Woodblock painting（木版画）are often hung at homes during the Chinese Lunar New Year.

    For many Chinese, the bright-colored paintings are quite time-limited. As soon as the festival comes to an end, these print works are at once thrown away. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, these short-lives New Year paintings require a year of hard work by the artists, many of {#blank#}2{#/blank#} have devoted their entire life to this traditional folk art.

    Yang Luoshu, a 92-year-old man from Weifang City, Shandong Province, is {#blank#}3{#/blank#} those who have had a great love of the art. Yang has worked as {#blank#}4{#/blank#} craftsman for 77 years, and has kept improving his carving skills with every piece of work.

    Yangjiabu New Year woodblock paintings, which Yang has fallen in love with, {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(appear) in the Ming Dynasty. As a national cultural heritage, it is now one of China's three {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(representative) of traditional folk paintings for the New Year, together with Tianjin's Yangliuqing and Suzhou's Taohuawu.

    {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(run) a centuries-old folk art family workshop named Tongshunde, Yang has carved all kinds of images, including flowers, birds, mountains, rivers and traditional Chinese gods. But he realizes that something must be changed {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(make) sure handmade New Year paintings live on. “We are now thinking about development, allowing the paintings to be more {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(create).” he said. For him, the next thing to do is to find qualified successors to ensure that the skills {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(pass) to younger generations.

    I was very happy when my friend Mary came to visit me from England. Her destination {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(be) Beijing and the architectural heritage of China. In {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (prepare) for her visit she had attended a series of seminars on the history of China. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (check) into the Holiday Inn, Mary settled in and began her tour of the capital city. Day in and day out she walked around the city, rejoicing in its abundant {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(culture) sites and experiencing the kindness of its people. However, after seeing the Ming Tombs, she was eager {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (make) a trip to Xi'an to see the terracotta warriors, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} is known as the eighth wonder of the world.

    Originally this had been an optional trip on her schedule, but unfortunately it was later cancelled {#blank#}7{#/blank#} some reason. She felt it was out of the question for her to visit China without {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (go) to see the terracotta warriors, so I helped her arrange a tour to Xi'an. It was {#blank#}9{#/blank#}outstanding success and Mary returned to England with wonderful {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (memory) of her holiday in China.

    Keeping a diary in English is one of the effective ways to improve our English writing ability.

    Compared with other forms of writing, it is shorter and takes{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (little) time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English. If we persist in this practice, gradually we'll learn how{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(express)ourselves in English. In keeping a diary in English, we certainly run up against many{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(difficult). In the first place, it often happens that we have trouble in{#blank#}4{#/blank#} (find) appropriate words and phrases to give expression to our mind. Secondly, there{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (be) many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese. And it is extremely hard for us to put them into English {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (proper).

    As far as I am {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(concern), my suggestion is {#blank#}8{#/blank#}we should always have a notebook and a Chinese-English dictionary within easy reach. Whenever something beats us, we can first put it down in our notebook and then consult our dictionary. We can also ask our English teacher {#blank#}9{#/blank#} help, if necessary. In short, I believe that it is of great use to keep a diary in English for{#blank#}10{#/blank#} development of our writing skills.

    It is well known that the Chinese have great respect for their elders, and here is an occasion to show it-the Chongyang Festival. It falls {#blank#}1{#/blank#} the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. In Chinese, nine {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(regard) as the number of "yang". The ninth day of the ninth month is the day that has two "yang" numbers, and "chong" in Chinese means double, which is {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the name "Chongyang" came into being.

    The festival can date back to the Warring States Period. However, it was not {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (formal) set as a festival until the Tang Dynasty. In 1989, the Chinese government {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(declare)the ninth day of the ninth lunar month to be Seniors' Day-a day to respect {#blank#}6{#/blank#} elderly and to let them enjoy {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(they).

    Traditionally, people climb mountains, drink chrysanthemum (菊花) wine, and eat double-ninth cakes. Since cake in Chinese is pronounced "gao" meaning"high", people consider climbing a high mountain to be the same as eating cake in the hope of {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (promote) to high positions. And people often think that chrysanthemum wine can get rid of all kinds of diseases and {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(disaster).

    Today many activities are held {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(show) respect for the seniors like organizing a trip for them, sending them gifts and more on the day of the festival.

    The art of paper-cutting in China may date back to the second century, since paper {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(invent)by Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty in China. As paper became more affordable, paper-cutting became one of the most important {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(type) of Chinese folk art. Later, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}different regions using their own cultural styles, this art form spread to other parts of the world. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(usual), the artworks are made of red paper, as red is connected with {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(happy)in Chinese culture, but other colors are also used.

    With {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(it)long history, paper-cutting, {#blank#}7{#/blank#}originated in China, has been very popular among the ordinary Chinese people. People put up papercuts on walls, windows and doors at wedding ceremonies or festivals {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(add)to the cheerful atmosphere(氛围).

    Chinese papercuts are rich in content. The auspicious(吉祥的)designs symbolize good luck and the avoidance of evil. The child, lotus(莲花)and bat designs suggest a family with {#blank#}9{#/blank#} large number of children and grandchildren. Birds, livestock, fruit, fish and worms are also familiar objects {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(accept) by Chinese farmers. In a word, papercuts used in different occasions have different meanings.