Creating arts in the tea cup

You may have seen milk foam (泡沫) poured into a coffee, on which a beautiful pattern appears. But have you seen the art in a cup of tea?

Dian cha is a tea art from the Song Dynasty.     1     art begins with pouring water over fine powdered tea, creating a paste and then adding more hot water,     2     ( constant ) whisking (搅拌) it by hand with a bamboo whisk. “ It’s like adding bells and whistles to tea and creating a special atmosphere for tea drinking, ” said 40-year-old Han Zheming, a designer     3     has been fascinated by dian cha since childhood.

Creating patterns on the tea foam is cautious but quick work. Usually, the whole process has to be completed within 10 minutes. The ideal state is     4     the tea’s temperature is around 40℃ and ready for drinking. It was through trial and error     5     Han understood the art of dian cha. “ Usually, it     6     ( take ) a year of practice for one to be able to do it, ” Han added.

    7     ( spread ) dian cha culture, Han put the process of tea-whisking and drawing on     8     ( society ) media platforms. Speaking about his understanding of this tea art, Han said the art is “ to increase the beauty ” rather than change the nature of tea. “ As well as poems, calligraphy and paintings that     9     ( create ) back then, I want more people to understand the tools     10     ( use ) by people to drink tea, and the reasons behind the ways they prepared tea, ” he explained.

All Moscow’s security concerns must be taken into account for settlement in Ukraine (乌克兰), Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday during a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Putin repeated that a settlement would only be possible on conditon     1     Russia’s security concerns were taken into account,     2     ( include ) “ Russia’s complete power over Crimea, ” as well as the country’s     3     ( commit ) to solving the tasks of Ukraine’s demilitarization and denazification, and the issue of Ukraine’s neutral status, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin said Russia is open to negotiation with Ukraine and expressed the hope that would lead to the desired result.

“ The French side     4     ( express ) its well-known views on Russia’s special military operation … and expressed hope for a quick settlement of the conflict     5     dialogue, ” the Kremlin said.

Putin said that Russia’s armed forces are not     6     ( strike ) civilian objects, and do not pose a threat to civilians.

“ Ukrainian nationalists,     7     have been using their civilian population ‘ as a human shield, ’ are a threat, ” Putin said.

According to the Elysee, Macron asked Russia to respect international law and     8     ( protection ) the civil population.

“ The French President reaffirmed the necessity to implement (执行；实施)     9     immediate ceasefire, ” the Elysee said.

Putin and Macron agreed to hold     10     ( far ) contacts.

The strict COVID-19 prevention and control measures taken by Shanghai in recent months have created certain obstacles for employing college graduates this year.     1     enterprises and public institutions cannot launch large-scale offline recruitment drives for the time being, colleges and universities, too,     2     (reduce) the scope of holding campus recruitment drives or internship for graduates.

    3     (ease) the pressure on college graduates, multiple departments in Shanghai recently issued a     4     (join) notice, requiring all districts, departments and colleges to take available measures to offset the negative impact of the epidemic on     5     (employ).

The circular also proposed the building of     6     “greater online and offline employment market” for college graduates. It asked all relevant authorities to strengthen coordination, integrate recruitment platforms in Shanghai and organize a series of comprehensive online and offline job fairs.

The formation of such a     7     (great) employment market not only means that the “plate of employment” will become bigger, but also indicates that online and offline recruitment channels will be opened and interconnected,     8     (connect) jobs with job-seekers and more accurately dovetailing enterprises’ job supply     9     young people’s job demands.

In fact, Shanghai is     10     (active) mobilizing all resources it can to ensure that college graduates find jobs. The Shanghai government has tried to create various government posts, cut taxes and fees for enterprises, and implemented preferential social security policies for and offered subsidies to enterprises to encourage them to hire fresh graduates.

I visited the Musée d’Orsay,     1     is a world-famous art museum    2     (house) in an old railway building in Paris.

    3    (wander) through the Impressionist gallery, I appreciated masterpieces. Two of the greatest Impressionist painters that made the deepest impression    4     me were Claude Monet and Pierre—Auguste Renoir. Monet was    5    (great) inspired by nature. It’s said that about 250 paintings by Monet including the famous piece Blue Water Lilies feature the same water lily pond, but all are in different colours and styles. Renoir preferred to paint    6    (scene) of everyday life. I     7    (strike) by the small areas of light across his 1876 masterpiece. Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette. It was the     8    (similar) of the paintings     9     impressed me deeply.

The Impressionists’ vision has inspired and influenced a lot of     10    (paint).

Celadon (青瓷), a type of greenish porcelain (陶瓷), is a traditional Chinese art. Mature celadon came     1     being in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In Tang Dynasty, celadon     2     (export) to lots of overseas countries, such as Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Japan, playing     3     major part in the “Maritime Silk Road”. The celadon from the Guan Kiln (官窑) of the Southern Song Dynasty is the peak of celadon producing,     4     is characterized by its bright and smooth lines, simple shapes and pure colors. It is considered as the treasure among ancient porcelain     5     (product). Nowadays many Chinese porcelain factories have adopted more advanced facilities and upgraded producing technology,     6     (make) them green as jade and bright as a mirror.

The formation of each celadon     7     (be) a process of life casting. Only after being burnt at around 1300℃ for 400 hours can it be made into an object. The     8     (difficult) of firing celadon is obvious, but at the same time, it makes each piece unique in the world. Because of the existence of celadon, many Chinese artists have been     9     (constant) searching for the spirit of “the unity of man and nature” by appreciating the art of “mud and fire” and reflecting on the historical and     10     (culture) context in it.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic, more and more Chinese have realized the importance of health and     1     (start) exercising at home because of the control and prevention policy that hinders them     2     going out sometimes.

In addition to such fitness games, they are also choosing to follow the guidance of online exercise short videos or livestreams. A few are seniors,     3     (inspire) by their families.

According to China Insights Consultancy, the number of people who exercised in China was about 300 million last year, and     4     (expect) to rise to 420 million by 2026. It’s expected that     5     value of China’s online fitness market will rise from 370.1 billion yuan ($56.44 billion) last year to 895.8 billion yuan in 2026.

Since the COVID-19 epidemic started in 2020, many people have formed the habit of     6     (take) exercise at home every day via livestreamed fitness classes.

Workouts at home are the     7     (good) option because the commute from home to the gym is time-consuming, and people prefer to exercise in a more private place.

“There is     8     better than doing a workout there when I finish my daily work. I feel unwell if I don’t exercise for one day,” said a woman,     9     runs an online store and works from home.

Fitness app Keep offers those with paid memberships livestreamed exercise classes. While watching such livestreams, users can post “bullet screens”－real-time comments that appear on the screen－    10     (cheer) on each other and ask questions, which the coach answers to ease any doubts.

Flower arrangement is the combination of several elements to produce visually pleasing display of fresh, silk, or dried flowers. General design principles include unbalance, and harmony,     1     often involves the use of light, space, and accent. Despite parts of the world use     2    (vary) design techniques for flower arrangement.

The art of Chinese traditional flower arrangement, originally     3    (serve) as offerings at temples and decorations in the palace, has survived over the centuries. “    4     a history of more than 3,000 years, the image of flower arrangement sometimes is still limited bunches of flowers in flower shops.” Zhang Yan,     5     master of the art, said.

In recent years, Zhang has been     6    (devoted) popularizing the traditional flower arrangement, hoping people will be familiar with the art, take pride in its centuries-old history and hold an ability     7    (appreciate) the beauty in life.

In Zhang’s view, Chinese traditional flower arrangement is not only a decoration, but also a form of psychological     8    (treat) for modern busy bees. The art emphasizes simplicity, and the arranger must decide on     9     is truly necessary in his or her work and life. The healing effect of the art     10    (realize) when the arranger comes to terms with what they truly want.

Lu frequently finds its way in Chinese dishes. It    1    (origin) meant salted water used for meat that's boiled, and then served cold, and for vegetables.

“Salt is the core    2     Lu, even more important than spices. Spices can add a pleasant smell or remove some smells，    3     it is the salt that is crucial to the flavor," says Cao Yu, a food writer at Jinan University.

The earliest     4    (preserve) recipes for making Lu date back to Qimin Yaoshu, an ancient Chinese agricultural text written in the 5th century.

Cao believes the Lu we know today emerged around the Ming dynasty,    5     private agricultural businesses and food markets sprang up in China.    6    (attract) customers, these businesses began introducing new flavors to Lu by adding spices. And they then used it to season cooked meats and vegetables that    7     (sell) cold for takeaway.

In the centuries since, Lu has been diversified, taking on the characteristics of each of China's     8     (region) cuisines. For example, in Sichuan province, fragrant peppercorn (干胡椒) is put into Lu to add flavor and    9     (intense).

Some Lu is even alcoholic: Zao Lu is     10     light one made from the fermented rice remains from making Chinese yellow wine. Zao Lu is used across south-eastern China to season vegetables.

For centuries, people have kept large amounts of cash at home during difficult times. But in the coronavirus crisis, things are different. These metal coins and paper bills can be     1     source of worry rather than hope.

    2    (touch) by thousands of people, these objects could be a way for the coronavirus     3    (spread). Some countries have suggested that their citizens     4    (stop) using them altogether.

Zachary Cohle, an economics professor, said, “In many areas, cash was already beginning to disappear due to the risk of     5    (rob), the ease of Internet ordering, and the ubiquity (普遍存在) of cell phones.”

Sweden, Finland, Norway, Canada and others have slowly reduced cash use to the point     6     using it in large amounts seems unusual. Britain and Australia are expected to become     7    (cash) countries. In China, cash use     8    (drop) because of electronic payment services over the past ten years.

However, cash use is still common in places like West and Central Africa, for they don’t have reliable access     9     the Internet. In Lebanon, as the economy worsened late last year, the central bank said people withdrew an estimated $3 billion and saved     10     at home.

Over and over at the UN climate summit in Glasgow, world leaders have stressed the need     1     (limit) global warming to 1. 5 degrees Celsius. Experts have said crossing the 1. 5 ℃threshold(界限）risks     2     （release) far more severe climate change effects on people, wildlife and ecosystems. Preventing it     3     (require) almost halving global CO₂ emissions(排放) by 2030 from 2010 levels and cutting them to net-zero by 2050.

Already, the world has heated to around 1. 1℃ above pre-industrial levels. Each of the last four decades was     4     (hot) than any decade since 1850. “We never had such a global warming in only a few decades,” said climate     5     (science) Daniela Jacob at the Climate Service Center Germany.

More warming to 1. 5 ℃ and beyond will     6     (worse) such impacts. For example, heatwaves would become both more frequent and more severe. A warmer atmosphere can also hold more moisture(水分), resulting in more extreme rainfall     7     raises flood risks. It also increases evaporation, leading to more intense droughts.

“At 1. 5 ℃, there’s     8     good chance that we can keep most of the Greenland and west Antarctic ice sheet     9     collapsing,” said climate expert Michael Mann at Pennsylvania State University. That would help limit sea level rise to a few     10     (foot) by the end of the century.