As one of the major schools of opera in China, the Sichuan Opera has a long history. It     1     (date) back to the end of the Ming Dynasty,     2     there were several different forms of popular theatre in the Sichuan area which gradually developed and combined to emerge as the present Sichuan Opera.

Today’s Sichuan opera is a     3     (relative) recent combination of 5 historic theatre styles. It is characterized by solo singing, skillful acting and incredibly funny     4     (comedy). Performers wear brightly colored costumes     5     move to quick and dramatic music. They move their heads up and down or back and forth in an instant,     6     (change) the thin painted masks over their faces. Their movement is so quick and frequent that you will be left amazed at how they could control the masks so skillfully.

    7     (attract) the audience, Sichuan Opera uses vivid, humorous narration, singing, and actions. Its     8     (perform) is always full of wit, humor, lively dialogues, and     9     (pronounce) local flavors.

Most Sichuan Opera repertoires (轮演剧目) are adapted from the Chinese classical novels, mythologies, legends, and folk tales. Statistics show that     10     total number of Sichuan Opera plays is over 2,000.

Wearing traditional Chinese dress,some foreigners in Shanghai    1    (show)up at a Chinese-style market at the River Mall in the Pudong New Area on Thursday,    2    (express)their love for Chinese culture and traditional clothing.

A series of activities including    3    market as well as traditional Chinese culture displays and parades of traditional Chinese fine clothing are rolling out in the city between Thursday and Sunday    4    (promote)traditional Chinese culture among young people.

The market drew some foreign Hanfu    5    (love).Zerin Moirang them,a university student from India,arrived in Shanghai last July.He used to participate in a lot of Hanfu activities during his stay in Kunming,Yunnan Province,and he joined a Hanfu society.“I have around 15 collections of Hanfu,and I took friends to the parks,wearing Hanfu,”hetold Shanghai Daily.“I am crazy    6    Hanfu and I really love it,”he said.“In the future,I want to bring Hanfu culture to my country,showing    7    (it)beauty.”

It was the first time for Katrina Andrushkevich from Belarus to wear Hanfu.“I am     8    (interest)in Chinese culture and history,”she said.“I feel    9     (incredible) special today and cherish this moment a lot.”

There is an interactive experience area    10    visitors can enjoy the fun of chess playing, calligraphy,tea ceremony,and riddle guessing to experience the charm of traditional Chinese culture

My Thrilling Getaway

To escape the hustle and bustle of London, my family began     1     remarkable staycation to explore unfamiliar shores of Plymouth in South Devon.

After a scenic drive that left us in awe, we found     2     (our) standing on Mount Batten beach. The vision before us was breathtaking—rocky pools and rough sand, all surrounded by green hills. Walking along the charming pathway, we immersed (沉浸) ourselves in the expansive ocean views and the dynamic atmosphere. That evening, warmth filling the air, we gathered around a crackling bonfire, sharing     3     (heart) laughter with fellow beachgoers.

Eager to explore more of Plymouth’s charm, we set out for West Hoe Park the next day,     4     provided a spacious play area for children, equipped with plentiful     5     (delight). Our children were totally attracted and we had a hard time     6     (tear) them away.

Afterwards, we walked     7     (leisure) along Hoe Promenade towards Hoe Park. Despite the crowds, we enjoyed a peaceful walk, greatly     8     (enhance) by the iconic Smeaton’s Tower lighthouse. Undoubtedly, the highlight of our journey was Bovisand Beach. Our children were in their element, building sandcastles and playing in the water, relaxed     9     joyous.

Plymouth     10     (cast) its spell on us and left us with memories that would stay with us for a lifetime.

As a world-renowned festival, Luoyang Peony Culture Festival has been held for 41 sessions     1     1983. Through the combination of horticulture and science, the flowering time of each peony variety is     2    （precise）controlled, so that the general public can enjoy more blooming peony flowers at the same time.

Peony,     3    （feature）bright colours and graceful shapes, symbolizes peace and prosperity and thus has gained wide     4    （recognize）as “kings of flowers”. For thousands of years,     5     huge mass of poems and paintings have been produced to praise the flower. In the Tang Dynasty, peonies were planted so widely in the royal gardens as “the national flower”     6     they enjoyed great popularity across the country. In the 10th century, the ancient city of Luoyang became a centre of peony planting     7     has remained as such since then. Nowadays, hundreds of thousands of domestic tourists pour in Luoyang for the annual peony festival,     8     they can both appreciate the unique beauty of the flowers and explore the history of the city which is known as the capital of six dynasties.

This year’s opening ceremony with the theme of “A Journey of Peony Petals” fell on April 1 and the festival lasted until May 5. Various performances     9    (stage), including songs and dances, acrobatic shows, and traditional Chinese music performances, among others, empowered by special effects production,     10    (present)an audiovisual feast with distinctive Chinese cultural characteristics.

Xiangsheng, or crosstalk, is arguably the most popular comic performance in China, appealing to people of all ages.

Xiangsheng first appeared in China during the Ming Dynasty. But it was not until the middle and late Qing Dynasty     1     xiangsheng, established itself as     2     unique and independent art form.

Performed mainly in Beijing or Tianjin dialect, xiangsheng is     3     (essential) known for its humorous and satirical (讽刺的) nature. It could be a comedic monologue, dialogue or multiplayer sketch.

As the     4     (early) form of xiangsheng, dankou, or monologue, is performed by an actor who mainly cracks jokes or simply narrates humorous stories. It’s known as qunkou when it is performed by three or more people.

But most of the time, xiangsheng is performed by two actors,     5     is called duikou. The two actors usually discuss or argue over a subject or a social phenomenon     6     a satirical and humorous manner. The main purpose is     7     (cause) laughter among the audience.

In the early years, xiangsheng performers typically came from a humble background,     8     (start) off as street performers. The most popular     9     (venue) of xiangsheng used to be Beijing Tianqiao, Tianjin Quanyechang and Nanjing Confucius Temple. Later, they began to perform in teahouses and theaters. With the     10     (arrive) of radio and television, xiangsheng began to reach audiences everywhere.

Documentary A Hazy Dream World D from Ancient China has been shown on CCTV-9.

The documentary is based on the ancient Chinese literature work The Classic of Mountains and Rivers, or Shan Hai Jing.     1     (consist) of legends, geography, history, astronomy, animals, plants, medicine, religion and other     2     (subject), the book is regarded as an encyclopedia (百科全书) of ancient China.

It is generally believed that the book originating from folk literature that had been passed down orally     3     (write) before the Warring States Period and then     4     (continuous) revised.

Taking “peculiarity (奇)” as its theme, the 8-episode series     5     (describe) several legendary figures, mythical (神话的) animals and their related myths. Having referred     6     other related historical resources, it combines cartoons, dances as well as on-the-spot video shooting with the interpretation of experts,     7     leads audiences into a fanciful world.

In episodes such as Goddess Nüwa Mends the Sky: Where I Came From and Zhulong: God of Time, the documentary discusses some legendary stories     8     (know) to all Chinese people.

Zhang Yiwu, a professor at Peking University, said, “This documentary has made     9     interesting visualized illustration and given a complete introduction of the important Chinese literature work Shan Hai Jing. It also shows CCTV’s great effort     10     (promote) the traditional Chinese culture.”

Wang De, who is a blacksmith by trade and an inheritor of the 500-year-old art of dashuhua that     1     (literal) means “creating tree flowers”,     2     (live) in Yuxian county of Zhangjiakou.

Wang and his assistants put     3     over a dozen dashuhua performances for villagers and tourists as part of Spring Festival celebrations each year. The folk artist hopes the revival of the tradition can bring more visitors to his hometown of Zhangjiakou.

Dashuhua is a traditional form of fireworks performance that takes place during certain festivals.     4     (create) molten iron fireworks, waste iron is melted to 1,600℃ and thrown against a cold wall. The mix bursts into sparks that look like glittering tree branches.

But the high-risk tradition is still only reserved for     5     brave. Due to the nature of the performance-handling superheated coal and molten iron, it’s easy for performers to suffer injuries. During a performance a few years ago, Wang suffered severe     6     (burn) on his leg and took two months to recover.

There are only four people     7     (leave) in China who have mastered the ancient practice, three of     8     are either middle-aged or elderly. Both Wang’s father and grandfather were blacksmiths. Wang said     9     was his responsibility to pass this craft on to the next generation. Otherwise, it will be lost.

The art of dashuhua requires extraordinary courage, skill and     10     (strong). Now, The molten iron fireworks performance has become a major tourist attraction.

Before moving to the city of Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, Robin Gilbank had     1     (limit) knowledge about the city despite a keen interest in Chinese culture.

“Like many foreigners     2     had never been here, I knew nothing about the historic city except for terracotta warriors at that time,” recalled the 41-year-old scholar from North Yorkshire in Britain.

Enchanted by its profound history and distinctive culture, Gilbank applied     3     a teaching position at Northwest University in Xi’an in 2008. “Shaanxi boasts (拥有) many famous writers. So I decided to translate their works into English so as to provide a new window for the world     4     (get) a glimpse (一瞥) of the real and diversified life here,” said Gilbank.

    5     (work) with Hu Zongfeng, dean of School of Foreign Languages of Northwest University, Gilbank travels     6     (wide) in Shaanxi and learns the dialect from locals to have a deep understanding of customs. They have translated over 30 Chinese novels into English.

The past decade witnesses his deeper friendship with the     7    (native) and the centuries-old city. In 2018, he was awarded as one of the 40 most     8     (influence) foreign experts during the past 40 years since the initiation of China’s reform and opening-up policy.

Since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed by China in 2013, China     9     (open) wider. Gilbank’s experience is a microcosm (缩影) of the story of     10     increasing number of foreigners settling down in Xi’an. They are kick-starting a new journey in the open and livable city with a population of 13 million.

More young people are trying their hand at farming the soil. Guo Lan, 29, works in a vegetable greenhouse on his organic farm     1     (locate) in the suburban district of Hefei, East China’s Anhui province. It is the eighth time this summer that Guo has failed to grow vegetables     2    using chemicals. Despite trying various homemade pest solutions, such as plant ash and mixtures of pepper and alcohol, the vegetable     3     (leaf) were still being eaten by insects. “I will not give up     4     (try),” the 29-year-old accountant-turned-farmer says. He is determined to turn his farm into     5     organic one, cultivating fruits and vegetables with the same flavors as those from his childhood memories.

“Growing tasty and healthy food     6     (be) my dream since I was a teenager. I know     7     challenging it can be, but if you take the soil     8     (serious), I believe it will pay off,” Guo says. He adds that farming is not a business that can make quick money, but for him, it has become an uplifting activity that brings back memories of spending time on the farm with     9     (he) parents as a child. Guo’s passion for organic farming and commitment to producing healthy food will surely inspire more young people to explore     10     (sustain) agriculture.

Every year for over a millennium, fishermen have braved the subzero temperatures, biting winds and deep snow to search for     1     underwater fortune at Chagan Lake — one of the biggest freshwater lakes in our country.

Chagan is the only place in China     2     you can still find fishermen using a Mongolian fishing method that dates back centuries and has     3     (bare) changed over time. Holes are drilled in the ice     4     (lower) a 2-kilometer-long net into position underwater. Once it fills up with fish, the net is pulled out of the water using a giant wheel     5     (turn) by Mongolian horses. The largest fish in the     6     (season) first catch is believed to be lucky, and will go to the highest bidder at the auction (拍卖).

To ensure that this tradition can continue     7     damaging the lake’s ecology, fishermen keep nature in mind throughout the process.     8     (avoid) the use of modern vehicles helps reduce the chance of polluting the lake water, and the number of fish that can     9     (catch) is capped to ensure that there will be fish for years to come.

Also, over the past few years, the money from the auction has been invested into protecting the lake and surrounding environment. And during the summer, private fishing without     10     (permit) is strictly prohibited. These preservative measures have kept the tradition alive for thousands of years and certainly will be passed on to future generations.