If you haven’t gotten the chance to experience the Lantern Festival in China     1     person, you have another chance. The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival in Franklin Square is back and     2    (bright) than ever. The lanterns will light up Franklin Square from June 21 to August 14 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. with more than 30 larger-than-life brightly coloured displays.

“Today, the Lantern Festival     3    (hold) each year in China. Each major Chinese city has     4    (it) own light show which attracts millions of visitors and tourists. During the Chinese New Year, families go out to view the beautiful lanterns     5    (create) by Chinese artists. Each display tells a legend or symbolizes     6     old Chinese story,” according to a Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival press release.

The last Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival     7    (take) place in 2019, and in 2022 guests saw new performances     8     include Chinese folk dances and the mysterious bianlian (face-changing). There were three 30-minute performances each night of the festival and these performances were free with festival admission.

“One of the     9    (reason) that it is so important to hold this festival again is for Chinatown. We hope that you visit China town before and after the festival and encourage your friends     10    (visit) it,” Amy Needle, CEO and President of Historic Philadelphia, said.

The full moon lights up the sky on the evening of the Lantern Festival. The festival, which falls     1     the 15th day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar, marks the end of more than two weeks of Chinese New Year     2     (celebrate) each year.

Solving “lantern riddles” is among the many popular traditional activities for the festival, which include eating tangyuan, enjoying the full moon, and     3     (lose) in colorful lighted lanterns. These guessing games     4     (refer) to as lantern riddles because they involve riddles     5     (write) on lanterns or on slips of paper attached to lanterns. They often contain messages of great     6     (wise) and good fortune, and give children and others of all ages the opportunity to have fun while practicing language and problem-analyzing skills. A good many of     7     classic riddles connect with Chinese characters, historical figures, literary references, or names of cities and other places in China. People must guess the answer by thinking about the     8     (variety) meanings of the words and phrases that make up the riddle.     9     (basic), a tip may be provided, such as indicating     10     the answer is a person, a place, or a thing.

The 22nd “Meet in Beijing” International Arts Festival     1     (greet) arts lovers in the capital with an Olympic theme as the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games approach.

As a major     2     (culture) event of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, the arts festival will mix Olympic culture     3     arts from around the world. It will cover five major sections—performing arts, visual arts, film screening, urban events     4     Olympic celebration activities. The performing arts section will bring to stage around 100     5     (perform) from 22 counties and regions, both online and offline.

A grand gala (文艺晚会)     6     (title) See You in Beijing will kick off the festival at the Tianqiao Performing Arts Center,     7     is expected to bring traditional performing arts back to life through new stage technologies. Repertoire (节目单) includes Let it Go, and a pipa solo The Winter Tune, which will create     8     immersive visual effect with XR technology.

As part of highlights from international shows, the opera Carmen and the ballet classic La Traviata     9     (screen) at the Tianqiao Performing Arts Center. Other wonderful programs will be broadcast online on major Chinese video platforms     10     (include) Tencent, iQiyi and Youku.

The Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, is observed on January 15th on Chinese lunar calendar. It is the first full moon night in Chinese lunar year,     1    (symbol) harmony, reunion and the coming back of the spring.The Lantern Festival is deemed as a good day for family get-together.

As for the traditions for this festival, just     2     its name indicates, hanging and looking at lanterns is the main tradition. Lanterns of     3    (vary) of shapes and sizes are displayed on trees, or along river banks. Some are in the shapes of butterflies, birds, flowers, and boats, others     4    (shape) like dragon, fruit and animal symbols of that year.   

Another tradition is solving lantern riddles. Thousands of riddles     5    (hang) on lanterns for people to shoot down and solve. The riddles are usually short, wise, and sometimes humorous. The answer     6     a riddle can be a Chinese character, a famous person’s name, a place name or a proverb. This tradition is said     7    (become) a popular game with serious staying power even as social development changes other traditions.

Aside from that, the most important thing to do today is to eat sweet dumplings. In northern China, sweet dumplings made of glutinous rice flour are called “Yuanxiao” while in     8    (south) part they are called “Tangyuan”. Typical sweet dumplings are filled with black sesame sauce, sweetened bean paste, or hawthorn and the round shape of it is a symbol of wholeness, completeness and unity.

The lantern festival is an occasion when the families get together and everyone—young, old, rich and poor     9    (have) fun. Making “ Yuanxiao” today is like a game or     10     activity, so it’s seldom done without a group of friends or family present to help out.

Camping is gaining     1     (popular) as a way for many people in the United States     2     (spend) their vacation. When people camp, they can sleep in a tent or a camper. Some people like to really “rough it” and use no shelter except for a sleeping bag and sleep     3     the stars. Some people drive across the U.S. in     4     is known as a recreational vehicle or RV, which is a trailer. Inside there are beds, a tiny bathroom and a kitchen.

There are campgrounds all over the United States. Many of these campgrounds     5     (equip) with water and electricity so that people can wash dishes and     6     (they) and plug in a radio or their computers. Most campsites also have a fire ring,     7     is a hole in the ground where people can make a fire for roasting food     8     (safe). There usually is also a picnic table for people to eat their meals. Many of these campgrounds provide     9     (share) bathrooms complete with showers. Usually, it is     10     (legal) to camp in a place not designated as an official campsite, meaning you can’t just pitch a tent in a forest.