Last night it snowed and it     1     (be) the first fall of snow people had seen that winter. Priestley found the children     2     (look) through the windows at the snow fall excitedly. However, last year he was abroad sweating in a hot climate during the     3     (snow) season. In the past years, the first snow fall was not only     4     event but a magical event. People     5     (go) to bed in one kind of world and woke up to find     6     (they) in another.

This morning, when Priestley got up, the light     7     came through the windows made everything very strange. The dining room window had been transformed into a lovely Japanese print. An hour or two later, he looked out of the window and found the whole world     8     (change) again. It was as if the kindly countryside had been turned into a cruel grassland. Then the world had changed again. The snow was falling so     9     (heavy) that you could hardly see across the shallow valley. From his study, Priestley could see the children flattening their noses     10     the window and recalled a rhyme in his childhood.

Cheng Yongmao was born in a village in Huairou, Beijing and began to learn the skill of building under the     1     (guide) of his uncle in 1972. Although he didn’t receive a     2     ( high) education, his practical experience enabled him to readily take in the theories, which in turn     3     (improve) his skills significantly.

Cheng received his first Great Wall assignment in 2004. He led a construction team of dozens of members, most of     4     came from mountainous areas in neighboring Hebei province and were     5     (consequent) good at hiking up and down the peaks.

In 2016, he started to work on the Jiankou section, which     6     (consider) one of the most dangerous parts of the Great Wall in Beijing and is known by hikers as the “Wild Wall”. The toughest place is called Yingfei Daoyang (Eagle Flies Upside Down),     7     (suggest) that even an eagle would have to fly straight up,     8     its beak pointing up directly toward the sky to fly over this spot. Working there is dangerous, but under Cheng’s leadership, the workers adapted to the     9     (challenge) environment and built up their strength.

After years of efforts, the section has regained its historical appearance. “Protecting the Great Wall is my responsibility,” he said, “As long as I can climb up the mountain, I’ll do my best to lead my team, especially to assist them in gaining experience     10     making their due contributions.”

The Ocean of Stars, a symphony (交响乐) concert by Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, was staged at the Jinji Lake Concert Hall in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, on July 15, 2023.     1     part of the ongoing Hua Xia Music Festival hosted by Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, the concert     2     (conduct) by Chen Xieyang, featuring famous pianist Wu Chun. Chinese music     3     (work), including The Ocean of Stars and Mulan Psalm, all by Chinese composer Guan Xia, were performed.

The orchestra teamed up with Suzhou Silk Museum, presenting a modern show, which saw musicians of the orchestra wearing and showing     4     (tradition) Chinese silk clothes at the Jinji Lake Concert Hall. Started by conductor Chen, artistic director of the orchestra, the two-week Hua Xia Music Festival,     5     was in the third year, aimed at     6     (promote) Chinese music works.

Suzhou Symphony Orchestra also announced     7     (it) 2023-2024 season on July 15, which would close in July 2024. It was the orchestra’s     8     (eight) season, which gathered music artists with     9     average age of 30 years old from around the world.

The year 2023 marked the 65th anniversary of foreign relations between China and Algeria. It was the first time the orchestra     10     (perform) in Africa at the 13th International Classical Music Festival in Algiers, Algeria.

Dressed in traditional Chinese clothing, Ling Qianhui and her friends wander in charming violet and peach blossoms with their flowing sleeves and embroidered (刺绣的) skirts,     1     (make) a picturesque spring scene at the Nanning Garden Expo Park, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The passion for traditional Chinese clothes, also known as hanfu,     2     (sweep) across the country in recent years.

In the eastern city of Suzhou, which is known for its classical Chinese gardens, young people are     3     (particular) fond of the horse-faced skirts ahead of spring. It is a type of hanfu featuring a high and flat front with pleated (有褶的) sides     4     originated from the Song Dynasty and prevailed in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Nowadays, people won’t find     5     surprising to see passers-by in hanfu. “More young people like to wear traditional clothing when traveling because they have realized that their cultural     6     (identify) is related to hanfu and it has become a fashion,” said Pan Lusheng, chairman of the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association.

Chen Chen, a hanful over from Hunan Province, has collected many traditional clothes in various styles.     7     each trip, she would carefully select different colors and styles of hanfu     8     (match) the scenery of the scenic spots. Chen also pays attention to the embroidery     9     (pattern) and their cultural value. “They hide the words of our ancestors. For example, the chrysanthemum (菊花) pattern implies along life and a peaceful residence,” said Bi Hong, an embroidery artist     10     (commit) to conducting traditional clothing research and protection for almost 28 years.

“I wish you good health, happiness and longevity!” The allegro (快板) in the Chinese language resounded in a hall at Prince Sultan University, during a cultural event to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

    1     (crowd) with enthusiastic visitors, the event held on Monday afternoon showed the rich traditions of the Chinese festival,     2     fell on February 10 this year.

Abdullah Hazmi, a student who is studying the Chinese Proficiency Test(HSK) Level 2, expressed his     3     (admire) for the experience of tasting traditional Chinese foods and learning about the art of Chinese tea. He said that his encounter with the Spring Festival’s customs inspired a     4     (deep) interest in Chinese culture than ever,     5     (lead) him to learn more about the Chinese language.

Faisal Islam, who     6     (recent) has began his Chinese learning journey, shared how brush writing sparked his interest in the beauty of Chinese     7     (character) and the charm of Chinese culture. The event also featured traditional Spring Festival scrolls (卷轴), penned by students from China’s Tsinghua University. These volunteers presented a series     8     cultural performances, including traditional Chinese dragon dances and tai chi.

Zhang Xinying, the Chinese dean of the Confucius Institute at Prince Sultan University, said, “It is not only a Spring Festival celebration, but a grand event to bring Chinese culture into the campus, fostering deeper Sino-Saudi cultural exchanges.”

The Confucius Institute has witnessed     9     growing interest in Chinese language and culture since its opening on June 4, 2023, with nearly 100 students     10     (participate) in five classes to learn junior-and medium-level Chinese language.

Emotional eating is eating as a way     1    (ease) negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness and loneliness. Major life events or, more     2    (common), the troubles of daily life can arouse negative emotions that lead to emotional eating and disturb your weight-loss     3    (effort).

Although some people eat less in the face     4     strong emotions, if you’re in emotional distress you might turn to impulsive or binge (暴饮暴食) eating, quickly consuming whatever is convenient without     5    (enjoy).

In fact, your emotions can become so tied to your eating habits that you automatically reach for a treat whenever you’re angry or     6    (stress) without thinking about what you’re doing.

Food also     7    (serve) as a distraction. If you’re worried about an upcoming event or     8     conflict, for instance, you may focus on eating comfort food instead of dealing with the painful situation.

Whatever emotions drive you to eat more, the end result is often the same. The effect is temporary, the emotions return     9     you likely then bear the additional burden of guilt about     10     (set) back your weight-loss goal. This can also lead to an unhealthy cycle.

China’s two elite science and technology institutes on Wednesday announced their results for the new academicians, offering 133 top scientists and scholars nationwide the    1    (high) academic title in the country. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has selected 59 new academicians     2    the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) has selected 74.

The new academicians are from various fields,    3    (cover) subjects from space technologies to geology, and from medical and life sciences to agriculture and petrochemicals. The average age of the 59    4    (new) elected academicians of the CAS is 54.7 years old,    5     90 percent of them below the age of 60. Five of the 59 academicians are female scientists. Among the 74 academician newcomers at the CAE, 81 percent are below the age of 60.

Yan Ning, head of the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation and a renowned structural biologist     6    works at Tsinghua University’s School of Life Sciences, was selected as    7    CAS academician. Yan, 45, also    8    (write) as Nieng Yan in professional circles,    9    (be) a scientist on the rise in recent years after she left Tsinghua in 2017 to become a professor at Princeton University in the United States where she received her PhD, and returned last year to Tsinghua. She was the youngest professor and PhD     10    (advise)at Tsinghua.

Are you ready to celebrate World Letter Writing Day on September1? Writing something down may seem like     1     out-of-date idea in this day and age, but it can be one of the most interesting things for you to do. The letter can be a love letter, or even one     2     (simple) written to create memories.

The day     3     (found) by Australian author and photographer Richard Simpkin,     4     loves writing letters. It all started when he began writing to individuals     5     (consider) to be Australian legends, and he also received their    6     (reply). Later, his experience of exchanging ideas with these celebrities (名人) by letter made     7     possible for him to print the book Australian Legends.     8     (honor) handwritten letters, he created World Letter Writing Day in 2014.

Letter-writing itself     9     (be) present for centuries. In ancient times, letters were written on special objects, such as wood and even metal. In the 17^th and 18^th   centuries, letters were a     10     (power) tool for people to communicate. This is why a few letters gathered from the past can serve as documents of personal or diplomatic (外交的) communication for historians.

The concept of “gap days”     1     (appear) on a variety of social media platforms recently. Unlike a gap year, a gap day means an     2     (extreme) brief period of relaxation and escape from everyday routine. After resting, people will continue to devote     3     (they) to the busy pace of normal life.

Apart from “gap days”, other similar expressions have made     4     hit on the Internet, such as “city walk”, “da zi (activity partner)” and so on. This growing trend of creating new phrases or euphemisms (委婉语) for something otherwise ordinary and common has caused     5     (heat) discussion.

Some people think that these kinds of new phrases better cater to (迎合) people’s mindsets,     6     (show) their optimism. For example, the common expression “taking a walk” is neutral (中性的). But “city walk”     7     (be) the positive version of it, meaning “to explore the city with a curious mind”.

Others disagree, however, and think that it’s simply just a kind of “sugaring up”, satisfying one’s need for showing off. For example, “city walk” is the same as “taking a walk”     8     general. But by calling it a “city walk”, people feel like they are doing something fancier than it actually is.

But no matter how we think of these phrases, they have taken root in our daily lives and have already gained wide     9     (recognize) among the younger generation. So     10     we need to do is not make them out to be bigger than they actually are.

Jiangxi Province has taken many measures to protect finless porpoises (江豚),     1     have faced dramatic changes in their living environment as Poyang Lake, China’s largest freshwater lake, suffered a severe drought.

The species,    2     (list) as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, now lives only along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The number of finless porpoises    3     (drop) significantly in the past few years, with only 457     4     (live) in Poyang Lake.

As the water level dropped to less than 12 meters, the lake officially entered this year’s dry season on August 6,     5     (early) than at any time since records began in 1951. Severe drought has reduced the lake by 75 percent. This change will     6     (undoubted) increase the risk of the finless porpoises hitting boats and also result     7     a food shortage for the porpoises.

Wang Liang, who works for the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Jiangxi, said the province has released     8     total of 200 million fish, shrimps (虾) and crabs into the waters     9     (enrich) the food supply and more than 2,000     10     (volunteer) have been trained to rescue the species.