The Qiaoxi Historical and Cultural Block in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, is perfect for visitors     1     (experience) China’s rich culture. The area is known     2     “Qiaoxi,” which means to the west of a bridge. Because its     3     (locate) is on the western side of Hangzhou’s famous Gongchen Bridge, an ancient structure     4     (lay) across the Grand Canal.

Once a busy market for local trade in ancient times and     5     industrial area in modern times, the Qiaoxi Block has now become a tourism district. Visitors can enjoy Chinese culture up close through a blend (混合) of     6     (tradition) business trade, scenic spots and residential areas. It is also a place     7     several museums meet together, including the China Knives, Scissors and Swords Museum, the China Umbrella Museum, and the China Fan Museum and so on.

    8     (walk) along the street, visitors can encounter street performances featuring local folk arts, or take their children to a Chinese medicine workshop,     9     try their hand at gaining cultural heritage skills at the Handicraft Dynamic Museum.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal     10     (list) on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014, where the two heritage sites of the Gongchen Bridge and the Qiaoxi Historical and Cultural Block were included in the project as well.

5 . In the face of technological change, creativity is often held up as a unique human quality.

Today however, AI applications such as Chat GPT and Midjourney seem to threaten to upend this special status. These new AI models learn from huge database and user feedback, and can produce new contents in the form of text, images, and sounds. As such, jobs focused on delivering contents — writing, creating images, coding, and other jobs — now seem likely to be uniquely affected by AI. The situation seems more concerning when most of these applications are so easy to use that even children with elementary-level skills in their natural language can use them to create contents right now.

This isn’t a necessary threat to people who do creative work, though. Rather than putting many creators out of work, AI allows them to do it with greater speed and efficiency and reduces the time and effort required to come up with new ideas. Of course, humans will still have to devote time to possibly correcting and editing the information AI produces, but, overall, creative projects should be able to move forward more quickly.

But what we can’t ignore is that AI produces contents cheaply and fast. So there’s always a trend that human writers, producers, and creators practice less and less new human intellectual thoughts and gradually rely on AI design totally. In this way there’s a real risk that innovation will slow down over time and thus significantly change the present structure for creative work.

Creativity has always been of great importance to innovation process and hence competitiveness. So, we need to understand the threats and challenges AI brings. And once we understand what is to change and how, we can adopt AI to create greater value and it is quite hopeful that we see further liberation for creativity.

7 . In January 2008, Rachel Lapierre, a full-time nurse and part-time volunteer aid worker, made a life-changing decision. After an exhausting day at work she ________ a $4 lottery ticket (彩票) at a local store. At that moment, Rachel made a(n) ________ — if she struck it lucky with the lottery, she would ________ her nursing career. Because humanitarian (人道主义) work was what she had longed to ________ her life to. When Rachel scratched the ticket, she discovered she had won a big ________ — $675,000.

True to her word, Lapierre spent all her life through her ________ project, Le Book Humanitaire. It began as a humble ________ of good deeds in a simple notebook, which she used to keep track of what she had done to ________ those living in the small communities around her. To her, they were just small acts of ________ — buying clothes for newly arrived immigrants, or delivering ________ to lonely seniors. But ________ started spreading, and a Facebook page she created for the project became a(n) ________ way to answer requests from those in need.

Over the years, Le Book has ________ a remarkable team of 80 volunteers. This nonprofit ________ has become a hope for the community. The notebook itself has since been replaced by dozens more, ________ millions of deeds. In 2022 alone, it ________ nearly 450,000 acts of service, ________ the lives of countless individuals.

Le Book Humanitaire, born from Rachel’s lottery win, continues to be a source of ________ for the community. “When you do a good deed, it has a butterfly effect,” says Lapierre. “One good deed can ________ 10 people. So if we all do a good deed? That can ________ the world.”

8 . Although travelling alone may sound discouraging, solo travel is continuing to rise in popularity. There may be numerous reasons why someone is travelling independently. Here are our top reasons to travel by yourself.

Time for you

Some people say solo travel is the comfort and relaxation of having your very own. However, for those looking for some more adventurous “me-time,” solo tours also typically offer plenty of free time to go it alone. During your time at leisure, you have the freedom to do your own exploration, see the sights you want to see or simply relax and take it easy. With no-one to compromise with, it’s totally up to you.

Meet like-minded people

Solo travel doesn’t mean you have to travel alone. Solo travelers come from all walks of life, but they usually all share the same passion — a desire to see the world! It’s often the people you meet on holiday that are the max highlight of the entire trip and, even though you’re travelling alone, you’ll have amazing memories of the shared experiences you had together with people in your group. Take plenty of pictures to remember forever.

You’ll never be alone

Group travel is ideal for solo travelers as it offers the opportunity to a group of like-minded people, each interested in their chosen destination. Being part of a group provides extra security (especially key for independent female travelers who may feel anxious about being on their own) and for everyone there is the benefit of an expert local guide who is keen to share their knowledge. The guides also accompany you on tours and can offer suggestions on what to see and do in your leisure time to ensure you have an authentic and enjoyable experience.

So, if your friends and family are unable to join you on your dream holiday, don’t let that stop you. Travel Department is delighted to partner with Reader’s Digest and offer their readers an exclusive discount on 2023 & 2024 holidays. To discuss any questions or make a booking simply call 0203 966 0527.