Chinese are the first people to have tea. One thousand and two hundred years ago，Lu Yu wrote a book called “The Classic of Tea”{#blank#}1{#/blank#} is honored as “The Bible of Tea”. The book gives a detailed {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(explain) of the origin, the processing skills and the classification of tea.

    However, Chinese tea culture goes far beyond tea {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (it). Take green tea for instance，the ideal temperature of the water should be around 80 degree Celsius. If the water is too hot, nutrients in the tea{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(destroy). On the other hand, if the water is not hot enough, the tea{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (leaf) won't open up and you will miss the pleasantly fresh flavor. So Chinese people are used{#blank#}6{#/blank#} drinking hot tea. When you visit a Chinese friend，your friend will {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(constant) add hot water to your empty cup of tea. It is polite{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (offer) the tea cup to guests with both hands. Of course, the guests should pay respect as well,{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (take) the cup with both hands.

    Talking about adding water to the tea cup, there is{#blank#}10{#/blank#}saying: wine full, full cup. Tea half, half cup. For wine, the full cup symbolizes whole heartiness. For tea, the half cup means modesty.

    Can you imagine waking up each day in a house that is {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (gentle) rocked by the movement of water? Well, for some people this vision of the future may become a reality.

    It is a commonly accepted fact that {#blank#}2{#/blank#} the Earth's temperature rises, the ice caps at the North and South Poles will melt, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (cause) the sea level to rise.

    So, where does this leave the many countries in the world {#blank#}4{#/blank#}have large sections of their populations living in areas which lie at or below sea level? The Netherlands, for example, is one of {#blank#}5{#/blank#} most highly populated, low-lying countries and {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (battle) with the problem of flooding for years. Further rises in the sea level would result in much of the country disappearing under water.

    Inventive architects may have come up with a {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (solve) to the problem: a house actually built on the water. The basic idea is that houses will have a base {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (fill) with air and a way of anchoring(使固定) them to the ground. This will allow the house {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (move) upwards whenever the sea level rises and sink back down when the sea level drops. So, will {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (float) houses be the homes of the future? For some people there may be no alternative.

    Once a young man was passing by a street where he saw an old man sitting by the roadside {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (beg) for money. That old man was sitting there with {#blank#}2{#/blank#} empty bowl in front of him, and a cardboard sign was put up beside the bowl. There was a sentence {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (write) on the cardboard: "Blind-Please help!"

    The young man felt very bad that no one planned {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (give) him any money. So he went to the old man and took his cardboard in his hand. He then took a thick marker pen out of his pocket and re-wrote the sign without hesitation and then left. The old man noticed that someone was writing something {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (differ) on the board but didn't say anything.

    Just in a few minutes, that empty bowl {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (fill) with money. The old man noticed that and stopped a stranger and asked him {#blank#}7{#/blank#} was on that cardboard. The stranger replied, "It says, "It's a beautiful day. You can see it. I cannot." Our {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (choose) of words and language can create positive or negative effects {#blank#}9{#/blank#} others. If we choose the right words, then we can {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (true) connect with people and change their views.

    According to an announcement by Sergey Kravtsov, Russian vice minister of education and science, Sputnik news reported, Russia's national college entrance exam will include Mandarin as {#blank#}1{#/blank#}elective foreign language starting from 2019. Chinese will become the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (five) elective test item for the Unified State Exam in addition to English, German, French and Spanish.

    The number of Chinese learners in Russia {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (rise) quickly in the past decade, according to a survey {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (carry) out by a linguistic research center in Russia. Approaches {#blank#}5{#/blank#}learning Chinese vary from person to person, with more and more people {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(choose) university courses in Russia.

    The three-hour-long Chinese test will quiz students on {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (they) listening, reading, and writing abilities and a fourth section will examine students on grammar, vocabulary and Chinese {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (character). Some parts in the exam are even a little bit difficult for native Chinese speakers. Insiders from the Russia education industry confirmed those {#blank#}9{#/blank#}are with relevant professional background and Mandarin proficiency(精通) are more competitive in job application.

    According to the Office of Chinese Language Council International, some 100 million people, excluding native speakers, use Chinese {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (global).