The audience and viewership for this year’s Spring Festival TV gala, which was aired on Feb 9, Lunar New Year’s Eve or Chinese Lunar New Year, both reached record     1    (high), according to ratings statistics.

    2    (support) by ultra-high-definition production, the gala was telecast on TV screens, public large screens, and mobile devices. A total of 250 million people watched the live streaming of the show via     3    (they) mobile phones with the total views reaching 420 million, up by 37.97 percent and 57.58 percent,     4     (respective), compared with 2023. The China Global Television Network (CGTN) worked with over 2,100 media organizations in about 200 countries and regions to live broadcast or report the show in 68 languages,     5    (result) in over 1.5 billion instances of viewing,    6     increase of 12.69 percent year on year.

This year, the gala, in addition     7    Beijing, had four branch venues. Audience enjoyed a diversity of local cultural elements from those places, such as folk     8     (music) instruments and folk dances.

Since its broadcast in 1983, the annual CCTV Spring Festival Gala     9     (become) an essential part of celebrations in the country to greet the Chinese New Year. As a major entertainment during Lunar New Year’s Eve, the gala marks the joyous moment     10     families gather together to celebrate.

Pu’er tea is a kind of dark tea only found in China’s Yunnan Province. It’s     1     (original) produced in the “Six Famous Mountains” in Xishuangbanna and gets its name from Pu’er, a town     2     most of the tea is processed and sold. Pu’er tea has a long history. Early in the Tang Dynasty, the tea trade between Pu’er and other areas already     3     (begin). Now a 2,700 year old wild tea tree still produces tea leaves. Every year, locals go to tea planting fields     4     (pick) tea leaves. Usually it starts at 9:00 am     5     finishes by 3:00 pm from February to December. Spring tea leaves are the best of the whole year.

Pu’er tea is big and rough in shape, black or brown red in color and the soup tastes mellow (醇厚),     6     (leave) a sweet aftertaste. The tea is mild in nature and does no harm to the stomach. At the same time, it has medicinal effects of “fat removing, body slimming and digestion promoting” and     7     (call) “slimming tea”.

The taste     8     the tea varies the taste changes with the     9     (long) of time it’s stored; the longer it’s stored, the     10     (good) it tastes. Thus, Pu’er tea not only makes a good drink, but also a valuable collector’s item. Pu’er tea has always enjoyed the good reputation of weight-loss tea, beauty tea, slimming tea and health tea.

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

It took 25 long years, but 52-year-old Xie Kefeng was finally reunited with his son, who had been snatched as a baby. The power of technology,     1    (specific)a facial comparison algorithm played a major role in bringing about the happy outcome.

In 1998, Xie’s wife stepped out of home to buy groceries, leaving their three-month-old second son, Xie Qingshuai, on the bed     2     the door unlocked. When she returned 10 minutes later, the child     3    (disappear). The couple reported the incident to the police, but the child could not be found.

In late November this year, Xie Kefeng received a call from the police informing him that a facial comparison had led to Xie Qingshuai     4    (find). A DNA comparison confirmed that it was indeed his long-lost son.

Xie Qingshuai, who now     5    (prove)outgoing, positive and diligent, was reunited with his family for the first time. Unknown to his family, he had been sold to a couple     6     lived in Xingtai as well. After the man he knew as his father died, his wife remarried and moved away, leaving Xie Qingshuai to be brought up by his adoptive grandparents.

On Sunday, Beijing DeepGlint Technology Co,     7     artificial intelligence technology company, announced that a facial comparison algorithm developed by it had played a vital role in the reunion.

    8    (base)on the principle that facial features among relatives tend to be similar, the company’s algorithm can identify highly relevant potential     9    (match), significantly improving the     10    (efficient)of the search process.

Carved out of a rocky hill, the Temple of the Rising Sun had showed the power of Egypt’s greatest pharaoh to the Nubian people in the Upper Nile. Over time, the great temple and the smaller buildings became     1     (cover) in sand for centuries, until     2     (they) rediscovery in 1813.

But just over a century later, the southernmost relics of this ancient human civilization were threatened     3     the rising waters of the Nile following the construction (建造) of the Aswan High Dam. The construction of the Dam was meant to develop agriculture (农业) as well as economy, and led to a global debate     4     has appeared on the front pages of every newspaper in     5     world ever since: Why should people care for ancient stones and buildings when so many people need food?

In an attempt     6     (save) the temples of Egypt, UNESCO said that humanity does not have to sacrifice (牺牲) the past to develop economy in the present. Cultural heritage sites help us understand who we are     7     also mean massive opportunities for development.

The race against time     8     (begin) in 1964, when experts from different    9     (nation) started working together. The whole site was     10     (careful) cut into large blocks, lifted and moved to a new location 65 metres higher and 200 metres back from the river, preserving it for future generations.

Located in the northeast of Zhaoping County, around 200 km away from Guilin, Huangyao Ancient Town boasts a rich history     1     (span) almost 1,000 years. Renowned as one of Guangxi’s most-visited tourist spots, this charming town showcases the region’s characteristic karst landscapes and abundant water resources, offering numerous expansive caves for     2     (explore).

Huangyao Ancient Town, with its thousand-year-old legacy, features majestic mountains     3     (dot) with caves, unique folk houses, delicate pavilions and temples, ancient trees, and stone pathways. Siting amidst steep mountains, the town’s strategic location not only makes it easy     4     (hold) but also poses challenges for potential attackers. As a result, Huangyao has been isolated from the outside world, allowing for the preservation of valuable relics, some of     5     include writings and paintings by distinguished Chinese scholars like Han Yu,       6     poet from the Tang Dynasty, and Liu Zongbiao, a man of letters of Qing Dynasty. Thanks to its isolation, many buildings in Huangyao still remain     7     (changed) in their architectural styles from the Ming and Qing eras. Traditional festivals and customs     8     (observe) for centuries, adding an authentic cultural touch to the town.

A visit     9     Huangyao would be incomplete without sampling its signature local delicacy, Huangyao tofu. This treat coupled with fermented (发酵的) black soybeans, exclusively crafted within the town,     10     (offer) a unique flavor that can’t be missed.

When young urban couples get married, they usually hire a fleet of about 10 cars to escort them and their family to the wedding venue. But one new couple in Dalian, Liaoning province, did something a little different — they     1     (choose) to rent a public bus instead.

    2     (look) back on their wedding day on Oct 5, the bride, Yang Le’er, said she still felt joyful about the bus experience,     3     added special meaning to the wedding.

On their wedding day,     4     red electric bus carried the bride and groom, and the guests to a hotel. “We played festive music along the way, and friends sang along. Even though my parents didn’t sing, they     5     (attract) by the atmosphere and didn’t show the traditional     6     (sad) of a daughter’s marriage,” Yang recalled.

    7     a cost of 10, 000 yuan, which included the decorations, she said getting the bus was     8     (relative) cheaper than hiring a fleet of cars. Besides, using a bus as their wedding car was so much cooler than a luxury car. On the road, they drew a lot of attention. Pedestrians took out their phones     9     (take) pictures and waved at them. When the bridesmaids and groomsmen shouted to passersby that “we’re getting married”, they received smiles and cheers in response.

Song Jian, the head of Dalian Transportation Advertising Co, said the company will explore more creative “theme buses”     10     expand related businesses in the future.

If you wake up in the middle of the night, you’re likely to check the time and see how many more hours you have     1     (leave) before morning. But this is a bad idea.

Looking at any source of light     2     (send) signals to the brain to wake up and turns off the     3     (produce) of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin (荷尔蒙褪黑激素).

Biological clocks help regulate the timing of bodily processes, including circadian rhythms (昼夜节律). Circadian rhythms are 24-hour cycles     4     are part of the body’s internal clock. One of the most important circadian rhythms is the sleep-wake cycle, which is     5     (easy) influenced by light. Even a quick look can make falling back to sleep     6     (difficult).

But even more importantly, checking can cause     7     (addition) stress. Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, a physiologist, sleep and stress management expert suggests that checking the time every time you wake up will just lead     8     a more disturbed night.

“Never check the time if you wake during the night — it is completely normal     9     (wake) during the night.       10     you’re a sensitive sleeper, then checking the time can send you into a whirl of calculations (一连串的计算) and make you worry about how much sleep you will or won’t be getting.”

Yu Jingjing, a security guard at a children’s hospital in Dalian, has been called “Toy Hero” by Chinese netizens after going viral on social media on Monday.

The video shows the security guard patrolled (巡逻) with tiny dolls on his uniform,     1     (offer) them to children and guiding patients’ families. “I see the hospital staff occupied     2     duties every day, and parents are worried about their sick children.” said Yu, “In the waiting area,     3     there is a familiar atmosphere of boredom and tension, people sit anxiously and look through old magazines, all of which     4     (read) hundreds of times. I am delighted to do something to help ease the     5     (anxious) of parents and children during their hospital visits.”

Yu has been working here for three years. Initially, he started to tie toys lost by children on his back, making     6     easier for the owners to find them. But rarely anyone returned     7     (claim) them. Nevertheless, these dolls proved to be     8     (incredible) effective in cheering anxious children patients up. So, Yu decided to buy some dolls with his money to give to the children.

Yu has become     9     hit at the children’s hospital. In addition to the two or three dozen dolls tied to his uniform, he also wears a small red sign that reads, “Please call me if you need help”. As is often the case, he     10     (devote) to comforting hospital visitors and healing them in a mental way.

China has a long history of more than 5000 years. In the vastness of history, Chinese traditional culture constantly shows     1     (it) unique charm and is deeply loved and appreciated by people around the world. Among the ancient Chinese literature, the Four Great Classical Novels, also referred to as the four greatest and most     2     (influence) novels written in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, stand out.

    3     the four novels have in common is that they were written in the vernacular (白话文) of their times,     4     most ancient literature that was written in the classical style of writing. Most Chinese are familiar with the figures, plots and scenes in the four novels. They have     5    (dramatic) affected the mentality, ideas and values of Chinese people. They were widely read by people and contained philosophical ideas, history and viewpoints about human society that     6     (define) part of the worldviews of the scholar and the     7     (political), which had     8     significant effect on the development of Chinese societies in past eras.

Nowadays, they have already been adapted into movies or TV series,     9     (favor) by lots of audiences. Being high in artistic standard, the Four Great Classical Novels are precious heritage of Chinese nation and     10     (strike) works in the history of Chinese literature.

Located in the comfortable tropical setting of Xishuangbanna,     1     the rainfall is abundant, plants are plentiful, and animals are diverse, the Dai people breathe     2     a place where the atmosphere is filled with greenery and ecological force. This background gives rise to the Dai people’s unique cuisine, which effortlessly combines elements of nature with     3     (they) daily lives.

For the Dai people of Xishuangbanna, many plants that seem nontraditional to outsiders are cooking treasures.     4     casual chat with a restaurant owner might     5     (unexpected) lead to the generous offering of a homely delicacy (美味).

In the Dai cooking recipes, fried moss stands out as a traditional delight.     6     (harvest) from riverbanks, cleaned, and then pan-fried to a golden color, this crispy (脆的) delicacy gives out sweet flavour.     7     (transform) the crispy moss into a dish that shows the Dai identity requires a delicate touch. But if natural preparations and     8     (ingredient) can be compared to the initial sketch (草图) of a sculpture, the various spice-infused sauces can     9     (see) serving as the cover of the sculpture, lending a matchless realism to the masterpiece.

Take the Dai-style eggplant dip as another example of a combination of authenticity and health, after roasting an eggplant, peeling it, and mixing it with salt, green chillies, garlic, and cilantro (香菜叶), pounding them quick produces a seasoning (调味品) that     10     (match) perfectly with any dish in an entertainment.