Few people I know seem to have much desire or time to cook. Making Chinese {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(dish) is seen as especially troublesome. Many westerners {#blank#}2{#/blank#} come to China cook much less than in their own countries once they realize how cheap {#blank#}3{#/blank#} can be to eat out. I still remember {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (visit) a friend who'd lived here for five years and I {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(shock) when I learned she hadn't cooked once in all that time.

    While regularly eating out seems to {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(become) common for many young people in recent years, it's not without a cost. The obvious one is money; eating out once or twice a week may be {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(afford) but doing this most days adds up. There could be an even {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (high) cost on your health. Researchers have found that there is a direct link between the increase in food eaten outside the home and the rise in{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(weigh) problems.

    If you are not going to suffer this problem, then I suggest that the next time you go to your mum's home {#blank#}10{#/blank#} dinner, get a few cooking tips from her. Cooking food can be fun. You might also begin to notice the effects not only on your health but in your pocket.

    When we mention the most famous Chinese painting of the Northern Song Dynasty, the image coming into people's mind{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) Qingming Shangle Tu or Along the River During the Qingming Festival.

    This painting is important {#blank#}2{#/blank#} several reasons. First, up till that time, almost all Chinese paintings were landscapes, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (contain) no or only a few images of people. Second, this is the first scroll（卷轴）painting {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (describe) both Chinese urban and suburban life during the period in the capital, Bianjing (now Kaifeng in Henan Province). Third, the painting is {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (high) detailed and features shops of all kinds and different economic {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (activity) in and out of the city. People are able to see the Chinese technologies of the time, which helps them {#blank#}7{#/blank#} great deal in understanding {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the Chinese lived.

    The Beijing Palace Museum keeps the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (origin) Song painting and one of its famous copies-the Qing version {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (hold) in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

    As we all know, Columbus was a great explorer. He left Spain in September 1492,{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (look) for gold. Native Americans greeted him, offering gifts of corn. Columbus found little gold on that trip, but he collected many {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (plant), including corn, to bring back to Spain.

    Columbus didn't know it, but the corn was much {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (valuable) than gold. Farmers from Europe to Asia accepted it {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (immediate). They grew it on cold mountainsides and in rainforests. So it {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (feed) millions of people all over the world today.

    On his second trip, Columbus brought back a few chocolate beans to make chocolate. Europeans and Asians loved this new drink, and soon they were paying a great deal of money for the beans. Chocolate beans became so valuable in Central America {#blank#}6{#/blank#} they {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (use)as cash for 200 years.

    Tomatoes and potatoes took some time to become popular. Eventually, {#blank#}8{#/blank#}, they became the basis of a lot of popular foods. {#blank#}9{#/blank#} is hard to imagine life without fried potatoes or chocolate. Thanks{#blank#}10{#/blank#} native American culture, many people are able to enjoy lots of tasty food.

    The University of Cambridge {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (use) scores on gaokao as part of its admission criteria for Chinese students for several years, according to its official Weibo account.

    However, it does not admit students simply based on {#blank#}2{#/blank#} test scores. In addition to top scores on gaokao, Chinese {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (apply) also need to meet English language requirements, participate in an interview {#blank#}4{#/blank#} take a subject-specific written admission assessment.

    Internet users have {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (broad) welcomed the move, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (say) this is a blessing for Chinese students {#blank#}7{#/blank#} want to enter the university, though the requirement {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (set) high, reported China Daily Stephen Toope, vice-chancellor of the university, said the reason for accepting gaokao scores is that Cambridge wants as much information as possible {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (evaluate) possible candidates.

    "Global universities must seek connection, communication and collaboration if we wish to see changes that will make the world a better place for everyone," he said {#blank#}10{#/blank#} March during a visit to Peking University.

Hollywood filmmakers visit Mulan's roots

    Hollywood filmmakers, including creators of the 1998 Disney film Mulan, will start {#blank#}1{#/blank#}"discovery trip" to Mulan's birthplace —Huangpi District in Hubei Province this week.

    During the two-day visit, they will see a number of Mulan-themed{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (perform), such as the horse lighting show and the local opera. They will also visit places of historical interest, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}the Mulan Mountain and the General's Temple.

    In the 20 years since the Disney film came out, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (it) director Tony Bancroft hasn't been to the land of Mulan's roots. "For me, it's a full circle tour of where my favorite character was born. I'm also doing my homework for the next film," he said.

    "China used to be closed off to Westerners, thus {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (create) a mystery, but in the last few years, U. S. films {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (explore) the Chinese culture and environment, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} has opened audiences to a whole new world. I believe the tale of Mulan appeals to Westerners mainly {#blank#}8{#/blank#}  it's about a daughter's respect for her family, {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(especial) her father," Bancroft added.

    A live-action remake of the 1998 film is expected to hit theaters in 2019. The Walt Disney Studios has announced that Chinese actress Liu Yifei, also{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (know) as Crystal Liu, is going to star in the classic Chinese tale.