Open AI officially announced the launch of its     1     (late) text-to-video AI model, Sora, in February. The model outperforms (优于) others of its kind by creating diverse videos at suitable aspect ratios (屏幕高宽比) for different devices and social media. It can make smooth and realistic videos with     2     (detail) multi-character scenes and realistic movements. Imagine typing a     3     (describe) of a scene, like a snowy street in Tokyo with people and flying sakura (樱花) petals, and Sora turns it     4     a real video just from your words! How amazing!

Before Sora, making videos from text was tough and the results weren’t that great. But recently Sora     5     (improve) a lot. It understands your words really well and knows how things move and look in the real world. Sora works by “learning” from     6     large number of videos. It first breaks them down into pieces     7     then generates (生成) a new, better video from the pieces.     8     (current), Sora is still being tested and not for everyone to use. When     9     (create) videos, the model may mess up a character’s movement or show scenes     10     don’t follow the rules of physics. For example, one of its videos shows a whole cookie even after someone has taken a bite out of it.

Huang Danian, a noted Chinese geophysicist (物理学),     1     (devote) himself to science and made great contributions to China’s deep earth exploration.

Born in 1958 in Nanning, Guangxi, Huang’s passion     2     geophysics started from an early age. In 1993, he went to England for further studies, and earned his doctor’s degree in geophysics,     3     (rank) the top of his class. Huang later joined a geophysical service company in Cambridge to gain first-hand experience.

During his stay in England, Huang remained     4     (commit) to his motherland. He long dreamed of going back to “serve my country with my whole heart”. The opportunity came in 2008,     5     China launched a national program for global top talent.     6     (participate) in the program, Huang quit his job with no     7     (hesitate) and returned to China as one of the first professionals.

Upon return, Huang     8     (appoint) chief scientist of China’s biggest deep earth exploration program. Huang worked     9     (tireless) around the clock. Thanks to Huang and his team’s efforts, China made     10     significant breakthrough in deep earth exploration.

Huang passed away at the age of 58. His passing left the scientific community in sorrow, but he will be remembered forever for his devotion to his field and the love of his motherland.

The Year of the Dragon comes with inspiration for creativity and the power to bring big ideas     1    life.

Designer Wang Zijian’s Dragon Out of Water, a creative tea infuser (泡茶器),shines on the wall at the exhibition of the winning works of the 2024 Global Zodiac Design Competition at the Beijing Overseas Cultural Exchange Center.     2     (it) cute dragon design and special function are bound to appeal to young consumers. “It’s     3    unique product, and we expect a positive response from young customers,” Wang told Beijing Review.

The item belongs to China Chic, or guochao, also     4     (know) as “national wave”,    5    refers to products of all sorts including traditional Chinese cultural elements. These products    6     (embrace) by the country’s younger generations in recent years. According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, Gen Z    7     (account) for 74 percent of consumers of China Chic goods in 2022, and the search volume of China Chic products has increased five times over the past decade.

As a young designer, Wang hopes     8     (capture) young consumers with his creative interpretation of dragons. “I’ve been    9    (thorough) studying the dragon’s historical connotations (言外之意) and the     10     (psychology) characteristics of Gen Z consumers,” the 34-year-old designer told Beijing Review.

On February 20, leading Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com reported that sales of traditional Hanfu clothing had surged over 300 percent year on year since January. This trend was mirrored on Taobao,     1    , over the Double 11 shopping festival sales topped 730,000 units. Sales and search data signal a widespread and growing     2     (fascinate) with traditional Chinese clothing styles.

The horse face skirt is a traditional Chinese skirt     3     (feature) a distinct pleated (有褶的) design. It is     4     (occasional) referred to in a more generic sense as an apron. This type of skirt is     5     key component of Hanfu, serving as a lower garment (衣服). It is celebrated     6     one of the most emblematic styles of ancient Chinese skirts, showcasing a rich cultural heritage through     7     (it) unique appearance and historical significance.

Influencers and content creators play a significant role in promoting Hanfu and fostering a sense of community. To date, the horse face skirt on Douyin     8     (attract) more than 17.6 billion views across related topics and short videos. Meanwhile, on Xiaohongshu,     9     (search) for the same term have resulted in over 880,000 posts.

    10     the horse face skirt’s popularity reflects is the growing appetite for Hanfu-inspired designs as well as a deeper cultural revival for classical Chinese aesthetics.

During the 2023 Spring Festival Gala, an acrobatics how titled “Me and Grandpa Walking on Stilts” impressed global audiences. With children    1     (show) off their stilt-walking skills, the show definitely brought the joyful atmosphere to the world.

Stilts walking, or Cai Gao Qiao in Chinese, is a popular traditional folk performance often    2     (see) during the Spring Festival. It often appears at circuses or parades across China,    3    has the meaning of standing tall and having one step up in the new year.

Stilts walking has a long history in China and has been listed    4    a national intangible cultural heritage.    5    is believed that the practice started with ancient Chinese people using stilts to harvest fruits on trees and for fishing in ponds. Later, the practical use of stilts     6     (transform) into an art form with brightly-colored costumes, make-up, and even acrobatic moves.

The stilts are mostly made of wood with    7    support point in the middle partition (隔板)    8    can be used as a standing platform by the performers. Stilt walking requires a high degree of skill land the walkers must be brave enough to get around with merely two thin sticks tied to their    9     (foot). They need to practice a lot to learn to be steady while walking and to perform more beautiful movement patterns, they need to be even more     10     (exceptional) skillful.

The 24 solar terms     1     (recognize) as “the fifth great invention of China”. Every year around May 21st, the second solar term of summer, Grain Buds, or Xiaoman in Chinese, arrives. While it’s getting hotter and     2     (wet), the seeds of summer crops are already full       3     not ripe. The difference in temperature between the North and the South narrows and     4     greater amount of rainfall is on the way.

“Low rainfall during Xiaoman will bring problems for planting during Grain in Ear (芒种).” Such sayings     5     (guide) agricultural production and the daily life of the Chinese people for thousands of years. In the area south of the Yangtze River, three types of     6     (equip) start to work as Xiaoman gets closer. At this time, the waterwheel is pedaled (蹬)     7     (water) crops. Farmers use the oil mill to extract (提取) oil from the seeds freshly     8     (collect). They also use the weaving loom to reel silk threads.

Xiaoman is actually an interval (间歇) between harvests, so people in the past had to eat wild vegetables in order to survive these tough days,     9     led to a unique eating custom. Meanwhile, as Xiaoman is the birthday of the Silkworm God, people in some areas pray     10     a good silk harvest on that day.

Since its launch in 1981, China Daily has grown rapidly to become the nation’s leading English-language newspaper. With the online and mobile readership of more than 350 million, it serves     1     a vital role in telling the world about China, providing valuable insight into the world’s second-largest economy     2     witnessing China’s rapid development.     3     (consequent), it is quoted more often by overseas media than any other Chinese publication.

Besides the flagship edition on Chinese mainland and Hong Kong edition,     4     (report) news not only domestically but also globally, China Daily publishes an international edition     5     (cover) North and South America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific and Africa on various digital platforms.

Chinadaily.com.cn,     6     leading national website, is China’s most     7     (influence) English-language platform. More than 36 million readers from 180 countries     8     (download) the China Daily app so far, and its PV reaches 52 million. China Daily also has accounts on well-known social     9     (medium) such as Sina Weibo, WeChat, Facebook and Twitter. By the end of April 2022, its Facebook followers had reached 104 million, and Twitter followers 4.25 million.

China Daily plays a key role in the Asia news network through joint and constant efforts of the continent’s leading newspapers. China Watch, a China Daily supplement (副刊),     10     (issue) one year ago as an insert of more than 20 major international newspapers in 18 countries.