More than 5 million shared bikes on the Chinese mainland are using positioning and navigation services     1     are provided by the country’s Beidou Navigation Satellite System. These shared bikes have been equipped     2     domestically developed Beidou-based positioning chips. These chips feature high accuracy and sensitivity, and low power consumption, which allow for an easier management for city authorities. Since June 2020, 59 Beidou satellites, including the first four experimental ones,     3     (lift) on the Long March 3-series rockets from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province.

Xiamen, lying in Fujian Province, is a famous coastal city. As far as I’m concerned, Xiamen is very clean and pretty. In that city, we can enjoy the clear sky, the beautiful sea,     1     green tropical plants. As Xiamen is in the southeast of China and close to the sea, it’s neither too cold in winter     2     too hot in summer. The best seasons to go to Xiamen     3    (be) both spring and summer. Besides, there are some famous tourist    4    (site) in Xiamen. And the most beautiful scenic spot is Gulangyu Island. We can visit foreign architectures, nice gardens, beautiful parks, and     5    (tradition) museums there. Once we are in Xiamen, we can’t miss going to Gulangyu Island, or we won’t have     6     good time.

However, in recent years, Xiamen has become a lot     7    (much) modern than it used to be. Nowadays, more and more skyscrapers and shopping malls     8    (build), which make Xiamen a wonderful city for sightseeing and shopping. So I     9    (eager) wish to spend my summer holiday there next time.

Next year if I have enough time and money, I plan     10    (have) a nice sightseeing tour in Xiamen with my close friends. I hope we can spend the happiest time together there.

The Old Summer Palace in Beijing will allow free entry to the public on Sunday, the day     1     marks the 160th anniversary of the burning and massive looting (劫掠) of the palace, in an attempt     2     (remember) history and draw more people into the     3     (memory) place. Also known     4     Yuanmingyuan, the site was once an imperial garden and is now open to the public as a park. An architectural wonder of its age, it was built in the 18th and 19th centuries during the Qing Dynasty (1636—1911). British and French forces     5     (destroy) the place on October 18 and 19, 1860, during the Second Opium War.

In order to allow visitors to explore the Old Summer Palace in     6    (deep), the park has launched the “Old Summer Palace Passport”, which can     7     (purchase) at stores in the park or at Tmall and JD.com stores. Visitors can find seals from the shops near the corresponding     8    (attraction) on the map on the front page of the passport. After collecting all the 51 seals, one from each attraction, visitors can get     9     special seal. “This seal is the symbol of treasure coming into and going out of the Old Summer Palace.     10     (complete) the seal collection is like bringing the Old Summer Palace home,” said a person who works at the park.

The Shoton Festival is one of    1    (important) festivals for ethnic Tibetans. “Sho” means yogurt and “Ton” banquet in the Tibetan language, so the Shoton Festival    2    (call) the “Yogurt Festival.” as well. The seven-day event occurs between the end of the sixth     3     the beginning of the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar.

Originating(起源) from the mid-11th century, the Shoton Festival used to be a religious activity. After 1642, the Drepung Monastery(寺庙),     4     the fifth Dalai Lama, leader of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, lived became the     5    (politics), religious and cultural center of Xizang. Every year on the 30th day of the sixth month, thousands of people would crowd     6     the monastery to present yogurt to the fifth Dalai Lama and asked for     7    (bless). Local Tibetan Opera troupes would also come to perform for him at the monastery. Since then, the Shoton Festival     8    (become) a religious and cultural festival.

During the period of the eighth Dalai Lama    9    (live) in the mid-18th century, the main venue of the Shoton Festival was moved to Norbulingka and ordinary people were allowed     10    (enter) to watch Tibetan Opera performances. From then on, the Shoton Festival became a fixed festival.

Three sites in China˗˗an ancient tea-producing area, a nomadic livestock-rearing region and a rain-fed stone terrace farming system˗˗were formally recognised as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), for their unique ways of using traditional practices and knowledge while maintaining unique biodiversity and ecosystems.

An ancient tea-producing area (中国福建安溪铁观音茶文化系统)

Tea production in Anxi, Fujian, is believed to date from the 10th century, with its most famous tea, Tieguanyin, coming into    1     (exist) in the 18th century. It belongs to the Oolong tea category between green tea and black tea. Local farmers’ unique technique includes wisely managing the natural environment to guarantee the production of     2     exceptional quality tea leaf.

A Grassland nomadic system (中国内蒙古阿鲁科尔沁草原游牧系统)

The Ar Horqin grassland nomadic system in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region has a variety of ecosystems, such as forests, grasslands, wetlands, rivers with important ecological     3     (function). To adapt     4     the fragile grassland environment, the ancestors of today’s herders (牧民) adopted a typical nomadic lifestyle. By    5     (constant) moving grasslands, they ensured the protection of vegetation (植被) and full use of water resources,    6    (avoid) soil degradation (恶化) and overgrazing and bringing a steady supply of livestock products.

The Shexian Dryland Stone Terraced System (中国河北涉县旱作石堰梯田系统)

The Shexian Dryland Stone Terraced System in Hebei, is a rain-fed agricultural system dating back to the 13th century.     7     (surround) with mountains, the stone terraced fields still play an important role in making     8     possible to farm on the steep slopes. The county is well-known for corn, soybean and other agricultural and forestry products. With this variety of crops and farming techniques, local communities     9    (manage) to guarantee their food security and well-being over hundreds of years, while shaping a remarkable landscape     10     bears witness to their ability to live with their environment.

As a foreigner, I think life in China is amazing, but     1     sometimes worries me is just the     2    (absent) of manned payment counters. The first time I scanned barcodes (条形码) on goods, I ended up paying 40 yuan more. I went to look for a salesperson in the store, but she couldn’t explain how     3     (get) my money back, despite our     4     (use) translation apps.

I didn’t go to that store any     5     (much) until a Chinese speaking friend helped me claim     6     money, which I paid for goods by mistake. Then I went back to buy things from there again.

However, I ran into trouble one day after a software was upgraded. I was unable to include the hot chocolate after scanning the code of other     7     (buy) things. I again went to seek help     8     the salesperson. She helped me find it, clicking an icon (图标) that showed 5 yuan. “That’s 5 yuan?” I asked. I didn’t know why I     9     (assume) it cost 3.50 yuan before. Had there been a manned counter, I would have escaped this embarrassment. Before rushing away, I was spared further shame when the salesperson said, “It doesn’t matter.” But now, I     10     (gradual) feel the convenience of mobile payment and fall in love with shopping in China.

Could the Moon Help Fuel the Earth?

Fossil fuels have been powering the earth for over 200 years, but reserves of coal, crude oil (原油) and natural gas may run out one day.

The long-term solution may lie nearly half of a million kilometers away on the moon. It contains large quantities of helium-3 (氦-3), a form of gas that could     1     (potential) be extracted (提炼), brought back to the earth and used as fuel without damaging the environment.

“The real     2     (attract) of helium-3 is that it is a nuclear process,     3     doesn’t release any greenhouse gases,” said     4     engineering professor. “That would be the     5     (big) advantage-nuclear power without nuclear waste, and it would be a goal for the earth.”

Present on the earth in small quantities, helium-3     6     (use) in medical diagnostics (医学诊断), but it is yet to be used as a source of energy. However, there are large enough quantities of helium-3 on the moon to power the earth for a thousand of years or so and provide the earth     7     all of the energy.

But     8     (bring) helium-3 back to the earth is a complex process. The gas,     9     (find) in the moon’s soil, would need to be heated to 600℃ before being extracted and transported back to be turned into fuel in nuclear power     10     (plant). Even so, the project is beginning to interest some of the world’s leading nations in the environmental and economic potential of helium-3.

Several months ago, a Chinese volunteer Chen Mengying and her housemate Stacey Klinge from the United States had been making posters in their community in Shanghai. Posters     1     (feature) a character that looks like the Disney robot Baymax have been popular on the Internet, and got much praise from citizens for lightening the mood during the epidemic.

Chen Mengying, 32, and her American housemate Stacey Klinge, 33,     2     live in Difang Tianyuan housing community of Putuo district in Shanghai,     3     (come) up with the posters after realizing how tense the mood in their community had become because     4     the lockdown challenge. According to Chen and Klinge, their community, which     5     (be) under closed-loop (闭环) management since April 1, 2022, had problems shopping for daily necessities, and this led to several     6     (disagree) between residents and community management.

Eager     7     (help) lighten the mood, the two tried to spread some joy with their artistic skills.

Klinge said she was     8     (total) confused with her housemate’s suggestion to create a character based on dabai. Chen said she was thinking about Baymax from the animated film Big Hero 6. Seeing Baymax and Chinese pandemic workers both play the role of protectors in their worlds, the two decided to use     9     character for their posters. Their posters, which contained the     10     (late) pandemic measures and announcements for residents, have helped their weChat group full of a sense of optimism.

You know how disappointed it can be if you are not able to communicate with the     1     (local) when you are traveling, and you might think learning a new language is a tough task.

But fear not! We figured out     2     (exact) how many words you need to learn to speak a language well.

A group linguists have created a test     3     (see) how many words you know in English. There are 200,000+ words in the English language, but the test only     4     (involve) 50 0f them. You may not understand all of the 50 words. The linguists believe that if you multiply     5     number of words out of 50 that you understand by 500, you’ll almost know your English vocabulary.

A professor has found that native speakers of a language know 15,000 to 20,000 lemmas (词目).   A lemma     6     (compose) of a root word (say: walk) and all of     7     (it) inflections (walked, walking, walker, etc. ). But if you learn a new language, you can never understand 15,000 lemmas.

He discourages people from learning all of the words in a language. There are 800 to 10,000 lemmas     8     are used most frequently in the language. He advises people to focus     9     these lemmas. With these lemmas, people can understand 75% of the language.   And they will be     10     (confidence) to start a conversation, order at a restaurant, and deal with other daily communication.

Besides the T-shirts, toys and trophies at the Qatar World Cup, which opened on Sunday, less visible Chinese     1     (element) include irrigation and grass maintenance technology from Ningxia University.

    2     the spray and drip watering methods, the new irrigation technology employed at this year’s World Cup soccer pitch uses wind and solar power     3     (lift) and transfer the water underground and the internet of things to realize smart control of watering.

The more precise technology—developed by Ningxia University in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region over the past decade—    4     (reduce) the water waste that accompanies     5     (tradition) irrigation.

In August 2020, the university reached     6     cooperation agreement with the Qatari government on the technology,     7     has more than 30 patents in China.

Under the agreement, researchers from the university would cooperate with Qatar on projects     8     (cover) food, environmental protection and water-efficient afforestation (人工造林) and agriculture.

In recent years, Ningxia     9     (expand) its cooperation with Arab countries in water-saving technology. For instance, the university has established two research labs that     10     (dedicate) to water-saving irrigation technology in Oman and Egypt.