Every week in China,millions of people will sit in front of their TVs watching teenagers compete for the title Character Hero,which is a Chinesestyle spelling bee (拼写大赛) .In this challenge,young competitors must write Chinese characters by hand. To prepare for the competition,the competitors usually spend months studying dictionaries.

Perhaps the show's popularity should not be a surprise. Along with gunpowder and paper,many Chinese people consider the creation of Chinese calligraphy (书法) to be one of their primary contributions to civilization. Unfortunately,all over the country,Chinese people are forgetting how to write their own language without computerized help. Software on smartphones and computers allows users to type in the basic sound of the word using the Latin alphabet. The correct character is cho?sen from a list. The result? It's possible to recognize characters without remembe?ring how to write them.

But there's still hope for the paint brush. China's Ministry of Education wants children to spend more time learning how to write.

In one Beijing primary school we visited,students practise calligraphy every day inside a specially decorated classroom with traditional Chinese paintings hanging on the walls. Soft music plays as a group of six-year-olds dip brush pens into black ink. They look up at the blackboard often to study their teacher's examples before carefully attempting to reproduce those characters on thin rice paper. "If adults can survive without using handwriting,why bother to teach it now?" we ask the calli?graphy teacher,Shen Bin. "The ability to write characters is part of Chinese tradi?tion and culture," she reasons. "Students must learn now so they don't forget when they grow up”, says the teacher.

5. What can we learn about the Character Hero?

   A. It's open to people of all ages and all walks.

   B. It's the mostviewed TV programme in China.

   C. It aims to spread Chinese culture to the world.

   D. It draws great public attention across the country.

6. Why are Chinese people forgetting how to write the characters?

   A. Chinese people don't refer to dictionaries very often.

   B. Chinese people no longer use brush pens or practise calligraphy.

   C. Chinese people are using the Latin alphabet instead of the characters.

   D. Chinese people needn't write by hand as often with the help of technology.

7. According to Shen Bin,being able to write characters by hand is      .

   A. necessary for adults to survive in China

   B. a requirement made by the Ministry of Education

   C. helpful to keep Chinese tradition and culture alive

   D. an ability to be developed only when you are students

8. Where does this text probably come from?.

   A. A news report. B. A science report.

   C. An advertisement. D. Children's literature.

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