An exhibition of zodiac (生肖) sculptures,     1     (call) Peak Life and Water, opened in Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province on Saturday.

The 12 zodiac signs are     2     (traditional) used in Chinese culture to mark each year. Each zodiac sign also corresponds to twelve hours in the day. In addition     3     the traditional calendar function, the 12 zodiac signs are also a kind of folk custom and culture,     4     reflects Chinese people’s understanding of the year.

Each sculpture     5     (base) on a single zodiac animal. For example, the tiny golden birds     6     (stand) on the head of an ox remind visitors of birds settling on an ox, chewing the worms they have just captured. In another, a monkey balances     7     golden peach on the head. For the dragon sculpture, a golden and glorious ball floats in front of the intimidating dragon.

The expressions of these zodiac sculptures are vivid but calm. Some of them seem to be resting, content in their mediation. Only the snake has     8     (it) eyes open. If you see a snake’s eyes are closed, that     9     (mean) it is in hibernation (冬眠). The elegant and exquisite modelling has delighted visitors so much that even before the opening ceremony of the exhibition, some collectors expressed a desire     10     (buy) the sculptures.

A good parent-children relationship should     1    (build) on the basis of understanding and respect. On the one hand, parents cannot impose (强加) their ideas on their children. They should treat children as     2    (independence) people. It is good for the parents to learn to listen to     3    (children) ideas and encourage them     4    (think) on their own, instead of deciding everything for the children. On     5     other hand, children should listen to their parents’ advice because they’re more experienced. Try to be understanding     6     there is disagreement with parents. Always keep one thing in mind—whatever they do     7    (come) from their love for us. It is also necessary for children to exchange ideas     8     parents from time to time. Doing so will bridge the gap between parents and children. Parents give us life and all the     9    (thing) we need, but we can’t give them back. However, we should try our best to treat them     10    (kind). Our parents are so good to us, so we must be grateful to them.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is one of the most important     1     (festival) celebrated in China and other East Asian countries. It falls     2     the 15th day of the 8th lunar month on the traditional Chinese calendar. On that night, the moon is     3    (bright) and fuller than any other night. Enjoying the beauty of the full moon on this day     4     (be) a long standing traditional Chinese custom for centuries.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a big day for Chinese people,     5    will go back home and have dinner with their families. The roundness of the full moon expresses people’s desire for a wholesome happy family. After the dinner, friends and family usually get together     6     (enjoy) the moonlight and moon-cakes.

Eating moon-cakes is     7     important custom during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Due to the different diet habits in different regions, moon-cakes vary in taste.     8     (general), traditional tastes include fillings of five kernel, egg yolk, jujube paste and bean paste. Now there are new tastes like ice cream and durian.

    9     the taste of moon-cakes is changing, the symbolic meaning of the full moon remains unchanged and the Chinese custom of eating moon-cake and     10     (long)for reunion during the Mid-Autumn Festival will never fade away.

Print is a medium for mass communication, which has enabled     1     (artist) to be known and familiar     2     a wider audience.

The Prints-A Riot of Colors, an exhibition     3     (feature) some 130 prints created by generations of Chinese artists, the oldest one of     4     dates back to the 1930s, opened on Monday at the Guardian Art Center in Beijing. An online auction (拍卖) of most of the showpieces held by China Guardian Auctions is running with the exhibition.

    5     (divide) into five sections, the long-running show is aimed     6     (offer) art collectors and the general public alike an opportunity to learn about China’s modern, contemporary print art and     7     (far) explore the market value of prints, according to Liu Zehui, the person in charge of the show.

In 1931, the famous writer and social activist Lu Xun     8     (support) the New Woodcut Movement in Shanghai. He promoted the modern woodcut, which was popular in the West but still     9     essential Chinese form whose techniques reached maturity during the Tang Dynasty, as the most     10     (access) and efficient vehicle for circulating new revolutionary thought among the masses.

Indoor plants are a beautiful way to    1    (bright) up your home, especially in the gray    2    (month) of winter. But there can be a dark side to houseplants if you have children or if children visit your home. It is important that you know which plants are poisonous to children.

Gardening expert Jessica Damiano    3    (recent) wrote about the issue for The Associated Press. She said she often pointed out houseplants in homes that should     4    (keep) out of children’s mouths. Last week, Damiano    5    (visit) her cousin’s home and saw a Dieffenbachia plant in the kitchen. Her cousin told her that her young son,    6    had just begun crawling, had shown interest in     7    leaves. Damiano had to explain to her cousin that eating a small amount of the plant’s stem could cause temporary     8    severe pain. The plant parts can cause throat and mouth swelling. The plant’s sap can cause nose, skin and eye pain. Damiano wrote that parents should teach their young children not to put non-food plant parts into their mouths. “Parents should also educate     9    (they),” she said. She urged parent store search whether the plants in their homes are safe to grow around children. She also suggested     10    (learn) the official botanical names of any houseplants so that they can be able to provide that information quickly to a poison control expert, if needed.

Three pandas at Japan’s Wakayama park return to China

SHIRAHAMA, Japan - Eimei, a giant panda    1    has lived in Japan for 28 years, left western Japan’s Wakayama park along with his twin    2    (daughter) to fly back to China on Wednesday morning.

    3    30-year-old male panda, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin    4    Touhin, has left their current home at the Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama in Wakayama prefecture.

Later in the day, the three giant pandas were scheduled    5    (take) a flight from the Kansai International Airport to a facility in southwest China’s Sichuan province.

Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony    6    (hold) at the park on Tuesday, where about 2,000 visitors    7    (say) goodbye to the three pandas.

Eimei, or Yong Ming in Chinese, is a 30-year-old male panda and the    8    (old) giant panda living in Japan.    9    (come) from China in 1994, it is the father of 16 giant panda cubs born at the Adventure World, setting the world record for being the oldest giant panda to have    10    (successful) fed in captivity.

As people across the country watched the launch of China’s Shenzhou-14 spaceship closely,    1    pen floating in the capsule (太空舱)    2    (catch) the attention of many people.

The pen was produced by Shaoguan Shengyi Stationery Co., Ltd., which is a pioneer in     3    (make) pens used in outer space.

The space pen is different    4    a common pen. A common pen can neither withstand the influence and vibration (震动) experienced by the spaceship during rocket launch (发射) nor write    5    (proper) in an environment of outer space: The pen    6    (have) a head made of special materials to make it possible to write in outer space. The ink within the pen is also a special liquid with high viscosity (黏性), making writing stick to surfaces closely instead of flying off as dangerous    7    (drop). What’s more, the head    8    is less sharp than the head of a normal pen can be safely used in the cabin.

A space pen developed by the company    9    (send) into space aboard the Shenzhen-10 spacecraft in 2013, making China the    10    (two) country in the world able to independently produce a pen usable in space.

Incense (香) is material that releases fragrant (芳香的)smoke when burnt. Yang Jinqing, an inheritor of Qingyuan traditional incense making, has a burning desire     1    (develop) popular fragrances. For decades, Yang has committed himself     2     the traditional incense craft in Qingyuan,     3     was named a national intangible cultural heritage by the State Council in June 2021.

The country boasts a profound incense history     4     (date) back to before the Qin Dynasty. The craft and its culture thrived during the Song Dynasty. It found wider     5     (popular) during the Ming and Qing dynasties when it was used to fend off diseases, insects, mosquitoes and preserve people’s health.

Qingyuan saw many incense workshops set up during the Song Dynasty, thanks to its close geographical location to abundant herbal resources     6    (hide) in the Taihang Mountains.

Nowadays, with the     7    (increasing) expanding market, more than 50,000 people     8    (engage) in the incense business in more than 500 local incense businesses.

Yang Jinqing has helped to establish an engineering center for herbal incense in Hubei that specializes in studying ancient recipes     9     developing new crafts based on the fragrance. “We might think incense culture is very elegant and, therefore, far away from us, but it is actually very close to our lives.” he says. “When drinking tea, playing chess, reading or writing,     10    (light) an incense stick can help calm the nerves and concentrate the mind.”

“I want future generations to appreciate the charm of China’s incense culture and craft.” he adds.

Instead of starting a career in big cities, more and more university     1    (graduate) choose to return to their hometown. Li Dan is one of them. The girl,     2    (bear) in a small village in Southwest China, decided to stay with her family and friends after getting her degree at university.

In the strong support from national policies that aim to eliminate poverty, she started her own fruit growing business. Taking advantage     3     new technology and the Internet, she     4    (expand) her business to include agritourism over the last several years, creating more than 50 new jobs for the people in her village.     5     (live) in the hometown offers is a strong support network. More     6    (important), this network is also     7     good one for getting new agribusinesses up and running quite quickly. Thus, it is no surprise that more and more young people are now attracted to life in the country,     8     they can fulfill personal goals and contribute to     9    (they) local communities rather than just being white-collar professionals in big cities. “It is the hard work and your devotion     10     make a decent life, ” said Li Dan in an interview.

Have you heard of community fridges? These are spaces     1     locals can share food with one another and save fresh food     2     going to waste. The Community Fridge Network     3    (connect) 300 community fridges across the UK. It offers guidance to people     4     (look) to set up their own fridges, and support to groups running fridges. The fridges are open to everyone. Of course, there are some rules for what can and cannot     5    (share) in order to keep things safe. But otherwise, you’re welcome     6     (take) what you need, and leave anything that might otherwise end up in the waste bin.

According to     7     survey by the Food Foundation, in April 2022, 15. 5 percent of UK households were food insecure, meaning that they ate     8     (little) than normal or went a day without food because they could not access     9     afford food.

The benefit of community fridges has never been clearer. In difficult times, with pretty much all costs increasing greatly, it is reassuring to know that     10    (community) are coming together and helping each other as much as they can.