Sichuan Cuisine and Hunan Cuisine are both known for their hot flavors, which might appear similar at first sight. That’s why Americans are pretty confused about how they are different.

This confusion has its roots in how Hunan food     1     (introduce) to the American public. According to Kian Lam Kho, the author of Chinese food blog Red Cook, a group of Chinese chefs are said     2     (train) in both Hunan and Sichuan Cuisines in 1945. When they later     3     (seek) opportunities in the United States, they brought Hunan and Sichuan Cuisines to New York,     4     these two cooking styles were adjusted to suit local tastes.

As Kho puts     5    , these two cuisines offer different flavors. Sichuan Cuisine is characterized by the use of Sichuan peppercorns (花椒粒), which provide     6     unique numbing feeling. Hunan Cuisine, on the other hand, is famous for its bold and burning flavors, which features the     7     (combine) of fresh chilies (辣椒) and garlic to create a powerful and intense spicy taste.     8     Sichuan Cuisine, Hunan Cuisine does not typically include the numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns.

“It is amazing     9     distinct Hunan cooking is compared to its confusing Sichuan cousin. It is truly worthwhile to seek out restaurants or cookbooks that     10     (faith) capture Hunan flavors in their menus or recipes.” Kho notes.

China has been working quietly to address air pollution. In addition to observing, I also communicated with locals and foreigners     1     (learn) about China’s efforts.

According to Cui Xiaoyi, a resident of Beijing, due to serious air pollution the local administration (行政部门) sometimes warned     2     elderly not to go out in the past . But Beijing     3     (see) a great improvement in air quality over the last few years. They no longer need such emergency measures.

Muhammad Asghar, a representative of the Associated Press of Pakistan in China     4     has been living in Beijing for the past few years, said that the green transportation and energy industries that China has developed over the years have largely replaced fuel-powered (燃料驱动的) cars,     5     that the Chinese people are willing to use electric cars and public transportation.

Asghar added that China has not only done good work to address air pollution, but has also made contributions     6     promoting greener practices. The living environment has been     7     (significant) improved with the greening coverage of urban built-up areas nationwide     8     (increase) from 39.22 percent to 42.06 percent between 2012 and 2021.

The ideas     9     (share) by China in international conferences are impressive. Chinese netizens (网民) believe that rather than just talking about it, it would be     10     (effect) if we put our efforts into planting trees.

Cheng Yuyan never expected that the interest group “We Love Strolling in the Park”,     1     she casually created four years ago on Douban, a Chinese social media platform, would now approach 100,000 members.

According to     2     225-year-old from Shanghai, establishing this group was just a spur-of-the-moment decision,     3     she didn’t invest much time in managing it afterwards. However, park enthusiasts from all over China and even overseas have spontaneously made     4     their gathering community. People share park experiences, post photos     5    (take)in parks, and offer recommendations and reviews about parks.

Within this group, there is a tag called”20 minutes for parks”, which     6    (come) from a theory originating from the International Journal of Environmental Health Research. According to the theory,     7    (spend)20 minutes in a park daily helps to reduce stress, regardless of     8     people exercise in it or simply take a walk.

Huang Bingbing, living in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, is an enthusiastic     9    (support) of this idea. “On that patch of grass, I could connect with living plants and animals, allowing me to refresh my mind and heal     10     the stresses of the workplace,” Huang said.

Dr. Jane Goodall, an internationally renowned scientist, established an institute Roots & Shoots in the early 1990s.     1     (commit) to environmental protection, she set up the organisation to educate young people, so they can help to build a future     2     is secure and harmonious with nature. Roots & Shoots is all about the value and importance of each individual. Each one of us matters and has a role     3     (play). Every individual is a part of a community for a shared future and can make a difference.

China is one of the earliest countries to adopt coins. The round coin with a square hole, which had been used for more than 2,000 years, had     1     extremely far-reaching impact upon some countries and regions of Asia. Before the     2    (appear) of coins, people bartered (物物交换) trade. For instance, a sheep was traded for a bag of rice. During the Spring and Autumn Period, there appeared copper coins in the shape of a knife, spade and circle but they were     3    (cost) and hard to produce. In the year of 221 BC, with the whole country     4    (unify), Emperor Qinshihuang adopted a round coin with a square hole in the middle as currency. Such coins should be held together by a string and carried     5    . In 621, Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty adopted coins called Kaiyuan Tongbao. From then on, coins     6    (name) after the dynasty code. This system continued until the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China,     7     is more than 1,000 years.

In the late Northern Song Dynasty, 16 merchants of Sichuan Province     8    (joint) issued the earliest paper currency in China,     9    (make) China the earliest country to use paper currency. Today, ancient Chinese currency     10    (become) a precious collection.

In the center of Reykjavik, Iceland, stands a museum     1     (create) by Lillian Hopps, which symbolizes the friendship between Icelandic and Chinese people. A passionate admirer of Chinese heritage, Lillian began her journey to learn about China in the 1990s, a time     2     she deeply engaged herself in exploring China’s rich culture. Her passion transformed her home into a place filled with Chinese artifacts, which     3     (eventual) led to the establishment of a museum in Reykjavik.

The museum     4     (house) an extensive collection of cultural relics, from ancient clothing     5     contemporary art, displaying thousands of years of Chinese civilization. Lillian’s work goes beyond just     6     (exhibit) these items; she brings the culture alive through highly     7     (interact) activities like tea performances, calligraphy classes, and traditional medicine talks, promoting the Icelandic understanding of China’s rich traditions.

Lilian’s museum, attracting thousands of visitors annually from around the world,     8     (recognize) by the Icelandic government in 2021 for its impact. As Marta Jonsdottir, a director at Iceland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, put it in an interview, “Lillian, with her enthusiasm and expertise, has developed diverse cultural     9     (link) between Iceland and China. Her museum has not just enabled both peoples to better understand each other     10     strengthened our relations.”

“Cold the iron chains spanning over the Dadu River,” Chairman Mao Zedong wrote in a poem, describing the do-or-die battle which took place on the Luding Bridge. The Bridge,     1     (measure) 103.67 meters in length and 3 meters in width, is located in Sichuan Province, which was     2     (original) built in 1705 during the Qing Dynasty. Near the Luding Bridge considered a historical landmark    3     (stand) a museum, in front of which there is a bronze statue of the soldiers whose spirit makes the bridge a household name.

Over 80 years ago, the bridge was crucial to the survival of the CPC-led Red Army during the Long March because if the soldiers had failed to dash through the Luding Bridge then, the Red Army might have been wiped out. Upon their     4     (arrive), the Red Army found only thirteen heavy iron chains    5     (leave) across the river. With no time to waste, one by one the Red soldiers ventured forward to risk their lives and of those who offered    6     (they), thirty were chosen. Though several soldiers fell into     7    fast-flowing river,the others crawled along the wood boards they had laid until they finally took control of the east bank .

Probably never before had people seen fighters like these-men for whom soldiering was not just a rice bowl,     8    a mission. They astonishingly accomplished    9     seemed like a task impossible and their    10    (courage) spirit will always stick in our mind.

Nowadays thanks to the Internet, modern pets are getting online. It sounds crazy, but about 17 percent of British pets have their own social media accounts!

It’s said that your personality     1     (reflect) in your pet. “Dog people” are supposed to be friendly, enthusiastic and loyal, while “Cat people” are introverted, proud and     2     (sense).

The British are well known as a nation of animal lovers. In the UK, 52% of owners describe their pet as their “best friend”,     3     in 2021, 18 million homes had at least one pet, meaning for the first time there were more households with a pet than     4    .

In the 1800s, people started using the word “pet” to describe the emotional connections,     5     they felt to a special animal, and gradually it became     6     (norm) to keep pets indoors. Family pets became more popular as people’s living standards    7     (increase). And by the Victorian era, people kept various animals as their pets. The famous Victorian poet, George Gordon Byron, once owned four pet geese. For the Victorians, cats were feminine and weak. They admired the qualities     8     (associate) with dogs, like self-confidence and loyalty, being strong and unchanging in support of your friends.

    9     (change) continually throughout history, Britain’s relationship with pets, from the manly British Bulldog to funny cat     10     (video) on YouTube, has been quite a journey!

The 37th International Kite Festival in Berck-sur-Mer opened and China made a wonderful    1    (appear) as the first-ever guest country of honor at the event.

Chinese cultural activities    2    (take)place at the festival, including     3    huge dragon-headed kite-flying performance, workshops for kite-making techniques as well as experiential activities from lion dances to martialarts (武术).

Liu Hongge, director of the China Cultural Center in Paris, delivered speeches. Liu said the kite is a key image,    4    (represent) the friendship between China and France. In 1958, the two countries produced a film     5    (title) Fengzheng (The Kite), the first color children’s film made by the People’s Republic of China,    6    the first coproduced with another country. It tells of the adventures and friendship between Chinese and French children created by a kite.

“As the organizer, the China Cultural Center in Paris continues to make the best of kites, using them    7    a medium to tell stories about kite culture in China and France, promote mutual(相互的) understanding and contribute to the success of the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism,” said Liu    8    (enthusiastic).

The International Kite Festival in Berck-sur-Meris the largest and most    9    (influence) kite-themed event in France,    10    visitors can not only observe a wide variety of kites, but they also have the chance to take part in art performances.

The Monkey King, also     1     (know)as Sun Wukong, is the main character in the traditional Chinese book Journey to the West. The image of the Monkey King has been taken into the     2     (heart) of Chinese people and is one of the important symbols of Chinese culture. Because of his amazing     3     (intelligent), he gains great powers.

The Monkey King is not just a normal monkey. He is a brave, clever, wise and interesting monkey. In fact, he sometimes does not even look like a monkey. This is     4     he can make 72 changes, turning himself     5     different animals and objects.     6     (fight) evil souls, the Monkey King uses a magic stick. Sometimes he can make the stick so small that he can keep it in his ear. At other times, he is able to make it big and long. The Monkey King’s image appears     7     (frequent) in Chinese culture, not only in literary work,     8     in different entertainment forms, such as movies, TV shows, cartoons, and games.

Chinese children are excited when they see him. They are also interested in reading about him because the clever Monkey King keeps fighting to help     9     weak and never gives up. Sun Wukong has become a classic image in Chinese culture. His image     10     (represent) the spirit of courage and never giving up. At the same time, the story of Sun Wukong also inspires people to have the courage and wisdom to face all kinds of challenges and difficulties in life.