—Don't worry. I will end my present life soon.

—He was lost in thought.

—Did they find him?

    Each different part of China has its own special forms of traditional art. These usually try to show the things are important in life, such as love, beauty and family. The most common things, from paper to clay to bamboo, are turned into objects of beauty.

    According to Chinese history, sky lanterns were first used by Zhuge Kongming. He sent them out (ask)for help when in trouble. Today, sky lanterns are used at festivals and other celebrations. They (make) of bamboo and covered with paper. When the lanterns are lit, they slowly rise into the air like small hot-air balloons for all to see. They are seen as bright symbols of (happy) and good wishes.

    Paper cutting (be)around for over 1500 years. Paper cutting sounds very easy it can be difficult to do. The paper, usually red, is folded before it is cut with scissors. The Most common pictures are flowers, animals, and things about Chinese history. During the Spring Festival, they are put on windows, doors and walls symbols of wishes for good luck and a happy new year.

    Chinese clay art is famous because the clay pieces are so small but they look very real. The pieces are usually cute children or lively characters from a Chinese fairy tale or historical story. The pieces are (careful)shaped by hand from a very special kind of clay and then allowed to air-dry. After (dry) they are fired at a very high heat. They are then polished and painted. It takes several weeks (complete)everything. These small pieces of clay art show the love that all Chinese people have for life and beauty.

    Life is always full of challenges and difficult experiences. They can help you find out who you really are.

    About two years ago, I was 1in one of my first taekwondo( 跆拳道) championships. I was very confident in 2. My opponent(对手 )was very thin. The thoughts in my head were something like "She's so tiny and of course you'll win." 3 the match started, my opponent's true personality came out. She came straight at me and gave a head kick to me, 4 three points in the first five seconds. I was so shocked, scared and forgot everything my coach said. I was kicking blindly, in hopes of not losing. But the 5 hit me. I lost 21-5. I had never lost before. I was afraid of the girl, and to me, her name was 6 with failure.

    The experience lasted with me. I worked and trained harder than before. I listened to my 7 wholeheartedly and made sure I was not overconfident. The following year, I 8 the same girl once again at the championships. I was 9. But with the encouragement from my coach, I 10 some confidence. When the competition started, I did not panic(恐慌) like the past match but listened to my coach's 11. His voice 12 me around the ring( 拳击场) to fight at key moments.

    The main thought in my head was not about winning or losing, 13doing my best. Finally, I won. My hard work and listening to my coach all worked. My opponent had the same thin figure(身形) , but did not make me scared anymore.

    From this experience, I learned not to be too proud. It is important to 14the fact that there are people better than you. But with this idea in mind, you can work hard to become that person who is better. This experience also taught me not to judge others by their 15. We should be modest and learn more from others, especially from our opponents.

    When your pen is broken, the battery(电池)in your toy runs out, or you have some leftover(吃剩的)food, what do you do with these things? You will probably throw them all into one bin. But actually, all kinds of rubbish need to be sorted(分类) separately.

    Rubbish sorting is a big issue (议题)worldwide. In recent years, some Chinese cities have been working hand on it, Shanghai has worked with Alipay to create a＂green account(账户)＂ service for its residents(居民). Account holders get points by sorting their rubbish correctly. Through the Alipay app, they ran exchange the points for milk, phone cards and other products. The city is asking all of its residents to sort their rubbish into four groups: wet, recyclable, harmful and dry. Wet waste is also known as household waste. Paper, metal and glass are recyclable waste. Medicine and batteries are harmful waste. Finally, any waste that's not wet, recyclable or harmful will go in the "dry waste" bin. Many other Chinese cities are also doing this. Shenzhen has been sorting its rubbish into the same four groups since 2012. Students there must study waste-sorting guidebooks.

    If you don't sort your rubbish, it will go to a landfill(垃圾填埋场) and be buried together. These landfills can take up large areas of ground. Some rubbish can pollute the soil and groundwater and it can also do harm to the environment around us. China is improving its waste-sorting efforts. There is still a long way to go.

    In ancient China, there was a man called Zhou Yong. Before his father died, he left Zhou Yong a great number of gold ingots （元宝）. Zhou hid them in a safe place in his home. One day, Zhou decided to travel far away. He was afraid that someone would steal the gold ingots. But they were too heavy for him to bring along with him. So he put all the ingots into a jar （坛子） and gave it to his friend Wang Wu, telling Wang that the jar was full of fresh red dates （红枣）.

    A year later, one day before Zhou came back, Wang's wife wondered what was in the jar. So she secretly opened it. She was shocked when she saw so many ingots inside. She told Wang about it and they took the ingots out and filled the jar with fresh red dates.

    When Wang returned the jar to Zhou, Zhou found the ingots were missing. They argued about it for a while, then they went to see the county magistrate （县官）.

    When the magistrate asked Wang what had happened, he answered, "Zhou said that there were fresh red dates in it when he gave me the jar a year ago."

    The magistrate examined the jar and the fresh red dates in it carefully. Then he said: "Bring the ingots back, Wang Wu!"

    Wang still denied （否认）having taken them. But after the magistrate explained what he knew, Wang finally admitted （承认）that he had taken the ingots.

—Yes. He is unable to hear anything. We should give him a hand.

—Yes, we need all of them during our trip.