Short-form videos, which gained popularity on the Chinese platform Douyin, have given rise to a new trend in entertainment: ultra-short (超短) dramas.     1     (tailor) to our fast-paced lifestyles, ultra-short dramas are far more likely to attract people to try them out than traditional television series. In the past, committing     2     a show meant investing upwards of 40 minutes, but with ultra-short dramas, only a few minutes is enough for     3     taste.

Despite the initial success of ultra-short dramas, Chinese authorities     4     (tighten) regulations and intensifying monitoring on them. Currently, most of these ultra-short dramas revolve around clichéd (陈词滥调的) romantic plots, often     5     (feature) a wealthy individual getting together with a poor person. This narrative trend bears the potential     6     (shape) young minds’ perceptions of reality and their approaches to real-life challenges.

What’s equally concerning is     7     ultra-short dramas are designed to catch the viewers’ attention with bite-sized runtimes. In a world dominated by smartphones,     8     attention spans are already declining, frequent     9     (expose) to ultra-short videos can only worsen the issue.

It’s natural for us to seek entertainment. But it’s also worth pausing to consider the consequences     10     diving into ultra-short dramas.

Lantern festivals add magic to     1     (celebrate) and their designs are deeply inspired by traditional culture. Shortly after organizing the lantern carnival in Hong Kong on Sept 24, Wan Songtao and his team hurried back to their hometown of Zigong in Sichuan province, where another grand lantern show was on the cards.

“The older I grow, the more     2     (attach) I become to lantern making” the 54 year old craftsman tells China Daily Early in     3     morning, Wan went to inspect work at Chinese Lantern World,     4     on Sept 27 was transformed into an ocean of light and color by massive lanterns in the shape of humans, flowers, animals and buildings, made to celebrate both the Mid Autumn Festival     5     the National Day.

“For this lantern fair, we derived inspiration from ancient Chinese poems,” Wan says, adding that Tianshang Gongque (the moon palace), a centerpiece as well as one of 21 core lantern installations ( 装 置) at the fair,     6     (inspire) by Su   Dongpo’s The Mid-Autumn Festival. The installation, which was composed of 19 palace style     7     (structure), stretched 270 meters and     8     (rise) high into the sky, drawing visitors’ eyes up to a “full moon”, a round LED screen showing Chang’e, goddess of the moon, flying toward her palace.

The eight-day holiday attracted over 210,000 visitors from around China to Zigong, a city which is     9     (remote) situated in the southwest of China but is home     10     one of the world’s best lantern shows.

In China, the use and cultivation (种植) of green tea goes back thousands of years. While there is no precise way to know     1    (exact) when green tea was first cultivated, the following is     2    we know from historical records.

Legend assigns the discovery of tea to mythological emperor Shennong, who is said     3    (discover) tea in the 28th century BC. Shennong was sitting under a tea tree boiling a pot of water to drink. Some     4    (leaf) fell from the tree into the boiling water, creating the first ever pot of tea. During the Han Dynasty, written records referred     5    the cultivation of green tea. However, this wasn`t green tea for drinking     6    for medical purposes. The Tang Dynasty     7    (consider) by most to be the golden age of Chinese arts and culture. It was during this time that green tea became a popular drink and an important part of     8    (tradition) Chinese culture.

    9    first written account of tea culture, Cha jing or The Classic of Tea, was published by Lu Yu. This short but comprehensive work,     10    (cover) ten chapters, discusses everything from the mythological of tea, history, cultivation, preparation to tea culture.

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The education training company New Oriental set a trend on China’s social media platforms recently, after its teachers started live-streaming the selling of agricultural products, books and daily     1    (necessity) using both Chinese and English. Anchors (主播) combine useful English     2     the selling of products, such as providing the English translation of the product and commonly used sentences.

The anchors’ excellent     3    (pronounce) and grammar have earned the channel an enthusiastic fan base and attracted millions of views. The     4    (knowledge) and oftentimes amusing approaches to selling products have led to “netizens”     5    (post) comments such as “It’s a good way to spend money where you get a product and also some extra knowledge”.

New Oriental used to be     6     tutoring giant in the domestic market, but it faced the     7    (mass) challenge of transforming its business model after authorities tightened up the management of off-campus tutoring in July, 2021.

The company’s founder, Yu Minhong,     8    (say) in a letter to the company’s employees on January 1 that the firm experienced great difficulty in its financial year of 2022.

The     9    (late) figures from Economic View, a financial media outlet of China News Service, show that the Dongfang Zhenxuan account     10    (have) 1.57 million new followers by last Friday.

Doctors in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have followed the meal-time habits of more than 500 people for six years,     1    (find) weight change is most affected by the size and     2    (frequent) of meals rather than the interval (间隔) from first to last meal. It challenges the popular trend of intermittent fasting (禁食疗方)     3     a useful weight loss strategy.

Intermittent fasting, also referred to as time-restricted feeding, is a dietary strategy where all meals     4    (consume) during a short window of time each day. These windows can extend from 6 to 10 hours, resulting in a person essentially fasting for up to 18 hours each day.

The idea reveals     5     is no link between the lime of a person’s eating window each day and weight changes. “Based on other studies that have come out, including     6    (we), we are starting to think timing of meals most likely doesn’t produce     7     instant impact on weight loss,” said doctor Bennett. “What does matter, however, is the total number of medium and large meals a person eats over the day.” It suggests simply eating smaller meals, less frequently, is     8     ultimately leads to weight loss.

All of this doesn’t mean intermittent fasting strategies won’t help. But what does seem increasingly clear is that the weight loss benefits occasionally     9    (see) with these eating strategies may be primarily driven by a reduced caloric intake. It doesn’t mean you can simply eat all you want in a short window each day and still expect     10    (lose) weight.

Technology has started to take over the world. It may seem like a huge advancement to society, but large setbacks come equally.

We now live in an age of social media. We have never been as     1     (connect)as we are now. Everyone around us can be reached instantly. Besides, the use of technology has made all of our lives     2     (incredible)efficient. Furthermore, a majority of people have access to technology,     3     helps them express themselves on many different platforms. Lastly, technology has given people many ways     4     (entertain)themselves. Various websites offer hours upon hours entertainment for those     5     (bore)nights.

While some may see social media’s positive effects     6     relationships, others can see it as the exact opposite. It keeps people from seeing each other face to face. Meanwhile, there is nothing more frustrating than having technology not work right when it     7     (need)to. Moreover, so dependent on technology, people don’t try to explore life outside of a smart device. Also, with more and more people posting information on     8     internet, it can be very difficult to determine whether the information is credible or not. This can lead to false information being taken seriously, and     9     (change)perspectives of those who believe it.

To understand technology, one must know     10     it provides in terms of advantages and disadvantages.

More than 300 participants     1     were from international organizations, research institutes, universities and enterprises came together at the 6th International Agricultural Research Conference in Beijing on December 15,2022 to exchange ideas on how to make a     2     (contribute) to global food security, calling for more international cooperation in agriculture.

Themed “strengthening agricultural science and technology cooperation to jointly promote global food security,” the conference was hosted by the Center for International Agricultural Research (CIAR) and the Department of International Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS),     3     (adopt) the form of virtual lectures and online broadcast.

Wu Kongming, president of CAAS, said that CAAS remains committed to providing Chinese     4     (solution) and wisdom to help address global challenges such as food security, poverty reduction and green development, and to do so through multilateral and bilateral international cooperation mechanisms.

According to Carlos Watson, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Representative in China, the conference offered     5     great and timely opportunity to facilitate(使便利)constructive discussion on international joint actions concerning global agricultural development and food security,     6     the face of challenges posed by the pandemic and climate change.

“Given China’s     7     (success) experience in the eradication(消除)of extreme poverty, digital innovations, and agricultural and rural development, China is     8     (unique) positioned to share its innovation experience, innovative technologies, and best practices with the rest of the world,” he said.

During the conference, experts discussed the current situation and future prospects of international cooperation in agricultural science and technology. They also discussed the policy environment, market environment, investment model and service demand for overseas agricultural investment, as well as strategies and measures     9     (ensure) global food security.

The International Agricultural Research Conference     10     (hold) for six consecutive(连续的)years since 2017.

Lake Powell, the second largest human-made reservoir (水库) in the US, has lost nearly 7% of its potential storage capacity since it     1     (build) in 1963.

In addition to water     2     (lose) due to years of drought, the US Geological Survey found, Lake Powell     3     (face) an average annual loss in storage capacity of about 33,270 acre-feet per year between 1963 and 2018. That’s enough water     4     (fill) the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall about 1,600 times.

The capacity of the reservoir is becoming smaller because of sediments (沉淀物)     5     (flow) in from the Colorado and San Juan rivers. Those sediments settle at the bottom of the reservoir     6     decrease the total amount of water that the reservoir can hold. It’s bad news for a region     7     has already faced water shortages and extreme wildfires due to the drought.

Lake Powell is     8     important reservoir in the Colorado River Basin. Both Lake Powell and nearby Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, are drying up     9     an alarming rate. In August, the government declared a water shortage on the Colorado River for the first time after Lake Mead’s water level decreased to a record low, leading to cuts in water consumption for the     10     (state) in the Southwest that began in January.

Over the past few days, a number of forest fires     1    (break) out in Chongqing and its surrounding areas due to the extremely dry and hot weather. Many rescue personnel and volunteers participated in the rescue overnight,    2    moved a lot of people across the country. The mountain fires in several regions in Chongqing have been     3    (eventual) put out on Friday morning. No casualties have been reported.

Chongqing motorcyclists are being praised     4    heroes for volunteering to transport much-needed supplies to the fire and rescue workers     5    (fight) the wildfires caused by prolonged heat and drought across multiple districts in the municipality(自治市).

Facing the tough situation, the city government called for volunteers with related skills and experience     6    (join) the firefighting,     7    a large number of motorcyclists have played an important role and won widespread praise. The team members, with     8    average age of 29, took turns to use five dirt bikes and four scooters to carry materials and equipment to firefighters and to transport people and     9    (necessary).

The example of a foreign teacher who volunteered to help fight the raging wildfires in Chongqing’s Beibei district with other local residents has touched many.

When all the people     10    (unite), peace will reign across the country.

World Book and Copyright Day is a celebration to promote the     1     (enjoy)of books and reading. Each year, on 23 April, celebrations take place all over the world to recognize different types of books-a link between the past and the future, a bridge between generations and across cultures.

23 April is a     2     (symbol)date in world literature. It is the date on     3     several prominent authors, William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes, and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all     4     (die). This date was a natural choice for UNESCO’s General Conference,     5     (hold)in Paris in 1995, to pay a worldwide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone to access books.

Books have long embodied(体现)the human capacity to conjure up(使在脑海中显现)worlds, both real and imagined,     6     (give)voice to the diversity of human experience. They help us share ideas, obtain information, and inspire admiration     7     different cultures, enabling far-reaching forms of dialogue between people across space and time.

Storytelling is     8     incredibly effective tool     9     it comes to educating younger generations. Indeed, books are vital vehicles to access, transmit and promote education, science, culture, and information worldwide. On World Book and Copyright Day, we celebrate their captivating (迷人的) power     10     (spark)innovation, generate knowledge and change minds.