I’ve been studying English for 6 years. At first, I had trouble     1     (speak) it fluently. When I     2     (lose) heart, my school adviser recommended that I sign up     3     a summer camp     4     children all spoke English and I could practice a lot. Now I can actually communicate with people and I am looking forward to     5     (find) many other methods to make learning English fun.

In 1910, Chairman Mao had his first contact with English when he entered     1     new-style school. By 1913, when he enrolled in Hunan First Normal School, formal English courses     2     (be) already in place.

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chairman Mao seized opportunities to practice spoken English when interacting with foreign journalists. Despite inaccurate pronunciation, he had managed     3     (grasp) some simple English expressions.

In the Liberation War period, Chairman Mao’s English communication skills improved to con duct basic daily dialogues. He also     4     (create) translated “paper tiger” into English.

After the establishment of New China, in 1954, Mao began to systematically self-study English     5     the aim of directly reading original works. He insisted in reading English newspapers and magazines, learning vocabulary, as well as making comments while reading the     6     (origin).

In his later years of illness, Chairman Mao persisted in learning English and used simple English vocabulary to express     7     (he) when meeting foreign guests. Throughout his life, Chairman Mao never ceased     8     (learn) English, which witnessed different stages of his revolutionary career.     9     (drive) by determination and practical needs, Chairman Mao’s progress in English demonstrated the spirit of struggle     10     defines a visionary leader.

The 13th United Nations Chinese Language Day under the theme of “Chinese Language: Together for a Bright Future” has taken place,    1    includes a series of events in celebration of the third International Chinese Language Day. Beijing Dance Academy     2    (launch) an online event to mark the day on April 20, featuring six original dance works of different    3    (style), such as ballet, contemporary dance and classic Chinese dance.

Six art schools from five countries joined in the online event with dance works     4     (specific) created for the special occasion. One of the highlights is     5    new dance piece, titled Tong, or Together, which was created and performed by Beijing Dance Academy and dancers from Brazil, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Poland. It was inspired by the classic Confucius philosophy of datong,     6     (refer) to great unity and grand harmony.

Language Days at the United Nations seek    7     (promote) equal use of all six official languages throughout the organization as well as to celebrate multilingualism and cultural     8    (diverse). Under the initiative, UN duty stations around the world celebrate six separate days, each devoted     9       one of the organizations’ six official languages. The date for the Chinese day     10     (select) from Grain Rain, which is the sixth of 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese calendars.

Spoken Chinese consisted of a number of Chinese dialects(方言) throughout history. In the Ming Dynasty, standard Mandarin was nationalized. Even so,     1    was not until the Republic of China era in the 1910s that there were some noticeable results in     2    (promote) a common unified language in China.

The ancient written standard was Classical Chinese and it was used for thousands of years. However, it     3    (reserve) mostly for scholars and intellectuals. Only after the May 4th Movement did the push for Vernacular Chinese begin. This allowed common     4     (citizen) to read since it was modeled after the linguistics and phonology of a spoken language.

Despite the difficulty in mastering it, Classical Chinese remains     5    (extreme) important in the world heritage of languages. Classical Chinese’s birth is related     6    the beginning of astronomy(天文学), the connection with higher spirits through divination(占卜) and the formation of several Books of Changes,     7    most famous being the one of the Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, Chinese is packed with great meaning and     8     (wise). It is not only a code or a tool, but a language     9    gives light and guidance when     10    (receive) in a proper way. Classical Chinese has been the cultural backbone of all the great philosophies, spiritualities, and even arts not just in China but all over Asia.

It’s said that the Chinese characters were invented by Cangjie. They were deciphered (破译) in the Song Dynasty     1     whether these are the correct answers is still debatable.

In his life Cangjie observed mountains and rivers, footprints of birds and beasts, as well as shapes of plants and objects. Inspired by these, Cangjie invented various symbols     2     (base) on the shapes and     3     (appear) of different things and named them zi (character). These most ancient Chinese pictographs (象形文字) have ended the time     4     people tied knots to record their lives.

According to the Han Dynasty’s Chinese dictionary Shuo Wen Jie Zi, Cangjie wrote two scrolls, which     5     (lose) during wars in the Sui Dynasty.

Scholars in contemporary times tend     6     (believe) it is probably a beautiful tale that Cangjie invented the Chinese characters alone. Many Chinese characters actually came into being before Cangjie. He is more like the one who     7     (collect) Chinese characters. Chinese ancestors accumulated and developed the Chinese characters, updating them through hundreds of years, during which time the Chinese characters evolved from oracle bone script     8     bronze script, seal script, clerical script, and     9     (final) to standard script. Nowadays Chinese people commonly use the standard script, whose     10     (tradition) version was gradually simplified and modernized.

Blue talk is language or a topic not fit for polite conversation. It is     1     (typical) charactered by the use of words which are considered profane (亵渎的) and discussions of topics which are considered offensive (冒犯的). What can be considered as blue talk often changes,     2     (depend) on the culture and the company one is keeping. As a general rule, if one is not sure whether or not something will be considered offensive, it is better to remain in complete     3     (silent).

The use of “blue” to describe something profane     4     (date) from around the 1800s, but its origins are a bit unclear.     5     we know for sure is that people in the USA were certainly referencing blue talk by the 1840s and the word spread to     6     English-speaking corners of the world very quickly. As time goes by, the rules about acceptable conversation have changed greatly; at one time, for example, few women     7     (allow) to participate in     8     (politics) discussion, but currently they run for President.

Different people have different values, especially when it comes to language. Topics or words which are     9     little importance to some people may be deeply offensive to others.     10     (deal) with social situations more easily, it is necessary for us to stay sensitive all the time when talking.

Pooling wisdom of the people breeds success

Chinese idiom is one of the priceless legacies deeply rooted in traditional culture, making Chinese language more     1     (power), more functional and thus, more fascinating.

Pooling collective wisdom or “Ji Si Guang Yi”, one of Chinese     2     (idiom), can better ensure success, reminding people to humbly listen to others’ advice     3     they make major decisions. The idea was first proposed by Zhuge Liang,     4     renowned military strategist during the Three Kingdom Period (220-280). “One who     5     (hold) office should pool the ideas and wisdom of the people and     6     (extensive) draw on all well-intended and useful views,” wrote Zhuge Liang in his article, “Instructions to Subjects and Officials.”

Today, the expression     7     (develop) into an effective way to improve working efficiency and show respect for the opinions of the masses. All the opinions and ideas     8     (collect) from others can give the decision maker a more comprehensive picture of the current situation and help him or her make a correct decision.

Listening humbly to others’ opinions, especially those     9     differ from one’s own, can help one improve the initiative, wisdom and power of the masses. The method has been adopted by the Chinese people in their decision-making in daily life     10     (secure) success.

The term “China-Chic” characterizes the rise of China’s native fashion trends. It has expanded the concept of “Made in China,”     1     is usually regarded as the assurance of the quality of products.

In recent years, “Made in China” has     2     (increasing) been recognized as the representation of Chinese culture     3     (offer) by homegrown Chinese brands, or simply “China -Chic.”

The initial     4    (adopt) of the term “China -Chic” was similar to “Brit Style,” which represents a unique fashion trend mainly defined by the country’s differentiating cultural     5     (element).

Designers in the fashion industry were     6     first to feature traditional Chinese patterns and characters, garment textiles and crafting technique in     7     (they) newest collections. The eye-catching colors and styles created a visual feast that many have never seen before, quickly     8    (turn) the collections into best sellers.

Under such influence, young people gradually     9     (shift) their attention from pop culture imported from Japan, Korea and the West and started to develop interest     10     traditional Chinese art and literature, practicing Chinese calligraphy and musical instrument, such as Guzheng.