In the 12th century, the Southern Song Dynasty moved its capital to Lin’an. Near Lin’an, on the banks of Lake Tai is the city of Suzhou. Given its location near the capital and its     1     (nature) beauty, Suzhou became a preferred place     2     (live). Thus, there were over 300 gardens     3     (build) here, and more than 60 are still in existence. Among these gardens, the Humble Administrator’s Garden (Zhuozheng Yuan) is the largest and the most famous, and water pools take up a third of its area.     4     (surround) the water pools is a luxuriant (繁茂的) group of flowers, plants, and trees, all carefully chosen according to the way their seasonal colors reflect off the sparkling water below. As is typical     5     Suzhou gardens, this garden     6     (separate) into different sections, offering     7     (vary) kinds of spaces in diverse shapes and sizes that represent different moods and feelings.

Since it is such a large garden, no simple     8     (describe) of the garden will do.     9     you have to do is walk among the water and plants, enjoy every moment,     10     find your own treasures depending on your mood that day.

Nowadays, it is common that more and more high school students open their own micro blogs on the Internet. For one thing, it can provide a colorful platform to show their talent. For     1    , it is a useful way     2    （release） their pressure. And all these make it more and more popular with high school students.     3     many parents and teachers hold a different view. They think that     4    （manage）one’s micro blog will take a lot of time and energy,     5     should be used to study.

In my view, I am greatly in favor of this activity. Today the Internet is playing     6     important role in our life. Therefore, as high school students of the Information Age, we need to learn to make use of this valuable tool to communicate and display ourselves. What’s more, opening and organizing micro blogs need     7    （vary） abilities such as writing, designing, being skillful at computer and so on. Only if we master those abilities can we make a successful micro blog. As a result, we improve ourselves while     8     （organize） our micro blogs.

In fact, micro blog     9     （it） is of little harm. It is your attitude     10     it that matters. We should take the advantages and avoid some bad effects.

Learning Chinese calligraphy     1     (list) as one of the must-do things when I came to China. Now, I’m in the course of learning this unique art,     2     value is considered very high in China, even across East Asia today. It is not only     3     ancient artistic form of human language, but it also reflects Chinese traditions.

As someone who paints, draws, and loves all     4     (create) things, at first, I assumed I would be rather good at Chinese calligraphy. I was     5     (total ) wrong. Using thick brush tips to produce awkward brush strokes (笔画)     6     (be) very difficult for a beginner. I have no idea about the different types of calligraphy and the meanings     7     ( hide) behind each one. Also, I have to hold the paintbrush     8     a very specific way; unlike a pen or pencil, the paintbrush is held upright in the hand. I need to be extra careful when changing the angle or     9     (direct) of the brush, especially if I press too hard on the paper.

After taking the lesson, I now understand the difficulty of calligraphy and that it will take efforts and commitment     10     (master) this art form. Yet, I am grateful to learn such a special Chinese tradition.

A Dream of Splendor is one of the hottest TV dramas this year. It narrates a story about a woman     1     (run) a teahouse with her two friends in the Song Dynasty. Centering on tea, the series features China's traditional tea art. The heroine shows     2     (impress) skills of pouring tea and creating beautiful patterns on the surface of a cup of tea in some scenes.

Chinese tea culture     3     (witness) a long history since the Tang Dynasty. It developed throughout the Song Dynasty,    4     the popular way of having tea became “dian cha”— a kind of tea art.

It is     5     excellent technique that starts from pouring hot water over fine powdered tea to make it mushy. Then more hot water     6     (add) slowly while the tea is constantly stirred (搅拌) by hand     7     a bamboo stick to create froth (泡沫), which can be used to create patterns on the surface of the tea. This action of pouring hot water is called “dian”, giving this art the name “dian cha”, while the art of using water     8     (draw) on the tea is called “chabaixi”.

It’s common to see coffee art in modern society, but tea art is     9     (relative) little-known. This popular TV series brings this intangible (无形的) cultural heritage to more     10     (viewer), and helps spread traditional Chinese tea culture to the younger generations and the world as well.

Every year in China, a day is set aside to honour, and show respect for, the elders and senior citizens in the entire nation. As China has more than 297 million people     1     (age) 60 and over, according to the latest statistics, this day     2     (grow) in popularity over the years.

In the early 1980s, the Chinese government declared that the Chongyang Festival would be the day     3     we celebrate the lives of China’s elder citizens. Of course, showing respect and admiration to     4     old is a Chinese tradition     5     (date) back to ancient times, and therefore the people easily and readily support this day. On this day, the government and local communities hold     6     (variety) activities for the elders, like free hair-cuts, cultural performances and health-care consultations.

However, respect for the elders should     7     (keep) in mind firmly and not restricted to one special day only. According     8     historical records, elders over 70 years old enjoyed special treatment and anyone not showing respect to them would be punished, which proves that respecting the elders was set in law back then.

Apparently, respect for the elders is the     9     (found) of the Chinese moral system. Today, throughout China, we find many examples of young people     10     (carry) on this tradition of respect.

Peking Opera is     1     form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became     2     (full) developed and recognized by the mid­19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the     3     (culture) treasures of China. Major performance troupes (剧团)     4       (base) in Beijing and Tianjin in the north, and Shanghai in the south. It has also spread to other countries such as the United States and Japan.

Peking Opera comes     5    four local operas, Hui Opera in Anhui, Han Opera in Hubei, Kun Opera in Jiangsu and Qingqiang in Shaanxi. It has drawn the merits of these local operas and created its own style.

Speech, song, dance and combat     6     (be) the four classic performing arts in Peking Opera, which are also the basic     7     (skill) for performers and is usually trained since the performers are very young. There are many roles in Peking Opera, mainly Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou, each of     8     has its own costume and mask­paintings. Masks with different colors have different meanings, which is used     9    (represent) the character of the roles and illustrate their emotional state.

No China trip is complete without     10     (watch) the classic Peking Opera! Enjoy the fantastic Peking Opera!