, the odd failure doesn’t matter nearly as much either. Alongside developing your technical skills I would encourage you to study as much art as you can. Learn as much as you can about the paintings and artists that inspire you.     3    

It is likely that the paintings which inspire you will have qualities that you feel are lacking from your own.     4     All these make a difference to leading you forwards. This journey is never-ending and a large part of what makes it all so richly interesting.

    5     This helps in several ways:   firstly you’ll know better when the work is finished, secondly it helps you keep clarity of purpose and thirdly, you can judge its success against your original aim. Of course, wonderful and unexpected things will occur as you paint, but these can throw you off course too. Thus do keep your focus as you go.

My fear of performing started early on in my life. I was a shy child who preferred staying in the background and avoiding attention. However, as I grew older, I realized that I had a hidden desire to express myself creatively and share my talents with others. This desire led me to find out various art forms, including music, dance, and theater.

But I used to struggle with stage fright. Whenever I was asked to perform in front of others, I would feel a sense of dread (惧怕) and anxiety, and my body would tense up. I would worry about making mistakes, forgetting my lines, or embarrassing (使尴尬、难堪) myself in front of others.

I remember very well my first audition (试演) for a school play. The play was a musical adaptation (改编) of a classic fairy tale, and I was excited about the chance to be a part of it. However, as the audition day approached, my excitement turned into anxiety. I started to doubt myself, and I started to question whether I was ready to take on such a demanding (要求高的) role. Despite my doubts, I decided to go through with the audition, hoping to overcome my fear and prove to myself that I could perform.

The day of the audition arrived, and I stood nervously in front of the audiences. I could feel my heart racing and my palms sweating as I prepared to sing my song and deliver my lines.

However, as I started to perform, something excellent and unusual happened. I fully put myself in the role I was playing and felt a sense of freedom and joy that I had never experienced before. I began to lose myself in the moment, and didn’t feel nervous and anxious. When the audition was over, I was surprised to learn I had been chosen to play a leading role. I was both excited and worried at the same time, but I knew I had to push through my fear and give it my all.

Since then, performing became an important part of my life.