Although the modern picnic     1    (believe) to be a concept originating in Europe in the 1700s, China’s version of such excursions (短途旅行), commonly known     2    “spring outings” or “stepping on the green”, can be traced back to at     3    (little) the Wei and Jin dynasties (220-420) when people went on excursions or held banquets (宴会) by the water     4    (celebrate) the Shangsi Festival on the third day of the third lunar month. Scholars would drink and compose     5    (poem) by streams.

The activity became more common among women as well in the Tang dynasty (618-907). A special picnic for women, often daughters of officials and rich families,     6    (emerge). As recorded in the book A History of the Tang Under Emperor Xuanzong’s Reign, groups of ladies would compete on the value and beauty of the flowers they wrote     7    (normal) between the two spring solar terms “The Beginning of Spring” and “Rain Water”.

In the Song dynasty (960-1279), the Qingming Festival     8     Tomb Sweeping Festival included traditions of the Shangsi Festival and the Cold Food Festival,     9     cold food was eaten. At that time, people had a seven-day holiday for the festival, and would not only pay respect to     10     dead, but also enjoy scenery, food, and drinks on spring excursions.

With the increasing passion for outdoor activities like hiking and camping, China’s young generation now find themselves irresistibly     1    (draw) to a new trend — lure fishing (路亚钓鱼). Thanks to it, gone are the days when fishing     2    (consider) the pastime of middle-aged and older people.

Unlike traditional angling methods,     3    real bait (鱼饵) is used and patience is required, lure fishing takes a more active approach. Here, anglers use artificial bait and     4    (skillful) imitate the movements of smaller fish,     5    (fool) aggressive fish into thinking they are actually preys. Due to the constant movement involved, enthusiasts have now dubbed (戏称)    6     activity “water golf”. Another feature that attracts the young generation is that lure fishing is environmentally friendly and     7    (sustain). By using artificial bait, the water environment will not be disturbed. Additionally, the fish are expected     8    (release) after they are caught.

Lure fishing is beginner-friendly and requires less equipment compared with traditional fishing.     9     fans of a highly flexible sport, fishermen can experience the joy of catching fish in a small river near their homes with an     10    (invest) of just a hundred yuan or so.

Recently, some 10th graders from my school held a series of Harry Potter-themed activities that brought many students’ dreams of magic to life, among     1     the cosplay show was the most interesting. Han Xinrui,     2     Harry Potter fan who cosplayed Hermione, said, “The     3     (prepare) was complicated but interesting. We edited clips of the characters we played from the     4     (origin) movies and projected them on the background for our performance. After numerous rehearsals, the actors put on their wizard robes and wigs,     5     (step) onto the stage and waved their hands, acting like     6     (superstar). Apart from the cosplay shows, the students     7     (encourage) to write out some famous quotes from the novels in beautiful handwriting. As one quote said, “It does not do well to be obsessed with dreams     8     forget to live. Working hard is important. But there is something     9     matters even more: believing     10     yourself.” These classic lines were inspiring to the students, encouraging them to keep looking ahead.

You might have noticed how everyone focuses on their gadgets (小装置) during family gatherings or staying with friends. As      1     result, the opportunity to improve your connection might be lost. However, here are some ways you and your friends can do and enjoy while      2     (take) a break from your gadgets.

Firstly, if you want to spend quality time     3     each other, all of you need to turn off your gadgets,     4     could be the first step you can do. Secondly, before the      5     (appear) of high-tech gadgets, a board game had always been the source of entertainment. So playing board games is an excellent starter    6     (settle) your thoughts and feelings. Thirdly, eating together is a chance to bond and relax. Bonding with your friends over food is a good way to make conversations,     7     (especial) during dinner. Finally, entertainment isn’t the only way to interact with your friends. While       8     is necessary to enjoy your get-together, you don’t know     9     your friends are going through, and making room for a heart-to-heart talk might be what they need.

Keep in mind that nothing    10     (beat) real conversations with your loved ones.

Booking a museum ticket, during this hectic summer vacation in China, is not easy. Visitors may be disappointed by the fact that tickets for the entire week might be     1     (full) booked.

In response     2     the “heated-up museum fever during the summer vacation”, Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau, in a rare move, announced on Aug. 18 that 46 museums in the city would cancel their Monday closures until Aug.31,     3     (allow) visitors to visit museums every day.

The increasing demand is also visible in     4     (pack) museum halls across the country. To many museum staff, the crowds they see this summer were rarely seen before.

Looking into the various     5     (cause) behind this “museum craze”, Guo Sike, curator (馆长) of the Confucius Museum in Qufu City, east China’s Shandong Province,     6     (point) to the “craze for traditional culture”, or a growing fascination with traditional Chinese culture, particularly among young Chinese.

“Young generations have cultural confidence and love the splendid traditional Chinese culture,” said Guo, adding     7     modern technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), have diversified the means by which traditional culture is presented, and enabled it     8     (present) in a more lovable and lively image.

“The visit leaves my kid     9     general impression of the long history of our country, and helps to     10     (broad) his horizon and enriches his knowledge,” said a mother.

Leisure time (休闲时光) should be advocated. The main reason that leisure time is important is that it gives a person the balance     1     (need) to focus on his or her other more stressful, daily activities. Leisure time relieves     2     (sad) and stress and also improves one’s physical (身体的) and emotional health.

Taking time to do    3     (enjoy) leisure activities gives a person’s mind a rest from daily stress. Combining work     4     leisure time allows people to be more focused and efficient when working. In this sense, a company which emphasizes leisure time has a good prospect for growth. Physical leisure activities, apart from    5     (calm) the mind, also help keep the body healthy.

Quality leisure time is also vital because it has the ability     6     (improve) one’s communication skills and self-respect. By taking part in group leisure activities based    7    shared interests, such as book clubs, painting clubs or exercise groups, people can widen their circles of friends. Group activities can also benefit those    8     are shy.

Joining in all kinds of leisure activities is also    9    good role model for children. It helps to teach them about valuable life skills, such as    10     (social) acceptable behavior.

There’re many places to see lovely giant pandas in China. If you just want to see giant pandas, we recommend you go to Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Base. It is the most easily     1     (access) panda base. You can see pandas at different ages. This base is huge but usually crowded.     2     this case, a private tour is the best way to get around the base to see many pandas and get the best experience.

There are three     3     (recommend) activities for a deeper panda experience. To begin with, you can join a panda volunteer program,     4     you can work by weighing and cleaning bamboo, making panda cakes, watching pandas being fed, and cleaning pandas’ home. Surely, at the end of the program, you     5     (receive) a panda keeper certificate.

    6     (additional), you can join in a Red Panda Volunteer Program. If you’ve already had such an experience before, you’ll know that you can have a zero-distance encounter with red pandas. You can feed a group of them without a fence in between. If you are interested in red pandas, our red panda volunteer program in Wolong Panda Center is waiting for your     7     (present).

At last, you can hike into     8     Habitat of Wild Pandas. If you want some unforgettable     9     (moment) with pandas, consider a hike in wild panda habitat in Wolong. Go     10     (track) panda, and see if you will be lucky enough to see a wild panda.

Since 2015, Shanghai Disney Resort (迪士尼度假区) has been carrying out monthly bird-watching activities in its Wishing Star Park. Over the past eight years, more than 120    1     (kind) of birds have been observed in this park. Such bird-watching activities have been held in Shanghai for more than 20 years. A team of hundreds of people    2     (regular) takes part in these activities. Many visitors also go to wetland parks in    3    they can take many pictures of birds.

In recent years, shared vegetable plots (地块) have been appearing in Shanghai’s suburban districts as more white-collar workers turn to farming to relax and escape the pressures of city life.

Among these individuals     1    (be) Yang Rui, who, on weekends, drives his family from their home in downtown to the All-Happy City,     2     shared ecological farm in Minhang, where he has rented a 20-square-meter vegetable plot for 1,600 yuan per year. The family tends carrots, lettuce and other vegetables they have planted. When they aren’t around during the week,     3    (professional) take over the work and perform whatever chores     4    (need).

This farm has about 200 members, some of     5     even raise chickens and ducks that wander in the fields.

    6    (found) by Chen Yougui in October, the shared farm has an area of 13.33 hectares     7     comes with shared vegetable plots and leisure areas. According to Chen, the monitoring system     8    (cover) the entire farmland allows members to view their vegetables and fields remotely through their phones. The farm also uses technology to ensure that the chickens and ducks raised     9     customers don’t go missing or end up in someone else’s plot — each animal comes with its own QR code.

Chen notes that many of his customers are parents who rent plots     10    (primary) to teach their kids about science and nature and how farming works.

Winter in Quebec, Canada is very different from that in England. When I first arrived, I was     1     (slight) worried about the winter. I couldn’t imagine     2     it would be like to have 3 metres of snow, and what on earth I was going to do when the weather was so bad. However, here, life goes on as usual. Trains and buses continue, and people socialise and even better.     3     number of new sports take over.

For me, skiing means downhill skiing, in ski resorts (度假胜地), with ski lifts taking you up the mountain. Before     4     (arrive), I did not know there were in fact different     5     (type) of skiing. Imagine a sunny but cold day, and you have taken a chairlift to the top of a mountain     6     (cover) with snow. An hour seems like a few minutes, as you carve your way down a run to the bottom, and then do it all again. It is my new favourite sport.

Ice skating on a frozen (结冰的) lake is another     7     (excite) sport for me. Once I could hardly stand on a pair of ice skates, but now I am able to make laps (圈) of the 3 km route on the lake,     8     is frozen during January and February.

Indeed having 3 metres of snow was a bit frightening. School     9     (cancel) once because of a big snowstorm, but I was     10     busy enjoying all these cool sports that winter finished too soon!