Saltwater Song is traditional folk music in Zhongsha in which enjoys great     1     (popular) among Tanzhou, Minzhong and other towns.

Saltwater Song dates back to the late Ming and early Qing period     2     people led such a poor life on the sea that their boats were their rooms and the sea was their land. They made their living by fishing and were exposed (暴露) to the sun and rain all the year.     3     (face)with such a terrible living environment, they sang to cheer themselves up. Gradually, they didn’t need to go out to fish on the sea, but the song     4     (pass) down during that period. Now people still sing it as a way to relax when they work on the farm.

    5     impresses people most is that Saltwater Song has a variety of forms, including long and short sentences of Saltwater Song, Gaotang Song, Da Zhu Song, Gu Mei Song, etc. It is performed     6     (natural) with rhymes (押韵), showing the intelligence of local farmers.

However, with foreign cultures     7     (pour) in, more and more younger generations are not interested in Saltwater Song, which puts it at the risk of disappearing. To protect it as much as possible, our country added it     8     the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List in May, 2006. Besides, with the support of the government, lots of     9     (color) activities about Saltwater Song are held and many inheritors (继承者) begin to appear. With all these methods, Saltwater Song     10     (draw) more attention so far.

The craft of Shao Lujie, a 28-year-old Chinese craftsman from Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, is known     1     quilling — a form of art that involves the use of paper strips (纸条) that are rolled, shaped and glued together to form complex designs.

Shao’s works mainly feature flowers and other plants. He created multiple works for the 19th Asian Games, featuring the event’s three mascots (吉祥物) and logo. In the past few years, Shao     2     (develop) cultural and creative products with local characteristics. His another     3     (improve) is that techniques and equipment have been simplified, making it easier for people to try.

Since childhood, Shao has enjoyed painting and handicrafts.     4     (finish) the learning of quilling in 2016 from a master of the art, Shao began to devote himself     5     (entire) to the craft. Later, by imitating the works of his instructors, he learned how     6     (integrate) new methods into his own works, combining this paper art handicraft with painting and different design elements.

In an age     7     AI-generated art works are entering the art market, Shao still sticks to this ancient craft. Every step — weaving, cutting, rubbing, folding, and pressing —     8     (do) by hand.

To get youngsters interested in the craft, Shao has gone online, sharing articles     9     (write) by himself and posting pictures of his latest works. Shao is considering     10     (open) an exhibition hall so that more people can learn about this craft and, ideally, pass it down, to future generations.

For the past twenty years, Chen Huili, a cultural heritage monitor and guide, has devoted herself to     1    (protect) the carvings of the Yuanjue Cave, part of the Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing,     2     were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999.

While showing visitors around, Chen became painfully aware of the serious damage to the cave     3    (cause) by the passage of time. The flat-roofed cave lacked something to support its weight. As a result, the ceiling (顶部) was coming off in pieces, posing a great threat to the priceless carvings. With related knowledge and great eagerness     4    (save) the sculptures, Chen joined the protection center.

    5     time went by, Chen’s experience grew and eventually she developed her unique approach to protecting cultural heritage. She     6    (involve) in a number of major projects so far, including the eight-year restoration of the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara (千手观音). And with her team’s hard efforts,     7    (effect) measures such as hydraulic iron frames (液压铁架) have now     8    (successful) been introduced to support the roof of the Yuanjue Cave.

    9     her remarkable achievements, Chen remains unsatisfied. In her opinion, it’s highly necessary to improve the role of technology in cultural heritage protection and to train young talent for this field. For Chen, Yuanjue Cave will remain a focus and she believes there will be many fruitful     10    (discovery) further down the line.

Dongying city in China’s Shandong Province has witnessed(目睹) ecological improvements in the Yellow River Delta, thanks to various    1    (effect) measures to improve wetland restoration and protection.

Years ago, the wetlands there    2    (threaten) due to less water from the river and other factors.    3    (protect) the wetlands ecosystem, the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve was established in 1992. Since then, the city    4    (carry) out several management projects and restored the biotic(生物) population in the zone.

Dongying has been adopting a comprehensive wetlands restoration model by giving high     5    (prior) to protecting the nature reserve and letting nature restore     6    (it). Over the past three years, it’s transferred(转运) 469 million cubic meters of water to the nature reserve,    7    has recovered the ecological functions of the wetlands there.

Last year, Dongying built a real-time monitoring network for bird species at the nature reserve, which helps ensure that birds are free    8    disturbance of human activity and puts the habitats of cranes and other species under key protection. As a result, the nature reserve has seen    9    obvious increase in the variety and number of bird species. Home to 371 bird species, it’s become an important stop, wintering ground and breeding place for migratory birds. Dongying is currently working to build the Yellow River Estuary National Park, which will cover 3,523 square kilometers,    10    (include) land area and sea area, to explore pathways for the protection of Delta ecology.

The world witnessed what was described     1     “Chongqing speed” in people’s united action in China’s Chongqing that put out over 10 forest fires in less than 10 days.

On August 17, a historic heat wave caused forest fires     2     (break) out in the mountain city. Under the leadership of China’s emergency management authorities, great efforts from firefighters, police and tens of thousands of volunteers     3     (pay) off and all open fires were completely put out on August 26.

In the following days, numerous stories, pictures and videos regarding this fire rescue     4     (share) on China’s social media. A video that showed a herringbone (人字形) of yellow flame of fire and a line of white light coming from the headlamps on the rescuers in the night view was     5     striking that it became     6     instant hit.

    7     put out the fire was a “Great Human Wall” that was formed by the organization and support personnel under the mountain, the transport teams     8     (deliver) materials along the way, and the firefighting troops on the mountain top.

Among them, Generation Z, classified as those born in the mid-90s to early 2000s, played a     9     (remarkable) important role in the whole rescue work. These young group rushed to the frontline of the fire scene without any hesitation, demonstrating the hope and strength of China’s young generation with their bravery, wisdom and     10     (cooperate).

In my early childhood, I was often surprised when I saw my father making     1     small number of money with difficulty. He was very tired during the day,     2     he still chose to have a part-time job at night. As a child, I was     3     (ability) to understand him.

I can’t forget he played with me when I was 3-4 years old. He taught me how to read. He took care of me all night when I was sick. Whenever I felt down he would cheer me up. He also cared about my lessons. When I was older, my father thought that I should     4     (send) to Beijing for the best education. Whenever I needed money, he never refused.

Two years ago, I got a job at a hospital in Beijing. When I helped my first patient, I got a strong feeling of satisfaction. When I got my first salary (薪水), I spent it all on myself.

I remembered it was an     5     (forget) morning. When I returned home, I heard my father     6     (communicate) with one neighbor. He was    7     (proud) telling him my success in the job. His dream of giving his son a good life came true finally. I was moved by     8     my father said. At that time, I thought I was selfish, I had never thought of doing something for my father.

Fathers are not very good at expressing their     9     (feel). If you carefully go through your childhood memory, you will notice your fathers are always there when you need them.

If today I can complete each task much     10     (succeed), this is because of my father. So I want to say thank you to my father, then what about you? Do you want to say thank you to your father? Please do it immediately tonight.

In her childhood, Li Zhenxia always dreamed of buying a beautiful oil-paper umbrella in a store in her village. But it was too expensive for her family to afford     1     at the time.

Today, as a businesswoman, Li devotes herself     2     (entire) to protecting this cultural heritage (遗产) by talking to her customers and passing on her techniques to young people. “ The oil-paper umbrella has been with me my entire life and always makes me feel much     3     (good) when I’m upset, ” Li said.

The traditional Chinese handicraft (手工艺), which is made of bamboo and paper     4     (coat) in a special oil for not letting water through, has been around for at least 1,000 years and is even adopted in other parts of Asia. Its production involves over a hundred steps and the whole process can take several months. This     5     (complex) means it’s still made by hand.

Li’s store in Datong Ancient Town — a town     6     there is lots of rain — welcomes tourists who buy her umbrellas     7     (model) in photos, decorate their homes, or add to collections. “It’s definitely more a piece of art     8     a means of protection from the rain, ” she said.

One of her regulars, a lady surnamed Cai,     9     (buy) eight oil-paper umbrellas since 2016. Rain or shine, Cai uses the umbrellas,     10     (match) them with her clothes. “ It is a classic item with great cultural meaning. I don’t use ordinary umbrellas anymore, ” Cai said.

Er yue er is the festival where the “dragon raises its head” according to Chinese people. The traditional Dragon-Head-Raising Festival     1    (fall) on the second day of the second lunar month annually, marking the start of spring and farming.

Ancient people had the belief     2     after this day, rainfall increases because the rain-bringing Dragon King has awakened from his winter sleep.

The festival celebrates ancient agricultural Chinese culture, and while some traditional ways to celebrate it are no longer practiced, others     3    (actual) exist.

The most famous tradition is getting a haircut. Some believe that going to the barber’s on this day gets rid of bad luck, while others     4    (convince) that getting a haircut during the first month of the lunar calendar brings bad luck. So on this day people are found     5    (line) up outside barber shops, having avoided haircuts for the previous month.

In     6    (celebrate) of this festival, Chinese people make some kinds of foods that contain special meaning. For example, based     7     local customs, fried beans are the traditional festival food for people in parts of Shandong Province. In East China’s Fujian Province, tofu and vegetable balls are made     8    (pray) for family and business. Eating chengyao cakes made with sticky rice is     9     must in Suzhou during the festival. The practice seems to be     10    (consistency) with the saying, “If you eat chengyao cakes on the Dragon-Head-Raising Festival, your waist won’t hurt all year.”

While the Majale River in Botswana only flows for a few months of the year, there is plenty of water to be found under the surface. Aware     1     this, the area’s animals frequently visit the dry riverbed     2     (dig) up the water and satisfy their thirst.

In late August, Wildlife filmmaker Kim was searching the area,     3     (hope) to see an elephant herd (群) in action. She had driven a few kilometers along the riverbank when she     4     (notice) an elephant herd making their way up.

Things went smoothly at first. Two team members effortlessly climbed up the riverbank and disappeared. The rest of the family, which     5     (lead) by a female elephant, followed closely behind. They were doing well until a baby elephant, much     6     (thin) than other baby ones, got stuck on the steepest (陡) part. Not realizing     7     (it) trouble, the mother kept moving ahead. Fortunately, the herd’s responsible leader stayed behind to ensure everyone made it up safely. She     8     (gentle) pushed the helpless baby elephant up the tricky place.

    9     happened in front of Kim made her excited. And she was even more excited to have captured the heartwarming video of the scene. She said that elephants are caring animals that deserve human love and     10     (admire).

What is it like to live in a cave once inhabited (居住) by ancient civilizations? Zhang Youbin and his wife have the answer.

Zhang is from a village in Guizhou Province. The local government entrusts him and his wife with     1     care of ancient Hongyan cliff paintings (岩画),     2     decorate the cave located deep in mountains.

The cliff paintings, first     3     (find) in 1991, have a history of over 6,000 years. Most patterns have become unclear over the years. Those still recognizable show cows, palm prints, pigs and people. Experts say the paintings are very specific     4     have high artistic value.

In 2015, the couple settled there     5     (protect) the paintings. Back then, the road leading to the site was extremely narrow and dangerous in some sections. So Zhang was determined to widen the road. It     6     (take) him two months to dig and build the roadbed with stones. “The road is now much     7     (easy) for people to walk on,” he said.

The couple’s major     8     (responsible) is preventing those without authorization from entering the protected area in case the paintings are damaged. To save their commuting (往返) time, the couple established a temporary home in a cave near the paintings.

    9     (spend) six years guarding the paintings, Zhang is very familiar with them.”I know the exact location and every detail of each painting. They are our cultural treasures and I feel greatly honored to protect them,” he said     10     (proud).