Lin Qiaozhi, who delivered over 50,000 babies in her lifetime ,     1     (know) as the “mother of ten thousand babies” , though she never got married.     2     (affect) by her mother’s death, Lin Qiaozhi decided to study medicine at     3     age of 18 instead of following the     4     (tradition) path of marriage like many other girls. After graduating from Peking Union Medical College, she was hired as a resident physician. Having worked for a few years, she was sent to Europe and the US,     5     she rejected her American colleagues’ offer to stay, and returned home. Though appointed     6     (hold) many important     7     (position), she was more interested in tending patients. She held the belief     8     doctors should be responsible     9       the patients. Dr Lin never retired. Even as she lay     10     (die), she was still thinking of others. This is Lin Qiaozhi, who devoted all her life to helping the women in need of her help.

Yue Opera began in 1906 in Zhejiang’s Shengzhou County, soon spreading to Shanghai, where numerous performances were staged. Unlike other Chinese operas,     1     frequently feature acrobatics (杂技) and martial arts, Yue Opera stresses singing, and the vocal (嗓音的) style is     2     (particular) suited for telling love stories.

Today, Yue Opera ranks as the second most popular form of Chinese opera, right behind     3     globally recognized Peking Opera.

The success of Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe’s (表演团)     4     (perform) of New Dragon Gate Inn among the younger generation even caught Wang, the troupe’s president, by surprise. “Over 80% of the audience are new young fans. This has added great confidence     5     our theater troupe,” she says.

Wang notes that the production team includes a wide age range, from     6     (individual) born in the 1940s to the post-1995 generation.

“We did this     7     (allow) experienced people to provide support and guidance for young actors while     8     (keep) the classical heritage of Yue Opera and trying to satisfy the aesthetic (审美观) of the times,” Wang explains.

The play     9     (maintain) traditional Yue Opera vocal styles but includes modern cinematic elements in     10     (it) arrangement, costumes, and makeup to create a unique spectacle.

Mamianqun or the horse-faced skirt originated from the Song Dynasty, but it gained popularity among women during later Ming and Qing dynasties.     1     truly sets mamianqun apart is the intricate pleats (褶) that are both abundant and distinctive. The pleats are not only decorative, they allow for     2     (free) of movement. Now designers draw their inspiration from traditional Chinese cultural elements to create charming patterns on the skirts.

Mamianqun isn’t just for historical reenactments (重演). It’s an item of clothing     3     (perfect) suitable for everyday wear, even in a contemporary office setting.     4     design of mamianqun combines tradition with modernity,     5     (make) it not just a relic of the past, but a functional and stylish addition to the modern wardrobe (衣橱).

Now, mamianqun is making an even     6     (huge) comeback compared to most of times. People wear it either in the streets or in the office. This resurgence (复兴) is fueled by a growing sense of cultural pride, which promotes people     7     (honor) their heritage by having traditional clothing into their daily wardrobes.

Caoxian,     8     (know) as the heart of mamianqun manufacturing, is a county in Shandong Province. Caoxian holds a deep cultural heritage of han fu, Chinese traditional clothing, and is home     9     numerous han fu enterprises. With the rise of online shopping, the local han fu industry of Caoxian     10     (grow) rapidly in recent years.

Nowadays, with the     1     (develop) of Internet technology, two-dimensional code (二维码) is very popular among us,     2     is also called quick response code (QR code). It’s a group of black square dots on a white background. This special code was invented     3     a Japanese company in 1994. It’s     4     (wide) used all over the world.

QR code is used     5    (store) information. It can also store pictures. It is easy to use a QR code. If you want to get the information, just take out your cellphone and scan (扫描) the code by a special app, and then you can get     6    easily.

Today, QR codes are popular in China. There are QR codes on televisions and the Internet. The codes     7    (use) by people on Chinese train tickets since 2010. When a machine scans the code on the ticket, information of the ticket owner and the train will appear on the screen in a few seconds.

QR codes have many special uses. For example, in 2008,     8    Japanese company planned to put QR codes on gravestones (墓碑). By scanning the code, visitors could get information about the departed (去世的) person. Recently, special cards with QR codes were introduced to old people in some cities in China. If they get     9    (lose), people can know about their names, addresses     10     telephone numbers of their family members by scanning the codes.

What comes to your mind when you think of Beijing? The Forbidden City? Tian’anmen Square? The Temple of Heaven? All these famous landmarks     1     (locate) along the central axis (中轴线). As the best-preserved core area of the old city of Beijing, the central axis is now under     2     (consider) for UNESCO’s World Heritage status.

The central axis refers     3     the “line” that separates the eastern and western parts of Beijing. At 7.8 kilometers long, it runs from Yongding Gate in the south to the Bell Tower and Drum Tower in the north. Construction began in the Yuan Dynasty, and continued during the Ming and Qing     4     (dynasty).

The central axis, like the backbone of Beijing,     5     (smart) organized the palaces, temples, markets and streets in ancient times. It shows the traditional Chinese concept of     6    (respect) the center. This stressed the     7     (important) of imperial power, as the royal palace would be in the central spot. Other important buildings were placed around it. It also shows traditional Chinese ideas like harmony between man and nature and following order. It runs from the south to the north, the same as the direction of a meridian (子午线). The ritual (礼乐) culture     8     started from the Zhou Dynasty stressed balance, symmetry (对称) and order. There are lots of symmetric buildings along the axis. The Forbidden City is the most well-known palace     9     (build) along the central axis.

The central axis is more than     10     material relic. It is also a continuation of the traditional Chinese city layout concept.

I     1     (become) interested in Tai Chi after reading about it in a magazine. At the time, I was looking for a way to balance     2    (I) job as a manager at an IT firm with my     3    (person) life. I didn’t want to go to the gym or sweat my way through the woods. I was looking for a less strenuous(费力的) way to exercise while also relaxing     4    (mental).

My path to Tai Chi took me through a number of teachers and courses. The first Tai Chi form, On     5     other hand, I learned from a textbook. This book was my first     6    (introduce) to Tai Chi. The book is very precise step-by-step instructions were very well explained to me. The Yang form was demonstrated,     7     is a very good and simple form for learning Tai Chi. I didn’t really know what needed to pay attention to at the time, so I just learned the movement sequence of the form, strictly     8    (follow)the instructions in the book.

I can only report positive results after     9     (year) of consistent training. I’ve gained mental stability and calm. My mindfulness has gotten better, and I am now more aware     10     the here and now in my everyday life.

With some free time during the holiday, I thought it was time to achieve one of my China     1     (dream): visiting Harbin!

That afternoon of     2     first day was time to see the fabled (传奇的) snow and ice world of Harbin. This frozen amusement park just blew me away. The giant ice statues, all illuminated (发光的)     3     the inside, were simply magical to explore; and various attractions and games, such as sledding, made the trip all the more worthwhile.

Although busy, the park was still definitely manageable, and     4     was nice to see so many families who must have traveled from far and wide all having fun. My only regret was wearing only two pairs of socks and not three, as     5     the sun went down the temperatures quickly dropped as well.

On my second day, my tour took us to the old city center. While     6     (walk) down the pedestrian (步行的) Central Street, I found architectural influences from both the present and the past     7     (be) on full display, showing an amazing mix of cultures. In some ways, it reminded me of walking down Nanjing Road in Shanghai — just a lot     8     (cold)! The freezing temperatures didn't stop visitors from enjoying the local ice cream, however.

The magic of this icy city     9     (stick) with me since and I can't wait until next winter     10     (visit) again.

Shecna Southall, a 22-year-old student, was eager to test her limit when she agreed     1     (appear) on a TV show. It has been described as one of the most interesting     2     (show) in the world.

She saw an advertisement,     3     said, “Do you want to make some quick cash and do you want to travel?” She talked to     4     (her), “Why don’t I have a try? I’m always looking for an opportunity to test myself.” So, she applied for the job, went for an interview,     5     got it. At the interview, she explained how she was prepared for any challenges. Then, just as she was leaving     6     Singapore, she found out that she was going to become a skyscraper (摩天大楼) window cleaner.

The job was     7     (challenge). She had to pull herself up and down, carrying heavy water buckets (桶). If she didn’t clean the windows     8     (proper), they would tell her to go back and do it again. But she admits the experience has changed her. After she got back from Singapore, she finished her studies and     9     (graduate). She started hunting for a job that would be both exciting and tough. Shecna says, “Nothing will ever be as exciting and scary as that     10     (one) day of cleaning windows up in the air. But if you don’t face your fears and accept what life offers you, how will you know what you are capable of? It’s been the best experience of my life so far.”

China is a country with     1     long history of tea culture, which is almost as long as the history of China itself.

    2     (original), tea was valued for its medicinal qualities. It has long been known that tea aids in digestion, which is the reason     3     many Chinese prefer to consume it during or after     4     (they) meal.

Among all the types of tea, Zongzi tea, referring to black tea     5     (wrap) with bamboo or reed (芦苇) leaves, from Qimen county of Huangshan city in Anhui province, is becoming increasingly popular among     6     (consumer) in China as the new wrapping technique gives the product fresh appeal.

In 2018, to create a novel way of consuming black tea, two sisters from Anhui province     7     (develop) a new kind of tea that is wrapped in the same leaves     8     zongzi to add a special flavor to the tea. Zongzi tea proved to be an instant     9     (succeed) when it hit the market. China’s younger generation of tea lovers have welcomed the tea     10     turned it into a bestseller. In turn, a sharp rise in demand for the tea has led to more employment opportunities for large quantities of local women and the elderly.

In the beginning, western people use letters of the alphabet (字母表)     1     (write). People who write in Chinese, however, use characters that stand for words or ideas. Historians believed Chinese writing began as early as 1500 BC. The     2     (early) forms were called “Oracle Bone Inscriptions (甲骨文)”. These were animal bones marked with pictures. Besides writing on bones,     3     (mark) on turtle shells was also a way for ancient to record.

By 1400 BC, the Chinese writing system had become more complex.     4     number of its characters was over 2,500. Around 200 BC, almost everyone used the same characters. Even today some modern Chinese characters are similar to     5     (that) from 2,000 years ago. For example, the character that     6     (mean) man in the Lishu system from 200BC is similar to the character from the Jiantizi     7     is used today.

People     8     (make) efforts to change Chinese characters over the centuries. The most important changes happened in the twentieth century. The Chinese government made many characters simple     9     that more people could learn to read. This simpler system is used in most parts of China. with these changes, Chinese writing from 2,200 years ago is still understood today. Many foreigners are interested in     10     (we) Chinese characters.