2 . Sitting inside the Shenzhou XVI spacecraft, Gui Haichao, the first Chinese civilian on a spaceflight, together with the other two astronauts,     1     (launch) by a 20-story-tall Long March 2F carrier rocket,     2     took off at 9:31 am on May 30, 2023 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

Born in 1986, Gui’s     3     (enthusiastic) for science has been developing since childhood. He had a set of encyclopedias (百科全书) from which he gained a lot of basic space knowledge. Years later, Gui Haichao attended Beihang University,     4     (major) in spacecraft design and engineering.

Gui then pursued postdoctoral research overseas and published about 20 SCI academic papers in top international journals. After returning to China, he received Beihang’s invitation to teach     5     an associate professor.

In the spring of 2018, Gui was told that China’s manned space authorities had made a decision     6       (select) the third group of astronauts, including the first spaceflight engineers and science payloads specialists. “I have been     7     fan of space exploration for many years and sometimes dreamed about doing my research in space. So excited was I on hearing this news     8     I signed up without much thought. Eventually I was     9     (successful) admitted following several demanding rounds of     10     (profession) tests,” he recalled.

The craft of Shao Lujie, a 28-year-old Chinese craftsman from Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, is known     1     quilling — a form of art that involves the use of paper strips (纸条) that are rolled, shaped and glued together to form complex designs.

Shao’s works mainly feature flowers and other plants. He created multiple works for the 19th Asian Games, featuring the event’s three mascots (吉祥物) and logo. In the past few years, Shao     2     (develop) cultural and creative products with local characteristics. His another     3     (improve) is that techniques and equipment have been simplified, making it easier for people to try.

Since childhood, Shao has enjoyed painting and handicrafts.   Having finished the learning of quilling in 2016 from     4     master of the art, Shao began to devote himself     5     (entire) to the craft. Later, by imitating the works of his instructors, he learned how     6     (apply) new methods to his own works, combining this paper art handicraft with painting and different design elements.

In an age     7     AI-generated art works are entering the art market, Shao still sticks to this ancient craft. Every step — weaving, cutting, rubbing, folding, and pressing —     8     (do) by hand.

To get youngsters interested in the craft, Shao has gone online, sharing articles     9     (write) by himself and posting pictures of his latest works. Shao is considering     10     (open) an exhibition hall so that more people can learn about this craft and, ideally, pass it down, to future generations.

The national college entrance examination in Russia, Unified State Exam, will include Chinese as     1     elective foreign language starting from 2021.Chinese will become the fifth elective test item for the Unified State Exam     2     (follow) English, German, French and Spanish. 

The number of Chinese learners in Russia     3     (grow) quickly in the past ten years, according to a survey     4     (make) by a linguistic research center in Russia. 

Approaches     5     learning Chinese change from person to person, with more and more people choosing university courses in Russia. 

The three hour-long Chinese test will quiz students on     6     (they) listening, reading and writing abilities, and a fourth section will examine students on grammar, vocabulary and Chinese     7     (character). Some parts in the exam are even a little bit difficult for native Chinese speakers. 

According to the Office of Chinese Language Council International, as of 2017 some 100 million people, excluding native speakers, use Chinese     8     (global).

The United Nations (UN) in 2010 suggested a Chinese Language Day     9     falls on April 20 each year     10     (celebrate) cultural diversity as well as to promote the equal use of all official languages.

Lifting a spear, Li Jinqi pulled it across her shoulders and spun (旋转) it     1     (quick). Following her example     2     (be) ten peers in two rows (排) who wore the same Kungfu — style garments (服装) and produced the same movements.

Li is a 24-year-old Ph.D. Student at Bei hang University in Beijing,     3     she is more widely known on campus as a martial arts master and led the university’s martial arts club. Despite being busy with research and coursework (课程作业), the Ph.D. student said     4     (practise) martial arts has become a daily routine for herself over the past five years. She has studied various styles, boxing and swordplay (击剑)     5     (include), and won several cross — campus martial arts competitions held in the capital city

Gao Xiaoya, majoring in electronic information engineering at Beihang, who also joined the martial arts club,     6     (share) that she draws inner peace and strength from the sport. Gao is     7     the many young people who were first attracted to martial arts as a way to keep fit, but who found that their     8     (enthusiastic) grew as they practiced more.

“The rapid growth of the Internet and social media also facilitates communication about traditional Chinese culture, enabling young people to have     9     (easy) access to rare art forms,” said Song Yu,     10     assistant researcher at the Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

When you are online, you can be anyone or anything. You can create your own image and a new personality. These digital identities,     1     (know) as avatars,     2     (be) a key part of how people use the Internet to communicate and express themselves. 

The first simple 2D avatars appeared in role-playing computer games in     3    1980s.Yet,very few people knew that future avatars would have such a wide     4     (various) of forms and uses.     5     the late 1990s, they had been used in web chats. 

When people started creating their own avatars, they     6     (discover) that they were going to have the power to create new identities     7     did not look or act like their real selves at all and they could create different avatars for different occasions. Besides, the avatar you choose says a lot about your     8     (personal). Nowadays, avatars are everywhere. In most web chats, people choose an avatar from a selection of ready-made images, or create their own images. 

The use of avatars has also caused a few     9     (concern). Some users worry that they may be     10     (addict) to the virtual worlds and that people can use avatars to cheat others online. However, other users view avatars in a more positive light.

Hello, everyone! Welcome to our city! And I’m your tour guide today. Let me show you     1     the city. As you can see, at present there are some places     2     (rebuild) in order to make the city more beautiful. Look! A new supermarket     3     (build) in the centre. And the main roads     4     (widen) so far. Next, let’s come to the old museum     5     many art works     6     (exhibit). What’s more, a new one is     7     construction behind it. And now we’re coming to the park in     8     you can see that different kinds of activities     9     (do) by people of all ages. Oh, look, there is a good juice shop where fresh and delicious drinks     10     (prepare) for you if you feel thirsty.

From London’s Trafalgar Square to major cities across Britain, tens of thousands of British people have joined Chinese communities    1     (welcome) the arrival of the Chinese New Year.

In Manchester there was a Dragon Parade,    2     (lead) by a very breathtaking 54-meter long dragon, ending in Chinatown    3    people could enjoy a wide range of Chinese food and enjoy a spectacular fireworks show.    4     (celebrate) also took place in Liverpool, Birmingham, Lake District, Durham, Edinburgh, Leeds and Newcastle.

Academic Dr. Wu Kegang said, “ The Chinese New Year event in Britain is now     5    (impress) than ever and it is growing every year”.

On arrival in Britain 26 years ago from Guangdong, south China,    6     first thing Wu noticed was that Chinese New Year was celebrated    7    (main) in towns and cities with big Chinese communities. “You would go to London Chinatown and join your countrymen to celebrate,    8     to Chinatowns in places like Liverpool and Manchester for events almost only held for Chinese people,” Wu recalled.

“    9     is different now, is that we are seeing local communities all over the country taking part alongside their own Chinese populations,” he said. “ It is clear to me that the event will continue to grow in Britain where Chinese New Year    10    (earn) its place in the calendar of events so far.”

Christopher Reeve was born in September, 1952. He was in his first school play     1     he was eight and he started to act in TV shows and films while he was still in college. He made many     2     (success) films and TV shows but he is most famous     3     his Superman films.     4     (lucky), disaster (灾难) came in 1995 when he fell from his horse and     5     (break) his back. The doctors did not expect him to live. However, he made     6     (amaze) progress. At first, he couldn’t breathe without a machine, but he learnt to breathe on     7     (he) own. He would never walk again but he started     8     new life with great courage. The second year after his accident, Christopher returned to film making. He also raised a lot of money     9     (promote) medical research into back injuries. He made speeches all over the USA about his experiences. This not only drew public attention to research into back injuries but also encouraged a lot of people     10     (live) with all kinds of problems.