To my great joy, I have broken away from my bad habit which almost ruined me. Two years ago, I happened to come across Tom,     1     was lost in gambling (赌博). Things of one kind come together. As I was also not interested in schoolwork, we became good friends. Though every day, the teacher assigned us a great deal of homework, we took no notice of it. In the classroom, I couldn’t focus     2     what the teacher taught. As a result, my academic performance was becoming from bad to     3     (bad). As I couldn’t find any fun in school, I played poker whenever I was free. At     4     beginning, we just played for fun, but not soon later, we played for gambling.     5     really made me happy even excited. However, I felt upset because I     6    (lose) quite a little money in the gamble. I began to be worried all the time. My father found     7     happened to me and shouted at me, saying that I would end up in prison     8     I didn’t attempt to leave those who gambled. He tried to persuade me to go back to school and begged my head teacher     9     (help) me with my study.     10     (follow) his advice, I tried to study hard. It seemed as if I never ran out of my energy. Where there is a will there is a way. I became one of the top students in my school.

When young urban couples get married, they usually hire a fleet of about 10 cars to escort them and their family to the wedding venue. But one new couple in Dalian, Liaoning province, did something a little different — they     1     (choose) to rent a public bus instead.

    2     (look) back on their wedding day on Oct 5, the bride, Yang Le’er, said she still felt joyful about the bus experience,     3     added special meaning to the wedding.

On their wedding day,     4     red electric bus carried the bride and groom, and the guests to a hotel. “We played festive music along the way, and friends sang along. Even though my parents didn’t sing, they     5     (attract) by the atmosphere and didn’t show the traditional     6     (sad) of a daughter’s marriage,” Yang recalled.

    7     a cost of 10, 000 yuan, which included the decorations, she said getting the bus was     8     (relative) cheaper than hiring a fleet of cars. Besides, using a bus as their wedding car was so much cooler than a luxury car. On the road, they drew a lot of attention. Pedestrians took out their phones     9     (take) pictures and waved at them. When the bridesmaids and groomsmen shouted to passersby that “we’re getting married”, they received smiles and cheers in response.

Song Jian, the head of Dalian Transportation Advertising Co, said the company will explore more creative “theme buses”     10     expand related businesses in the future.

If you wake up in the middle of the night, you’re likely to check the time and see how many more hours you have     1     (leave) before morning. But this is a bad idea.

Looking at any source of light     2     (send) signals to the brain to wake up and turns off the     3     (produce) of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin (荷尔蒙褪黑激素).

Biological clocks help regulate the timing of bodily processes, including circadian rhythms (昼夜节律). Circadian rhythms are 24-hour cycles     4     are part of the body’s internal clock. One of the most important circadian rhythms is the sleep-wake cycle, which is     5     (easy) influenced by light. Even a quick look can make falling back to sleep     6     (difficult).

But even more importantly, checking can cause     7     (addition) stress. Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, a physiologist, sleep and stress management expert suggests that checking the time every time you wake up will just lead     8     a more disturbed night.

“Never check the time if you wake during the night — it is completely normal     9     (wake) during the night.       10     you’re a sensitive sleeper, then checking the time can send you into a whirl of calculations (一连串的计算) and make you worry about how much sleep you will or won’t be getting.”

Yu Jingjing, a security guard at a children’s hospital in Dalian, has been called “Toy Hero” by Chinese netizens after going viral on social media on Monday.

The video shows the security guard patrolled (巡逻) with tiny dolls on his uniform,     1     (offer) them to children and guiding patients’ families. “I see the hospital staff occupied     2     duties every day, and parents are worried about their sick children.” said Yu, “In the waiting area,     3     there is a familiar atmosphere of boredom and tension, people sit anxiously and look through old magazines, all of which     4     (read) hundreds of times. I am delighted to do something to help ease the     5     (anxious) of parents and children during their hospital visits.”

Yu has been working here for three years. Initially, he started to tie toys lost by children on his back, making     6     easier for the owners to find them. But rarely anyone returned     7     (claim) them. Nevertheless, these dolls proved to be     8     (incredible) effective in cheering anxious children patients up. So, Yu decided to buy some dolls with his money to give to the children.

Yu has become     9     hit at the children’s hospital. In addition to the two or three dozen dolls tied to his uniform, he also wears a small red sign that reads, “Please call me if you need help”. As is often the case, he     10     (devote) to comforting hospital visitors and healing them in a mental way.

China has a long history of more than 5000 years. In the vastness of history, Chinese traditional culture constantly shows     1     (it) unique charm and is deeply loved and appreciated by people around the world. Among the ancient Chinese literature, the Four Great Classical Novels, also referred to as the four greatest and most     2     (influence) novels written in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, stand out.

    3     the four novels have in common is that they were written in the vernacular (白话文) of their times,     4     most ancient literature that was written in the classical style of writing. Most Chinese are familiar with the figures, plots and scenes in the four novels. They have     5    (dramatic) affected the mentality, ideas and values of Chinese people. They were widely read by people and contained philosophical ideas, history and viewpoints about human society that     6     (define) part of the worldviews of the scholar and the     7     (political), which had     8     significant effect on the development of Chinese societies in past eras.

Nowadays, they have already been adapted into movies or TV series,     9     (favor) by lots of audiences. Being high in artistic standard, the Four Great Classical Novels are precious heritage of Chinese nation and     10     (strike) works in the history of Chinese literature.

Located in the comfortable tropical setting of Xishuangbanna,     1     the rainfall is abundant, plants are plentiful, and animals are diverse, the Dai people breathe     2     a place where the atmosphere is filled with greenery and ecological force. This background gives rise to the Dai people’s unique cuisine, which effortlessly combines elements of nature with     3     (they) daily lives.

For the Dai people of Xishuangbanna, many plants that seem nontraditional to outsiders are cooking treasures.     4     casual chat with a restaurant owner might     5     (unexpected) lead to the generous offering of a homely delicacy (美味).

In the Dai cooking recipes, fried moss stands out as a traditional delight.     6     (harvest) from riverbanks, cleaned, and then pan-fried to a golden color, this crispy (脆的) delicacy gives out sweet flavour.     7     (transform) the crispy moss into a dish that shows the Dai identity requires a delicate touch. But if natural preparations and     8     (ingredient) can be compared to the initial sketch (草图) of a sculpture, the various spice-infused sauces can     9     (see) serving as the cover of the sculpture, lending a matchless realism to the masterpiece.

Take the Dai-style eggplant dip as another example of a combination of authenticity and health, after roasting an eggplant, peeling it, and mixing it with salt, green chillies, garlic, and cilantro (香菜叶), pounding them quick produces a seasoning (调味品) that     10     (match) perfectly with any dish in an entertainment.

2024 will be the Year of the Dragon in Chinese culture. To celebrate it, “Long Chenchen”,       1     (color) orange and red and with a pair of doll eyes, has been designed     2     a cute yet lively dragon.

Named Long Chenchen,     3     the “dragon Chenchen”, the mascot for China’s upcoming Dragon Spring Festival Gala     4     (release) up to now, a lot of design details showing the aesthetics (美学的) of Chinese cultural elements.

The design of the     5     (seeming) cute-looking dragon was inspired by     6     item that was discovered in the Erlitou Ruins, a major site in Luoyang, Central China’s Henan province.

The fire shape pattern on its shoulder was inspired by a bronze piece with cloud patterns     7     (date) back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC) . The bronze piece has 12 vividly depicted dragon sculptures, showing ancient Chinese     8     (create) as well as skill for handicrafts. Another source of inspiration was a gilded dragon sculpture     9     is currently in the Xi’an Museum.

“I think this is why the mascot has successfully delivered the spirit of the dragon, which is important     10     (show) the life-force of Chinese culture, “one netizen posted on Sina Weibo.