Siva, the wise father of Ganesh,once called his two sons and suggested a small contest.

    “I will give this sweet to{#blank#}1{#/blank#}goes around the world faster,” he said, holding out a large,delicious milk sweet. Murugan,Ganesh's brother,glowed with pride knowing the prize would soon be{#blank#}2{#/blank#},for he could fly{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(swift) in his chariot（敞篷双轮马车）,circle the earth,and be back in only hours,while his big,clumsy brother Ganesh would take so much{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(long) to do the same.

Bidding farewell to his parents,Murugan set off happily.Ganesh thought for a moment,then smiled and{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (begin) to move.His large elephant with its heavy trunk did slow him down,{#blank#}6{#/blank#}he did not have far to go.For he simply walked carefully{#blank#}7{#/blank#}both of his parents.In a few minutes he had circled them,{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (stand) respectfully in front of his father once again.

    “Father, please give me the prize,”he said.

    “Why? You did not go around the world.You stayed right here,”replied Siva.

    “But Father,” argued Ganesh, “I have just gone around the world.You see, my parents are indeed the{#blank#}9{#/blank#}world to me.”His parents smiled, well pleased.

    Much later, a tired Murugan returned home.{#blank#}10{#/blank#}, the prize was already eaten up.And now you know who won it and why.

    The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the most significant traditional festivals. It{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(celebrate) on the fifth month according to the Chinese calendar.

    The festival is said to be{#blank#}2{#/blank#}honour of Qu Yuan, a great poet who tried all his best to help his own country but failed and committed suicide by drowning himself in Miluo River. The folks respected and loved him so much{#blank#}3{#/blank#}they threw zongzi into the river{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(prevent) fish from eating his body. Later it became a custom for people to eat zongzi and watch dragon boat races on that day.

    To advance and enrich the fine cultural heritage of the nation, the Dragon Boat Festival has been an{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(office) public holiday in our country since 2008.

    A young officer was at a railway station. On his way home, he wanted to telephone his mother to tell her the time of his train, so that she could meet him at the station in her car. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(look) in all his pockets, he found that he did not have the coins for the telephone call, so he {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(go) outside in hope for someone to help.

    At last an old soldier came by, and {#blank#}3{#/blank#} young officer stopped him and said, “Have you got change for ten pence?”

    “Wait a minute,” the old soldier answered, beginning to put his hand in his pocket. “I'll see {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I can help you.”

    “Don't you know how to speak to an officer?” the young man said {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(angry). “Now let's start again. Have you got change for ten pence?”

    “No, sir,” the old soldier answered quickly.

    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.

How Steven Spielberg Stays Inspired

    Ask a young person who the greatest American film director is, and you may get the answer Steven Spielberg, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} has certainly made more successful films than any other director in the West.

    Spielberg was born in America in 1946. What he impressed others most was {#blank#}2{#/blank#} he had unusual abilities when he was very young: completing his first 15-minute home movie at 13. He earned $100 at the age of 16, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} he made a 135-minute home movie called Firelight and it was shown at a local cinema.

    A Hollywood film studio employed Spielberg to make a full-length film Sugarland Express on discovering his talent for movie-making. His next film was Jaws, a film about a shark that ate people. This was one of {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (successful) films of all times. He received the Award for lifetime achievement at the Golden Globes (金球奖) in 2009.

    Despite all his outstanding achievements in his field, some of his films have been less successful in the last fifteen years. But people can never deny the fact {#blank#}5{#/blank#} he, more than anyone else in the history of films, understands the meaning of the word "entertainment".

    Now, Spielberg's role as a father of seven has taught him a great deal about {#blank#}6{#/blank#} makes a good story—at bedtime and otherwise. When his kids were growing up, he'd tell them stories every night {#blank#}7{#/blank#} he could stay active in film-making.

    "In the past few years, I {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (inspire) by everybody who makes a good movie," Spielberg said." "I can't risk {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (lose) my followers' passion for film." Also, he owes (归因) his success to his attempt {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (keep) working and so he looks to his contemporaries (同时代的人) for that kind of ... current inspiration.

    The College Entrance Exam, also known as Gaokao, is one of the most influential tests scheduled {#blank#}1{#/blank#} June 6^th to 8^th. For this, Chinese students are separated into Science and Liberal Art at high school, a practice that allows them to stay {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(compete) in the College Entrance Examination by choosing preferred subjects. However, thing began to change when the policy of College Entrance Exam Reform {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(publish).

    And now, an ongoing reform of China's college entrance exam and enrolling system, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} which students used to be selected for their performance on a single test, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(extend) to cover more provinces in China since 2018, according to the Ministry of Education.

    In 2018, the reform was expanded to eight provincial-level {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(region), namely Hebei, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Fujian, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong and Chongqing, where Year-1 high school students {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(start) from fall 2018 needed to prepare for the change.

    It brought the total number of regions implementing the reform {#blank#}8{#/blank#} 14, according to the ministry.

    With the reform, the new selection and enrollment rules may differ slightly from region to region. In northern China's Hebei Province, students will only have to sit the annual national college entrance test for three subjects, Chinese language, math and foreign language {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (include). Their performances during high school academic tests will also serve as measurable indicators. Their results in the comprehensive quality evaluation throughout the high school will be used as {#blank#}10{#/blank#} reference.