While many Chinese cities are experiencing freezing cold, spring lingers at the Dounan Flower Market in Kunming, Southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

A sea of blossoms, including lotuses, roses and sunflowers, is ready to go on     1     journey across the nation, decorating shopping malls, conference halls     2     the cozy corners of people’s homes

About 30 years ago, the Market was just a street with roadside stalls selling flowers, but today it has become Asia’s     3     (large) fresh-cut flower trading market. Its flowery beauty reaches more than 40 countries and regions, with the export value hitting 520 million yuan in 2021,     4     (rank) first nationwide. Yunnan’s fresh-cut flower growing area     5     (total) 21,700 hectares that year.

This is a market for all people, where everyone can buy their favorite flowers     6     the lowest price. It springs to life around 5 am every day. The wholesale trading session normally ends by 9 a.m. Packaging and delivery companies have     7     (branch) in Dounan and they can ensure quick delivery of the flowers. Live streaming on Douyin     8     (try) actively nowadays. The channels gain     9     (popular) but it is also quite exhausting.

Nevertheless, staying busy is     10     many flower sellers love.

This weekend a marathon took place in Salzburg, the city in     1     I’m currently living. I’ve never run for more than half an hour so I’m     2     (amaze) that some people manage to keep going for over four hours!

Running is     3     (difficulty) because you have to motivate yourself to keep going—it’s more solitary than a team sport. I used to get really out of     4     (breathe) while running and it didn’t feel good at all! Now I     5     (actual) enjoy going for a jog along the river in Salzburg,     6     (feel) my muscles working and breathing in the fresh air.

    7     (challenge) exercise is always rewarding. Hiking is fun because all     8     hard work, walking uphill, comes at the beginning of the day. Then at the top of the mountain you can enjoy the view and some well-earned chocolate! At the end of the day, you feel like you     9     (achieve) something.

This just shows that perseverance pays off —     10     you work hard, you can succeed.

In the rich and diverse Chinese traditional culture, hairpins (发簪), or “fazan” in Mandarin, stand out as elegant    1     (symbol) of heritage and beauty. Once playing    2    essential role in the daily clothing of ancient Chinese, they are now making a remarkable comeback among modern youth,    3    reflects a renewed passion for traditional culture.

Hairpins in ancient China were not    4     (mere) tools for holding hair in place; they were actually artworks, representing the wearers’ social status and personal taste.    5     (make)from a variety of materials and often decorated with    6     (detail) designs of flowers, birds, or dragons, these hair accessories   (配饰) carried profound cultural meanings and aesthetic (美学的) values.

In the past several years, amidst the fast-paced life of technology and globalization, a growing number of young Chinese    7     (rediscover) the fascination of the hairpin and offered it new meaning. This time it is not just about fashion; it’s an opportunity for them    8     (preserve) their cultural identity.

Modern designers are also breathing new life into the traditional hairpin, mixing ancient designs with contemporary aesthetics to appeal    9    the younger generation. These hairpins are not only worn with traditional hanfu dresses but have also found their way into everyday modern wardrobes,    10     (serve) as a unique bridge between the past and the present.

Rain is pouring down today, and it brings back sweet memories of our dog, Bambi.

Like all dogs, she was full     1     energy and wonder. Our boys described that she looked just like     2     young deer, Bambi, in the movie they had watched recently. The name     3     (fit) her perfectly at that time.

Bambi also had all the fine physical characteristics of the German Shepherd. She was strong, yet gentle and shy. She wouldn’t stop     4     (play) with my boys until they were completely tired.

When Bambi was almost two years old, a full-grown dog, she became quite protective of us, never failing to watch my     5     (child). She would sit in front of the front door, and managed     6     (drive) away many welcome and unwelcome guests.

Once, our washing machine was broken and a repairman     7     (call) to come to fix it. As he went close to our front door, Bambi jumped up     8     barked loudly to him.     9     (lucky), the babysitter and boys returned from their walk at that time and rescued the poor     10     (scare) repairman from our guard dog.

Wearing Hanfu and sitting in front of a Chinese zither (筝), Peng Jingxuan, a young Chinese student, moves her fingers gently along the strings on a street in Paris, France.

Peng has shared more than 200     1     (origin) videos online, with the most popular one featuring the theme song of the movie A Chinese Ghost Story viewed over 16.61 million times. “I love how she’s representing her culture in a     2     (set) where people are not familiar with it. You can tell she’s proud of her background and her music,” one of her fans commented.

Chinese zither (筝), or guzheng, is an ancient musical instrument with 21-26 strings and a length of 1.63 meters. Peng     3     (fall) in love with it when young and has been practicing it for years. Hardly finding Chinese instruments     4     (play) on the streets in Paris, she took along her guzheng     5     began her street performances to sharpen her skills. The more she performed, the more she felt a greater sense of responsibility     6     (spread) Chinese music and culture.

Considering her audience’s     7     (unfamiliar) with Chinese songs, Peng made adaptations, for     8     she received positive responses. She also performed Western pop songs that local people could relate     9    , entertaining them with beautiful melodies in a     10     (refresh) style.

Insect numbers have decreased by half in some parts of the world due     1     climate change and intensive agriculture (集约型农业), a study has found.

Lead researcher, Dr. Charlie Outhwaite of University College London, said     2     (lose) insect populations could be harmful not only to the natural environment, but also to human health and food security,     3     (particular) with losses of pollinators (传粉昆虫).

However, scientific data gives     4     mixed picture, with some types of insects showing sharp declines, while others are staying steady. In the latest study, the researchers pulled together data on the range and number of nearly, 20, 000 insect species, including bees, ants, etc, at 6,000 different     5     (place).

In areas with intensive agriculture and severe warming, insect numbers     6     (reduce) by 49% so far and the number of different species by 27%, compared with untouched areas       7     have avoided the most severe effects of climate change, according to the research     8     (publish) in Nature. But the researchers said there was some cause for hope in that setting aside areas of land for nature created a shelter for insects, which need shade     9     (survive) in hot weather.

“Some     10     (care) management of agricultural areas such as preserving natural habitats near farmland, may help ensure vital insects can still grow well,” said Dr. Charlie Outhwaite.