Yours,

Li Hua

Beijing Opera,     1    (know) as China’s national opera, also called Peking Opera, which originated in the late 18th century, is a combination of music, dance, art and acrobatics (杂技). It is the most influential and representative of all operas in China. It is called Beijing Opera because it is formed in Beijing. Beijing Opera has    2     history of 200 years and its origin can    3    (dated) back to old local operas, especially Anhui Opera,    4    was very popular in northern China in the 18th century. In 1790，the first Anhui Opera performance     5    (hold) in Beijing to celebrate the Emperor’s birthday.

Later, some other Anhui Opera troupes (班子) continue performing in Beijing. Anhui Opera was easy    6    (move) and good at absorbing the acting styles of other types of operas. Beijing accumulated many local operas,     7    (make) Anhui Opera improve quickly.

    8    the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, after the marriage for 10 years, Beijing Opera finally formed, and became the    9     (big)of all Operas in China. We can    10    (honest) say that Beijing Opera is the most important opera in China.

5 . Cast Away is a heart-warming movie. Chuck,________by Tom Hanks, is the hero. He is a very successful________. He is always so________that he has little time for his family. He keeps going all over the world for business talks. One day while Chuck is________across the Pacific Ocean, the engine of his plane suddenly stops ________his plane crashes. But Chuck survives the crash and lands on a lonely island.

Chuck has to learn to make a________all alone on the island. He has to learn how to collect water, hunt for food and make fire. Perhaps the biggest________is how to live without friends and a family. In order to survive Chunk develops a friendship with an unusual friend — a volleyball he calls Wilson.

Chuck learns a lot about himself when he is________on the island. He realizes that he hasn’t been a very________husband and father because he has always been away. During his five years on the island, Chuck starts to________Wilson. He talks to him and________with him as a family member. Chuck feels so happy because he can________his happiness and sorrow with him. He has found out that it is important to have someone to care about. He has also________that family is about feelings and that he must give as much as he takes.

The________we can learn from Chuck is that loneliness helps us________who we are, why we need each other and what we can do for each other.

6 . Traveling without a map in different countries, I find out about different “styles” of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”

Foreign tourists are often confused in Japan because most streets there don’t have name signs; in Japan, people use landmarks (地标) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”

People in Los Angeles, the US, have no idea of distance on the map: they measure (衡量) distance by time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You don’t understand completely, “Yes, but how many miles away is it, please?” To this question you won’t get an answer, because most probably they don’t know it themselves. People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because tourists seldom understand the Greek language. Instead, a Greek will often say, “Follow me.” Then he’ll lead you through the streets of the city to the post office.

Sometimes a person doesn’t know the answer to your question. What happens in the situation? A New Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People there believe that “I don’t” is impolite. They usually give an answer, but often a wrong one. So a tourist can get lost very easily in Yucatan! However, one thing will help you everywhere in the world. It’s body language.

7 . Marie, an 85-year-old woman who had been bedridden (卧床不起的) for 10 years, was granted her biggest wish to look at the sea again with help from East Coast Radio and Netcare 911.

About 10 years ago, Marie had a failed back operation which left her bedridden. She then had to stay in an old age home and needed constant care. “The only time she could go outside was when she was taken to hospital over the years,” said Lucy, Marie’s daughter.

Lucy wrote an e-mail to East Coast Radio in April asking them to help her take her mother to the beach because it was her biggest wish. She told them that her mother just wanted to go and look at the sea and go back again to the home, that’s all. East Coast Radio did an interview with the family and agreed to make her wish come true.

Two weeks later, a team of Netcare 911 paramedics (医护人员) fetched Marie from the old age home and took her in a stretcher to Amanzimtoti Beach. One of the paramedics found a bucket and collected some sea water for her to put her hands in. She also got a chance to touch the sand.

Marie said, “Thanks to these kind people, I could get to the beach again, which may be the last time for me.”

8 . Wolf Warrior II (《战狼II》), a movie that made box office history in China in 2017, tells the story of how the Chinese government successfully rescues overseas Chinese citizens in Africa.

At the end of the film, there is one line that stands out: “When you meet with danger in a foreign land, do not give up! Please remember, at your back stands a strong motherland.”

The movie sends the message that overseas Chinese will always receive timely help from China. But in the future, some headstrong (任性的) citizens will not get this help for free, People’s Daily reported.

On March 26, the Ministry of Foreign Affaires (MFA) worked out a draft for regulations on consular (领事的) protection and assistance, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The draft says that those who insist on travelling to dangerous places without considering warnings given by the MFA will not be able to get free rescue services.

For example, the MFA recently release a travel advisory (安全提醒) saying that Chinese citizens should avoid travelling to Maldives. Chinese who travel there and run into trouble may still ask for aid from the Chinese Embassy. But they will have to cover the cost of their rescue later.

In fact, this is a common international practice, People’s Daily said. Countries like the US, the UK and Canada have similar regulations.

According to the MFA, over 130 million Chinese mainlanders travelled overseas in 2017. The MFA issued over1000 travel advisories to advise Chinese citizens of the risks they may face when travelling.

9 . The best travel movies of all time

Movie theaters around the world have closed during the coronavirus outbreak. Fortunately, there’s never been a better time to catch up on classic movies. Below, read our picks for the best travel movies:

Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

It’s one of the most satisfying films of director Wes Anderson’s works. Set in an imaginary country East European Republic of Zubrowka in the 1930s, the plot is centered on a murder case filled with stolen art and prison escapes.

Though the hotel doesn’t actually exist, much of the film was shot in the beautiful German town of Goerlitz, famous for its medieval streets.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)

When Harry Potter runs through a column at King’s Cross railway station in London to get to Platform 9¾, we know it isn’t real. And yet we want to visit.

The movie’s locations are inspired by real places, as graduates of English private schools will tell you.

Roman Holiday (1953)

Equal parts bittersweet and fascinating, 1953 fairy tale “Roman Holiday” features a princess (Audrey Hepburn) and a newspaperman (Gregory Peck) in a romantic film that has them wandering the Spanish Steps and breaking into the streets of Rome on a Vespa.

In a time when those streets are quiet, the film might serve as a reminder that they will eventually spring to life again.