One of the biggest challenges {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (face) students today is how to concentrate on studies. Almost all of them are struggling for their concentration power. In an age {#blank#}2{#/blank#} mobile phones and Internet are eating up most of our time and energy, one can understand how different it is to focus attention and energy on studies.

    One of the most important {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (factor) for developing concentration on a task, whether it is study or anything else, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (be) to develop an interest in that task. We are able to focus {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (easy) and more long periods of time on tasks that we find more interesting. If you ever want to concentrate on anything and studies are no {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (except), you need {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(ensure) that the environmental around you is distraction (注意力分散) free. So the question is not how to concentrate on studies {#blank#}8{#/blank#} how to avoid distractions that have swallowed up mankind today. The only way to guarantee {#blank#}9{#/blank#} distraction free environment is by getting rid of all the unnecessary things around you, including the electronic gadgets (小器具) {#blank#}10{#/blank#} mobile phones.

    Yuan Longping was born in 1930.Since he graduated from Southwest Agricultural College in 1953, he{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(devote)his life to finding ways{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(grow)more and more rice. As a young man, he saw the great need for increasing the rice output. At that time{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(hungry)was a serious problem in many parts of the countryside. Yuan searched {#blank#}4{#/blank#} a way to increase rice harvests without {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(expand) the areas of the fields. In 1950, Chinese farmers could produce about 56 million tons of rice. In{#blank#}6{#/blank#}recent harvest, however, nearly 200 million tons of rice were produced. These increased harvests mean that 22% of the world's people{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(feed)from just 7% of the farmland in the world. Yuan Long Ping is now circulating his knowledge in India and many other less{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(develop)countries to increase their rice harvests.{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(thank)to his research, the UN is trying to rid the world{#blank#}10{#/blank#}hunger. Using his hybrid rice, farmers are producing harvests twice as large as before.

    The day before he heads to a war, an undefeated {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (command) named Qi has a dream in which he loses a battle and dies. When he wakes up, Qi gets ready to go and fight. While gaining successive victories, Qi decides to celebrate, although there is a final battle {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (wait) for him. When he gets {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (drink) and falls asleep in his tent, Qi's army {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (attack) by the enemy and he gets killed just as his dream predicted. This is the story that has inspired the latest Kunqu Opera production.

    As one of the oldest of the traditional Chinese opera {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (form), Kunqu Opera, which is about 600 years old, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (combine) singing, dancing and lyrical recitation. Performed in the Suzhou dialect (方言).UNESCO listed Kunqu Opera as an intangible heritage(非物质文化遗产)of humanity in 2001.

    Earlier this year, a plan of combining Kunqu Opera and traditional Chinese idioms was developed, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} would allow young Chinese directors and Kunqu Opera performers {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (work) together. The young artists are working on developing original plays based on traditional Chinese idioms to keep {#blank#}9{#/blank#} tradition alive while making it popular again{#blank#}10{#/blank#} new ideas.

    Mochi (年糕) is a traditional food popular in Chinese and Japanese cooking, made from {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (special) treated rice. It is often presented in the form of a round cake, and is traditionally exchanged at the New Year.

Mochi is made by {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (put) sticky rice into water overnight, cooking it and pounding it into a sticky paste. The paste is made into shapes ranging from simple to complex rounds, some of {#blank#}3{#/blank#} are stuffed with sweet fillings. Mochi is often decorated with {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (flower) or fruits, especially when it is exchanged as {#blank#}5{#/blank#} gift at celebrations like birthdays and the New Year.

    Traditionally, wooden mortars (臼) and pestles (杵) {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (use) to pound mochi rice. Fresh mochi is usually cooked and served warm {#blank#}7{#/blank#} a variety of sauces. Steaming and boiling are both popular preparations in Japan, along with cooking. Fresh mochi is soft but it{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (hard) quickly. Prepacked mochi blocks, flattened and cut into square pieces or shaped into rounds, are available at grocery stores. Mochi can go bad easily, so it's {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (good) to cook soon than to keep it in your fridge.

    Hard mochi pieces can be cooked, deep-fried, boiled, and more. Cooked mochi is very sticky, so be careful not {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (choke) on it.