In today’s urban centers, traffic jam is a common sight, characterized by long lines of vehicles     1     (inch) along the roadways. Many commuters experience fatigue from spending hours behind the wheel, navigating through winding streets.

Due to the congestion, it’s easy to become disillusioned with the daily grind.(日常琐事) However, there’s hope in the form of nation-driven initiatives     2     (aim) at easing the pressure on both the roads. One such initiative is the promotion of alternative modes of transportation through campaigns that highlight the benefits of walking, cycling, and     3     (use) public transportation instead of private cars.stresses the fact that the exaggeration of the benefits of private vehicle usage should be examined critically.

These initiatives are not environmentally friendly     4     appealing to those seeking an escape from over-scheduled work     5     they are constantly chasing after the next deadline or appointment, feeling stressed out. By encouraging a shift in mindset,     6     one focused merely on speed and efficiency to one that values well-being, cities can create a more livable environment for their citizens. Governments     7     (explore) solutions that prioritize the well-being of all residents. This may include implementing carpooling schemes, establishing designated pedestrian zones, or establishing facilities around communicates that are within walking distance.

Implementing innovative approaches to traffic issues in urban centers helps promote a     8     (healthy) urban environment. It is necessary that initiatives calling for alternative transportation modes     9     (support) to keep company with these efforts, and     10     unsustainable practices, such as reliance solely on private vehicles, be disposed of in the near future.

Military-Style Cotton Coats (军大衣) Have Made a Major Comeback this Winter and Stormed College Campuses

A video of college students in northeastern China     1     (wear) military-style cotton coats to class has trended on social media platforms. Meanwhile, many young women have started buying floral coats, often on sale.

With the price of down jackets (羽绒服) increasing, college students in China have picked up floral cotton-padded jackets and military coats to fend off the winter cold. Thanks     2     their low cost and high quality, cotton coats have made a major comeback this winter and stormed college campuses.

The general thinking among students     3     (be) that it isn’t about whether or not they can afford a down jacket     4     that cotton coats provide better quality at a much lower price.

One can buy ten cotton coats at the price of one down jacket. The     5     (cheap) military-style cotton coat costs less than 100 yuan, and they have become the most     6     (fashion) winter wear for college students in northern China.

Down jackets have been     7     must-have for many Chinese people. However, the prices have increased. According to data from the China National Commercial Information Center, the average price of down jackets     8     (rise) from 438 yuan in 2015 to 656 yuan in 2020.

The price of goose down has increased,     9     (main) due to the demand downstream. Many     10     (brand) have started to move towards high-end development, resulting in a more significant increase in demand for high-quality materials like white goose down, according to a down jacket seller in Jiangsu Province, surnamed Si.

Lin Congying, Chairman of JOEONE, a Chinese brand focused on men’s trousers created in 1989,     1     (announce) that the company would remove the English word “JOEONE” from its logo, leaving only the Chinese characters     2     part of its new branding (品牌设计) strategy.

This represented a sharp turnaround of the conventional way of branding, where some Chinese companies tended to design their products with a name sounding the     3     (little) “Chinese.” Examples include Metersbonwe and Semir, both     4     (found) in Zhejiang Province. The names almost have no literal association with Chinese.

Recent years have witnessed     5     increasing trend of Chinese companies becoming popular by integrating Chinese elements into their design and marketing     6     (operation), forming styles known as China Chic. Li Ning, a professional sportswear company, in 2012 suffered a major setback with a huge annual loss of over 20 billion yuan. The situation barely improved     7     (significant) in the subsequent years. Later in 2018,     8     (it) new products, combined with Chinese elements, were quickly sold out and the company returned to the center of the fashion world with a brand-new image.

As reported,     9     over half of the oh-oh group believe is that a foreign brand by itself is not an advantage. They tend to focus on the experience of using the products. With the quality of products of local brands     10     (arise), people’s affection for these brands is also growing.

Farming was considered part of the rural charm in the past. But now. farms have come to the concrete jungle and they can even     1     (find) high up on balconies. According to a report released by one of Chinese e commerce     2     (platform), the sales of vegetable seeds in the first quarter on it increased fast     3     (compare) with the same period last year. Sales of products such as soil and gardening tools     4     (double) since April of last year. Out of all the people     5     (buy)farming tools and seeds, most were born after 1995.

Zhang Chao：17. from Anhui province. is one young “urban farmer”. The senior high student said his fondness for planting was formed in primary school     6     he lived with his grandpa in the country side. “Spending his whole life as a farmer, my grandpa likes to plant     7    (season)vegetables in our backyard garden when he was older.” Zhang said. “Inspired by his passion, I also learned to grow my own vegetables.“

Though farming is     8     labor intensive process including ploughing, fertilizing and Watering. Zhang said he still had a sense of achievement when he saw seeds     9     (gradual) turn into seedlings and later plants. “Growing fruits and vegetables not only brings delicious food and enhances food security. but it also reminds me     10     the happy times with my grandpa.” said Zhang.

Once you start looking into supermarkets in China,    1     is hard to miss the wave of trendy urban shops aimed     2     customers who are looking for healthy food.

Chen Li and her husband have become very    3     (concern) about the safety of their food since they became parents.     4     (follow) it around as it changed locations, they went to a farmer market every week. Then they tried growing their own food.

Recently, something has changed it all: A new shop opened up across the street from the apartment building in    5     they lived. It’s called World Good Food Market.     6     (bright) lit and clean, it offers     7     unbelievable variety of organic food. Compared with the farmer market, the     8     (different) in price for shopping at World Good Food is significant: 30%~50%    9     (high).

“The quality is better,” said Anthea. “I’m a strong believer of organic food. As long as it    10     (grow) by farmers in a safe way, I’m fine with that.”

Two vegetarian meals each day. A monthly budget of 200 yuan. Working just one or two months a year. In April, an Internet     1    (use) posted this brief description of his simple, stress-free life. He described his philosophy     2    tangping. “I can be like Diogenes, who slept in his wine cask (桶) in the sun,” he wrote.

The post spread     3    (crazy). On social media, people showed their approval of tangping by sharing pictures of themselves (and, often, their cats)     4    (lie) in bed. More than 60％ of over 240, 000 respondents to a poll (民意测评) on Weibo, said tangping was their idea of the good life.

Tangping     5    (describe) a longing to escape the pressure of modern life in China, where young people    6    (expect) to work long hours, buy property, get married and have children. Many people in their 20s and 30s grumble (抱怨) that hard work no longer rewards them with a     7    (good) quality of life. They have adopted an academic term, neijuan or “involution”, to describe how extra input no longer produces more output.

    8    academic from Tsinghua University thought of tangping to be “ extremely irresponsible”. “The only way     9    (ensure) a happy life is working hard,” said a commentary in one newspaper, “this attitude disappoints one's parents     10    hundreds of millions of taxpayers as well”.

The impact of pandemic (流行病) on life expectancy (预期寿命), one of the most widely used standards to assess population health, was assessed by a study    1    (publish) in the Informational Journal Epidemiology. The study    2    (conduct) by the Oxford University's Leverhulme Centre for Demographic (人口的) Science.

The study revealed that women from 15 countries and men from 10 ended up    3    a lower life expectancy at birth in 2020 compared to 2015.     4    biggest drops in life expectancy, however, were witnessed in men instead of women in most countries. American men were the worst off, with 2.2 years shaved off their life expectancy at birth. Men in Lithuania faced the second    5    (large) impact on their life expectancy, with a cut of 1.7 years.

Reductions in life expectancy overall    6    (occur) in 27 of the 29 countries analyzed by the study. Only men and women in Denmark and Norway and women in Finland managed to    7    (successful) avoid drops in life expectancy, the study said. Non-pharmaceutical interventions and strong healthcare systems in these countries were cited as    8    (factor) that could help explain this.

All the countries    9    life expectancy dropped had taken an average of 5、6 years    10    (achieve). Just a one year increase in life expectancy. The pandemic wiped out of this progress, the study said.

A new report released on Tuesday by Pethadoop said cats accounted for 59. 5% of all the pets among the 30, 000 respondents surveyed for the research. As of last year, there were some 58 million pet cats in China’s urban households,    1    (compare) with some 54 million pet dogs.

China     2    (see) an increase in pet ownership in recent years, with people     3    (increasing) choosing cats. Globally, though dogs are still more common pets, cats have emerged     4    the most popular pet in the European Union lately.

Cats have also turned into a social phenomenon in China and elsewhere, with the cats becoming the subject of popular     5    (video). Many cat lovers online also identify     6    (they) as “cat slaves”, publicly declaring their pet preference.

Researchers owe the fast growth of cat pets to the lifestyle in Chinese cities, with some experts also suggesting that the cat’s     7     (popular) with the young is related to the young generation’s pursuit of individuality.

Liu Yi, the report’s chief editor, said that many people living in the cities have busy lives     8    relatively smaller accommodations, thus     9    (make) cats their ideal companions —it’s easy to raise cats, unlike dogs that require more attention and outdoor activities.

“Our research shows that the majority of the pet owners are people born after 1990 and 1995,” he said. “Young people are looking for freedom in their lives, and     10    habits of cats are more suited to their needs.”