The traditional Chinese calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Jingzhe (惊蛰),   or Awakening of Insects, 【小题1】 (fall) on March 5 and ends on March 20 this year.

The solar term signals a rise in temperature and increased rainfall, 【小题2】 (mark) the third solar term in the solar year. Its name alludes to (暗指) the awakening of animals 【小题3】 (sleep) in winter and everything beginning to come back 【小题4】 life.

Jingzhe is an extremely important time for farmers and 【小题5】 (see) as the beginning of the busiest time for agricultural work. Old Chinese 【小题6】 (say) such as “once Jingzhe comes, spring plowing (春耕) never rests” reveal the importance of this term to farmers. During this period, most parts of China experience a rapid increase in temperatures and a marked increase in sunshine, 【小题7】 provide the ideal conditions for farming activities.

Eating pears around Awakening of Insects is 【小题8】 widely practiced custom in China. One theory behind the practice is that as the Chinese word for “pear” sounds the same as the character meaning “to leave”, consuming pears during this solar term showed people’s wish to drive away pests from crops so that there would be a good harvest throughout the year. 【小题9】   (additional), according to theories of traditional Chinese medicine, the sweet, juicy and cold fruit can be good for the lungs 【小题10】 (prevent) coughs as the weather warms up and the air becomes dry.