Many of us were raised with the saying “waste not, want not”. None of us, however, can     1     (complete) avoid waste in our lives.

Any kind of waste is thoughtless. Whether we waste our potential talents,our own time, our     2     (limit) natural resources, our money     3     other people’s time, each of us should become more aware and careful. The smallest good habits can make a big difference.     4     is a good feeling to know in our hearts that we are doing our best in a world that is in serious trouble. By focusing     5     saving oil, water, paper, food and clothing, we are playing a part in     6     (cut) down on waste. We must keep reminding ourselves that it is     7     (easy) to get into something than it is     8     (get) out of it. Actually, severe damage     9     (do) to our land recenly in the history of our evolution. It’s time for us to say no to waste so that our descendants (后代)     10     (be) able to develop well. We can’t solve all the problems of waste, but we can encourage mindfulness (察觉).

The Chinese couplet (对联) refers to two poetic lines     1     (obey) certain rules, often written on red paper for appreciation. As     2     form of Chinese literature, the couplet varies in content and style. Some express people’s love to their motherland, some describe the beauty of nature,     3     some convey best wishes for the coming year.

Chinese couplets originated in the Five Dynasties, and     4     (become) ubiquitous (无处不在) in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was a custom for people     5     (hang) peach wood charms to drive away evil spirits during the Spring Festival. Nowadays, couplets are used     6     a similar way.

It was said that the earliest couplet was written by Meng Xu,     7     was king of Houshu State, and it was     8     (extreme) popular in the Northern Song Dynasty. Since the Ming Dynasty, to write couplets     9     (regard) as a mark of the cultured life of scholars.

The couplet has two lines of equal     10     (long). However, the number of characters in each line can be from four to seven or more. The first and the second lines have opposite tone patterns. The last character of the first line is of an oblique tone (仄声), and its opposite in the second line, of a level tone (平声).