Connected to each other like never before, young people today are becoming agents of change, increasingly     1    (contribute) to innovative solutions that improve people’s lives and the planet’s health.

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research     2     (be) therefore delighted to launch the Young Leaders Online Training Programme, a four-week e-Learning course, to provide participants     3     the knowledge and skills to fully unfold their potential as global leaders.

Have you ever seen the scene?     1     (wear) a traditional Li ethnic group costume, a woman sits on the ground and weaves colorful yarn (纱线) into delicate brocade (织锦缎). These scenes are common in China s southernmost province of Hainan.

Li brocade, created by the Li ethnic group on Hainan Island, has     2     history of around 3,000 years. The entire process of the Li brocade tradition, from spinning, dyeing and weaving, to embroidery (刺绣),     3     (include) in the World Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2009. Hu is one of the few provincial-level inheritors of Li brocade in Hainan.

In recent years, Hainan has invested     4     (heavy) in opening training institutes to teach the techniques of Li brocade. Since 2012, it has been a course at primary and secondary schools in the province. Local authorities have taken a series of measures to strengthen the systematic     5     (protect) of Li brocade and the development of Li brocade, which is so     6     (benefit) to the survival of the traditional skills.

To spread Li brocade skills as widely as possible, Hu has compiled teaching materials by     7     (she). Over the years, she has taken her brocade work to participate in the exchange activities of intangible cultural heritage in Japan and France on behalf of Hainan. A set of her handcrafted double knit Li brocade was added to UNESCO’s collection when     8     (exhibit) in Paris.

Hainan is vigorously pushing Li culture to go global as well, with the ancient craft expanding its presence on the international stage over the past five years. 2019 was the year     9     Li brocade techniques became the first Chinese intangible cultural heritage project to be put on display at UNESCO headquarters. In addition, Li brocade has appeared in the Boao Forum for Asia annual conferences for many consecutive years and has been presented     10     a national gift to guests in China and abroad.

90 percent of the world’s fireworks are produced in China. The biggest importer is the US, which     1     (ship) in more than US $650 million worth in 2021.

The details of fireworks’ invention are lost to history, but     2     folk tale tries to fill in the gap. It goes that monk named Li Tian created fireworks around 1400 years ago by packing gunpowder into bamboo tubes     3     (scare) off evil spirits.

An explosive mixture of gun-powder and chemical compounds (化合物) is     4     makes fireworks flash in pretty colours and fun shapes. The images they make depend on the placement of these compounds inside the shell of the firework. Crowd     5    (favorite) include “comet”, featuring a long trail of sparks; “peony”, a flower-like burst; and “strobe”, which produces a blinking effect.

The single biggest firework shell ever shot was part of a 2020 winter-carnival display in Colorado, US.     6     (weigh) 1268 kilograms, it rose more than a kilometre into the sky     7     bursting, turning the night sky red.

For centuries we had to light firework     8     hand, but since the 1980s, there’s been another option: computer-controlled lighters, which made music at displays more     9     (precise) timed and safer. An even greener alternative recently     10     (adopt) is using drones to trace flashy patterns in the sky. The future of fireworks, like so much else, may be robotic.

The 37th International Kite Festival in Berck-sur-Mer opened on April 20 on a beach in France. As the largest and     1     (influence) kite-themed event in France, it attracted global visitors and kites from 25 countries and regions. China made a wonderful     2     (appear) as the first-ever guest country of honor at the event.

Chinese-inflected cultural activities took place at the festival, including flying performance at the opening ceremony, workshops for kite-making     3     (technique) by artisans (工匠) from Weifang, as well as performances and experiential activities from lion dances     4     martial arts and performances of traditional Chinese instruments and tea ceremonies.

Yan Zhenquan, minister counselor of the Chinese Embassy in France, Jacques Billant, governor of Pas-de-Calais,     5     Liu Hongge, director of the China Cultural Center in Paris attended and     6     (deliver) speeches. Liu said, “the kite is a key image representing     7     friendship between China and France.” In 1958, the two countries coproduced a film titled Fengzheng    8    (concern) the adventures and friendship between Chinese and French children     9     (create) by a kite. Liu also noted that as the organizer of guest country activities, the China Cultural Center in Paris would continue to use kites as a medium     10    (tell) stories about kite culture in China and France, foster mutual understanding between peoples, and contribute to the success of the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism.

The Great Wall of China was built in sections over a period of around 2,000 years, the most famous parts of     1     were built from stone. However, in some areas it was built using “rammed earth (夯土).” This is when soil and rocks are pressed together. Over time, wind and rain can easily wear down rammed earth, so scientists have often questioned how these old sections of the Great Wall     2     (manage) to survive for such a long time.

A group of researchers from China Agricultural University examined     3    370-mile-long section of the wall and found that more than two thirds of it     4     (cover) by biocrust (生物土壤结皮). The scientists took some     5     (sample) of the biocrust back to their lab for testing and discovered that the natural material was     6     (actual) stronger than the rammed earth. Some pieces of the plant-based layer were up     7     three times stronger. This means that the biocrust has strengthened the wall and protected it from     8     (destroy) by weather over the years.

These findings could be important for people who manage ancient structures around the world. Although biocrust may not look     9     (appeal), its natural ability to preserve things could be a very useful tool for experts attempting     10     (protect) precious ancient buildings.

The fairytale-like scenery of Harbin,     1     its extremely beautifully made ice sculptures and snow-covered Western-style architecture, has been attracting tourists all winter, but the boom (激增) is expected to peak during the eight-day Spring Festival holiday     2     (begin) on Saturday.

“All 24 of my rooms     3     (book) out for the Spring Festival holiday since around Jan. 10,” said Li Liwei, who     4     (run) a homestay in Xuegu, on Harbin’s southeastern outskirts. “Most of the customers are people from southern cities and provinces, including Shanghai, Sichuan and Guangdong,     5     wish to experience the festive atmosphere in the world of ice and snow.”

He said his family helps him run the homestay, and they want to make travelers from the south “feel at home”.

The increasing     6     (popular) of winter tourism has led travel portals (门户网站) to predict a busy holiday season in Harbin,     7     capital of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province.

Mafengwo, a travel service and social networking platform, said Harbin is its     8     (users) most popular domestic destination for the Spring Festival holiday.

The Trip.com Group travel portal said bookings for Harbin are up     9     (considerable) this year, with most made by people from warmer southern cities such as Guangzhou, in Guangdong, and Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, who are eager     10     (see) snow.

The abacus (算盘), a manually operated counting aid that originated in China, was known as the     1     (five) great invention in China by Joseph Needham, a well-known British biochemist and historian. Before the advent of Arabic numerals, the abacus was a widely used counting tool globally.

As early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC—24 AD), the Chinese used wooden or bone rods for calculations. However, the rods were     2     (gradual) developed into the abacus for the time-consuming calculations.

The early abacus used small round beads instead of long rods,     3     were comparatively clumsy. Over time, the number of beads increased,     4     (lead) to the seven-bead abacus from its five-bead predecessor to adapt to the hexadecimal system.

The existing abacuses have different shapes and are made of different     5     (material). A typical abacus is mostly made of wood and consists of a series of beads     6     (arrange) in a rectangular wooden frame. A crossbeam in the middle divides the beads into two parts. Each bead in the upper half represents five, and each bead in the lower half represents one. Each string of beads represents the values of ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands from right to left.

As it was simple to make, affordable, and easy     7     (use), the abacus was widely used in China, from where it gradually spread to countries and regions such as Korea, the U.S. and Southeast Asia.

In today’s era of computers and other electronic devices, although few people use abacuses, it has become a symbol of counting in China. In recent years, it     8     (appear) frequently on postage stamps and postcards. It is also part of some special occasions. For instance, “Zhuazhou” is a     9     (tradition) Chinese celebration of a     10     (child) first birthday when several objects are placed before the child to choose. The chosen object is supposed to indicate the child’s future career. The abacus is among these objects, representing business or wealth.

Jiyou village in Jianhe county, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, is known by many     1     its ancient trees and Miao love songs. With simple folk customs and a forest coverage rate of more than 90 percent, the village is rich in Miao culture,     2     was officially listed in the second group of Chinese     3     (tradition) villages in August 2013. A grand festival     4     (hold) on the second day of the second lunar month—the Bridge Worship Festival. At this time, the ethnic Miao prepare food and wine and perform songs and dances.     5     (walk) into Jiyou village during the festival, one can see villagers     6     (dress) in Miao costumes. Men hold Lusheng and flags, women carry baskets of wine and food and children are wearing new clothes. All converge (汇集) for the “bridge sacrifice” ceremony and celebrate under the leadership of village     7     (elder) . During the day, along with the lilting rhythm of the Lusheng, residents dance     8     (joyful) in the square, while tourists take photos and broadcast live     9     (record) the moment. At nightfall, villagers and tourists light a bonfire in the center of the square. By     10     light of the fire, they savor food and wine and enjoy the general atmosphere of friendship.

The 24 solar terms     1     (recognize) as “the fifth great invention of China”. Every year around May 21st, the second solar term of summer, Grain Buds, or Xiaoman in Chinese, arrives. While it’s getting hotter and     2     (wet), the seeds of summer crops are already full       3     not ripe. The difference in temperature between the North and the South narrows and     4     greater amount of rainfall is on the way.

“Low rainfall during Xiaoman will bring problems for planting during Grain in Ear (芒种).” Such sayings     5     (guide) agricultural production and the daily life of the Chinese people for thousands of years. In the area south of the Yangtze River, three types of     6     (equip) start to work as Xiaoman gets closer. At this time, the waterwheel is pedaled (蹬)     7     (water) crops. Farmers use the oil mill to extract (提取) oil from the seeds freshly     8     (collect). They also use the weaving loom to reel silk threads.

Xiaoman is actually an interval (间歇) between harvests, so people in the past had to eat wild vegetables in order to survive these tough days,     9     led to a unique eating custom. Meanwhile, as Xiaoman is the birthday of the Silkworm God, people in some areas pray     10     a good silk harvest on that day.

China recently shared exciting news about its space exploration efforts, and revealed the names of its manned lunar lander and a new crew spaceship. This development marks     1     important step in the nation’s efforts     2     (explore) outer space. The lunar lander is named Lanyue,     3     means “embracing (拥抱) the moon”. This choice reflects the dream and confidence of the Chinese people in their space exploration efforts.

The crew spaceship has been named Mengzhou, or Dream Vessel,     4     (indicate) its role in realizing the dream of landing on the moon and exploring newfrontier s in space. Mengzhou will have two versions: one for exploring the moon and the other for trips between Earth     5     the Tiangong space station, and the latter takes over the duties from the current Shenzhou spaceship.

These names, Lanyue and Mengzhou, were selected     6     (careful) from nearly 2,000 suggestions by the public to show the wide     7     (participate) and interest of the Chinese people     8     their country’s space missions. China plans to send its first manned mission to the moon around 2030. The Lanyue lander is designed with a landing and propulsion (推进) section to carry two astronauts to the moon. The Mengzhou spacecraft, designed for space travel,     9     (include) a reentry module for the astronauts and a service module     10     (equip) with power and propulsion systems.