Actress Jia Ling topped the social media topics on the second consecutive day of the Chinese Lunar New Year as her great weight     1     (lose) of 50 kilograms during the shooting of her movie Yolo triggered heated discussions over healthy lifestyle and allowed some viewers     2     (draw) aspirations from her arduous weight-loss journey.

The     3     (high) anticipated comedy Yolo hit theaters across China on Feb 10, the first day of the Lunar New Year. It is now leading the domestic movie box office. According to Douban, “YOLO”     4     (adapt) from the 2014 Japanese movie “100 Yen Love”. This movie is comedian-actress-director Jia Ling’s sophomore feature, three years after her 2021 directorial debut box-office blockbuster “Hi, Mom” for which she holds the record as the world’s highest grossing female movie director.

Topics related     5     Jia’s stunning weight loss were dominating Weibo such as “full record of Jia’s losing weight journey” and “Jia Ling totally shocked me,” as netizens discuss     6     it is time to develop a more balanced habit starting from the Spring Festival.

“Her achievement is quite     7     (inspire) and     8     deserves a movie ticket,” moviegoer Li Qiaoya,     9       regularly visits the gym to lose weight, told the Global Times on Sunday. “I feel     10     (guilt) for eating too much during the Spring Festival already.”

5 . How to enhance your immunity during the winter months?

As the temperatures drop and flu and cold season approaches, we need to start thinking about looking after our immune (免疫) health.    1    .

There is strong evidence that sleep enhances immune defence. Try to aim for between seven and nine hours of good quality, restorative sleep every night.     2     . Develop a relaxing bedtime routine and avoid screen time around 90 minutes before you sleep.

    3     . It doesn’t matter whether it is volunteering in the community, picking up the shopping for an elderly neighbour, maintaining your friendships or making quality time for your friends and family.

    4    .

Regular exercise improves heart health, lowers blood pressure, helps maintain healthy body weight, and protects against a variety of diseases including viral and bacterial infections.

The relationship between smoking and/or extra alcohol consumption and bad immune-related health effects such as inability to pneumonia is well documented.     5    . Try to avoid or reduce risky substances such as alcohol as these have a negative impact on immune health.

6 . Zhang Zening, a hanfu supporter and lover in Nanjing, East China’s Jiangsu Province, started a surprising journey eight years ago to restore (使复原) this traditional Chinese clothing. Inspired by ancient murals (壁画), Zhang, 41, studied the artistry of hanfu in various museums, changing paintings into touchable and wearable pieces.

Upon graduating from college, Zhang first worked in material research, burying herself in the laboratory, conducting chemical experiments for the study of raw materials. At the time, she was one of the earliest lovers of hanfu in China, frequently organizing various hanfu activities in her spare time. Now as the owner of a hanfu studio, Zhang has worked with women’s re-employment organizations, looking for full-time stay-at-home women with sewing (缝纫) skills. This matched with her need for the production of hanfu.

Around 2015, Zhang began to focus independently on the process of hanfu restoration. In that year, she visited Dunhuang, Northwest China’s Gansu Province where she was attracted by the beautiful murals there, wondering how she could possibly change them into beautiful costumes.

In the past years, she has traveled to more than 10 cities across China, constantly studying murals and conducting research to restore hanfu from different dynasties. She managed to restore more than 50 sets. She referred to different materials including various murals, other cultural relics and literature to make sure that the restoration is as correct as possible. Thanks to her work, many young people wear restored hanfu when they visit museums, and Zhang is excited to see more of them doing so.

7 . How to Stay Awake During School

If you’ve ever pulled an all-nighter or had a bad night of sleep, you know it's difficult to stay awake in class when you're tired   So how to keep yourself awake?     1       

Taking part in class

    2     They are great ways to force yourself to stay awake because they require your mind and your body to work together. To effectively listen to your teacher, you should try to maintain eye contact, face the speaker, and pay close attention. Also, group discussions are a great time to keep yourself awake. Try to sit yourself near people who always volunteer in class and have a lot to say in discussion.

Keeping your body active

Walk around before or after class     3     For example, go outside during breaks and get your blood moving to keep your body awake. Besides, you can stretch a little in your chair to help you feel refreshed. You can start by rolling your wrists, shoulders, and neck.   After you stop moving, you might feel tired again, but it can help a little bit.

    4    

Whether your class is in the morning; afternoon, or evening, eating three regular and balanced meals per day will help you fight tiredness       5     But you should avoid heavy foods right before class as they can make you sleepy. By the way, especially in a class, a bottle of cold water can kick in right when you might start sleeping. Come to class with a bottle of cold water. You’ll also get a little energy from the coldness every time you take a drink.

8 . Just as British people are always proud to say that they have “green fingers”, people in the US use about 34 billion liters of water on their gardens almost each day. At the same time, however, much of this country is experiencing a ten years’ drought (干旱). People in Florida, California and much of the western United States can’t water their lawns — or can’t water them as often as they’re used to. These lawns may not die, but neither will they look as green as grass lands in other places.

Both homeowners and researchers have been looking for solutions. Brooke Moffis, a graduate student at the University of Florida, works with Basil Iannone in the school’s lab on the ecology of living area, aiming to save water. Iannone says one way to do that is to fill a lawn with a variety of native plants. He recommends focusing on ones that can adapt to dry conditions, rather than keeping those thirsty English grasses.

People often regard lawns as grass and nothing else. When a lawn is planted with just one kind, it’s called a monoculture (单一栽培). “But we don’t need it to be a monoculture to serve the function of a lawn,” Iannone says. Adding native plants, including those that are considered as weeds, can make for a healthier outdoor space, Iannone added.

Imagine you’re a hungry insect. If you eat nectar (花蜜) — as many bees, butterflies, beetles, moths, ants and other insects do—a grassy lawn isn’t going to feed you. It would be like going to the grocery store and finding only one kind of food for a long time. But it’s a food you either can’t eat or don’t like.

A garden growing a variety of flowering plants would instead seem like a welcome buffet with a variety of food. The different nectar in these many flowers would make sure you and other nearby insects had plenty to choose and eat. That’s the idea behind adding flowering plants to existing lawns, such as clover, purslane or pennywort.

9 . I stood at the departure gate in Boston, preparing to cross the Atlantic. Although I had made the journey countless times before, it never really got much _________ to leave my home and family. I looked at my mother, our eyes full of _________ and as we wondered when we would see each other again she handed me a _________, saying it might help me feel better. Little did I know that it would not only help me feel better, but would also teach me one of life’s greatest lessons.

Now, back in Switzerland, I opened my mother’s package. It was a book of recipes; I laughed out loud as I _________ through it. All the sections were _________ but the one section on _________ was full. Here were handwritten cards _________ things like “Double Chocolate Fudge,” many of which were created by my mother. Then my heart _________ as I noticed what she had written:

Make some desserts. Remember all the wonderful times we have had together, and have them now with your family.

She was telling me: we must grow up and _________ our own lives, even when it sometimes __________. But there was more to be enjoyed. Recipes in hand, I remembered Christmases of joy and __________ homemade treats. Now, years later, Mom was telling me about what really __________ in life: the only real gifts we can __________ for our children are the beautiful memories of our time together. It is never too late or too early to create beautiful memories and it is now my __________ to give them to my children.

I hope that my girls will marry the boy next door. But wherever they may be, I hope that they will one day open my mother’s recipes. And like me, they will find a recipe for __________.

Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind. At the age of 12 he was still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller, often became extremely angry with him. He would squirm (来回扭动) in his seat and make a lot of noises. At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly. Most of the time, however, Jeremy just annoyed his teacher.

One day Doris called his parents and asked them to come in for a talk. As the Forresters entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them, “Jeremy really belongs to a special school. It isn’t fair to him to be with younger children who don’t have learning problems.”

Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her husband spoke. “Miss Miller,” he said, “there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here.” Doris sat for a long time after they had left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to flow into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only child had a serious illness. But it wasn’t fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach, and Jeremy was a distraction.

As she thought over the situation, guilt washed over her. Here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared to that poor family, she thought. From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy’s noises and his blank stares.

Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them the story of Jesus (耶稣), and then to highlight the idea of new life, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg. “Now, I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?”

“Yes. Miss Miller,” the children responded enthusiastically — all except for Jeremy. He listened carefully; his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual nose.

The next morning, 19 children placed their eggs in the large basket on Miss Miller’s desk.

Then Doris opened the third egg but it was empty.