In Chinese tradition, the autumn season is associated with the color white, the sound of weeping, the emotions of both courage and sadness. Autumn, however, for westerners, is considered to be the direction of dreams and visions.

What does all this mean? It’s the very system     1     describes how nature works. To the Chinese, nature means more than just the cycling of the seasons. Nature is within and around us, in all things. The basic cycles of nature, as understood by the ancient Chinese,     2     (be) easily comprehensible by Western students of nature. They ring true. After all, Chinese civilization flourished for many centuries before the Roman Empire     3     (come) to be. Today we know it’s part of Chinese culture to maintain and add to ancient     4     (wise).     5     contrast, the Western world tend     6     (replace) old ideas with new ideas.

Here is     7     simple example. While summer is associated with the emotion of joy, autumn is associated with both courage and sadness. You can     8     (probable) feel the truth of that association for yourself, because, in autumn, things are dying. The light is dying, as Earth’s orbit around the sun and tilt(倾斜) on its axis(轴) combine to carry us in this hemisphere further away from     9     (receive) the sun’s rays most directly. The days are getting     10     (short). Plants and trees are winding down their cycle of growth. Sadness and courage are natural emotions as these changes are taking place.

March 20 marks the Spring Equinox, or Chunfen in Chinese, the     1     (four) term in the Chinese lunar calendar. On this day, day and night are     2     (equal) divided, and the length of daytime will grow longer in the Northern Hemisphere afterwards.

Peach blossoms enter their great time and give tourists a lot of pleasure with pinkish flowers. Since ancient times, peach blossoms     3     (use) to describe women. The romantic flowers also signal love from others.

The Spring Equinox is marked as the     4     (begin) of the busy farming season. People make preparations for raising spring silkworms.

Starting from the Spring Equinox and before the Qingming Festival, Chinese farmers are the     5     (busy) with tea harvesting, as the tea leaves     6     (collect) during this period are considered to be     7     high quality.

People have a cup of the very first tea shoots in spring as     8     way to get close to nature.

The ancient Chinese people     9     (divide) the fifteen days of the Spring Equinox into three “hou’s,” or five-day parts. As the old saying goes, swallows fly back to the North in the first hou; thunder breaks the sky in the second hou; lightning occurs frequently in the third hou,     10     vividly reveal the climate feature during the Spring Equinox.

Grain Rain, just as the name shows, is a key time for grains to grow. There is     1     old saying, “Rain brings up hundreds of grains,” which indicates the     2     (important) of this season.

In the northern part of China, the first heavy rain usually occurs during this time of year, which     3     (be) the best time for planting rice, corn, and the growth of cotton. It is also a good time for Chinese people     4     (eat) toona (香椿), a delicious seasonal plant,     5     new leaves are as soft as silk. Not only does it taste good, but it is also very good for health. It is very nutritious     6     can improve the immune system.     7     (fresh) made with Chinese tofu, toona is a traditional cold dish for people in the northern part of China.

Drinking tea is an old custom in the southern part of China. The mild temperatures and plentiful rainfall in the season make the spring tea leaves rich in a     8     (various) of vitamins and amino acids (氨基酸),     9     (give) the taste of spring tea a fresh and pleasant smell.

Along the northern coast of China, fishermen    10    (celebrate) the Grain Rain Festival for more than 2,000 years. On this day, fishermen in coastal areas pray for safety and a good harvest.