Do you like traditional Chinese paper-cutting? Ding Xiang, a student at Nongsishi Middle School in Xinjiang, is really good at it. At the eighth National Excellent Talents Competition last month in Beijing, the 15-year-old girl got the gold award  for her paper-cutting skills. At the competition, Ding cut a piece: Millennium Dream . The piece has two papers. One shows an ancient cave painting  and the other a Chinese-made spaceship. The two papers form a sharp contrast . Ding said she wanted to show three things with the piece: China's long history, China's rapid development, and her hope for the future of paper-cutting. This piece helped Ding walk away with the gold award. "I was very surprised to get the award." Ding said in an interview with Yili Daily, a Xingjiang newspaper. "I should thank paper-cutting for bringing me the award." All the hard work has paid off. In two years, Ding's skills have improved a lot, and she has the gold award to prove  _ . Ding said she has learned a lot from paper-cutting. "I have learned to observe things carefully," Ding told Yili Daily. "I have become more confident, too. It is a great help in my studies. Also, I have learned a lot of history from the art." In Ding Xiang's opinion, the art brought her a lot except   _  .
joy carelessness confidence knowledge