Trends popular among the youth such as “China chic” and the growing influence of young consumers have driven the development of hanfu industry in recent years. Among the various     1     (style), the horse face skirt has emerged as the most popular item.

    2    (combine) classical elegance with modern simplicity, the horse face skirt is said to perfectly suit the contemporary culture and lifestyle of young people, making     3     a fashion icon (标志). This trend has gained popularity in Luoyang city, Central China’s Henan province,    4     numerous performers recently showcased these beautiful skirts in their acts, with many visitors alike     5     (dress) in the elegant horse face skirts. In Caoxian county of Shandong province, one of the country’s hanfu production and sales centers, the sales     6     the horse face skirts during last Spring Festival holiday     7     (increase) dozens of times compared to usual volumes. Actually, the skirt has become a very popular     8     (choose) for gifts.

The current popularity of hanfu in the country is believed     9     (indicate) more than a fashion trend; it     10     (represent) a deeper connection to Chinese tradition and cultural identity.

Stamp collecting has recently emerged as a fresh and innovative approach for young people to document their travels. Instead of     1     (mere) taking photos with famous landmarks,     2     (enthusiast) of this new trend eagerly explore every corner of various attractions, museums, and shops during their journeys in search     3     various stamps. They imprint the stamps, usually with single or multicolored pictures of the scenic spots or images of famous people on postcards or in travel journals, thus     4     (create) a unique memory of their travels. Free or paid, each stamp serves as a representation of the visitor’s     5     (present) at that specific location, becoming a     6     (cherish) part of their memories.

Shi Junchu, 29, from Yunnan province, came across stamp collecting three years ago while traveling in Wuhan, Hubei province. She found it to be a better way of commemorating her travels    7     purchasing souvenirs (纪念品), so she carries a specially prepared notebook for collecting stamps whenever she travels.

“Stamp collecting has added more meaning to my travels. Turning the pages of those notebooks     8     (feel) somewhat like looking at photos. I can recall     9     happened back then just by turning to a page the delicious food I had, and the fun experiences I enjoyed, she said.

She currently operates a private museum in Kunming. Since last October, she has also introduced stamp-collecting services     10    (encourage) more visitors to explore the museum.

Yangko, a rural Chinese folk dance with a history     1     (date) back thousands of years, originates from farming life in ancient times. The dance relates to sacrifices to the farmland god when people prayed for a good harvest. As time passed, the     2     (origin) dance developed, taking in various artistic forms and skills, including opera, acrobatics and martial arts, and eventually turned into the type of Yangko     3     is seen today.

    4     (preserve) this Chinese folk culture, it was included in the inaugural(首批的)items of national intangible cultural heritage in 2006. It is     5     (common) performed in northern China during festivals, especially for Chinese New Year and the Lantern Festival. Performances or competitions     6     (organize) in towns and villages to express people’s joy and their hope for a better life.

Yangko employs drumming, Suona, dancing and singing. Content is based     7     folk stories and legends. Costumes are richly-colored and opera-styled, enabling     8     (character) to be easily identified. During a performance, the actors will dance and sing, following lively rhythms. Highly. skilled and interesting acts such as stilt(高跷)walking     9     carrying a wedding sedan chair(花轿)are also included. As a part of traditional Chinese culture, Yangko     10     (concentrate) the group consciousness of the Chinese people, and has outstanding historical and cultural value.

It is believed that Chinese knotting, also known as zhongguojie, originated for recording information and exchanging messages     1     writing was invented. Over the past thousands of years, knots     2     (play) an important part in the life of Chinese.    3     (initial), Chinese knots acted as good -luck charms to drive away evil spirits. Today, Chinese knots are widely used to decorate homes during festivities.

A major characteristic of Chinese knots is that they are often tied from a single continuous length of string. The knots are commonly named     4     the shape it takes. Chinese knots are created in a     5     (various) of colors such as gold, green, blue, or black, though the most commonly used color is red,    6     symbolizes good luck and prosperity.

Crafting the Chinese knot is a three-step process     7     (involve) tying knots, tightening them and adding the finishing touches. The knots     8     (pull) tightly together and are strong enough to be used for binding or wrapping, making them very practical.

Today, most of such knots are often mass manufactured in factories. Skilled knot artists weave complex knots that you might see     9     (sell) as souvenirs that you can take back with you. If you have time, why not try your hand at it? Perhaps these age-old charms can add     10     touch of good luck to your daily life?

The Chinese zodiac, also known as Sheng Xiao or Shu Xiang, is a     1     (repeat) circle of 12 years. Each year     2     (represent) by an animal. Chinese New Year 2024 is a year of the Loong.

Chinese Zodiac Loong is the     3     (five) of the 12 zodiac animals, following the Rot, Ox, Tiger and Rabbit. People born in the year of the Loong — an animal no one knows if it existed in real world—are enveloped in mystery, and very charming.

Back in the pre-Qin period over 2,200 years ago, there was already the Chinese zodiac signs theory. So it is     4     (reason) that Chinese Zodiac years are in agreement with the beginning of Chinese Lunar New Year. If you have an idea of Lunar Calendar, you will know     5     Chinese zodiac year often starts from late January and ends in middle February of the next year.

Therefore, to see what your Chinese zodiac animal is,     6     to confirm whether you are a Loong, you need to change your Gregorian calendar birthday to Lunar Calendar of the year you were born. For example, if you were born     7     February 16, 1988 (a year of the Loong), the Lunar New Year’s Eve, which was very close to Loong year, but you are a Rabbit.

    8     is also worth mentioning is that if two people were born in the different Loong years, they may have very different     9     (personality), and horoscope, due to the Five Elements, which are Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Each element     10     (come) in a 60-year cycle.

Falling on December 7 this year, Major Snow, also known as “Da Xue” in Chinese, is the     1     (three) solar term of winter. As its name implies, Major Snow reflects the phenomenon of precipitation,     2     (indicate) the time and intensity of snowfall.

Plum blossoms usually flower in mid-to-late December in some southern cities of China, and sometimes bloom even     3     (early). The plum blossom, along with the pine and bamboo,     4     (consider) one of the Three Friends of Winter.

In some areas, eating lamb is excellent for nourishing the body, promoting blood circulation and providing protection     5     the cold. In     6     (add), people often eat lotus (莲花) root,     7     can clear away heat in the chest and prevent dryness-heat.

During Major Snow, it is suggested that people     8     (keep) their feet clean and dry, wash and massage their feet every day     9     (stay) healthy, and try to reduce outdoor activities. Also, drinking a bowl of warm porridge in the morning is     10     excellent way to nourish the stomach.

In 1976, Diego was one of the only 15 Hood Island tortoises     1     (know) to be alive. So the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) began a program to raise their     2     (number).

Several Hood Island tortoises were brought to     3     special enclosed area on Santa Cruz island,     4     young tortoises could be raised and cared for in a protected area. At the time, Diego had been living in a zoo in California for about 30 years. When scientists realized he was a Hood Island tortoise, he was returned to take part     5     the program. For over 40 years, the program created young tortoises, which were released on Española island.

The program turned out to be a huge success, and Diego     6     (play) a large part in the positive results. Now there are     7     (near) 2,000 Hood Island tortoises alive. Diego     8     (believe) to be responsible for about 40% of them. Now scientists aren’t so     9     (worry) that the Hood Island tortoises might be wiped out. Diego and 14 other tortoises have now been returned to Española, where they’ve joined the other tortoises     10     (live) in the wild.

The construction of the main structure of Xiongan railway station’s west section     1     (complete) last Friday, according to sources from the China Railway. It marks an important step in the construction of the intercity railroad     2     (link) Beijing and Xiongan New Area in North China’s Hebei Province,     3     is set to be operational by the end of this year.

With a total construction area of 475,000 square meters, the Xiongan railway station is the biggest one among the five     4     (station) along the 92.4-kilometre-long intercity railroad. The project of the railway station will make Xiongan well     5     (connect) with the central, southern, northwestern, southwestern and northeastern parts of China.

In a master development plan for Xiongan New Area published in 2018, the Chinese government described the new area     6     having national significance following the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and Shanghai Pudong New Area. About 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing, Xiongan New Area, known as China’s “city of the future”, has been designed     7     (become) a zone for innovation, a digital city and an     8     (energy) and business-friendly area. According to the plan, by the middle of the century, Xiongan New Area, will become a significant part of the world-class Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city group,     9     (effective) performing Beijing’s non-capital functions and providing     10     Chinese solution to big city malaise (不适).

It’s odd — we’re always talking about the healthy work-life balance and know that working long hours can lead to stress, anxiety, and    1     (depress). Yet, we continue to devote more and more time     2     our jobs. In fact, research shows that 80% of workers answer emails and return phone calls after hours.

People believe long hours on the job to be proof of their work ethic (职业道德). And no matter how much we’d like     3     (think) there’s a direct correlation between hours worked and results produced, it might not actually be the case. Quite the contrary — doing overtime     4     (find) to lead to lower productivity.

A study     5     was made by Ford Motor Company in the 1990s already showed that every additional 20 hours of work could only increase productivity     6     (temporary) before it drops. Another research indicates that working more     7     48 hours a week is associated with significant declines in productivity, more     8     (mistake), and more mental health problems.

Clearly, doing overtime     9     (be) not a sustainable way of working, and that’s why it’s time for us to rid     10     (us) of the always-on mentality. The key is not to add more working hours to your day but to increase efficiency during your working hours. But how can we achieve this?

China National Space Administration (CNSA) is neither the oldest nor the     1     (big) space agency in the world but it’s about     2     (achieve) a feat that has been accomplished only by few in the past, establishing a     3     (full)functional global navigation satellite system or GNSS.

The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is China’s premier satellite navigation system which is merely managed by CNSA. It has been a commercial     4     (succeed)in China. According to China Daily, BDS     5     (help) various private and state-owned firms like China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp and AutoNavi Holdings Ltd generate well over $31 billion (200 billion yuan) in revenues in 2015. The article also pointed out this figure could reach up to 400 billion yuan by the year 2020.

Since 2013 many mobile phone manufacturers in China     6     (make) their products compatible (兼容的) with the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System. Millions of commercial vehicles and thousands of     7     (fish) ships have also been equipped with BDS     8     it’s more likely to gain customer base in the coming years.     9     you may know, more and more mobile devices now come with both GPS and GLONASS technology     10     better coverage and location services, so it’s probably a matter of time when BeiDou will also get into the mix.