We think that life in Chinese high school is an adventure in which we have to survive mountains of homework and exams. Yet would it be {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (surprise) if I tell you that high school life in the US is almost as stressful and demanding as it is in China?

    In US high school, everything {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (record) and graded, including your grades on quizzes, tests and final examinations. Failing {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (turn) in your homework on time will directly affect your grade for a certain course. Perhaps contrary to {#blank#}4{#/blank#} we used to think of the US high school students, they pay great attention to their academic performance to try to get into distinguished university.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} they'll be disappointed after graduation from high school.

    Like university students, US high school students have the {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (free) to choose the courses that most interest {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (they). Even a 9th-grader can sit {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the same classroom as 12th-graders. But this also means he or she has to work very hard, because the teacher will not treat him or her {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (difference) just because he or she is a few years {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (young).

    For those who love travel, particularly rail travel, China in 1987 was a can't﹣miss kind of place.  In1987, China was still operating steam trains on some rail routes,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}made people from many countries amazed. Bruce Connolly, a photographer from Scotland,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}（be） one of them.

    Connolly first came to China in 1987,{#blank#}3{#/blank#}（start） his continuous travelling throughout China. Since then, he{#blank#}4{#/blank#}（travel） to most parts of China except Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi. Wherever he went, his camera remained by his side. During his journeys in China, Connolly found China very different from {#blank#}5{#/blank#}he saw in photographs, which showed Chinese people very religious in the way they dressed and behaved.{#blank#}6{#/blank#}, what he saw was that people were{#blank#}7{#/blank#}（friend）, welcoming and wore bright clothes. In the early years of his journey, most Chinese people were fascinated with foreigners visiting China, but now that has changed in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, foreigners are no longer{#blank#}8{#/blank#}（curious）.

    Another dramatic change that Connolly has felt in China is {#blank#}9{#/blank#}. widespread use of new technology. China has become one of the most tech﹣savvy（懂技术的）societies. People now do everything with{#blank#}10{#/blank#}（they） smartphones, and use of cash is almost disappearing.

    Paper-cutting was recognized as a national cultural heritage(遗产)in 2006. According to experts, paper-cutting conveys the culture shared between China {#blank#}1{#/blank#} the West to wish for family reunions and maintain links with loved ones, alive or dead.

    In the movie Coco, for instance, the 12-year-old Miguel and his family dance and sing to celebrate the Day of the Dead, a {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (tradition)festival in Mexico, when colorful paper-cuts are hung on the street. Chinese people also cut images of small figures {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (call) back the spirits of the dead. The difference is that most Chinese paper-cuts are red, while those in other countries {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (be) often made in many other colors.

    Fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen liked to cut {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (character), such as princesses and angels, out of paper while {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (tell) stories to children. In China, female friends and family members used to chat and make paper-cuts together.

    “{#blank#}7{#/blank#}the patterns and colors may be different, paper-cuts share the same function of maintaining emotional ties among people, "says Yang Huizi, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} art teacher at Beijing Union.

    Yang {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (study) and performed the art for over a decade. Besides routine university courses, she also organizes nonprofit paper-cutting activities {#blank#}10{#/blank#}are open to the public in Beijing to promote basic knowledge of paper-cutting.