China, which takes pride in inventions in ancient times, has once again demonstrated its {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(able) to change the world with its “new four great inventions”: high-speed railways, electronic payments, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(share) bicycles and online shopping. The “new four great inventions” are all related {#blank#}3{#/blank#} China's high-tech innovation(创新), which has improved the quality of people's lives. “My wallet is no longer in use. I can buy and eat anything {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I want simply with a tap of my phone,” said Lin Jinlong,{#blank#}5{#/blank#}overseas Chinese student from Cambodia, {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(add) that “even pancake sellers are using Alipay (mobile payment). We can also order food at home, which is super convenient. If I {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (be) at home in Cambodia, I would have to go outdoors.”

    The bikes themselves are not new, but the operating model of bike-sharing is based on satellite navigation system, mobile payment, big data and other high technologies. It is {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(increase) clear that China is innovating and no longer copying Western ideas. This is partly because China skipped over the PC age and went directly to mobile. China has the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (large) mobile use in the world.

    In terms of the “new four great inventions”, Charlie Dai, principal analyst of American market research company Forrester, said, “These products and services {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(improve) the customer experience so far, improving national and global economy at the same time”.

    It seems that Chinese people have always loved to discuss {#blank#}1{#/blank#} differences between northerners and southerners. Now, another difference has drawn wide attention: the way northerners and southerners shop {#blank#}2{#/blank#} food at markets.

    People from southern China normally buy what they need for just one or two meals at a time. It's normal for {#blank#}3{#/blank#}to buy just half a Chinese cabbage, two {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (potato) and 25 grams of beef at a time. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, a person may be laughed at {#blank#}6{#/blank#} they do this in the north. Instead, buying enough vegetables and meat for a week {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (be) normal.

    The difference could be because of the different climates. Food can {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (keep) for a long time in the north, as it's {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (usual) cold and dry there. Many northerners have the habit of {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (store) food for a long time. But due to the hot and wet weather in the south, southern Chinese people prefer to buy just enough food for one meal or one day. Otherwise, the food may go bad.

    Maybe these debates about different customs help us to understand each other better.

    However depressed you may be feeling now, if you look back, there certainly will have been events that made you happy—maybe the time {#blank#}1{#/blank#} you bought your first bicycle or you were awarded a scholarship. When good things happen, we feel excited, proud and happy.

    But the problem is, happiness doesn't usually last. The excitement of that first bicycle purchase wears off, and the pride in the scholarship gives way to the stress of performing {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (well) on the next exam.

    Psychologists call this phenomenon hedonic adaptation (享乐适应症)—that is, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} good something makes us feel, most of the time we drift back to {#blank#}4{#/blank#} we started. An often {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (quote) example is that lottery winners are no happier than non-winners eighteen months after their win.

    But don't despair. It is possible to make happiness last. Psychologists have found two anti-adaptation tools that are effective in sustaining happiness: variety and appreciation.

    Variety is, as we all know, the spice of life. But it's also a useful weapon {#blank#}6{#/blank#} adaptation. Positive changes that {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (experience) in a variety of ways are more likely to lead to lasting happiness. For example, you will feel happier about your volunteer work{#blank#}8{#/blank#} you are able to cope with new tasks every week. The second tool, appreciation, is in many ways the opposite of adaptation. It's about focusing on something, instead of letting it fade into the background. It is only when you appreciate something {#blank#}9{#/blank#} an enduring feeling of happiness will follow.

    Human beings spend a lot of time figuring out what makes them happy, but not enough time {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (try) to hang on to the happiness they already have. This is like focusing all your energy on making more money, without giving any thought to what you will do with the money. The key to happiness is to not only look for new opportunities but also to make the most of the ones you've been given.

    For you, the "Clear and Bright" day that falls in every April might be no more than just another holiday — the fact that it comes with three days off school matters to most students {#blank#}1{#/blank#} more than the fact that it is part of the 24 solar terms.

But the UNESCO has recognized the importance of the 24 solar terms. This ancient system that Chinese people have used to keep track of the time of year {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (add) to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on Nov 30.

For starters, you may have heard your mom say: "The sanfu days are almost over. The heat won't be here for long." The sanfu days are a period of time that {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (fall) in summer, somewhere {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Minor Heat (in July) and Autumn Equinox (in September). The coldest days, or the sanjiu days, are similar. They cover the 27 days {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (follow) Winter Solstice.

    In some places, solar terms guide people's lives through special foods, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (culture) events and healthy living tips. For example, people from northern China are in the habit of eating dumplings on the day of Winter Solstice. And on Start of Autumn, some people treat {#blank#}7{#/blank#} to a big feast, especially of meat, something they call "putting on autumn weight", or tieqiubiao.

    But no matter {#blank#}8{#/blank#} differently people celebrate the 24 solar terms, they have been here for a long time and could last forever.

    According to Chinese writer and academic Yu Shicun, unlike many other examples of intangible cultural heritage – Peking Opera and Chinese Zhusuan, for example – the solar terms are neither regional (地域的) nor a type of art or skill. Instead, the system is a philosophy of time, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} applies to everything. And this means they are {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (likely) to die out.

    Wolf Warriors II is putting China in the global spotlight. It's also the first film {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(taste) success both in terms of box office earnings and promoting Chinese values.

    Since its release on July 27, it {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (earn) an unimaginable billion yuan,{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(set) a record for domestic movies at the box office. The film focuses on a rescue operation in Africa, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (lead) by former special forces soldier Leng Feng — played by Wu Jing—who helps Chinese workers and local Africans {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (flee) a war-tom and plague-ravaged (瘟疫肆虐的)country.

    Wolf Warriors II links art to reality, and reminds people of the massive evacuation (撤离)of Chinese people from Libya{#blank#}6{#/blank#} civil war broke out there in 2011, and from Yemen in 2015, as well as the challenges the Ebola virus created in West Africa from 2013 to 2016.

    The film describes{#blank#}7{#/blank#} the Chinese government tries to protect overseas Chinese citizens. Just {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the message at the end of the film reads, Citizens of the People's Republic of China, when you encounter danger in a foreign land, do not give up! People remember! At your back {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (stand) a strong motherland."

    Thanks to China's increasing participation in global affairs, the president could be considered as a modem Chinese hero. {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(hold) up a banner (旗帜) of peace, friendship and responsibility, Wolf Warriors II should be seen as a brave effort to promote Chinese, around the world.