According to historical records, the well-known historian Sima Guang from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) used a part of a round wood     1     his pillow throughout his life. This unique pillow had an unusual function.     2     Sima Guang moved a little during his sleep, his head would slide down off the pillow, causing him to wake up     3     (immediate) and continue his studies. This particular type of pillow came to be known as an “alarm pillow”.

The Chinese word for “pillow”, zhentou,     4     (believe) to be created by Cao Cao, a famous strategist and ruler during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280). One night, while Cao Cao was reading in his tent and     5     (become) sleepy, there was no extra space useful to place several books stored in wooden     6     (box). In response (回应), a servant momentarily placed the books at one side of the bed, upon     7     Cao Cao fell asleep quickly, experiencing a deep and restful sleep.     8     (impress) by the comfort provided by this short-term arrangement, the servant then created a padded (有垫的) headrest using soft materials, copying     9     shape of the wooden box that held the books. When Cao Cao asked about the name of this new item, the servant referred to it as “headrest bedding”. Cao Cao     10     (late) named it zhentou, and from that point on, the use of pillows became popular among the common people.

Distance learning is a form of education in     1     the main elements include physical separation of teachers and students during instruction and the use of     2     (variety) of technologies to facilitate student-teacher and student-student communication. Since its introduction, distance learning     3     (focus) on nontraditional students, such as full-time workers, military personnel, and nonresidents or individuals in remote regions who are     4     (able) to attend classroom lectures.

However, distance learning has become a (n)     5     (establish) part of the educational world, with trends       6    (point) to ongoing growth. In U. S. higher education alone, more than 5.6 million university students were enrolled in at least one online course in the autumn of 2009, a significant growth     7    1.6 million in 2002. Students of all ages, around the world, were forced into distance learning in early 2020     8     the global coronavirus pandemic resulted in a widespread     9     (close) of many schools. Videoconferencing software such as Zoom gained greatly from this development. Zoom became one of the most popular services of its kind, one of the most downloaded applications worldwide, and     10     household word. Teaching and the student-teacher relationship were fundamentally changed.

During the 2023 Lanzhou International Marathon, all eyes were on the elderly couple—Hu Yingfu, 86, and his wife Wang Zhangmin, 77. Many doubted their ability to finish the race,     1     Hu completed the half marathon in two hours and twenty minutes.

Against initial struggles, Hu found a way to motivate himself by counting electric poles while running. “The distance between each electric pole is 50 meters. I run as fast as I can, passing a dozen or so poles.” said Hu.     2     (gradua), his endurance improved, along with his physical condition.

The couple’s love for running started as a way     3     (improve) their fitness, but it quickly became a passion, They participated in a national athletics event     4     the elderly in 2004,     5     (mark) their first-ever national competition. To their surprise, Wang achieved     6     impressive result—the fourth place.

Since then, the elderly couple have become regular     7     (participate) in national athletics events, consistently winning medals, and they     8     (recognize) as well-known figures in the running community.

With a     9     (combine) age of 163, the couple have participated in over 100 marathon races nationwide, whose impact has motivated     10     (count) young individuals to become part of the running community.

On the second floor of the Zitong Art Gallery, 43-year-old Jiang Xiaoqi n is working on her painting in a studio,     1     doubles as part of an exhibition hall. She draws some yellow from her palette (调色板) and tips it on her canvas (画布) before stopping     2     (check) if it is too thick. Now and then, she stands back a pace or two, takes a survey of her painting and then     3     (decide) whether to apply more.

Around her are five other men and women,     4     (stand) in front of their respective easels (画架) and working on their own paintings. They look exactly like those     5     (profession) artists that one would meet in an art academy.

Only they aren’t. They are farmers from Dujing village, the administrative seat of Zitong township, Chun’an county     6     East China’s Zhejiang province.

Starting to learn painting only three years ago, Jiang has already made     7     name for herself. Indeed, she is     8     (warm) known as “Sister Corn” for her corn-themed paintings and artistic     9     (creation), especially after her oil painting-titled Corn, unsurprisingly — was sold for 7,500 yuan at a special exhibition     10     (hold) in Shanghai in 2020 featuring 61works by Zitong’s farmers.

Dating back thousands of years, Chinese art focuses on many different areas including landscapes, animals, and other     1     (beauty) with careful detail.

As a style of painting that is unlike any other in the world, Chinese art     2     (remember) today for its distinct characteristics and incredible landscapes that can be seen throughout the nation.

Wu Guanzhong, a Chinese painter, is honored as one of the most famous artists of the modern era in the history of the nation.     3     (consider) a pioneer among Chinese artists during the 1940s, Guanzhong’s career didn’t take off until later in his life     4     he developed his own unique style of painting. He painted many works that     5     (virtual) launched a new style of modern Chinese artwork in his lifetime.

His most famous work titled Water Village in Jiangnan was done in 1980s. It is a very simple painting that consists     6     large white surfaces that are outlined by sharp, bold black edges.

Guanzhong’s simple yet straightforward style of painting captured the attention of both Eastern and Western art critics and enthusiasts in     7     way that brought new focus on Chinese culture as a whole.

He painted many additional works     8     (feature) birds, plants, landscapes and other scenes, but few matched the artistic     9     (high) of this painting, which was seen to be one of the most     10     (influence) pieces in modern Chinese art. It is regarded as one of the most famous Chinese paintings of all time.

Since 1981, Pat Sajak has been the host of Wheel of Fortune. And the show     1     (it)has been around since 1975. With four     2     (decade) under his belt, Pat Sajak and his co-host Vanna White have become the faces of the popular show.

“It’s     3     honor to have been in people’s living rooms for that long. People were out there welcoming us. We’re happy and     4     (pride),”Pat Sajak shared. “In most television shows, by this time, you would have said, ‘That’s     5     (probable) enough.’ But this show will not die.”

With Pat Sajak being 75 years old and Vanna White being 65, he shares that their time on the show will not be for much longer.

“Years go by fast,” Pat Sajak acknowledged. “We     6     (get) near the end. It’s been a long time. We’re not gonna do this for another 40 years. The end is near.”

In all his time hosting Wheel of Fortune, Pat has only stepped away once, and that was     7     he needed a surgery.     8     that time, Vanna White was the host of the show.

Back in December 2021, when this     9     (respect) host celebrated his 40-year hosting anniversary, his fans shared a     10     (touch) speech to him online.

Socializing with my friends online is my life. The moment I wake     1     I check through all my social networking     2     (app), reading my emails and posting updates. I have 500 friends online and I live with several roommates, but I feel lonely. It seems that I have an active social life,     3     (attend) parties and playing sports, but I’m absent-minded because I     4     (strong) obsess over my phone.

Social networking     5     (be) the master of my life. Though sometimes I set deadlines    6     (tear) myself away from my phone, I fail again and again. Spending so much time socializing online. I always feel     7     (depress) and alone. As a result, I can’t finish what I should do in my real life.

It is common that at parties or at a family holiday, most members fix their eyes on their phones,     8    they think is normal rather than rude.

What is most worrying is that it is     9     (possible) to drop my phone. I need it for my studies because my teachers and classmates need to contact me. It is     10     problem that we are so close but really so far.

In early June of 2023, Wang Pushi, a young man with a background in Kunqu Opera and also the lead singer of a rock band,     1     (amaze) his audience with a performance at “Youth π Plan”, a music competition show. With its energetic rhythm and beat, the     2     (combine) of ancient and modern melodies, and poetic yet bold lyrics, Wang’s song titled “Ming Song”     3     (skillful) mixed the power of rock with the elegance of Kunqu Opera.

    4     (study) traditional Chinese opera for 11 years, Wang joined the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre in 2014. Apart from Kunqu Opera, he has been interested in rock music from     5     early age. In 2019, Wang formed a rock band called “Xian Ke” with two friends,     6     he serves as the lead singer and guitarist. He said the band’s name came from a line in “The Book of Songs” that means persistence and devotion. So far, the band has created 45 songs, with one single     7       (reach) over a hundred million plays.

Wang expressed his hope     8     through their music, more young people will become familiar     9     and develop a love for Kunqu Opera. He hopes to promote their songs overseas and perform more exceptional Kunqu Opera on international stages, thus challenging the stereotypes (刻板印象)       10       (associate) with Chinese traditional music.

The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company (TMACC) issued 30,000 free birthday month tickets in 2021 to local tourists,     1     (allow) each visitor to experience breath taking views of Cape Town from above the clouds. “We are     2     (excite) to play a role in making the top of the mountain accessible to everyone for their birthday,” says Giselle Esau, executive manager of Brand and Marketing at TMACC. A return ticket up the cableway would     3     (normal) be charged at R390, but the TMACC birthday month special allows all South African citizens     4     (travel) up Table Mountain for free. Every year, thousands of local     5     international tourists travel to Cape Town to visit Table Mountain. So TMACC also has special offers positioned for local and for eign students and position offerings that accommodate children and the elderly,     6     has helped ensure that     7     (visit) to the mountain extend the reach beyond the barriers of affordability. “The mountain belongs     8     all of us, and everyone should     9     (give) an opportunity to experience it. Drawing in local tourists could also be an opportunity to aid the     10     (recover) of local tourism industry.” says Esau.

As one of the three major drinks in the world, tea is also the most consumed drink after water on earth. Since tea trees     1     (discover) thousands of years ago, the drink has become closely integrated with daily life and has developed into     2     unique culture.

How could such a little leaf from nature generate such great power? An ongoing exhibition     3     (focus) on tea culture manages     4     (explorer) the answer by offering visitors a comprehensive view of the drink.

The World of Tea: Special Exhilition of Tea Culture takes place at the Wu Men Exhibition Hall of the Palace Museum from September 2 to November 30 in Beijing. It displays 555 items       5     (attach) to tea culture, many of     6     are representative collections of 30 cultural institutions and museums at home and abroad.

Furthermore, it also provides insights into a cultural phenomenon’s origins, evolution and     7     (remark) achievements while emphasizing how it has acted as a unifying thread connecting diverse regions and fostering the integration of various ethnic groups. Using tea as a medium, it displays the essence of Chinese tea culture, and also embodies the Chinese philosophical     8     (pursue) of unity between heaven and humanity.

Wang Guangyao, director of the show and also a researcher at the Palace Museum, says, “We want our audience to     9     (complete) lose themselves in the show by setting     10       interaction spaces.”