Insect numbers have decreased by half in some parts of the world due     1     climate change and intensive agriculture (集约型农业), a study has found.

Lead researcher, Dr. Charlie Outhwaite of University College London, said     2     (lose) insect populations could be harmful not only to the natural environment, but also to human health and food security,     3     (particular) with losses of pollinators (传粉昆虫).

However, scientific data gives     4     mixed picture, with some types of insects showing sharp declines, while others are staying steady. In the latest study, the researchers pulled together data on the range and number of nearly, 20, 000 insect species, including bees, ants, etc, at 6,000 different     5     (place).

In areas with intensive agriculture and severe warming, insect numbers     6     (reduce) by 49% so far and the number of different species by 27%, compared with untouched areas       7     have avoided the most severe effects of climate change, according to the research     8     (publish) in Nature. But the researchers said there was some cause for hope in that setting aside areas of land for nature created a shelter for insects, which need shade     9     (survive) in hot weather.

“Some     10     (care) management of agricultural areas such as preserving natural habitats near farmland, may help ensure vital insects can still grow well,” said Dr. Charlie Outhwaite.

Wearing Hanfu and sitting in front of a Chinese zither (筝), Peng Jingxuan, a young Chinese student, moves her fingers gently along the strings on a street in Paris, France.

Peng has shared more than 200     1     (origin) videos online, with the most popular one featuring the theme song of the movie A Chinese Ghost Story viewed over 16.61 million times. “I love how she’s representing her culture in a     2     (set) where people are not familiar with it. You can tell she’s proud of her background and her music,” one of her fans commented.

Chinese zither (筝), or guzheng, is an ancient musical instrument with 21-26 strings and a length of 1.63 meters. Peng     3     (fall) in love with it when young and has been practicing it for years. Hardly finding Chinese instruments     4     (play) on the streets in Paris, she took along her guzheng     5     began her street performances to sharpen her skills. The more she performed, the more she felt a greater sense of responsibility     6     (spread) Chinese music and culture.

Considering her audience’s     7     (unfamiliar) with Chinese songs, Peng made adaptations, for     8     she received positive responses. She also performed Western pop songs that local people could relate     9    , entertaining them with beautiful melodies in a     10     (refresh) style.

Heading off to the train station straight after work on Friday, checking in     1     least eight tourism attractions in one day for three continuous days, hopping on a late-night train and returning to work or lectures at 8 o’clock the next morning — the travel practice of visiting as many sights as possible within the     2    (short)period of time is known as “Special Forces” style tourism. Lately, the style     3    (become)a popular trend among China’s young tourists,     4    (allow)them to make the most of their short holiday breaks.

Last May Day witnessed the peak of this intense travel practice, as the number of tourists reached a record high of 200 million. The hashtag(标签) “Young People’s Special Force Style Tourism during May Day Holiday” enjoyed more than 3. 3 million     5    (view)on China’s largest micro-blogging site Weibo.

Many people flocked to the online space to share     6    (they)experiences of “Special Force” style tourism including two vloggers,     7     documented the three-day climbing experience of Wuyue. During the trip, they covered a distance of 4,600 kilometers with less than 10 hours of sleep.

This     8    (physical)demanding travel becomes a trend because of a video showing a group of university students travelling to the Tibetan capital Lhasa by taking an old-fashioned train. Although     9     entire journey took them 54 hours with only hard seats available, students     10    (see)to be in high spirits chanting “Youth is priceless, and hard seats take us straight to Lhasa!”

An old man called Li Yubao living in a remote rural area asked his grandson on the phone what gifts he wanted for     1     Spring Festival. His grandson said a word. He     2     (hear) the word “Pegga” for the first time, when he talked with his grandson through the cellphone. He didn’t know what Pegga was. So grandpa Li began an interesting journey     3     (discover) what Pegga was.

Grandpa Li asked his neighbors,     4     nobody around knew the answer. Grandpa Li didn’t give up. He continued     5     (ask) more people in the village     6     (patient). He got a brief answer from a local woman,     7     used to work in the city. She explained to him that “Pegga” was a pink pig in the cartoon. With     8     (imagine), he created a pink “Pegga” model made     9     irons and steels. It amazed his grandson. Although the Pegga made by grandpa Li was not the exact one, his family     10     (member) were moved deeply. They all loved the gift “Pegga”.

Representing wisdom, power, and wealth, dragons are respected and honored in Chinese culture, which are said     1     (scare) away evil spirits and bad luck. In ancient times, when there was no rain for a long time, people not only prayed     2     rain with a dragon dance,     3     prayed against insect attacks after planting.

If you’ve seen a Chinese New Year parade (庆祝游行), you’ve probably seen a colorful dragon     4     (wind) its way down the street. The dragon dance,     5     time-honored traditional folk activity in Chinese culture dating back to the Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago,     6     (observe) during festive celebrations much like the lion dance. Dragon dances can be performed in different ways with dragon costumes of different colors.     7     (specific), as many as 9 to 15 dancers use long poles to guide the dragon’s head and snakelike body, the tricks of     8     are often jumps or moves that make the dragon turn in     9     (variety) of ways.

The culture of dragon and lion dances has spread beyond China to southeast Asia, and even to some regions with significant Chinese communities in Europe, America, Australia, and New Zealand. It has become a     10     (substance) symbol of Chinese culture.