Confucius and Chinese Philosophy

    1     (bear) in 551 BC, Confucius has made the greatest contribution to Chinese culture in history.     2     he was raised in a poor family, he visited famous scholars and learned a lot. He developed his thoughts into a system of philosophy,    3     (know) as Confucianism, which emphasized (注重) self-cultivation,     4     (harmony) relationships with each other, and showed respect for the elderly. Friends should be honest   to each other.     5     (rule) should make an effort to provide a happy life for people. Meanwhile, he was a great teacher     6     devoted himself to     7     (promote) education for ordinary people. He travelled around to publicize (宣传) his political thinking but failed. But he never gave up. Over the last 2000 years, his philosophy     8     (continue) to influence China as well as     9     rest of the world. He     10     (consider) as the symbol of oriental (东方的) culture as well.

What do a student in China, an office worker in the UK and an astronaut in space all have in common? They all eat instant noodles. And they’re not alone — over 100 billion servings of instant noodles     1    (consume) globally each year, making them one of the world’s most successful industrial foods. But how did this happen?

Put     2    (simple), they’re cheap to produce and cheap to buy, which was exactly what their creator intended. Momofuku Ando, a Japanese entrepreneur, spent roughly a year     3    (perfect) the recipe just after the Second World War. He wanted to make something similar to traditional Japanese ramen noodles, while using the wheat flour given to Japan as food aid by the US government. His creation was instantly popular,     4    (play) a part in Japan’s post-war economic rise. Even in the year 2000 — according to a poll by the Fuji Research Institute — instant noodles were voted Japan’s most successful invention, ahead of high-speed trains, laptops and karaoke.

But Japanese people are not alone     5     their devotion to instant noodles. According to the World’s Instant Noodles Association, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and India — in that order — all consumed more instant noodles than Japan in 2021. Instant noodles’ popularity abroad is in part due to how easy they are     6    (adapt) to local tastes. In Thailand, for example, you can get green curry flavor, while in Mexico the noodles are garnished with lime and salsa. And     7     seems that consumers have grown to expect innovation. Nissin, the food company founded by Ando, launches over 300 products yearly, just in Japan.

Instant noodles have their critics, too. Their rise in popularity has come at an     8    (environment) cost — they’re made with palm oil, contributing to deforestation, and their packaging is plastic. And     9     they are a hot, tasty and filling meal, instant noodles don’t have much nutritional value, and include high levels of salt and fat. Nevertheless, instant noodles are undoubtedly lifesavers in emergency     10     extreme situations.

Now I have become a senior high school student and this means I have an opportunity to become a different person, a much better one! I’ve decided to set new     1     (goal) myself! I think I will need to play more sports. I plan to run every day in order to have a    2     (power) body. I even look forward to    3     (run) an exciting half marathon.

One thing I really want to change is the time I spend in the online world and it’s time to get out of it and make a     4     ( different) in the real world. In fact, up until this year I might have been described as     5    Internet addict! I spent hours surfing the Web and chatting online rather than    6    person. A few weeks ago, when I was surfing the Internet I     7     (attract) by a website of a charity (慈善) organization. It supports children in need and it has volunteers     8     would like to spend time with the children.

I’m really inspired by their energy and excitement and I know that I wish    9     ( do) some voluntary work in the future. I’ll write to the organization soon and hopefully I can join it.     10     (actual) , in the future, maybe I can start my own charity.

Jingxi Taiping Drum is a traditional form of dancing. With its display of profound cultural elements, it     1    (include) in the first batch (批次) of China’s national intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) items in 2006.

The     2    (early) historical references of this art date back to the Spring and Autumn Period. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, it started to gain     3    (popular) in and around the capital, and then it was introduced to Mentougou District of Beijing.

In ancient times, the drums were played     4     New Year’s Eve at the imperial palace to bring peace. As a result, the performance also became known as the “New Year Drum” by Beijingers. This type of drum dance is     5    (common) seen performed during the last and first month of the lunar year in many local festive activities, thus expressing     6    (people) hope of a peaceful and prosperous year to come.

During a given performance, drummers perform various dance moves while     7    (hold) the drum in their left hands and a mallet in their right hands. Traditional Chinese aesthetic (美学的) concepts are reflected in the drum playing, all of     8     represent distinctive local features.

In the past decades, efforts     9    (make) by Mentougou District to preserve this signature folk dance culture. Today, the time-honored folk art of the Jingxi Taiping Drum is being taken up by the young people     10     is presenting its lively artistic charm (魅力) on a global stage.

As the name suggests, Sichuan Hot Pot was born in Sichuan Province,    1    is known for its preference for spicy food. This mouth-burning and tongue-numbing hot pot has been gaining a large amount of attention in recent years all over    2    world.

It is    3    (universal) accepted that the Sichuan Hot Pot dates back to early 20th century. The port workers and fishermen who worked and lived along the Yangtze River could not afford    4    (eat) the regular cuts of meat, so they figured out a way to cook cheap meats and offal (内脏)    5    boiling them in a pot of extremely spicy soup. The use of spicy soup first    6    (intend) to cover the taste from the offal. However, after some    7    (adjust) of fragrant spices, this one pot meal became a popular dish in Sichuan region.

After years of continuous development, eating Sichuan Hot Pot today    8    (be) no longer what the poor like. Offal still remains as classic hot pot ingredients, but both high quality meats    9    seafood ingredients are also common on the menu. The modern hot pot has been shaped into a complex meal that starts with sliced meat, offal, and seafood,    10    (follow) by vegetables and ends with noodles.

Chinese female scientist TU Youyou,     1     (award) the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine on Oct 6 when she was 85 years old, was     2     first Chinese citizen to win a Nobel Prize in science. Tu     3     (share) the prize with the Irish-born William Campbell and Satoshi omura of Japan .

Tu Youyou is a committed and patient researcher at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She was awarded     4     developing artemisinin, “a new drug therapy against malaria”     5     has saved millions of lives worldwide,     6     (especial) in developing countries, the Nobel Assembly said on its website.

Tu and her colleagues joined a government project     7     (find) a new malaria drug in the late 1960s. They examined over 2,000 recipes from traditional Chinese     8     (medicine) books. In 1971, after more than 190     9     (fail), Tu’s team finally found an extract that was 100 percent effective against malaria.

“The discovery of artemisinin is a gift to mankind from traditional Chinese medicine. It’s the collective achievement of the research team.     10     (win) the prize is an honor for China’s science and traditional Chinese medicine to be spread around the world.” Tu told Xinhua.