My favourite sport

I like table-tennis, chess and football. Football is    1    (I) favourite sport. I’m good at    2    (play)football. I think it is easy    3    me. I have my favourite football    4    (play). He is Shevchenko. He is    5     AC Milan Club. I want    6    (be) a famous football player     7     Shevchenko. I often play football    8    my father at weekends.    9     Sunday I like     10    (watch) football matches.

On October 18, world leaders came together in Beijing for an eye-catching forum (论坛) to celebrate     1     tenth anniversary (周年) of the Belt and Road Initiative (“一带一路”倡议). The forum was considered     2     (extreme) important in building the Belt and Road.

Chinese President Xi Jinping     3     (give) a speech at the opening. He said that over the past 10 years, plans of Belt and Road cooperation had been turned into real projects. He also said that China would take eight major steps     4     (support) high-quality Belt and Road cooperation,     5     (include) green development and the advance of science and technology.

So far, the Belt and Road Initiative has become the world’s     6     (large) platform (平台) for international cooperation. By June 2023, China had worked together with 152 countries and 32 international     7     (organisation) to build the Belt and Road. Over 3,000 cooperation projects have been started in the past 10 years, one of which is the China-Laos Railway.     8     was put into use in December 2021, helping Laos become a country with easy transport in Southeast Asia.

“Belt and Road cooperation was suggested by China,     9     its fruits are for the world to share,” President Xi Jinping said. There is no doubt     10     the Belt and Road Initiative will continue to make a great difference to the world in the future.

Xiaoxue (Noel) is an exchange student, now studying international relations at Beijing Foreign Studies University. Since Xiaoxue showed great interest in Chinese martial arts (武术), she decided to try Chinese wrestling (摔跤) after     1     classmate introduced her to it.

She had never learned Chinese martial arts before she came to China,     2     she had learned a little bit of Taekwondo   (跆拳道) in her country. At first, she     3     (think) it would be similar because they’re both martial arts. But then she found that Taekwondo and Chinese martial arts have     4     (they) own uniqueness. And she also found that Taekwondo usually uses the feet     5     (fight), but in Chinese martial arts, they use force from the hands to attack.

According to her, she feels very happy and very     6     (relax) after she learned to wrestle. She’s also happy that she can learn new skills every day. She says friendliness is the     7     (big) feeling she has had about China and Chinese people since she came to China.

When she was not familiar     8     China, many of her Chinese friends helped her to get used to the life here. She also took part in many exchange     9     (activity) to feel the culture and traditions of China. Now she tries to share the culture of her country with everyone. She     10     (believe) it is a good chance to improve understanding between the two countries.

English and French tourist guidebooks that introduce the popular attractions along the Yellow River were distributed (发行) on Tuesday in Yuncheng, North China’s Shanxi Province,     1    (promote) international tourism along China’s “Mother River”.

The Yellow River Tourism Overseas Promotion Season 2023,    2    includes the distribution of foreign language guidebooks, aims at giving a full picture of the Yellow River, the birthplace of Chinese civilization.

During the opening ceremony, English and French guidebooks containing nine    3    (select) tourism routes were distributed. Zhang Ruirui,     4    official from the Department of Resource Development at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism,     5    (say) that there are a total of 40 tour routes along the Yellow River.

As the second    6    (long) river in China and one of the cradles(摇篮)of Chinese civilization, the Yellow River flows through nine provinces in northern China.     7    desert views of the Silk Road in the Hexi Corridor to Confucius’ hometown in Shandong Province in East China, the nine routes chosen    8    (careful) cover the nine provinces which the river runs through,    9    point out the unique attractions worth    10    (visit) in each area.

In addition, five other routes that take tourists deep into villages along the Yellow River are included in the new guidebooks, too.

You don’t need to wait until you’re an adult to take part in community service.

You can develop good habits now. Community service is a great way to make     1     difference in your neighborhood. You also can enjoy     2     (spend) time with friends and meeting new people. Here are some ideas for you to start     3       (quick) .

Do you play an instrument or love to draw? Offer to give free concerts at a senior center or spread your love of art by giving     4     (lesson) to younger children. You can never imagine     5     happy you will be after that.

Do you live near a public park? You can volunteer     6     (plant) or clean up the park. You’ll bring pleasure     7     everyone who uses the park.

Do you know any sick or disabled people in your neighborhood? Offer to do yard work for     8     (they) . Sweep the floor and     9     (do) the dishes. Or just stop by for a friendly visit with some food.

Does your school encourage a buddy (伙伴) system? You can set up buddy systems which connect older children with     10     (young) ones. Buddies often spend time together reading books. Helping a young person grow into a smart reader is a gift that keeps on giving.

Darwin

As major cities go, Darwin is on the rather small side. It sits in the north-central region of Australia, right on the Timor Sea. It is a true     1     (melt) pot with people from many nations making up     2     (it) population. The lifestyle in Darwin has been described as peaceful by many people     3     have visited there before. Because of the faraway location, the most popular way to get to Darwin     4     (be) by airplane. It is possible to cross the continent (大陆) by road or rail, but each of those methods     5     (come) with its own set of problems.

Darwin has     6     unique history and much of that history is on display in the form of the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre, Darwin Wharf Precinct, Burnett House at Myilly Point and The Old Court House and Police. Darwin     7     (locate) near a number of beautiful natural     8     (attraction) including George Brown Botanical Gardens, Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Charles Darwin National Park, Lake Alexander and Bicentennial Park. Because Darwin is home     9     such a diverse (多种多样的) population, the restaurants that can be found there are simply extraordinary offering foods from around the world as well as many hybrid (混合的) dishes where     10     (difference) aspects of different cultures can be found in the same dish. A visit to Darwin is a visit to one of Australia’s truly unforgettable cities.

Chinese fans seem to have special meanings in Chinese culture. I’ve     1    (receive) a number of them as gifts from my Chinese friends. The fans are very pretty. You may have noticed that almost all female figures in     2     (tradition) Chinese paintings carry a silk fan. In the movies of     3    1930s and 1940s, fans are a very visible article for Shanghai women.     4    (usual) the structure of the fans is made of sand wood and the faces are made of silk or paper. Because the fans always have sweet smell, women     5     use them appear even more attractive. Fans are probably one of the most appropriate     6    (expression) of noble female.

Men also use fans. But these fans are quite often much     7    (big). Men’s fans often use valuable materials for that structure and the faces are always     8    (paint) with plants or landscapes. As a result     9    open-door policy, fans have become popular again not for people to use at home,     10     as a gift for foreigners. I heard westerners appreciate these gifts. As fans are small, inexpensive and typically Chinese, many people like to use them as gifts from the overseas trips.

The “Chuanbei Big Puppet (木偶) Show” in Nanchong, Sichuan Province,     1     (list) as an item of national intangible cultural heritage since 2006. And     2     makes this traditional performance so special is the use of life-sized puppets.

The art dates back over 300 years, and 82-year-old Li Siyuan is a     3     (recognize) master of his trade.

You can’t     4     (simple) rely on your hands to perform the big puppet show. Footwork is needed as well. The puppets, through the control of puppeteers, can dress up, light     5     candle, and even perform magical face-changing shows. Each puppet is at least 1.8 meters tall, and weighs over 20 kilograms.     6     takes skill and effort to really control them well.

“The traditional puppet, along with the ability     7     (control) it, is fast becoming a rarity in China. So,     8     (pass) this dying cultural heritage from one generation     9     the next is becoming a real challenge,” noted Li.

The good news is that the big puppet show in Nanchong is slowly gaining     10     (accept) and popularity among younger generations. Masters like Li Siyuan hope this age-old art and tradition can thrive in the modern era.

Why do Chinese people drink hot water? Many westerners find it so interesting that they always see Chinese people carry a vacuum cup(保温杯) no matter which season it is.

For lots of Chinese people, nothing is     1    (common) than drinking hot water every day. But for most of the Westerners,     2     idea of drinking plain hot water is really odd since they drink cold water even in winter. Why do Chinese people drink hot water? Hot water vs cold water, which one is better? Follow us     3    (find) an ideal answer.

It is well known     4     Chinese people prefer hot meals every day, and they’re also used to     5    (have) hot drinks with it. Moreover, some parents always teach     6    (they) children to drink hot water with meals, because they think mixing cold liquids with hot meals     7    (be) really bad for the stomach. And cold liquids may solidify fats in your stomach, which cause digestive problems, whereas hot liquids aid in     8    (digest).

According to the eating habits in western countries, they prefer “raw” food,     9     they also prefer their water “raw”. At the same time, they are fond     10     hamburgers, cheese and fried stuff, which are all with high calorie. As a matter of fact, they need cold drinks to cool them off.

My name is Randall Davis. Years ago, I wanted     1    (make) something of myself working as an editor. However, I realized later that the most important things in life lived within the walls of my own home. So today my     2    (great) interest is my family.

I enjoy     3    (spend) time with my family. I have four children, and we go hiking and camping together. On our hikes, we often talk about life or tell     4    (story). We always have fun taking pictures. I can also focus     5    my kids without the distractions (分心) of video games or the Internet. Telling stories sounds easy,     6    when you have to think of a new story on a hot, 12-kilometre hike through the desert, you have come up with ideas off the top of your head.

Now, this doesn’t mean we don’t have problems; all families face challenges in     7    (they) lives, and our family     8    (be) no exception. However, we try to talk     9    (open)about our problems, and we try to solve our problems together. Building     10    strong family takes time, but it is worth the effort.