In early November in 2023, a diver, swimming off the coast of Sardinia,     1     (notice) pieces of metal on the ocean floor. He called the authorities and more divers were sent to look. The pieces turned out to be ancient Roman coins. The coins mostly lay     2     (bury) in sand and seagrass not far from the coast. It is said that more than 30, 000 coins have been found,     3     are close to 2, 000 years old. Experts call this a major historical discovery.

In my old school days, running     1    (consider) boring and painful for me. When I started to work, I realised exercise should be part of my lifestyle. Later, running became my career. Over the years, I     2    (coach) many running teams. Needless to say, running has its benefits. It is believed     3    running can decrease the risk of death. So are you currently not doing it? I encourage you to start now.

Being able to understand local jokes is often seen as a great icebreaker for a foreign language learner    1    tries to start friendships with native speakers. However,when     2     (study)a foreign language,a beginner always considers jokes hard to understand.Most of the time,jokes are only funny for people who share acultural background or understand humor in the same way.And there is    3     (much) to understanding a joke in a foreign language than understanding vocabulary and   grammar.

When he was 7 years old, Francis Kere left his family to attend school because his village did not have one of     1     (it) own. Thirteen years later, he moved to Germany. He dreamed of returning home to build the classroom that didn’t then exist. In 2001, Kere completed his first school     2     (build). He then     3     (creative) transformed his village and other communities in Africa. In 2022, he won “Nobel Prize in architecture”, the Pritzker Prize.

2024 is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar and it is the first time that the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)    1     (include) the term “Chinese dragon” in its dictionary. The Chinese dragon has two definitions in the OED, with the first one about its physical image and the second one on its figurative and allusive (典故的) nature.

Emperors in ancient dynasties were dressed in a Dragon Robe, a traditional silk-woven costume with dragon designs,     2     (symbolize) imperial power and authority. Jade Seals (玉玺), often     3     (carve) with dragons, also symbolize the authority of the emperor.

Contrary     4     the Western dragon, the image of the Chinese dragon, despite undergoing constant changes, has represented various’ positive     5     (quality) including prosperity, authority, strength and good fortune.

In ancient Chinese belief, dragons     6     (associate) with the control of the weather, particularly rain. The dragon’s ability to bring rain was seen as crucial for agriculture, which made it     7     positive symbol for the fertility of the land.

With the rising China Chic trend and the country’s booming cultural creative industry, the Chinese dragon in folktale is now     8     (common) seen in creative products such as tear-off calendars, dolls, dragon-themed jewelry as well as the “dragon blind boxes”     9     appeal to young consumers.

Whether it is through the hands of a national-level intangible (非物质) cultural heritage inheritor     10     the hands of a Generation Z “blind box” designer, the Chinese dragon carries forward the Chinese cultural spirit.

Every morning, millions of people in China do Tai Chi. It is popular    1    women and men. Tai Chi is    2     good kind of exercise for old people. It is good for the body and the mind. It is healthy and    3     (relax). Tai Chi    4    ( arise) from China. It is    5     (hundred) of years old. Tai Chi is a “soft” martial art (武术),    6     means it is slow and calm.

There are also “hard” martial arts. Shaolin Kung Fu, for example, which has a history of over 1, 500 years, is a “hard” martial art. It is fast and    7    (danger). You have to be very fit and strong    8    (do) “hard” martial arts.

In Beijing, Master Li Yu    9     (teach) Shaolin Kung Fu to thirty young students now, three of whom come from abroad. “Shaolin Kung Fu is    10     (extraordinary) difficult,” said Li Yu. “You must practise every move many times. ”

Sports like football and basketball are also popular in China. But martial arts like Tai Chi and Shaolin Kung Fu are part of Chinese culture and history.

About one year ago, 24-year-old Alex Wong found himself struggling with his mental health. With     1     (anxious), he couldn’t fall asleep, especially at night.

“I would hole up in my room during the day and stay awake all night because I didn’t want to interact     2     others and let them see me at my worst,” says Wong.

It was during this time that Wong     3     (feel)that he needed to find purpose and meaning in his life, so he signed up to volunteer with ImpactHK, a charity that     4     (primary)helps homeless people.

Wong took part in the group’s “kindness walks,”     5     (walk)through Tsim Sha Tsui to hand out food and other essential     6     (item)to homeless people. Today, he volunteers     7     (lead)these walks once or twice a week.

“Doing this work makes me feel grateful for everything I have. My homeless friends may be down on     8     (they)luck and have nothing, yet they’re content, and they’ve helped me understand that I can be happy too, even when things aren’t going my way. I’ve also developed strong bonds with my fellow volunteers, many of     9     I’ve become close friends with.”

Wong says that he’s in     10     better emotional space these days. “Helping my homeless friends has given my days new meaning and purpose and made me realize how good life can be.”

Chinese singer-songwriter Liu Shuang was on a journey to Beijing when he received a message,     1     (say) that his song Mohe Ballroom had gone viral (走红). However, he didn’t take it     2     (serious) until he learned that footage of the song had been viewed more than 10 million times.

The song     3     (inspire) by Liu’s trip in 2019 to Mohe. Heilongjiang province, where he met     4     elderly man dancing alone in a ballroom. “I was curious and danced with him. We talked for a while during a break, when I learned about his story.” said Liu, who later wrote an article     5     (title) Goodbye Evening Star, and posted it online.

The elderly man lost his wife and he has not remarried, so he often visited the old ballroom and danced alone     6     (remember) the times he and his wife spent there.

Millions of people have been touched by the song and the story behind it.     7     (video) featuring elderly men dancing alone have appeared on social media platforms. The song’s huge     8     (popular) has also made Mohe an in-demand tourism destination. Visitors flood to the city to see the ballroom, in the hope     9     meeting the elderly man. Moreover, local residents have become curious about the ballroom,     10     they had never noticed before.

This year, the 13th Spring Festival Joint Exhibition of Chinese Books,     1     theme was “Reading China”, was held on January 24th in 85 bookstores worldwide. It     2    (carry) out a variety of activities such as book exhibitions and cultural performances. Books displayed in the exhibition were philosophical and artistic, which closely met the needs of overseas readers. Overall, this year’s book exhibition presented the newest and     3    (fine) Chinese publications to local readers so that they could better understand China in the new era.

“No conversation” or “less conversation“ seemed incompatible with businesses like hair salons and barber shops, where conversation     1     (basic) is part of the service.

However, one Tokyo salon decided to implement the ”silent cut“ service     2     it proved so popular that others quickly followed suit.

“It’s great… ! I’ve been waiting for this service for 20 years. Because chatting is so depressing, I only get     3     haircut every 3 years, ” one person wrote about the silent cut service.

“I     4     (save) because the conversation with the hairdresser is troublesome,” someone else commented. A recent survey revealed that over 70 percent of respondents preferred the silent experience, with the most common explanations     5     (be) that they found it more relaxing, as they were able to rest instead of spending what little energy they had left on hearing     6     (want) information and making small talk.

As     7     turns out, hair stylists prefer the silent cut as well. “I started chatting because I was taught in my early days     8     (talk) to customers and get information about their preferences, but focusing on topics that I didn’t like     9     (make) me feel very uncomfortable, so I decided to put their     10     (private) first, ”one hairstylist said.