With the worldwide celebration of the Chinese New Year, traditional Chinese cultural forms such as the Yingge Dance (Dance of Heroes) and dragon and lion dances have once again attracted widespread attention.

As the Chinese New Year is increasingly celebrated     1     (global), it has brought its traditional celebrations elsewhere and seen people of other countries join the festivities. This Spring Festival, a team of Yingge dancers from South China’s Guangdong Province     2     (invite) to the UK, bringing an exciting performance to London’s Burlington Arcade     3     (celebrate) the Chinese New Year.

Literally     4     (translate) as the “Songs of Heroes” dance, Yingge Dance is an old folk dance     5     originated from the Chaoshan area of South China’s Guangdong Province. Dressed in colorful costumes, performers wave wooden sticks in their hands while     6     (dance) in orderly formations to the music.

Based on the stories of the 108     7     (hero) of Liangshan Mountain from the classic novel Outlaws of the Marsh (《水浒传》), this is     8     folk art combining a variety of forms, from martial arts and Chinese operas to dance.

From a centuries-old art form to a magnum opus (杰作) of Chinese tradition worldwide, the     9     (popular) of Yingge Dance on the streets of London during the Spring Festival was a success     10     terms of traditional Chinese folk art sailing overseas.

In Shanxi Province, there is a tradition of taking afternoon naps, which means people take a short rest in the middle of the day. You can see people of all ages, men or women     1    (take)their naps. To them, it’s a peaceful and quiet time     2    the busy streets become empty and still.

Taking an afternoon nap is a tradition that     3    (be)around for a long time in Shanxi. It has been passed down from generation     4     generation. Parents teach their children the     5    (important)of rest and encourage them to do it. Through naps, they hope the young ones can learn to take care of     6    (they)and enjoy a quick break from a busy day.

Actually, the tradition of afternoon naps     7    (believe)to have many benefits. It helps people feel     8    (great)refreshed for the rest of the day. It also gives their bodies and minds a chance to relax and recover from all the activities in the morning.

So, if you ever visit Shanxi, don’t be     9    (surprise)if you see people taking naps in the early afternoon. And when you feel tired during the day, try finding somewhere comfortable and taking a good afternoon nap. Who knows, a little shut-eye might make     10    difference in making you feel great and your day even better!

Diesel engines (柴油机) work on the same basic principles     1     gasoline engines, but they do the work differently. Let’s take a closer look.

The story of the diesel engine actually begins with the invention of the gasoline engine. Nikolaus August Otto     2     (invent) the gasoline engine in 1861. His invention used the four-stroke combustion (四冲程燃烧) principle, also known as the “Otto Cycle”,     3     is the basis for most car engines today. In its early stage, the gasoline engine wasn’t very efficient, and other major methods of transportation, such as the steam engine, performed     4     (poor) as well. Only about 10 percent of the fuel     5    (use) to power these types of engines actually moved a vehicle. The rest of the fuel simply produced useless heat.

Rudolf Diesel created an engine with high efficiency, and he devoted much of his time to     6     (develop) a “combustion power engine”. By 1892 Diesel had obtained a patent for     7     we now call the diesel engine.

For decades, diesel engines had a reputation for being dirty and loud. While Europe adopted the technology pretty widely, most     8    (drive) in the United States said, “No, thank you.” By the 21st century, though diesel engines became far cleaner, much     9     (quiet) and even more efficient, they experienced a setback in popular opinion because of a scandal (丑闻) in 2014. Thanks to     10     (they) proven efficiency, though, diesel engines are regaining some ground.

The recent hit in China is all about Harbin, Helongjiang. Numerous netizens have expressed their longing for this northern ice city,     1     (enthusiastic) declaring, “Harbin, I’m coming!”

Among those highlights,     2     journey of 11 kids from Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has melted hearts across the Internet. Chinese netizens have been eagerly following their adventures online.

Fondly (深情地)     3     (describe) as “Little Tangerines (柑橘)” for their orange-colored coats, the kids also visited China’s northernmost town,     4     they sang the national anthem. The firefighters there had prepared snow sculptures and snowmen, eagerly expecting the     5     (arrive) of the “Little Tangerines”. Mr. Liang, the leader of the group, confirmed their coming in Mohe.

This study tour, under the spotlight of the entire Internet,     6     (draw) a lot of attention. The parents are grateful for the concern shown by netizens and the care provided by friends in the Northeast China. They feel more     7     ease with everyone’s collective support.

    8     was reported that the residents organized a fleet of about 300 private vehicles,     9     (provide) free rides to tourists. Despite the city’s freezing climate, its residents work diligently     10     (create) a warm environment for their guests.

Zhang Jiacheng has lived his life in a village for more than sixty years. Zhang spends his days     1     (look) after his apple farm. His work is     2     (entire) physical, including planting and watering trees and picking fruit. Now his work, though, is sort of different from the one     3     it used to be: Livestreaming (直播).

When I visit Zhang’s land in mid-September,     4     66-year-old farmer is preparing to pick up apples in his fields. The branches (树枝)of his apple trees     5       (weigh) down by red delicious fruit.They can produce 30,000 kilograms of apples each year.

    6       (help) the villagers make their fortune, the government began offering free courses in 2013 to teach villagers how to use the internet to enlarge their businesses. Over 20,00 people have attended     7     (class) covering different topics from e-business to livestreaming.

“Before taking the livestreaming class, I was making 4,000 to 5,000 yuan per year,” Zhang says. “Now,     8     makes me excited is that I can earn 200,000 yuan each year.”

To be frank, the change is     9     (surprise) and tells us the advantages of using technology to connect farmers in the country and other workers with more people.

Now, using social media such as Taobao’s livestreaming, Pinduoduo, Douyin, these workers can help sell their crops across the country, which contributes     10     the developing of the villages.

A new report suggests Canada’s Western Hudson Bay polar bear population     1    (drop) 27 percent during the past five years.

Every autumn, bears     2     (live) along the western edge of the Hudson Bay pass through the sub-Arctic town of Churchill, Manitoba. The yearly movement has helped make the area’s bears one of the most studied     3     (group) in the world. Bear watching adds about $5.3 million to the local economy each year.

But a report     4     (recent) issued by the government in Canada’s northern territory(地区) of Nunavut found that just 618 polar bears remained in     5     area. This represented a 50percent drop in the population from the 1980s.

Polar bears depend on frozen salt water called sea ice     6     (help) them hunt seals for food   But the Arctic is now warming about four times     7     (fast) than the rest of the world. Around Hudson Bay, seasonal sea ice is melting earlier in the spring and forming later in the fall. This is forcing bears to go longer periods     8     food.

John Whiteman,     9     is chief research scientist at the nonprofit conservation group. Polar Bears International, called the population drop “totally shocking”. He said, “Scientists fear that if continued sea ice loss cannot     10     (stop), it will one day lead to a total loss of the area’s polar bear population.”

Stepping outside the railway station early     1     an autumn morning, visitors are met with the view of the cold air along with the water, forming a thick, soft blanket of fog(雾) over the Grand Canal, the “main street” of Venice. It’s a sight that     2    (welcome) millions of visitors from all over the world since the city became one of Europe’s economic superpowers.

Yet, the breath taking beauty     3     inspired countless painters, writers and artists over the centuries easily     4    (damage) is at risk of being lost forever. The city’s     5    (survive) is threatened(威胁) by rising water levels. The unstoppable increase in sea level has caused flooding     6    (become) the order of the day.

After 1966, the year of the worst flooding in Venice’s history, the Italian Government started a project to save the city.     7     project needing a lot of effort was carried out to protect the lowest areas from flooding. Thirty     8    (year) later, there was an agreement supported by everyone on the     9    (success) results both of the technical achievements and international cooperation(合作).

But Venice still needs attentive care. The city remains threatened on several fronts—mass tourism, the possible damage of city development     10     a large number of boats.