Yours,

Li Hua

The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, has been officially listed as a UN floating holiday in its calendar of conferences and meetings as from 2024.

The UN General Assembly, in resolution (决议) , acknowledges the significance of the Lunar New Year, which     1     (observe) in many UN member states and invites the UN bodies at headquarters and other duty stations to avoid holding meetings on the Lunar New Year. The resolution encourages this arrangement     2     (take) into account when future calendars of conferences and meetings are drafted.

Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said the adoption of the resolution     3     Spring Festival featuring family reunion and good wishes for the     4     (come) year has been listed as a UN floating holiday is very meaningful. It not only bears the ideas of the Chinese civilization of peace and harmony but also carries the common values of humanity like     5     (harmony) family, social inclusion (认同感) and sound relationship between man and nature.

The resolution serves     6     a showcase of the influence of Chinese civilization and aims to enhance interactions between diverse     7     (civilization) worldwide. “It also reflects the values of diversity and inclusion     8     (promote) by the United Nations,” he said.     9     listing of Spring Festival as a UN holiday was     10       (wide) welcomed among member states and staff members of the UN Secretariat, Dai added.

Every year during the Spring Festival, a small village east of Beijing puts on a special show. It’s about -15°CS and a man dressed in a straw hat and sheepskin coat who     1    (throw) spoon after spoon of heavy molten iron (铁水)at a massive, icy wall. The collision (碰撞)between the l,600°C liquid metal and the frozen brick creates a waterfall of sparks (火花)     2    (fall) over him, equally beautiful and dangerous.

This is a very performance     3     requires extraordinary courage, skill and strength. Known as Da Shuhua, it has a history of 500 years in Nuanquan, a highly-developed steel town. Da Shuhua translates literally into “beating down the tree flowers,”     4     agricultural activity of hitting fruit trees to increase growth.

In ancient times, fireworks weren’t always     5    (wide) affordable. So people in Nuanquan made use of scrap iron and developed Da Shuhua as a way     6    (celebrate) festivals. As a result, they brought firework displays     7     a whole new level.

Today, Da Shuhua has become more popular than ever, because of     8    (rule) of banning on fireworks to reduce air pollution in some parts of China. Every year, this unique firework display attracts tons of people in spite of the freezing cold weather     9     draws attention for its protection. Since 2021, it     10    (list) as an intangible cultural heritage of China.

At the beginning, written Chinese was a picture-    1     language. It dates back several thousand years to the use of longgu-animal     2     and shells on which     3     were     4     by ancient Chinese people.

China is widely known for its ancient civilisation which has continued all the way through into modern times,     1    the many ups and downs in its history. There are many reasons     2     this has been possible, but one of the main factors has been the Chinese writing system. 

At the beginning, written Chinese was a picture-based language. It     3     back several thousand years to the use of longgu—animal bones and shells on which symbols were     4     by ancient Chinese people. Some of the ancient symbols can still be seen in today’s hanzi. 

By the Shang Dynasty (around 1600-1046 BCE), these symbols had     5     a well-developed writing system. Over the years, the system developed into different forms, as it was a time    6    people were divided geographically leading to many    7    of dialects and characters. This, however, changed under Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221-207BCE). 

Emperor Qinshihuang united the seven     8    states into one unified country where the Chinese writing system began to develop in one direction. That writing system was of great importance in uniting the Chinese people and culture. Even today, no    9    where Chinese people live or what dialect they speak, they can all still     10     in writing.