During China’s dynastic period, emperors planned the city of Beijing     1     arranged the residential areas according to social classes. The term “hutong”,     2     (original)meaning “water well” in Mongolian, appeared first during the Yuan Dynasty.

In the Ming Dynasty, the center was the Forbidden City,     3     (surround)in concentric(同心的)circles by the Inner City and Outer City. Citizens of higher social classes     4     (permit)to live closer to the center of the circles. The large siheyuan of these high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen often     5     (feature)beautifully carved and painted roof beams and pillars(柱子). The hutongs they formed were orderly, lined by     6     (space)homes and walled gardens. Farther from the center lived the commoners and laborers. Their siheyuan were far smaller in scale and     7     (simple)in design and decoration, and the hutongs were narrower.

Hutongs represent an important cultural element of the city of Beijing. Thanks to Beijing’s long history     8     capital of China, almost every hutong has its stories, and some are even associated with historic     9     (event). In contrast to the court life and upper-class culture represented by the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven, the hutongs reflect     10     culture of grassroots Beijingers.

The Chinese couplet (对联) refers to two poetic lines obeying certain rules, often written on red paper for     1     (appreciate).

As a form of Chinese literature, the couplet     2     (vary) in content and style. Some express people’s love to their motherland, some describe the beauty of nature,     3     some convey best wishes for the coming year.

Chinese couplets originated in the Five Dynasties, and     4     (become) ubiquitous (无处不在) in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was a custom for people     5     (hang) peach wood charms to drive away evil spirits during the Spring Festival. Nowadays, couplets are used     6     a similar way.

It was said that the     7     (early) couplet was written by Meng Xu, king of Houshu State and it was     8     (extreme) popular in the Northern Song Dynasty. Since the Ming Dynasty, to write couplets     9     (regard) as a mark of the cultured life of scholars.

The couplet has two equal-length lines. However,     10       number of characters in each line can be from four to seven or more. The first and the second lines have opposite tone patterns. The last character of the first line is of an oblique tone (仄声), and its opposite in the second line, of a level tone (平声).

Many people around the world may know that paper is one of the Four Great Inventions of ancient Chinese civilization,    1    few would know that more than 1,500 years ago, ancient Chinese craftsmen invented a new type of paper,    2    was called Xuan paper and used mainly for writing and painting.

Xuan paper was first made in ancient Xuan Prefecture, now    3    (know) as Jingxian County in Anhui Province. The traditional process of making Xuan paper is    4     (extreme) demanding and involves over 100 steps. The whole process can take as long as two years    5    (complete), and the skills have been passed down for    6    (generation).

Xuan paper is highly water absorbent, making it a perfect medium for conveying artistic effect in both Chinese calligraphy and ink wash painting. In addition, Xuan paper    7    (design) to be able to last for more than 1,000 years and still keep the freshness of the ink and color on it.

Today in Jingxian County, there    8     (be) many Xuan paper factories and workshops, where the paper is still made by master craftsmen using traditional techniques. And because of    9    (it) long history and the essential role it has played     10    the culture of Chinese painting and calligraphy, Xuan paper was included on the first list of China’s national intangible cultural heritages(非物质文化遗产)in 2006.

Dumpling is a Chinese cuisine. Actually, the tradition of eating dumplings during winter solstice has its     1     (originate) in early times.

It is said that dumplings were invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a     2     (fame) physician from the Eastern-Han Dynasty. He was once     3     official in Changsha.When he returned home for private life, he saw people lived an     4    (extreme) hard life and that their ears were red with cold in the snowing winter. He was sad and let his follower cook     5     (drive) out the chill with mutton, hot pepper and some medicine. Zhang let him boil them first and cut them up, then wrap them with flour. After     6     (boil) them, he gave the medicinal food to the people there on the day of the winter solstice. Zhang Zhongjing called it “cold dispelling dumpling soup”. By eating this kind of ear-like food, people’s ears     7     (cure).

Thereafter, every winter solstice Zhang Zhongjing made “cold dispelling dumpling soup” in order to prevent and cure ailments     8     (cause) by the cold. Then there became a saying that     9     you eat dumplings during the winter solstice, then you won’t freeze your ears off.

Afterwards, Zhang Zhongjing died on the day of winter solstice.     10     honor of him, every household makes dumplings every year on the day of the winter solstice.

Several large wooden constructions     1     ( date) back to the Neolithic era（新石器时代) were unearthed at the Jijiaocheng ruins site, a prehistoric cultural site located in Changde City, central China's Hunan Province.

First discovered in 1978,the site used     2     ( be) a city from the Qujialing culture period (3300 BC-2600 BC) - a Neolithic civilization,     3     had roots in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River primarily     4     (find) in today's Hunan and Hubei provinces.

Researchers     5     (conduct) three excavations(挖掘)at the southwestern part of the city wall since 2020. More than 30 housing sites were discovered at the 721 -square-meter area,     6     a number of wooden architectural relics unearthed that were built 4,800 years ago. Researchers think they are the most complete and     7     (early) wooden structure building foundation in China. Besides, remains of rice husks (外壳) were also found at the site, covering     8     area of 80 square meters.

Researchers believe     9     ( strong) the new findings will enrich the architectural history of prehistoric China. " The     10     ( discover) helps us understand the overall architectural style of the Yangtze River Basin," said Zhao Hui, a professor at Peking University School of Archaeology and Museology.

The Great Wall of the ancient Qi State,the oldest    1    (exist) Great Wall in China, stretches across Shandong for more than 600 kilometers. It    2    (build) during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

“Historical records say the Qi State built the wall here to defend itself    3    its enemies, as well as to stop flooding    4    (effective),” says An Xingzhu, who worked at the town’s culture station for more than three decades. A key task of the station is    5    (protect) cultural relics.

In the 1970s，parts of the rammed earth wall(夯土墙)were dug out and used by farmers for their land, but since the early 1990s, the local government    6    (start) to take measures to protect the wall.

Rapid development and    7    (construct) have brought many new problems and challenges in protecting the wall.    8    is necessary to provide a solid legal guarantee for its conservation. To tackle the challenges, Shandong Province has passed a regulation protecting the structure    9    will take effect on Jan. 1.

It states that local governments will establish a dynamic conservation system using remote sensing satellites, drones, information platforms and other technological    10    (mean) to monitor the Great Wall.