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.”

3 . Studies continue to show how important strong friendships are to our overall health. Here’re the rules you are supposed to know to keep strong and healthy friendships.

    1     Everyone needs a support network. When you consider yourself the friend of another, you’re implicitly offering to be a part of his or her support network. What’s more, without trust and honesty, there is no authenticity (真实性) to the friendship.

Be all ears to your friends. Too often, we only “half hear” what others are telling us, and have a hard time making space for caring about others’ conditions.     2     If we don’t truly know what our friends need or can’t clearly express how we feel or what we need, friendships won’t survive or continue.

Throw away the judgment.     3     Good friends are able to realize that everyone is human. Friends don’t have to necessarily “like” or “approve” of their friends’ choices, but good friends will accept their friends’ choices no matter what.

Forgive (原谅) where you can — and seek forgiveness when you make a mess of something. No one promises to bring perfection to a relationship, so being willing to accept and forgive the weaknesses of others makes you more likely to build a lasting friendship.     4    

Respect your friends and their boundaries. Everyone has a right to set up personal boundaries to feel safe and respected. Some friends may have a difficult time letting people get close to them for fear of being hurt.     5     Give them the space they need to feel comfortable, and let the relationship deepen over time.

Chinese food,     1     (consider) to be one of the biggest     2     (culture) exchanges between China and other countries, is famous for its colors, flavors and the     3     ( vary) of its dishes and ingredients (原料).

The Peking Duck is one of the top popular Chinese dishes and is now regarded     4     one of China’s National Foods. Actually, the Peking Duck     5     (prize) for its good taste and impressive presentation. It is also famous for its thin, crispy skin, and its delicious meat,     6     is highly popular among all foreigners, including foreign celebrities and leaders.

This famous dish can be found at restaurants all around Beijing. First-class restaurants take this dish so     7     (serious) that some even have their own duck farms and use only a special kind of duck for    8     (they) specific Peking Duck dish. The Quanjude Restaurant, one of the largest roast duck restaurants in Beijing, if not the world,     9     (open) its door in 1979. It is popular at home and abroad.     10     (serve) as many as 5, 000 meals a day, Quanjude has become a place travellers must visit in Beijing.

5 . Top Wonders of the World

From India to Rome, these sights will inspire your next historical vacation.

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Constructed from 1632 to 1648, the property covers 42 acres, including its beautiful gardens.

Best time to go: Late spring and early summer in this part of India has often severe heat. Then come monsoons. November to February is your best chance for pleasant weather. The sunrises here are highly admired.

The Great Wall

The Great Wall of China is the world’s longest wall and one of the most famous landmarks in China. Dating back to about 700 BCE, it stretches over 13,000 miles and was designed to protect the country from invaders.

Best time to go: Plan for a spring or fall trip when the weather is nicer and fewer people visit. Summertime is often hot and crowded, and winter can be extremely cold in northern China.

Petra

Located in the Kingdom of Jordan, Petra was built directly into the cliffside around 312 BCE by the Nabataeans. The city includes temples, tombs, and its most well-known building — the Treasury.

Best time to go: Summer can get very hot in Jordan, and winter is much colder than you may realize. Weatherwise, aim for spring or fall.

The Colosseum

The Colosseum remains Rome’s top attraction. Built in the first century by Emperor Vespasian, the massive theater spans 620 by 513 feet, which would hold 80,000 people.

Best time to go: You’ll find fewer tourists there during Rome’s low season (winter), weekdays and during the opening hour or near closing time. If you show up in summer at midday, it’s going to be hot!

7 . Kiley Crisp, a 15-year-old teenager, has Williams syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes learning and developmental issues. Despite her outgoing personality, Kiley sometimes struggles to make friends. Last year, however, she met two amazing girls at a summer camp she went to. The girls, who live far away from her, daily contact Kiley. They call her, check in on her using social media, and make her feel deeply loved.

Kiley was out to dinner with family to celebrate her turning 15. She was extremely moved to find that her friends drove three hours to celebrate her birthday! In a video posted by her sister Ashley on social media, Kiley is seen moved to tears at how kind her friends were to surprise her on her birthday.

In the video, the 15-year-old is seen happily dancing around in a cafe. Then she feels two girls coming towards her. She realizes they are her two good friends. Kiley widens her eyes, unable to believe it, because both had told her that they felt sorry for not being able to come to observe her birthday. Then the two friends are seen comforting Kiley as they offer her hugs and wish her a happy birthday!

The video has acquired over 5.2 million views since it was posted, through which Kiley has received a lot of love. And in an update, she expressed her hearty thanks to those who left sweet comments. One of them said, “Really sweet of those girls to support their friend like that.” Another said, “The world would be a much better place if more people were like these girls. They are inspiring role models. We should all try to be so nice.”

8 . Have you ever found yourself in a group of people with similar ways of thinking and interests to yours? They understand you. They really get you. They may even be wearing similar clothing to yours. We have a great expression for this: Birds of a feather flock together. This means people of the same kind or with the same tastes and interests often find each other.

We have many similar expressions, and many of them use the word “mind” or “brain.” If someone thinks like me, I can say we are like-minded. I can also say we are of the same mind. There is also something called a hive mind. In a beehive; the bees all work together to reach the same goal. People who are part of a hive mind have similar thoughts, ideas, and opinions.

If you are a spiritual kind of person, you can call them your kindred spirits (灵魂伴侣). If you are more of a science person, you can say you are on the same wavelength. And if you are a person who likes to make things, you can use the expression: cut from the same cloth. All these expressions mean the same thing — you feel a strong connection to someone and feel very similar to them.

We have another expression that can also be used in this situation. But we only use it when we have a similar idea with another person: Great minds think alike. If you often listen to VOA Learning English, you belong to a community of like-minded people: People who want to practice their English.

9 . 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.

10 . 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.