Marry of us wake up feeling{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(tire) in the morning. Many of us ignore the problem as the day goes on,{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (forget) that it might have a{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(danger) effect. Society even glorifies “burning the candle at both ends” as{#blank#}4{#/blank#}sign of our devotion to work and family.

    Believe it{#blank#}5{#/blank#}not, all this bad sleep has far-reaching consequences. We just do not give ourselves enough chances to sleep. A survey of over 74,000 people found 35 percent reported sleeping less than seven hours daily{#blank#}6{#/blank#}average. Furthermore, the amount of sleep{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(change) greatly over the past 15 years.

    This lack of sleep can lead of many serious{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(problem). One study found that{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(simple) limiting yourself to six hours of sleep a night for two weeks had similar effects to staying up all night the night before,{#blank#}10{#/blank#}could make you perform poorly on a timed attention task.

    The word Nushu literally means “women's writing” in Chinese: As the name suggests, Nushu is created and specially used by women.

    Often {#blank#}1{#/blank#}（call） “the world's only surviving characters for women”, these slim words were developed from standard written Chinese. In the old days, Nushu {#blank#}2{#/blank#}（teach）by elderly women to girls at home because female children weren't allowed {#blank#}3{#/blank#}（attend）formal school. During gatherings in villages, women used the characters to .write poems or song lyrics to express their emotions {#blank#}4{#/blank#} were hidden from men. The words were full {#blank#}5{#/blank#} encouragement and positive energy, and showed an uncommon open-mindedness among women at that time.

    Ji Xianlin once said that Nushu is a feminist（女权主义者）symbol. “It's {#blank#}6{#/blank#} unique writing system created by {#blank#}7{#/blank#}（talent）women who were deprived（剥夺）of the right to education,” he wrote in an article. “It has significance in various {#blank#}8{#/blank#}（field）and represents Chinese people's strong spirit.”

    Nushu was made as a national cultural heritage in 2006. However, it is not {#blank#}9{#/blank#}（wide）used in daily life today. In fact, it is a dying language. Now linguists are taking action to prevent this incredible cultural heritage from{#blank#}10{#/blank#}（disappear）.

    Chinese New Year, also {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (know) as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is the grandest festival in China. As the most colorful annual event, the {#blank#}2{#/blank#}tradition) Chinese New Year celebration lasts longer, up to two weeks, and the highlight {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (arrive) around the Lunar New Year's Eve.

    In 2020, the Chinese Spring Festival falls {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Jan. 25th. Like Christmas in Western countries, Chinese Lunar New Year is {#blank#}5{#/blank#} time to be home with family, chatting, drinking, cooking, and enjoying a hearty meal together. Home isthe focus of the Spring Festival; All Chinese people manage {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(make) their way home by New Year's Eve, for a reunion dinner with the whole family and {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(vary) kinds of meat, vegetable, and seafood are made into dishes with auspicious(吉祥的) meanings. {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (definite), the CCTV Spring Festival Gala is China's most watched television special, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} delightful songs and words act as a habitual background to a reunion dinner. Although the audience becomes more and more critical of the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (program) in the Gala, it never stops people turning on the TV on time.

    Stories from History

    Around the end of the first century AD，a Roman writer {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (call) Pliny wrote about a terrible volcanic eruption that he {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (witness)as a young man. The eruption had occurred on August 24th, 79 AD. The tragedy left {#blank#}3{#/blank#} deep impression on Pliny {#blank#}4{#/blank#} had lost an uncle in the eruption. However，more than 1,600 years later，some scientists found the lost towns that {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (bury) under the ashes of Mount Vesuvius. Pompeii is like a "time capsule" preserving a frozen moment in history. {#blank#}6{#/blank#}  the eruption occurred, {#blank#}7{#/blank#}  had been a booming Roman city with temples，markets，restaurants and theatres. Today you can visit these buildings by walking along the {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (origin) streets of the city. And {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (many) than 250 years since excavations started，thousands of tourists and hundreds of scientists visit Pompeii every year {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (learn) more about the ancient world.