I was on my way to the Taiyetos Mountains. The sun was setting when my car {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (break) down near a remote and poor village. Cursing my misfortune, I was wondering where I was going to spend the night when I realized that the villagers who had gathered around me were arguing as to {#blank#}2{#/blank#} should have the honor of receiving me {#blank#}3{#/blank#} a guest in their house. Finally, I accepted the offer of an old woman who lived alone in a little house. While she was getting me {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (settle) into a tiny but clean room, the head of the village was tying up his horse to my car to pull it to {#blank#}5{#/blank#} small town some 20 kilometres away {#blank#}6{#/blank#} there was a garage.

    I had noticed three hens running free in my hostess's courtyard and that night one of them ended up in a dish on my table. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} villagers brought me goat's cheese and honey. We drank together and talked {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (merry) till far into the night.

    When the time came for me to say goodbye to my friends in the village, I wanted to reward the old woman {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the trouble I had caused {#blank#}10{#/blank#}.

    A Bite of China, a Chinese documentary television series on the history of food{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(eat) and cooking, returns! The show broadcast on CCTV Channels every Friday now.

    Covering over 300 different{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(dish) and more than 150 people, the new season not only is a simple{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(introduce) to food, but also {#blank#}4{#/blank#} investigation(调查) of Chinese people and society. Hot topics, such as higher education{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(discuss) in the documentary series.

    Liu Hongyan, director{#blank#}6{#/blank#}the documentary as well as a famous food writer in China, wishes {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(explore) the relationship between Chinese people and their food through the show.

    The Beauty and mystery of Chinese food had never been{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(proper) explained or thoroughly appreciated on an artistic level {#blank#}9{#/blank#}the show A Bite of China was put on the TV screen in May,

    Let's travel along A Bite of China III, another journey of food and culture,{#blank#}10{#/blank#}will never let you down!

    Home of the copper drum

    Hechi's copper drum culture goes back as far as the Han Dynasty (206 BC—AD 220){#blank#}1{#/blank#} the people living in the area considered copper drums sacred and Hechi is still one of China's {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(large) copper drum sites. A 2003 survey by cultural heritage departments{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (find) more than 1, 400 copper drums in the area, with at least 1,300 copper drums {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (be) used by local folk artists. In this way, ethnic groups in Hechi have produced a{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (unique) rich and diverse cultural form and customs for festivals, weddings, celebrations, funerals, and religious {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (activity) of local people, with ballads and for rice-planting and frogs. That same year, a copper drum conservation project along the Hongshui River basin joined the Culture Ministry's Top 10 conservation project list for ethnic and folk cultures.

    In 2006, the Zhuang People's Copper Drum Practices{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(add) to the national cultural heritage list by the State Council. In 2008, the Culture Ministry declared Donglan county and{#blank#}8{#/blank#}city of Hechi the “Home of Chinese Copper Drum Art”{#blank#}9{#/blank#} in 2009, its “Copper Drum Practice” became a candidate for the Human Cultural Heritage. There are now more than 2,400 copper drums in the world, at least 1,400 of {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (they) in Hechi, making it a Copper Drum Cultural and Ecological Reserve with recognition across Guangxi.

    One morning, I was waiting at the bus stop, worried about {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (be) late for school. There were many people waiting at the bus stop, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} some of them looked very anxious and {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (disappoint).When the bus finally came, we all hurried on board. I got a place next {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the window, so I had a good view of the sidewalk. A boy on a bike {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (catch) my attention. He was riding beside the bus and waving his arms. I heard a passenger behind me shouting to the driver, but he refused {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (stop) until we reached the next stop. Still, the boy kept {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (ride). He was carrying something over his shoulder and shouting. Finally, when we came to the next stop, the boy ran up to the door of the bus. I heard an excited conversation. Then the driver stood up and asked, “Did anyone lose a suitcase at the last stop?” A woman on the bus shouted, “Oh, dear! It's {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (I).”She pushed her way to the driver and took the suitcase thankfully. Everyone on the bus began talking about {#blank#}9{#/blank#} the boy had done, and the crowd of strangers {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (sudden) became friendly to one another.

    Two new satellites of BeiDou Navigation (导航) Satellite System (BDS){#blank#}1{#/blank#}(send) into space on a Long March-3D carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province, China at 2:07 a.m. on November 19, 2018. The satellites entered a Medium Earth orbit (轨道) {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(safe) more than three hours later and will work with 17 other BDS-3 satellites already in space. They are also the 42^nd and 43^rd{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(member) of the BDS satellite family.

    China launched these satellites with the aim of providing navigation services{#blank#}4{#/blank#}countries and regions which participate in the Belt and Road Proposal by the end of 2018. “This is a key and{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(value) step for BDS developing from a Chinese experimental system to a regional and then a global navigation system,” said Yang Changfeng, chief expert{#blank#}6{#/blank#}contributed much to the BeiDou system. The positioning{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(accurate) of the BDS-3 system has been improved to 2.5 meters to 5 meters, said Yang.

    {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(name) after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, the BeiDou system has been serving China for 18 years where another six BDS-3 satellites will be put into the Medium Earth orbit from 2019 to 2020. The system is expected{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(provide) first-class services around{#blank#}10{#/blank#}globe by the end of 2020.

    If this 13-year-old American boy succeeds in his effort {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (climb) Mount Everest, he has modest ambitions — pick a small piece of rock from the top of the world as a memento (纪念品) and wear it in a necklace.

    "I will not sell it or give it to anyone. It is something for {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (me) to say 'this is a rock from the summit'," Jordan Romero from California, told reporters in Kathmandu. He left {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the mountain on Sunday.

    If he {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (succeed), Romero will become {#blank#}5{#/blank#} youngest climber to scale the 8,850 meters Everest summit. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (current) a 16-year-old Nepali boy, Temba Tsheri Sherpa, holds the record of being the world's youngest climber of Mount Everest. But Romero said he was not after {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (set) climbing records.

    Romero said Mount Qomolangma was part of his goal to climb the highest mountains on all seven {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (continent).

    "It is just a goal," he {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (say) confidently. "If I don't succeed I am okay. I will try again."

    Romero has already climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and Mount McKinley in Alaska among others.

    "I know it requires a lot of {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (patient). I will remain patient. I want to stay safe and make right choice," Romero said.