Colorful lanterns are lighting up China's night sky, as activities begin across the country to celebrate Lantern Festival today.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (date) back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25), the Lantern Festival is held on the 15th day of the first lunar month {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(mark) the first full moon of the lunar new year.

    You Guoqing, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} folk custom expert in Tianjin, said the Lantern Festival was about going out for a colorful celebration rather than a family get-together. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}watching lanterns, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} is also a day to appreciate the full moon, solve lantern riddles, watch art {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(performance) and eat tang yuan.

    The festival was once also a time for romantic encounters. In feudal times, young women were not allowed to go out {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(free), but Lantern Festival was an exception, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} young men and women could meet up.

    Some aspects of the festival, such as its romantic atmosphere, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (fade), but people {#blank#}10{#/blank#} see the Lantern Festival as a day to rejoice and a chance to wish for happiness.

    I don't very often have a full day off work. Today I did. I had a leisurely morning, going to the gym, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (walk) the dog, feeding my friend's cat, and thought I would hurry into the office at Job number 2, to fill in my time sheet so I would {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (pay) for the hours I have worked. I was thinking that I had worked less hours because the lady I share job with was working instead {#blank#}3{#/blank#} me. I prayed then, that somehow we would have {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (much) money coming in this month and imagined money coming in to my bank account.

    I arrived at the office to see the main secretary looking very pale. She asked what my afternoon {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (plan) were, when I said I had the afternoon free she asked me {#blank#}6{#/blank#} I could work for her, as she had really hurt her back. I was really looking forward to a day off, but she looked in such pain that I said yes straight away. She did a quick handover of what {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (be) urgent and needed to be done.

    I raced home and got {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (change) into work appropriate clothes and took over. Our boss phoned and thanked me for stepping in so that everything went {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (smooth). The unwell person went home, and I got four hours extra pay. It's amazing how {#blank#}10{#/blank#} universe works.

    Bank of China and Alibaba are the dream employers for Chinese students, according to a new survey.

    The survey of more than 55,000 students, {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(conduct) by a research firm Universum, found that {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(rough)a quarter want to work for an international company, while only 9% want to work for a start-up. Five percent want to start {#blank#}3{#/blank#}own business.

    When it comes to desirable companies, business students{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(name)Bank of China the top choice for seven years, and it shows no signs of {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(give)up its lead.

    William Wu, manager of Universum, said that banking remains{#blank#}6{#/blank#}attractive industry for young Chinese. “China's government is now emphasizing the revolution of finance industry, {#blank#}7{#/blank#}leaves the younger generation with the impression that though banking is a {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(tradition)industry, there are still a lot of development {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(opportunity),” Wu said.

    Alibaba improved six places from 2014, {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(rank)second among business students. It held a record-breaking $25 billion IPO in September.

    Middle English is the name {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(give) to the English used from around the 12th to the 15th centuries. Many things played a part in the{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(develop) of this new type of English. The most important {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(贡献) was from the Normans, a {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (French speak) people who{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (打败) England and took control of the country in 1066. {#blank#}6{#/blank#}, the Norman Conquest did not affect English as much as the Angles and the Saxons' victory about 600 years earlier, which led to Old English {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (replace) Celtic. Even though the Normans spoke French for the e{#blank#}8{#/blank#} 250 years they ruled England, French did not replace English {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the first language. On the other hand, the English language did borrow many words from French. This resulted in even more words with similar meanings, such as answer (from Old English) and reply (from Old French). It is interesting to learn {#blank#}10{#/blank#}the words for animals and meat developed.

    China's most famous wall may have been built to keep people away, but a new kind of wall is bringing people a lot {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (close) together.

    On January 29, hooks and hangers appeared on the side of a Qingdao building under the words: "If you need it, take it." This "wall of {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (kind)", the creation of local charity Chuangyi Workshop, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (invite) passers­by to leave their spare warm clothes and encourages those {#blank#}4{#/blank#} are in need to take them.

    "It is just like what you do at home. You hang your clothes when you get home. You take them down {#blank#}5{#/blank#} put them on when you go out," said Wang Lei, director of Chuangyi Workshop. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (inspire) by a similar plan in Iran, she put it into practice in China as the country experienced {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (it) coldest winter in decades.

    Wang and her colleagues receive lots of clothes from people, especially in winter. She {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (touch) by people's generosity. "Some of the clothing is almost new. I don't even have to wash my hands {#blank#}9{#/blank#} sorting it."

    Many such walls have also appeared in several other Chinese {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (city). This simple way of helping people is now making a big difference to society.