Recognizing the rising popularity of traditional music, the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) has launched a festival, Spring of Traditional Chinese Music.

The opening concert,     1     (hold) on April 8, 2022, saw a performance by China National Traditional Orchestra(CNTO) led by three conductors, Liu Sha, Lyu Jia and Li Xincao.

“    2     the first time, we performed with conductors who have never performed with traditional Chinese     3     (musician),” says Zhao Cong, president of CNTO. “When we discussed that idea with the NCPA, we were all very excited.” to Each of the conductors chose music pieces they’d like     4     (perform). For example, a piece from the Tang Dynasty   (618-907), titled The General’s Order,     5     (conduct) by Liu. “The sounds of traditional Chinese musical instruments are very different from Western musical instruments, which were     6     (total) new to me. However, this is the most interesting experience     7     will remain in my heart forever,” says Lyu.

“Playing works of traditional Chinese music and Western classical music     8     (be) like communicating with two people with     9     (variety) personalities,” says Li. “But music is all about emotions and expression, which is mutual (相互的).”

It’s reported that     10     festival will be held twice a year and invite more conductors of symphony orchestras (交响乐团) to work with traditional Chinese music orchestras.

March has barely turned the mountains of the Qinling Range green, but Tianshui,     1     small city at the foot of the Qinling Range has already exploded in popularity for its spicy hot pot, or malatang. In recent days, Tianshui has welcomed approximately 40,000 visitors daily.

The     2    (explode)in popularity of the local spicy hot pot in Gansu is closely associated     3     the local eating habits. The local northwestern Chinese cuisine primarily     4    (consist)of boiled beef and mutton, as green leafy vegetables are hardly found in Gansu or its cuisine. In places like the Hexi Corridor, if one attempts     5    (find)leafy greens, the best option would be to visit a Sichuan restaurant.

However, the local spicy hot pot restaurants also provide diners with     6    (variety)vegetables to choose from. In places like Tianshui,     7     cuisine has been influenced by Sichuan and Chongqing traditions, the hot pot’s flavor     8    (enrich)using bean sauce and Sichuan peppercorns, adding a spicy fragrance(香味)to both meat and vegetables.

The history of Gansu’s spicy hot pot is     9    (relative)short. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was merely known as spicy noodles, later     10    (develop)to achieve its present form.

The Cun BA basketball tournament, one of China’s popular grassroots sports competitions, plans more interactions with NBA professionals in the current season. “We plan to take the championship team to     1     exchange program with the NBA, allowing them     2     (experience), learn from and interact with professional NBA players,” Cen Jianglong, head of Taipan and co-organizer of the tournament, said on Friday.

The basketball games, originally held to mark a local festival,     3     (go) viral in 2022, garnering online views of more than 1.5 billion that year. In 2023, the event received over 55 billion views,     4     (far) consolidating its status as a cultural and sporting phenomenon.

In its     5     (three) year, Cun BA remains both a basketball competition and a carnival. On opening day, singers performed,     6     the aim of conveying cultural confidence to the audience and improving awareness of preserving traditional culture, according to the organizers,     7     hope that such activities will attract even more     8     (spectator) to the games.

The Cun BA phenomenon has not only energized the local economy, but has also contributed to the overall development of Taipan village and the surrounding regions. Sports events,     9     (combine) with entertainment activities at the grassroots level,     10     (drive) local cultural and tourism development in a number of regions across the country.

Young Chinese bring hanfu to the world during Spring Festival

Young people dressed in hanfu, the traditional clothing of the Han ethnic group in China,    1     (spot) in many    2     (locate) around the world during this year’s Spring Festival holiday.

An initiative launched in late January by Xiaohongshu,     3     Chinese lifestyle-focused social media platform, invited users to upload photos or videos of themselves and friends wearing hanfu at landmarks around the world from January 28 to February 19.

The first two weeks of the initiative saw some 10,000 Xiaohongshu users share their photos     4     (take) from around 30 countries and regions around the world. One user even posted photos from Antarctica.

Many young Chinese people working or studying overseas also invited     5     (they) foreign friends to wear     6     (tradition) Chinese costumes to celebrate the Spring Festival together.

Hanfu, as well as other traditional forms of Chinese costume,     7     (experience) a surge in popularity in recent years. Clothes featuring traditional Chinese elements combined with modern designs,     8     are dubbed the “new Chinese style” have developed into a fashion trend among the     9     (young) generations not only in China, but also worldwide.

Analysts say the rise     10     “China chic” reflects young Chinese people’s confidence in their own culture. Wearing Chinese-style costumes not only reflects the wearer’s Eastern temperament, but also presents Chinese aesthetics to the world.

From: chinadaily.com.cn

One of the most popular city walk routes in Shanghai is Fuxing Road in the downtown area of the city. With trees     1     (give) shade from the sunlight, the street is home to many historic buildings of special     2     (significant) to China. Among them is the former residence (宅第) of a famous Chinese architect.

Zhuang Jun (1888-1990),     3     name was also spelt as Chuang Tsin, was one of the first professional architects in modern China, and     4     (create) a series of landmark buildings in Shanghai and other major cities across the country. He also compiled (编写) the first English-Chinese dictionary of architectural engineering terms in     5     1950s.

The residence was designed by himself and constructed in 1921.     6     (locate) at 45 Fuxing Road West in Xuhui District, it is a brick-concrete three-storey garden house. It occupies a long and narrow L-shaped area of 306 square meters, consisting     7     two sets of units. The outer wall is light yellow, while the corners     8     (decorate) with tooth-shaped red bricks. Two fireplaces were built in the sitting room     9     the guest room.

Zhuang and his family lived in the house for decades and he died there in 1990. The house was listed as a     10     (culture) relic preservation site of Xuhui District in 2017. Today it is still a private residence and visitors can only appreciate it from the outside.

Chinese book culture has a long history. Its roots can be traced back thousands of years, to the earliest known     1    (write) records in China. Over the centuries, books    2    (be) an essential part of Chinese culture, playing a vital role in preserving knowledge and    3    (provide) a source of inspiration for generations.

The first major development in Chinese book culture was the invention of woodblock printing by Bi Sheng in the 11th century. This revolutionized book production, making it much    4    (easy) to produce and distribute books. During China’s Ming Dynasty there was a great booming of books and it    5    (see) the birth of China’s best-known book, Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en, which is still    6    (wide) read and studied today.

In modern times, new genres such as science fiction and fantasy have grown in    7    (popular), while electronic books are becoming increasingly popular. The development of book culture has had a profound impact     8    Chinese society, with many books becoming cultural touchstones and inspiring people to think about their lives and the world around them.

With its rich history and diverse genres, Chinese book culture provides a window into Chinese society. From ancient classics to modern bestsellers, Chinese books can open up    9    new world of ideas and knowledge for readers around the globe. As such, it is an important part of our collective global culture, and one    10    should be learned more about.

It is a special cross-country race. The competitors’ vehicles are made     1     fruits and vegetables like carrots, eggplants, grapefruits, pumpkins and oranges. They are the creations of pupils from the Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary School.

According to Chen You, the science class teacher,     2     (base) knowledge had been taught within 6 classes to students before they drew sketches and     3     (choose) vegetables to make a food car.

Although students were encouraged     4     (design) their cars together with parents, all the cars should be made in the class. After     5     (bring) piles of ingredients as well as tools the children began their innovation. Some cut the carrot slices to make them round, and some others assembled (组装) their car components together.

In addition to the     6     (compete), students are required to reflect on the     7     (difficulty) they encountered making their vehicles,     8     things they have learned from the activity and the improvements they think the course can make.

    9     touched the teachers most was the unity and friendship among the children. For example, although the contest was fierce (激烈的), students felt     10     (excite) for the champion car as if they themselves had stood out, and when a girl’s car fell apart their friends comforted her and helped reassemble the car.