The Peasants (II)

At noon they hoe up weeds;

Their sweat drips on the soil.

Who knows the rice that feeds

Is the fruit of hard toil!

Food is a necessity for survival. But do you know how much work goes into producing it? The poem The Peasants (II),     1     (write) by Li Shen, a Tang Dynasty poet, shows     2     (we) the hardship of the peasants.

The first two lines describe a common scene     3     peasants are working their lands at noon with the sun     4     (hang) high in the sky, sweat dripping. In the last two lines, the poet     5     (direct) points out that the rice we eat is the fruit of peasants’ hard work.

Simple as the poem is in its language, it is profound in the theme, reminding people     6     the significance of treasuring food. According to the FAO, an estimated 1.3 billion tons of food, or one-third of     7     total food produced for human consumption, is wasted globally each year. Therefore, it’s highly suggested that every grain of rice     8     (value). In China, we have adopted a law on food waste     9     (offer) legal backing to the country’s efforts which not only safeguard food security     10     promote the traditional virtue of thrift (节俭) as well.

Next time you want to throw away food, please think twice.

Dragon Well Tea Shrimp, Longjing xiaren in Chinese, is one of the most well-known dishes in Hangzhou.     1    (traditional), people use Longjing(Dragon Well) tea to accompany the fried river shrimp.

Like most     2    (story) associated with Dragon Well tea, the origin of the Dragon Well Tea Shrimp relates to the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Legend has it that the dish     3     (create) accidentally when he was touring Jiangnan.

One day, the emperor took shelter     4     the rain in a girl’s home and was entertained with a drink containing freshly     5    (pick) tea leaves. Deeply impressed by the taste, he     6    (pocket) some leaves and continued with his trip.

Then he took a break in an inn and ordered several dishes, among     7     there was fried shrimp. While waiting for     8     (he) meal, the emperor passed the leaves to the waiter to make some tea. But the waiter caught a glimpse of the imperial gown (黄袍) underneath and rushed     9     (tell) the chef with shock.

Feeling nervous, the chef added the leaves into the dish of fried shrimp, because he mistook the tea leaves for green onions. But     10     was pleasantly surprising was that the lingering fragrance of the tea and the crunchy texture of the shrimp won the emperor over. Thus, the classic dish was born.

On October 17, 2021, a village in Henan Province celebrated the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Yangshao Culture,     1     dates back to 7,000 years ago.

There are many     2     (reason) to celebrate and pay respect for the generations of archaeologists who     3     (devote) themselves over the past 100 years to exploring the origins of Chinese civilization.

The site     4     (discover) a century ago, marking the beginning of modern Chinese archaeology. Chen Xingcan, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Archaeology, said, “If the distribution of     5     (vary) prehistoric cultures in China can be compared     6     a flower with layers of petals, Yangshao was at the center of it.”

From October to December 1921, a Swedish scholar Johan Gunnar Anderson, led     7     first round of excavations in Yangshao at 17 locations over 36 days. A Neolithic (新石器时代的) culture, best recognized for     8     (it) painted pottery, was unearthed,     9     (astonish) academics. It was later called Yangshao Culture, the nation’s first named prehistoric archaeological culture and it was valuable for archaeologists     10     (research) Chinese history.

Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)has its roots in the Chinese civilization. It is a    1    (science)understanding that has been explored by generations of Chinese in their long struggle against various diseases. TCM contains thousands of years of Chinese concepts and    2    (theory)about health. In a sense, it is the essence(精华)of Chinese culture    3    has passed down for thousands of years. At present, the wisdom    4    (keep)in ancient TCM is playing a key role    5    the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. In other words, TCM has made    6    great contribution to the pandemic. The decoction(煎药)is included in the first choice of TCM clinical treatment and    7    (it)total effective rate is more than 90%. In 2020, more than 4,900 traditional Chinese medical workers    8    (send)to support Hubei Province. Besides, some experts went to Italy, Iraq and other countries with TCM products    9    (fight)against the pandemic. This has    10    (effective)helped experts explore more possibilities for Traditional Chinese Medicine and find new ways to combine Chinese and Western medicine.