Kites were once called zhiyuan in North China and yaozi in South China. The name fengzheng came into use during the Five Dynasties. 【小题1】 He once tied a whistle (哨子) made of bamboo to the upper (上面的) part of his kite so that a zheng sound was made when he was flying the kite. The word for wind is feng, so fengzheng came into use.

Who invented the kite? 【小题2】 But it’s widely believed that the earliest kite in the world was made by Mo Di who lived about 2,400 years ago. He spent three years making a “bird” with wood and successfully flew it. The “bird” was later regarded as the first kite in the world. Later, he passed his kite-making skills on to his student Lu Ban. Lu Ban improved on kite-making. 【小题3】

Kite-flying became a kind of activity probably in the Tang Dynasty. 【小题4】 Later, the paper-made kite was invented. Paper-made kites were cheaper to make and then they spread quickly among the common people.

【小题5】 The well-known British scientist, Dr. Needham, once described kites as an important invention that spread to Europe from China in his book.

People in North China usually have traditional Chinese food like noodles and steamed buns (馒头) for every meal. The steamed bun is a kind of bread which was first started in China. It can be filled with meat or vegetables. It is said that the steamed bun was invented by Zhuge Liang. As time goes by, steamed buns have become part of Chinese culture.

Boye County, in North China’s Hebei Province, has a long history of making traditional flower-shaped steamed buns. They are regarded as a cultural symbol of good luck. A young woman from Boye County, has turned traditional steamed buns into beautiful artworks with creative ideas of different patterns (花样).

Liu Danmei, a cook born in the 1990s, has combined (使……结合) the art of making traditional flower-shaped steamed buns with modern elements (元素). She has her style in patterns and skills. For example, she has made some steamed buns with patterns about Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. She has also created colorful steamed buns with simple flour (面粉), vegetables and fruit.

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This famous poem, with four couplets（对句）, was written by a famous poet Du Fu（712-770）when he was living and farming in Chengdu. His farming experience taught him to be thankful to nature.

The first word, “good”, shows his joy and love for the spring rain. The rain is good because it “knows” the right time to come. Here the poet uses personification（拟人）, as if the rain were smart enough to come in time for the farmer’s busy season.

When the rain comes, it appears during the night without making any noise. Unlike the summer storms, the spring rain finishes its task without being known.

In the third couplet, the poet describes a peaceful scene（场景）to us. In the night sky, the clouds look dark and heavy. It’s a sign that there will be enough rain during the night. The light from the riverboat makes the dark scene a bit livelier.

Lastly, the poet starts to imagine（想象）. Tomorrow morning, he thinks, the city of Chengdu will become beautiful when all of the flowers bloom（盛开）after the rain.