As the Spring Festival is getting close, it’s time to do some     1     (prepare) from now. What do people do on those days? Here are the related customs.

In our legends, the Jade Emperor, the ruler of the heaven, descend to earth (下凡)     2     (inspect) the world on this day, to see if every household lives     3     honest, frugal (节俭的) and diligent life. As traditional value leads, people who work hard but live poorly should     4     (reward). To show the frugality and pray for the emperor’s reward, traditionally people make bean curd, or Tofu, cheap food in China.

In northeast China, people make a decent amount of Nian Dou Bao, a kind of bun made of glutinous millet (黄米)     5     (stuff) with red bean paste. Nian Dou Bao is also a staple food during the Spring Festival.

Many families typically eat pork and cook the meat. Other families,     6     don’t raise pigs, go to the local fair for a hunk of meat. In the past, people hardly     7     (have) a chance to enjoy meat except for the Spring Festival. The meat also represents the     8     (big) celebration throughout the year. In places like Beijing and Tianjin, an old tradition is to eat a rooster. Most people prefer a rooster     9     a hen because of     10     (it) majestic looking, and believe it will bring good luck.

Thirty cultural relics have been returned to the Chinese mainland from Taiwan thanks to the joint efforts of people on both sides     1     the Strait.

They,     2     (transfer) to the National Cultural Heritage Administration on Monday, marked the     3     (large) return of lost relics to the mainland from Taiwan in recent years. Thirteen of the returned pieces, including the heads of broken Buddhist images,     4     (show) at a donation ceremony at the National Museum of China in Beijing on Monday. Wu Chih-yang, co-president of the association, confirmed that the returned relics were collected by “warmhearted people” from overseas     5     then gathered by the association. Wu said, “Donation of these items is more than     6     exchange of cultural heritage across the Strait. Cultural     7     (communicate) has always played a crucial role in     8     (strengthen）our links.” Sammy Yang, vice-chancellor of Taipei's Shih Hsin University, said a preliminary (初步的) assessment in Taiwan two years ago     9     (indicate) a high degree of similarity in the artistic styles, materials and craftsmanship of some of the painted sculptures with others in Shanxi province.

Analysis of cutting marks on some head statues led to the guess     10     they may have been stolen about 30 years ago, considering some statues were cut and stolen from a Shanxi temple in an identical way in 1993. They were later found and returned from Taiwan in 1999.

Shadow puppetry—also called shadow play—     1     (get) its start thousands of years ago in China and India. This unique form of storytelling is the     2     (old) type of puppetry in the world so far.

    3     is placed between a light and a screen is a vividly—shaped shadow puppet. Moving it creates the illusion(错觉) of a moving image on the screen.     4     experienced puppeteer can make figures appear to walk, fight and dance.

The first shadow puppets were likely made out of animal hides (兽皮). Their strength and     5     (flexible) allowed the puppeteer to move the puppet easily to create the desired effects. Today, a wide variety of materials are accessible     6     people. You might see shadow puppets made out of paper, plastic, wood or cloth. There’s no end to how creative puppeteers can be when     7     (make) puppets.

Shadow puppets are usually constructed in     8     (whole) separate pieces that are then put together with strings or wires. The strings or wires are usually attached to long rods (杆) that the puppeteer will use     9     (control) the movement of the puppet.

Although shadow puppets can be very creative and elaborate, they also can be very simple. With little       10     no experience, a classroom can put on a simple shadow play with little expense and just a little time.

Distracted driving is an ongoing problem. A new poll by State Farm,     1     insurance company, proves once again that the roads are full of fools. One in five of the 912 drivers     2     (survey) last November admitted accessing the Internet on their smartphones while driving. Over the past several months, the company     3     (conduct) a deeper study.     4     (teenager) and young adults are more addicted to their phones, and they’re also less experienced drivers, a reason for danger on the roads with a likely     5     (high) percentage of smartphone use while driving.

Despite     6     (acknowledge) the dangers, none of the guilty drivers seems to be ashamed of     7     (them). “I’m not saying it’s the smartest thing in the world,” says Sean Black, a 38-year-old Illinois resident, “but I guess I just do it anyway.”Maybe, to a certain degree, this behavior will never change     8     a near-accident or actual crash doesn’t take place. Even then, the change will only happen     9     the basis of each individual case, and it puts the lives and well-being of innocents at the mercy of those     10     are too lazy to change their habits.

Qinqiang Opera is a local Chinese opera that mainly thrives (繁荣) in north west China’s Shaanxi Province, as well as its neighboring regions, like Gansu and Qinghai Provinces. It has the most ancient and     1     (large) musical system of all Chinese operas.

    2     (arise) from local folk songs and dance forms in the Yellow River Valley,     3     is the birthplace of Chinese culture, the opera first appeared in the Qin Dynasty.     4     (it) time-honored history has offered Qinqiang Opera a reputation as the forefather     5     Chinese operas.

Its contents usually feature such themes as anti-aggression (反侵略) wars, as well as a number of other     6     (topic) of strong human interest that reflect the characteristics of local people.

Qinqiang Opera is also one of the earliest operatic musical systems to reflect the emotions of human beings.     7     (equip) with a set of performing skills created by the artists, Qinqiang Opera     8     (influence) other operatic forms for long. During the Qing Dynasty, Qinqiang Opera entered Beijing and     9     (direct) affected the formation of Peking Opera. Qinqiang Opera thrived during     10     rule of Emperor Qianlong when Qinqiang troupes (剧团) were distributed throughout the country.

A “White Box” Digital Transition Model for Education

Liu Xinsheng, a student in a rural school in Zibo, Shandong province,     1     the English teaching resources are limited, has been learning English through a small terminal (终端机) on a     2     (day) basis.     3     textbook-sized smart terminal, nicknamed “white box”, has become the most important tool for improving Liu’s English-speaking skills.

Technology enhances education and     4     (bridge) the gap effectively in educational resources between rural and urban areas. Students in the school can not only correct their     5     (pronounce) but also receive real-time feedback. Additionally, after submitting assignments through the device, they immediately receive corrections for certain tasks.

The AI-enabled rural education in Linzi district is just an example of how Zibo is     6     (true) promoting a digital transition in its education sector. By the end of last year, 97 percent of primary and secondary schools in Zibo     7     (complete) the digital transformation, with 295 schools establishing smart campuses     8     (equip) with multimedia classrooms.

Sun Yingtao, head of the Zibo Bureau of Education, said that     9     (ensure) that children enjoy high-quality education is the original intention of promoting digital education. “Digital education in Zibo has just begun and there are still many new situations, problems and challenges to deal     10    . In the future, we will accelerate the innovation of digital education application prospects and make every effort to strengthen the city’s digital education ecosystem,” Sun said.