In China, Laba Festival marks the beginning of preparations for the Spring Festival. Laba Festival reminds one     1     Laba porridge and Laba garlic. But where did this festival come from? How was it celebrated     2     (tradition)? Let’s go back in time and find out.

In the Shang Dynasty or even before, the festival was celebrated as “Lari”. People presented animals as offerings to the gods and ancestors,     3    (pray) for a good harvest in the next year. The tradition was slightly changed during the Han Dynasty     4     people started holding feasts and arranging family reunions during the festival to have fun and value life. The “Lari Festival”     5    (value) highly in the Tang Dynasty. A number of poems     6    (write) in that period of time have shown how the festival was celebrated at that time.

Laba porridge was first mentioned in a book from the Song Dynasty. According to the record, temples in the capital started to cook and serve bowls of Laba porridge with various types of grains and nuts, and sent     7    (they) to the visitors. Ordinary people also cooked this kind of porridge and     8    (distribute) it in their neighborhoods. Since the Qing Dynasty, distribution of Laba porridge at Yonghe Lamasery, popularly known as the Lama Temple, in Beijing is one of the most famous     9     (activity) on the day.

The     10    (celebrate) of Laba Festival gradually spread from the court to the ordinary people during the past thousands of years. It is a part of the tradition now and people share the joys and expectations of the coming year.

In the final of the men’s 100m freestyle at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Chinese athlete Pan Zhanle achieved an astonishing time of 46. 40 seconds, breaking the world record and     1    (successful)winning the gold medal. This is the     2    (nine)gold medal for the Chinese delegation at this Olympics and it is the first time that a Chinese athlete     3    (win)an Olympic championship in the men’s 100m freestyle event.

Foreign media have given high praise to Pan Zhanle’s victory. He has become the fastest man in the world at present and the     4    (shining)Asian star in the swimming pool.

Pan Zhanle’s achievement means a lot. He not only won honor for the Chinese swimming team     5     also proved the strength of Chinese athletes in the short- distance freestyle event. His success inspires more Chinese swimmers     6    (pursue)excellence continuously and win more honors for the country,     7     will certainly help to enhance the international influence and competitiveness of Chinese swimming in the future.

After the competition, Pan Zhanle said that this gold medal is     8     great significance to the country.     9    (face)with the disregard and arrogance of foreign athletes, he responded with strength, using the result of breaking the world record to answer everything and winning the     10    (recognize)of foreign audiences and athletes.

In a testament to the incredible speed of construction in China, the ruins of two historic stone structures on Zhejiang’s Dahuanglong Island have been reborn as a stylish bed-and-breakfast in less than 40 days.

As part of the popular Chinese reality television show Beautiful House, a Beijing-based studio Evolution Design     1     (give) a budget for construction and interior (室内的) design last fall, as well as just two months to complete the transformation. Impressively, the architects finished the project     2     (slight) under budget and in just a total of 31 days.

When the architecture firm first saw the site, the two     3     (exist) structures had fallen into severe ruin with caved-in roofs and weather-beaten walls. Since the television program celebrates adaptive reuse and a back-to-nature conception, the architects restored the two buildings and     4     (add) modern elements, including ample glazing and a new     5     (extend) to better embrace sea views.

The refreshed buildings are used     6     (house) the bedrooms, while the new expansion comprises the combined spaces as well as a rooftop deck and a flight of stairs     7     lessens the site’s approximately 13-foot change in height.

    8     (complete) late last year, the adaptive reuse project covers     9     area of 2,900 square feet and was mainly constructed from locally sourced granite, concrete, and steel. The minimalist interiors are dressed     10     modern furnishings and natural materials.

The traditional Chinese calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Jingzhe (惊蛰), or Awakening of Insects, falls on March 5 and     1     (end) on March 20 this year.

During the solar term, the weather will get warmer and there will be more rainfall.     2     (It) name refers to the awakening of animals sleeping in winter by spring thunder and everything beginning to come back to life. In ancient times, people     3     (believe) that the sound of thunder awakened insects, which was common during this time. Modern     4     (science) studies have shown that insects wake up because     5     the arm weather and moist oil (潮湿的土壤).

Jingzhe is     6     important time for farmers. Old Chinese sayings such as “once Jingzhe comes, spring plowing (春耕) never rests” show the     7     (important) of this solar term to famers. During this time, most parts of China experience fast-rising temperatures, with more sunshine. Thus the best conditions for farming activities     8     (provide) by these.

It is popular for people     9     (eat) pears around this time in China. According to ideas of traditional Chinese medicine, the sweet and juicy pear is good for the lungs as the air becomes dry. This is very good for     10     (people) health when people experience parched (干裂的) mouths and dry tongues due to the changing weather.

The 2024 Spring Festival Gala official mascot (吉祥物), “Loong Chenchen,”     1    (announce) by the China Media Group on Dec.6.

The name “Loong Chenchen” contains the Chinese character “Loong,”     2     translates to “dragon” in English. The dragon has long held significant spiritual and     3    (culture) importance in China, featuring significantly in literature, art, folklore, architecture, clothing,     4     painting for thousands of years. In line with this rich heritage, the mascot embodies auspicious (吉祥的) meanings of good fortune, peace and     5     (happy). The mascot is perfectly designed, drawing inspiration from     6    (China) deep and enduring traditional culture. An example of this is     7     combination of the unique ancient dragon nose into its design. This element     8    (inspire) by a dragon- shaped artifact dates back to the Xia Dynasty (around 2070 BC-1600 BC). The artifact is crafted from over 2,000 pieces of turquoise (绿松石) and was unearthed     9     the archaeological site in Yanshi District, Luoyang, Henan Province.     10    (additional), the design of the dragon claw in “Loong Chenchen” draws inspiration from the pattern of the Nine- Dragon Wall of the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Walking along the picturesque shores of Dongshan Island in China’s Fujian Province, visitors can enjoy     1     (they) in a poetic world full of     2     (create), encountering children’s poems carved on the coastal rocks.

These poems come from the Dongshan Island International Children’s Poetry Beach Project, displaying children’s     3     (imagine) reflections on their life. For example, a child writes, “My two hands empty, can still hold back the wind.”

“Poetry is a bridge that enables people around the world     4     (cross) the cultural barriers,” says Qiu, who initiates the project.

Since last September, the project     5     (support) by local government has been inviting children from around the globe to submit their poetry. It     6     (receive) more than 5,000 submissions from children under the age of 16 from various countries. A group of judges,     7     (consist) of artists, poets, and translators, have selected 500 poems to be carved onto the seaside rocks, about 400 of     8     have been completed by now.

In China, carving poems on rocks has long been a cultural tradition known     9     cliff inscriptions(摩崖石刻), typically for cultural celebrities. This project, however, gives the honor to children, who are “natural poets” in Qiu’s eye. “Children’s poetry is best suited to build a platform for global and cross-cultural communication,” Qiu explains     10     he chose children for the project.

The Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 has unveiled its new emblem. It was revealed following an innovative launch ceremony, which     1     (see) over 700 runners ran different routes around the centre of Paris and Saint-Seine-Denis, forming the outline of the new Paris 2024 emblem.

The new design is a     2     (combine) of the gold medal, the Olympic-flame and Marianne, which brings together the values, history and French touch that will make the Games truly special.

The emblem embraces the shape and colour of the most beautiful medal of all, which is also a reminder that the core values of sport is competing     3     excellence. That same commitment also informs every step that Paris. 2024 is taking in organising the Games, so that it can fulfil the promises it has made     4     (stage) a different, grounded,     5     (sustain) and inclusive Games.

The Olympic and Paralympic flames reflects the unique energy of the Games,     6     (bring) people together. The Games will help improve the lives of the residents     7     are now in short of infrastructure (基础设施).

Finally, Marianne. With     8     (it) feminine traits, the Paris 2024 emblem shows respect for a woman who is a French national symbol known around the world,     9     familiar figure who is everywhere in the everyday lives of French people. Her face is also a nod to female athletes and history, as it was in 1900 at the Olympic Games in Paris     10     women were first allowed to compete.

Urban dining escape

“Wildeat” has recently become a popular lifestyle trend among young people in China. This term     1     (gain) over 9,000 posts on the Chinese lifestyle-sharing platform Xiaohongshu since it came into view, and     2     (video) with the tag have piled up 1.65 million views on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok.

    3     the name implies, wildeat involves dining outdoors, but it differs     4     a traditional picnic. Wildeat focuses on the “wild” rather than “eat”. It’s about enjoying     5     basic meal while embracing (拥抱) the wildness of the surroundings, providing a sense of freedom and     6     (relax). This can involve making hotpot outdoors or     7     (bring) portable food to a nearby park. For those who take wildeat, what really matters is the relaxing atmosphere in the wild.

Whether it’s the previously popular “citywalk”,     8     refers to wandering in a city, or the current trend of wildeat, young people use these coined terms to express their desire to     9     (temporary) escape urban life and embrace nature.

In the past, people might have pursued a more elegant lifestyle, adding many elements to their lives     10     (find) happiness. Now, it’s quite the opposite. They are more focused on making life simpler, freer, and more relaxed.

The West Lake is always topping the list with its beauty, and its     1     (important) in literary and artistic history when a tourist comes to Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

The West Lake and the hills surrounding its three sides     2     (inspire) scholars and artists since the 9th century. The green-colored Lianlian, one of the three mascots (吉祥物) of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, is inspired by lotus (荷花)     3     (leaf) in the West Lake. Lianlian not only represents purity and opening-up,     4     also expresses the wish of building a shared future for mankind.

The West Lake has 10 poetically named scenic areas,     5     (make)it an outstanding example of a cultural landscape. It consists     6     temples, pagodas, gardens and decorative trees, as well as artificial islands. These additions have been made     7     (improve) the landscape west of Hangzhou.

In 2011, the West Lake Cultural Landscape,     8     includes the West Lake and the nearby hills, was included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. As UNESCO says on its official website, “As     9     matter of fact, the West Lake has     10     (huge) influenced garden design in the rest of China, as well as Japan and the Republic of Korea, for centuries.”

There is argument over the term hanfu, as some scholars prefer huafu; “Hua” represents the Chinese nation, all 56 of its ethnic (民族的) groups     1    (include). However, since Han, Chinese are the dominant ethnic group in China.     2    (basic), people refer to ancient Chinese clothing as hanfu.

To the     3    (train) eye, hanfu, the Japanese kimono and the Korean hanbok may look alike. However, each has distinctive design elements, historical     4    (origin), and cultural significance unique     5     their respective countries. Here are some of the unique features of the special type of clothes.

Ancient Chinese clothing was very lightweight. People tend to believe     6     ancient Chinese clothing was bulky and heavy. Although some garments (衣服) were indeed complicated and layered, many traditional clothes, especially     7     made of silk, were designed to be lightweight and comfortable.

Putting on hanfu with proper ceremony was important in ancient Chinese society, as it was a way     8    (distinguish) social roles. At that time, rules on how to wear, fold, and tie garments     9    (follow) carefully to project an image of grace, modesty, and respect. Today, some of the flowers of the hanfu revival movement adopt     10     same principles.