A new group of free employees have been added to a French workforce. So far, a theme park in western France     1     (employ) six birds, more exactly six crows (乌鸦), to collect and deal with garbage-- mainly cigarette ends and other small pieces. The birds take the     2     (collect) rubbish to special bins where they can receive bird food in exchange     3     putting away the litter.

Park president Nicolas said, “The purpose of employing the crows is to educate people to take up their social     4     (responsible). Since the birds are able to do     5     people are supposed to do, we should do this by ourselves.”

Crows have long been observed for their     6     (amaze) intelligence. They are one of the     7     (smart) groups of animals on earth, with remarkable problem solving, tool making, and deductive reasoning skills.

In addition to inspiring humans to pick up trash, the clever crows     8     are currently working at the park are pretty excited to put their intelligence to work.

“It has become     9     exciting game for them,” Nicolas says. “They pick up the trash on the ground, and every day they     10     (reward) for what they have done.”

A black slate (石板), an alloy steel needle and decades of practice are what Li Yahua needs to create the perfect Huihe stone shadow carving work of art. With her left hand     1     (gentle) leaning against the mirror-like stone to support the heavy chisel (凿子) she’s holding in her right hand, the artist creates a black-and-white landscape by intensively chiseling dots in various sizes and density on the stone.

Different from traditional Chinses art types that emphasize the beauty of lines, stone shadow carving highlights the size and     2     (deep) of dots. “We use an alloy steel needle to chisel white dots to create image on a polished and smooth black slate,” Li explained, adding the pressure     3     (use) to chisel them was the key to getting the carving right. “On an A4-paper-size black slate, we need to chisel about 100 million dots     4     (create) an image,” she continued, adding it would take 7 to 20 days to complete the work depending on its level of complexity. Born into a family of stone carves, stone and alloy steel needles     5     (be) Li’s best friends since childhood and the sound of chisel     6     (knock) on the slate is the soundtrack to her life.     7     56-year old has devoted nearly 40 years to the craft, which made someone laugh at the     8     (absurd) of the situation. For her, shadow curving is about preserving history, culture and art,     9     recording the stories of the times. “It is vital that we should be prepared     10    twists and turns.” She said.

The ancient Chinese built two great engineering wonders: the Great Wall and the Grand Canal (运河). The Great Wall’s function in military defense    1    (fade) over time, but the Grand Canal remains an important means of cultural communication.

The Grand Canal,     2    (consist) of three sections, runs more than 2,000 kilometers from north to south across China. It is about 16 times     3     size of the Suez Canal in Egypt and 33 times longer than the Panama Canal. In ancient times, the Grand Canal served     4     the main route for grain transport and every kind of economic and cultural exchange. It also     5    (significant) shortened the time consuming journeys of laborers and materials for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Now, it has inspired the name of Chenchen, one of the three mascots of the Hangzhou Asian Games. Chenchen,     6    (name) after the Gongchen Bridge,    7     crosses the Hangzhou section of the Grand Canal, is colored blue to represent science and technology.

The Hangzhou section stretches a total     8    (long) of 39 kilometers and is home to 11 of the canal’s total 58 historic sites. Visitors can take a boat trip on the ancient waterway to enjoy the     9    (drama) landscape of Jiangnan water town. Besides, three neighboring places along the Canal — Dadou Road Historic District, Xiaohezhi Street, and Qiaoxi Historic Street     10    (recommend) for a free walk.

Herbal medicine is an important part of Chinese culture and the practice of traditional Chinese medicine. The emperor Shen Nong is said to have tasted 100 herbs,     1     allowed him to teach the Chinese people how to use them in their diet and     2     (treat) for illness. These herbs help the body to stay in balance and goji berries are one of them.

Since 200 B.C., goji berries     3     (use) in traditional Chinese medicine. In China, goji berries are known     4     “wolfberry fruit” and they were once mentioned in the oldest book of Chinese herbs in existence, Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing. They are also known to act     5     (positive) on the organs because of the detoxifying (解毒) properties, thus     6     (contribute) to our qi and energy.

Goji berries are     7     excellent source of antioxidants (抗氧化剂), amino acids and 20 other trace     8     (mineral). The list of goji berry benefits is long, including     9     (it) ability to promote healthy skin, protect eye health, adjust blood sugar levels and fight cancer.

In China, goji berries are commonly cooked and added to recipes like porridge, soups and dishes     10     (make) with chicken, pork or vegetables. They are also used to make various teas, juices and wines.

When it comes to addictive foods and foods which are more than worthy of being spread all over social media, Chinese sugar painting deserves some time in the spotlight. Sugar painting is     1     conventional Chinese form of folk art. Hot liquid sugar is used     2     (create) two dimensional figures like small animals. Sugar art is pretty popular     3     children, but it’s beautiful enough to attract just about anyone.

Hot sugar is poured slowly in a thin line from a small spoon onto a flat surface(usually made of metal) and the outline of the figure     4     (draw) with a relatively thick stream of sugar. After the main outline is done, thinner     5     (support) strings of sugar are placed to support the outline and fill in the figure of the body in a     6     (combine) of swirls, zig-zags or other patterns. The whole design is held by a wooden stick.

Customers     7     (traditional) spin(旋转) an arrow on a wheel, which lands on a certain figure     8     (inspire) by nature or wildlife in forms like a dragon, fish, monkey, dog, bird or flower basket. This ancient Sichuan art form might not be as common as it once was,     9     it still has the power to interest tourists     10     come across talented street artists making these amazing creations.

This summer has been full of unforgettable     1    (moment). Among them, Su Bingtian, a 31-year-old runner, set     2     new Asian record of 9.83 seconds at the Tokyo Olympics semifinals (半决赛) although he finished sixth in the final with a time of 9.98 seconds, he still made a victory.   “    3     (actual), I’m very happy to run under 10 seconds twice in such a short time”, Su said after the race. “Making it into the finals, I have already given all I have.”

Known    4     “Chinese flying man”, Su has been working hard     5     (achieve) his dream. In 2015, Su became the first Chinese to run 100m in less than 10 seconds. After that, Su competed in many international events and won a number of medals. Sadly, at the same time, he suffered greatly from his     6     (injure) and his determination to go on running was tested. He even     7     (plan) to the leave the field in 2017,     8     the wish to run in the 100m final in the Olympics brought him back on the field.

Now in his third Olympics, his    9     (amaze) performance has excited people both at home and abroad. Su Bingtian is really a living legend    10     will surely encourage more young players in their sporting career (事业).