After several decades of development, Chinese cultural industries, such as online literature and video games, have created products     1     enrich global culture with creativity, imagination and local elements, appealing to both domestic consumers and those from overseas.

China’s video game industry, after three decades of development,     2     (evolve) into a competitive player in the international market, especially in the section of mobile games, driven by the Internet and     3     (technology) advancements.

According to CNG, overseas revenue from games independently developed in China had risen from $11.6 billion in 2019     4     $16.4 billion in 2023, achieving a four-year CAGR of 9.04percent. This growth is primarily attributed to the advantages of Chinese companies in mobile game development and operations.

With the widespread adoption of smartphones     5     the development of mobile Internet technologies, mobile games have become a major part of the global gaming market.     6     (depend) on the leading technology and extensive     7     (experienced) in this area, Chinese gaming companies have     8     (successful) launched a series of popular game products in both domestic and overseas markets.

In 2023, Genshin Impact became the     9     (popular) Chinese game in overseas markets. By the end of last year, it had garnered about $5 billion, and players from overseas contributed more than 60 percent of the total, according to data from analytics company Sensor Tower and App Magic.

Since     10     (it) launch in 2020, Genshin Impact has won the best mobile game award in 2021and the player’s voice award in 2022 at the annual The Game Awards — often dubbed as the “Oscars” of the global gaming industry, while being nominated for the best ongoing award four times.

In the 1950s, a plastic surgeon(整形外科医生)by the name of Maxwell Maltz began to notice that many of his patients took about 21 days    1    they got used to seeing their new face after an    2    (operate)—like a nose of job, for example.

    3     (promote) by the observation of this unusual pattern, Maltz looked inward, into his own life, and noticed that it also took about 21 days    4    (adjust) to a new house someone just moved into. These experiences    5    (eventual) led Maltz to publish his famous 1960s book Psycho-cybernetics, in    6    he states that “it requires a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to disappear and a new one to form.” The book sold more than 30 million copies and is still    7    print today. This “21 days” figure    8    (repeat) countless times ever since. It has been republished and adapted in thousands of self-help books and TV shows. There’s a problem though. The “21 days” time window for cementing(巩固) changes in habit is    9    (little) a statistical fact and more like a myth. Maltz never performed a careful and thorough study using the    10    (science) method. His statistics are not accurate. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t scientists who have made a genuine inquiry.

The 39th Shanghai Spring International Music Festival will take place from March 22     1     April 14.

“This is the     2    (old) music festival in China. It is     3     important platform for the communications of artistic institutions at home     4     abroad, and has witnessed through the past decades the     5    (develop) of the music and dance scenes of Shanghai,”     6    (say) Xa Yujing two days ago, Party secretary of the Shanghai Federation of Literary and ArtsCircles.

This year the festival will feature 66 performance     7    (production), 57 of     8     are concerts and nine dance shows.

The opening concert, taking place at Shanghai Symphony Hall on March 22, is a gala event     9    (show) outstanding Chinese compositions in celebration of the 75th birthday of the People’s Republic of China. The closing production,     10    (present) at Shangyin Opera House on April 14, will be a joint (联合的) production of The Barber of Seville by Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Como Opera House in Italy.

Deep work: concentration is an increasingly valuable skill

The secret to success is the opposite of multitasking. However, many tend to think that     1    (productive) involves doing several things at once. We clarify deep work as the ability to focus on a mentally demanding task. It’s    2     opposite of shallow work, which is made up of simple tasks usually performed while distracted (分心).

Deep work is a valuables kill. Many are distracted when they work. Thus    3    you learn to work without distraction, that will give you an advantage. Deep work enables you to acquire skills quickly and develop excellence in your field,    4    (reward) you with a sense of achievement.

But deep work itself is a skill, which means the more time you spend, the easier it will get. Schedule deep work into your day     5    it will be easy to fill your time with shallow work. Doing deep work as your first task of the day will get your major work     6    (do) before distractions build up. Scheduling deep work sessions for the same time everyday can turn them     7     a habit.

Beginners can only focus on deep work for     8    (approximate) an hour, and even experts have trouble going more than four hours. So sat    9    (reason) goals. By focusing on planned sessions of deep work, you     10    (surprise) at how much you can achieve in the near future.

Mamianqun, or horse-faced skirt, is a traditional Chinese fashion that has exploded in popularity in recent years.     1    (date) from the Song dynasty, it gained popularity among women during the later Ming and Qing dynasties,     2     men also wore Mamianqun in informal settings. It features a broad waistband that can be tied at the waist, forming     3     “A” or “H” shape. What     4     (true) sets the Mamianqun apart are its pleats (褶皱), which are not only decorative, but also allow for freedom of movement.     5    (motivate) by traditional Chinese cultural elements, designers create abundant patterns on the skirts. Its unique design makes     6     ideal for mix-and-match daily dressing, perfectly proving that it’s not just a relic of the past, but a functional and stylish     7    (add) to modern wardrobes. This rebirth     8    (fuel) by a growing sense of cultural pride, which encourages people to embrace their heritage by combining traditional clothing     9     their daily dressing. Caoxian, a county in Shandong province, is generally considered     10     (be) the heart of Mamianqun production and holds a deep cultural heritage of han fu. In recent years, the Mamianqun business in Caoxian has been thriving, attracting a wave of young people to start their own businesses.

For many centuries, tea     1     (be) an essential part of Chinese culture, with the country being one of the world’s largest producers and     2     (consume) of tea. However, in recent years, a new trend has emerged—the rise of the coffee culture. China has become one of the fastest-growing coffee markets globally,     3     an increasing number of coffee shops and cafes opening up in major cities.

When I first came to Shanghai in 2019,I had no idea that Shanghai has the title of the “capital of coffee” in China,     4     was a pleasant surprise for me. Moreover, Shanghai has the potential to become the global capital for coffee admirers, boasting over 8000 coffee shops. People in Shanghai visit coffee shops to     5     (genuine) enjoy a cup of coffee, even when they are having business meetings, dates or work sessions. You can see     6     (they) savoring their brew, creating a small moment, which is     7     personal treat that you can enjoy even during a hectic (繁忙的) day in Shanghai. Coffee unites us as we greet newcomers and get acquainted with other local students. I feel this is     8     the coffee culture works here—to make people a little bit happier and to warm you up when you feel cold or lonely. People come to coffee shops     9     (share) their own happy moments or to get cheered up. You can always see them smiling in a relaxed mood or peacefully scrolling (滚屏) on their phones while     10     (sip) their coffee. Even with coffee-to-go, you take that little piece of the warm atmosphere with you.

French-Iranian artist Marjane Satrapi has introduced a nearly 30-foot long tapestry (挂毯)     1     (mark) the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.     2     (know) best for her graphic novel Persepolis, Satrapi displayed the finished tapestry at the Mobilier National, a public organization that preserves France’s state furniture and textile collections, on March 12. The     3     (impression) work of art is a triptych (三联画) crafted from wool yarn,     4     weighs about 130 pounds.

The tapestry     5     (feature) brightly colored outlines of athletes competing in various sports around the Eiffel Tower. On the left, a woman participates in the traditional javelin (标枪) throw. On the right, a skateboarder performs a trick in the air above a break dancer, implying two of     6     newest sports in the Olympics’ lineup. The central part shows a man and a woman.     7     (graceful) running toward each other, their hands ready to meet     8     front of the Olympic flame.

The tapestry took Satrapi three years to create.     9     (craftsman) at the Gobelins Manufactory, a French tapestry factory wove it. The tapestry will be exhibited at the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris     10     (begin) on June 21. After the Olympic and Paralympic Games end in September, the tapestry will travel to Nice.

A stuffed toy named “Happy Loong” from Gansu Provincial Museum has recently distinguished     1     (it) from conventional souvenirs and captured the hearts of tourists.

Modeled     2     a Ming Dynasty gold decoration in the shape of a loong, or Chinese dragon, over 1, 000 of these chubby (圆胖的)     3     smiling loong toys were sold in the first week after it hit the market earlier this year.

Besides “Happy Loong”, the museum sells stuffed toys     4     (inspire) by the Dunhuang Flying Apsaras and the bronze galloping (飞驰的) horse from the Eastern Han Dynasty,     5     combine rich history with the appetite of Generation-Z.

This innovative approach to museum souvenirs reflects     6     broader trend of making cultural products appealing to young Chinese museum-goers. The Palace Museum’s online store, for instance,     7     (offer) playful and humorous souvenirs featuring emperors in Chinese history, receiving positive reviews from young visitors.

The success of these innovative souvenirs lies in the ability     8     (meet) the demands of young people seeking relaxation and individuality. However, designing truly     9     (create) cultural product requires a good knowledge of cultural relics.

Looking ahead, the museum souvenir market in China is expected to continue growing, presenting abundant     10     (opportunity) for designers.

There are many Chinese musicians on the internet     1     (sing) the song The Wind Rises, which was     2     (original) written and performed by Japanese singer-songwriter Takahashi Yuu.

From pop stars like Greeny Wu Tsing-fong     3     children performing the song a cappella, numerous artist have attempted     4     (present) the song in their own way. In November 2020, a video of four young students from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music,     5     play traditional Chinese musical instruments: pipa (plucked lute) , guzheng (Chinese zither) , erhu (two-stringed fiddle) and dizi (Chinese flute), performing the song on the helipad of a skyscraper in Chengdu, Sichuan province,     6     (share) on social media.

Within three hours     7     the release, the video had been viewed more than 2 million     8     (time) on short-video sharing platform Douyin. In 24 hours,     9     video had notched up over 10 million views on social media.

Because viewers expressed their interest in the video, which combined the beautiful ballad     10     aerial views of Chengdu, the team released more videos in a series under the title “Crazy Folk”.

Canadian Prime Minister led the government officials through Vancouver’s historic Chinatown for the city’s annual Chinese New Year Parade.

Last month, lion dancers,    1     (dress) in silver, purple and red, danced to the drum beats outside the Chinese Cultural Centre. The event marks the largest gathering of all lion dancers     2     live in Canada. A     3     (mass) golden dragon danced under the control of about a dozen young men.

Vancouver is home    4       more than 400,000 Chinese-Canadians. “I love the Chinese New Year Parade because it’s     5       inclusive activity and we highlight the     6     (strong) of each person,” said Mayor Gregor.

Penny Lim,     7     (hold) a camera in her hand, was one of the viewers. Before Penny Lim was born, her father    8    (move) to Vancouver from Guangdong Province. Lim has been coming to the parade for decade     9     (record) and photograph the lion dancers. “The colors are various, and the combinations of orange, pink, yellow are quite exciting,” she said. “It’s a connection to our culture, and     10     (essential) it’s festive and a lot of fun.”