While many Chinese cities are experiencing freezing cold, spring lingers at the Dounan Flower Market in Kunming, Southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

A sea of blossoms, including lotuses, roses and sunflowers, is ready to go on     1     journey across the nation, decorating shopping malls, conference halls     2     the cozy corners of people’s homes

About 30 years ago, the Market was just a street with roadside stalls selling flowers, but today it has become Asia’s     3     (large) fresh-cut flower trading market. Its flowery beauty reaches more than 40 countries and regions, with the export value hitting 520 million yuan in 2021,     4     (rank) first nationwide. Yunnan’s fresh-cut flower growing area     5     (total) 21,700 hectares that year.

This is a market for all people, where everyone can buy their favorite flowers     6     the lowest price. It springs to life around 5 am every day. The wholesale trading session normally ends by 9 a.m. Packaging and delivery companies have     7     (branch) in Dounan and they can ensure quick delivery of the flowers. Live streaming on Douyin     8     (try) actively nowadays. The channels gain     9     (popular) but it is also quite exhausting.

Nevertheless, staying busy is     10     many flower sellers love.

Walking through his neighborhood supermarket in Australia,     1     packs of Chinese sauerkraut (酸菜) line the shelves, Huang Xiqing feels like he’s shopping in his hometown of Shenyang in Liaoning province. “The sauerkraut soup tastes just like home,” says the 45-year-old Chinese living in Canberra,     2     (sound) a little homesick.

Chinese sauerkraut, a pickle which     3     (make) of Chinese cabbage, is a traditional specialty of the northeastern region and is now sold around the country     4     exported overseas. Chinese cabbage has gained     5     (popular) with ordinary household, because it is cheap and can be stored for a relatively long period of time.

During the last decades, Chinese businessmen have set     6     several sauerkraut companies. Among them, the Xinmin agricultural product company of the Heilongjiang Cuihua Group has sold its Chinese sauerkraut not only     7     (domestic), but also to countries including Canada, Japan and the United States. When people were making purchases for Spring Festival, sales of Chinese sauerkraut on Douyin increased more than10-fold,     8     (compare) to the previous year.

But for Huang, Chinese sauerkraut is an everlasting link to home. “Although I have tried delicacies from across     9     globe. Chinese sauerkraut is still one of my     10     (favourite), and reminds me of my hometown,” Huang says.

The National Healthcare Security Administration said on Monday that the coverage of China’s basic medical insurance is stabilized at over 95percent. It also said that the quality     1     the system had continuously improved.

Data from the administration show that from 2003 to 2023, the government’s     2     (contribute) to basic medical insurance for rural and non-working urban residents rose faster than the personal part,     3     offers further support for low-income households and other people in need.     4     (specific), if an ordinary resident is insured continuously from 2003 to 2023, the individual contribution is 2,640 yuan (about 371. 9 U. S. dollars),     5     (account) for about 30 percent of the total insurance expenses.

Throughout the years, a total of 744     6     (drug) have been added into the medical insurance catalog, and more than 80 percent of innovative drugs can     7     (include) within two years after entering the market. Currently, the compensation rate for inpatient medical bills     8     (cover) by basic medical insurance for rural and non-working urban residents is about 70 percent. In 2023, individuals     9     (pay) 349.7 billion yuan of the total insurance expenses of basic medical insurance for rural and non-working urban residents, while the government subsidy (补贴) was nearly 697.8 billion yuan. In this year’s government work report, the government committed to improve medical services with     10     patient-centered approach.

The brief outline takes us to the beginning of the twentieth century,     1     now we’ll have a closer look at Beijing’s housing conditions during that time.

At the beginning of the century, living conditions for the majority of working people in the East Beijing were very basic indeed. Houses were crowded closely together and usually very badly     2     (build), because there were no regulations. But the poor and       3     (need) were attracted by the possibility of work, and they had to       4     (house). It was the       5     (available) rather than the conditions of the housing that was the major concern.

Few houses had electricity at this time. So other sources of power were used, like coal for the fires       6     heated perhaps just one room. Of course, the smoke from these contributed a great deal       7     the air pollution for which Beijing used to be famous.     8     (luck), Beijing is not like what it used to be. It’s     9     cleaner than before and we can breathe safely.

A tiny, damp, unhealthy house like this might well be occupied by two full families, possibly including several children, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Can you imagine a big family     10     (live) in so little room like that?

More young people are trying their hand at farming the soil. Guo Lan, 29, works in a vegetable greenhouse on his organic farm     1     (locate) in the suburban district of Hefei, East China’s Anhui province. It is the eighth time this summer that Guo has failed to grow vegetables     2    using chemicals. Despite trying various homemade pest solutions, such as plant ash and mixtures of pepper and alcohol, the vegetable     3     (leaf) were still being eaten by insects. “I will not give up     4     (try),” the 29-year-old accountant-turned-farmer says. He is determined to turn his farm into     5     organic one, cultivating fruits and vegetables with the same flavors as those from his childhood memories.

“Growing tasty and healthy food     6     (be) my dream since I was a teenager. I know     7     challenging it can be, but if you take the soil     8     (serious), I believe it will pay off,” Guo says. He adds that farming is not a business that can make quick money, but for him, it has become an uplifting activity that brings back memories of spending time on the farm with     9     (he) parents as a child. Guo’s passion for organic farming and commitment to producing healthy food will surely inspire more young people to explore     10     (sustain) agriculture.

Distracted driving is an ongoing problem. A new poll by State Farm,     1     insurance company, proves once again that the roads are full of fools. One in five of the 912 drivers     2     (survey) last November admitted accessing the Internet on their smartphones while driving. Over the past several months, the company     3     (conduct) a deeper study.     4     (teenager) and young adults are more addicted to their phones, and they’re also less experienced drivers, a reason for danger on the roads with a likely     5     (high) percentage of smartphone use while driving.

Despite     6     (acknowledge) the dangers, none of the guilty drivers seems to be ashamed of     7     (them). “I’m not saying it’s the smartest thing in the world,” says Sean Black, a 38-year-old Illinois resident, “but I guess I just do it anyway.”Maybe, to a certain degree, this behavior will never change     8     a near-accident or actual crash doesn’t take place. Even then, the change will only happen     9     the basis of each individual case, and it puts the lives and well-being of innocents at the mercy of those     10     are too lazy to change their habits.

When we’re solving a complicated problem, we often gather a group    1     (brainstorm). We’re looking to get the best ideas as quickly as possible. I love seeing it happen—except for one tiny wrinkle. Group brainstorming usually backfires.

Extensive evidence shows that when we generate    2     (idea) together, we’re unlikely to maximize collective intelligence. As the humourist John Smith said, “If you had to identify, in one word, the reason    3    the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be：‘meetings’. ” But the problem isn’t meetings    4     (they)—it’s how we run them.

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.