On the occasion of the Year of the Dragon, the Tongliang Dragon Dance is certainly one of the most evocative (引起共鸣的) and atmospheric performances staged at     1     number of celebrations.

Tongliang Dragon Dance is a dance art form that began in the Tongliang District of southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality. The district expects to make use of the dragon culture     2    (improve) people’s understanding of Chinese traditional culture through continued innovation and development.

The dragon prop (道具)    3    (use) in the Tongliang Dragon Dance is made up of 24 sections, representing the 24 solar terms of the traditional Chinese calendar. Depending on the occasion and other specific requirements, the     4    (long) of the dragon can extend to over 50 or even 100 sections. During grand celebrations, up to nine huge dragons can     5    (see) dancing together.

“Tongliang is the home of the dragon dance, and the Tongliang Dragon Dance, during its long tradition, has evolved into more than 20 different     6    (variety),” said Zong Heyun, director of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center in Tongliang District.

As one of the first national intangible cultural heritages, the Tongliang Dragon Dance     7    (gain)widespread fame in recent years, and it has     8    (usual) appeared the stage of China Media Group.

The Tongliang Dragon Dance has not only featured in major domestic (国内的) celebrations such     9     the 35th, 50th, 60th and 70th National Day celebrations, and the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, but it has also been performed in more than 300 cultural exchanges in over 30 countries and regions,     10     brings this unique dance to a wider global audience.

More young people are trying their hand at farming the soil. Guo Lan, 29, works in a vegetable greenhouse on his organic farm     1     (locate) in the suburban district of Hefei, East China’s Anhui province. It is the eighth time this summer that Guo has failed to grow vegetables     2    using chemicals. Despite trying various homemade pest solutions, such as plant ash and mixtures of pepper and alcohol, the vegetable     3     (leaf) were still being eaten by insects. “I will not give up     4     (try),” the 29-year-old accountant-turned-farmer says. He is determined to turn his farm into     5     organic one, cultivating fruits and vegetables with the same flavors as those from his childhood memories.

“Growing tasty and healthy food     6     (be) my dream since I was a teenager. I know     7     challenging it can be, but if you take the soil     8     (serious), I believe it will pay off,” Guo says. He adds that farming is not a business that can make quick money, but for him, it has become an uplifting activity that brings back memories of spending time on the farm with     9     (he) parents as a child. Guo’s passion for organic farming and commitment to producing healthy food will surely inspire more young people to explore     10     (sustain) agriculture.

Yang Jiang was a well-known Chinese playwright, translator, and author. She belonged to     1     unique and beautiful existence in Chinese literature. She was the first Chinese academic     2    (translate) Miguel de Cervantes’ Spanish novel Don Quixote to Chinese and at that time, her translation     3     (honor) as the recreation of the original work       4     the basis of loyalty.

Yang was born into a rich family in 1911,     5    (original)named Yang Jikang. After eventually     6     (graduate) from Soochow University, she enrolled at the graduate school of Tsinghua University. She met her husband there, Qian Zhongshu, another acclaimed writer in China.

Other than translations, Yang     7     (author) many plays, novels, and essays during her writing career. Her short novel Mr. Wang,     8    (write) in 1984, was selected as an article in the textbook. In 1986, she got the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise, a famous Spanish civil order, for her     9     (achieve) in Don Quixote. Her bestseller was We Three in 2003,     10     sales exceeded 180,000 copies in two months. Yang passed away in 2016, at the age of 105.

It is reported     1     the International Lantern Festival “Lanternia” opened on December 8 at the Fairy Tale Forest in central Italy, and a large collection of handmade Chinese lanterns lit up one of     2     major theme parks in the city of Cassino.

    3     (divide) into six areas, this large-scale display covered about 110, 000 square meters, all lightened with giant Chinese lanterns. “The lanterns are popular with Italians,” says Domenico Durante, director of the exhibition. What was extremely     4     (amaze) was that the lantern attracted plenty of visitors into the park every day.

The success of the exhibition is due to the fine handiwork of craftsmen in Zigong, Sichuan Province, a city known for     5     (it) lantern culture. The lively lanterns are made of silk, an eco-friendly material,     6     is lightweight and nonpolluting. They were very attractive to Italians, who came from the north and south of the country     7     (see) them. Durante drove over 50 minutes from Beneventoto to the park with his family. His son     8     (particular) loves dragon lanterns for their wonderful colors and the dragon’s moving head.

The exhibition originated in a trip that Durante took to Zigong, where he     9     (impress) by this traditional art and decided to bring it to his hometown. “Next year, we might do more lanterns with Chinese     10     (characteristic) and bring the exhibition to other cities, or even all over the world,” he says.

High-speed rail     1       (develop) rapidly in China since the mid-2000s. China's high-speed rail accounts     2     two-thirds of the world's total high-speed railway networks. China's rail     3       (ambitious) just keep growing. The latest addition to the country's railway network is a high-speed train line, connecting the cities of Zhangzhou, Xiamen and Fuzhou, all three of     4     are in Fujian Province.

The first train on this line started operating on September 28, 2023,     5     (depart) from Fuzhou, the province's capital. Travel time between Fuzhou and Xiamen,     6     popular tourist destination, will be under an hour. The new railway currently has 84 bridges, 29 tunnels,     7     a section of the track that goes over the sea, making it the     8       (country) first over-water bullet train. Official state news agency Xinhua notes that ground transportation in Fujian Province has been     9     (challenge) due to it mountainous terrain (地形) .     10     (make) the operation of this new line is a significant milestone for the province. China's continuous investments in its railway network will contribute to the country's overall economic growth and development.

Early risers are people who naturally wake up early in the morning. Their body clock causes them to get up     1     most of us are still in deep sleep. Researchers at the University of California said early risers could have some     2     (share) DNA from Neanderthals — our ancestors who lived over 40,000 years ago. Neanderthals lived in the     3     (north) parts of Europe and Asia. They woke up earlier to hunt for or gather food as the sun rose. Researcher Dr. Tony Capra said, “At higher latitudes (纬度) it is     4    (benefit) to have a body clock that is better able to anticipate and adapt to the     5     (change) seasonal light levels.” He added, “Having a ‘faster’ body clock makes individuals more likely to rise early.”

Scientists have spent a long time looking at     6     some people are early birds, while others are night owls. They looked at     7     medical database with genetic information of hundreds of thousands of people. Their research found more examples of Neanderthal DNA existed in the early risers. However,     8     is likely that the Neanderthal gene is not so strong in many people. The effect of the Neanderthal DNA may     9     (weaken) over the past centuries. Our modern lifestyles mean many of us prefer sleeping in     10     leaving the comfort of our bed. Nevertheless, it may still be true that the early bird catches the worm.

Hangzhou City is a charming mix of the old and the new. It was     1     capital city of the Southern Song Dynasty in the     2     (twelve) century. Even in those days, it was an     3     (extreme) booming (繁荣的) urban area with a population of about one million. The West Lake Scenic Spot takes one back to ancient times with the reconstructed Leifeng Pagoda (塔). The original pagoda     4     (build) in 975 AD. When it was destroyed, an exact replica (仿制品) appeared in its place.

    5     (compare) with other tourist cities, Hangzhou City is well-known for its beautiful scenery. Almost everyone will be attracted     6     the West Lake Scenic Area when visiting Hangzhou City. The West Lake Scenic Spot consists of several smaller scenic areas like Guo’s Villa, Orioles Singing in the Willows, Su Causeway, Fish & Lotus Pond, etc. The lake is so vast that there are many unique is lands in     7     (it) waters, classic Chinese bridges, flowering gardens, ancient trees and more. There are     8     (bench) near the Broken Bridge so people can either just sit and admire the beautiful sight     9     walk along the path. There is a ferry (摆渡) service that takes visitors all around the lake, so one can spend a wonderful day     10     (explore) all its treasures. Visitors also choose the boat ride around the lake.

Under the boundless blue sky, soft grasses wave in the breeze, herds of cows and sheep leisurely grazing on the plains, white round yurts (蒙古包) dotting throughout the endless green, and pearl-like rivers zigzagging to the mysterious distance. This is picturesque Hulunbuir Grassland, ideally     1    (locate) in Hulunbuir City of Inner Mongolia,     2     history can be traced back to 209 BC.

Hulunbuir’s name has been illuminated (照亮) on the national stage, with the 14th National Winter Games successfully drawing a close on Tuesday February 27, regarded as the most significant comprehensive winter sports event in China after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. In the past month, Hulunbuir,     3    (remarkable) employing its great geographical advantages,     4    (integrate) the Winter Games theme into its urban landscape through     5    (variety) ice and snow sculptures, transforming the region into a bustling (繁华的) center of sports and cultural activities.

This grand event not only leaves behind memories of thrilling moments but acts as an example of the power of sports in enhancing unity and celebrating diversity. Hulunbuir is home     6     diverse ethnic minorities such as the Mongolian, Daur, Evenki, and Oroqen ethnic groups, weaving its rich heritage into the fabric of this     7    (compete). The opening ceremony,     8    (feature) performances by noted artists from these ethnic groups, showcasing their traditional music, dance, and art,     9    (hold) with flying colors on February 17.

The Spring Festival holiday period witnessed an extraordinary surge in tourism, with Hulunbuir attracting     10     total of 1.67 million visitors. Hulunbuir, a magic wonderland, will continue to shine and bloom in the future.

The butterfly effect is a common idea in science fiction today. But its roots are in real science.

In 1972, a meteorologist (气象学家)     1     (name) Edward Lorenz asked an important question: “Does the flap (拍打) of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil start a tornado in Texas?”,     2     was later thought as a metaphor (暗喻). It explained how small changes and actions can lead     3     unpredictable results.

Many people now use it     4     (explain) how a small action can start a chain of big events, and how those events can result in     5     (large) results. For example, imagine you’ve travelled millions of years into the past. You are walking through a damp jungle, hiding from a dinosaur. A mosquito     6     (land) on your arm. You kill the bug, and think it nothing. But     7     (kill) that mosquito could have had major impacts on mosquito evolution, probably causing them to be extinct forever. How would that affect all other life on     8     planet? It’s unpredictable.

Of course you don’t have to use time travel to see the butterfly effect. Just think     9     (serious) and carefully about the small actions you might take in your everyday life.

What about recycling a plastic bottle? Or planting a tree? You may not be able to predict the effect these small actions can have. A small change today can have an unpredictable     10     (consequent) for the future.

10 . 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 Silk Road first    1    (emerge) more than 2,100 years ago during the Han Dynasty after Zhang Qian (164-114 BC) twice visited Central Asia. It became    2    bridge between East and West,    3    (open) the door to friendly engagement between China and Central Asia. For two thousand years,    4    (count) tales of everlasting friendship between peoples have been woven into this ancient network.

The Silk Road Economic Belt is called “One Belt”. It is a regional economic cooperation strategy     5    (propose) by President Xi, when making a speech at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan    6    2013.This economic belt is considered as the longest economic corridor in the world.

One Belt aims to develop the economic    7    (partner) between China and countries along the land silk road. It also aims to     8    (strong) the infrastructure (基础设施) construction along the road and promote the development of China’s western region.

There are two main trends for One Belt,    9    starts from China and ends in Europe. One    10    (go) to Europe via central Asia and Russia. The second route is through central Asia and west Asia to the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean countries.