Chinese Spring Festival, celebrating the end of winter and the warmth of spring, 【小题1】 is also called the Lantern Festival, begins in the last day of the lunar year and ends in the 15th day of lunar New Year.

During the New Year’s Eve, people use red lanterns and Spring Festival couplets which represent joy, luck and happiness 【小题2】 (decorate) a house. On the street are dragon and lion dance and some other carnival activities. Then at dinner time, all the family would sit together 【小题3】 (eat) dumplings, fish, meat and other delicious food, as well as watching the New Year’s programme, such as the grand Spring Festival gala 【小题4】 (hold) by CCTV. In the warmth and comfort 【小题5】 fills the room, all the family members would talk with each other about their plans for the future. With the midnight 【小题6】 (approach), people would set 【小题7】 the firecrackers and the whole country would be lit up with the flashes of fireworks.

On the first day of the new year, 【小题8】 adults and children would put on all kinds of colored clothes, and visit friends and relatives. The children are looking forward to 【小题9】(receive) red envelope money, and together they play each other the fireworks 【小题10】(happy). All over the country, people are celebrating their good fortune, celebrating their family’s togetherness, and celebrating their nation’s strength.

Acrobatics, whose Chinese name is Zaji. Modern acrobatics mainly depends on performer’s soft body 【小题1】   (complete) a series of highly difficult movement. It can 【小题2】 (find) in many of the performing arts and many sports. Acrobatics is often associated with the activities 【小题3】 make extensive use of gymnastic skills, such as circus and gymnastics, but many other athletic activities, such as Wushu, ballet and diving, may also employ 【小题4】 (element) of acrobatics. The items in Chinese acrobatics include lion dance, oral stunts, pagoda of bowls, juggling, wire walking, etc.

Chinese Zaji can date back 【小题5】 Neolithic times. As one of the traditional art forms, acrobatics has been popular among the Chinese people for more than 2,000 years. As early as the Warring States, there appeared early stages of acrobatics. By 【小题6】 time of Han Dynasty, the acrobatics art further developed both in content and form and there appeared superb performances with music accompaniment on the stage. In the Tang Dynasty, the most flourishing period in ancient China, the number of acrobats increased 【小题7】 (significant) and their performing skills gained much improvement.

There is much 【小题8】 (stable) involved in dangerous movements and quietness in actions. The modern acrobatics aim at creating graceful stage images, 【小题9】 (harmony) musical accompaniment, and good supporting effects, props and lighting. In the past 50 years, many Chinese acrobatic troupes (表演团) 【小题10】 (visit) more than one hundred countries and regions around the world, winning dozens of prizes in the international acrobatic festivals and championships.

Many people may throw away the pits (核) or nuts after eating fruits, but inheritors of nut carving have instead collected them and turned them into artworks.

“One nut, 【小题1】(range) from 0.8 to 6 centimeters, can be made into delicate fan pendants (扇坠), earrings, buttons, seals, ect,” said Tan Wanhai, 【小题2】 inheritor of Weifang nut carving.

Weifang nut carving 【小题3】(date) back to the Qing Dynasty. During that time, retired imperial craftsman Wang Dayan spread the skill to the local people in Shandong Province. Craftsmen back then often used peach pits to show off their artistic skills. Due to the rigorous (缜密的) carving skills 【小题4】 its rich artistic content, Weifang nut carving 【小题5】(list) as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

Tan couldn’t forget 【小题6】 impressed he was when he first saw a nut carving. Yet, the 48-year-old craftsman also admitted that the Journey of bringing this kind of masterpiece to life is not all smooth sailing. “Unlike some pits 【小题7】 a flat surface, each peach pit has its own unique texture,” Tan said, adding that craftsmen have to study and trace each peach pit to carefully plan out their artwork.

“Now, the number of inheritors 【小题8】(follow) the tradition is about 1,000. But I believe it could be 【小题9】(high) as more craftsmen give up the tradition of passing down the skill only through the family and open up the 【小题10】 (occupy) to anyone who is interested,” added Tan.