The person I respect most is the geophysicist Huang Danian, who committed himself to     1     (make) many technological advances.

Huang     2     (acknowledge) as an extraordinary scientist. He had studied and worked in Britain for 18 years, but upon     3     (know) his country needed him, he quit his well­paid job and returned to China. Over the next seven years, Huang developed many     4     (device) needed for deep­sea exploration.

Unfortunately, such     5     (remark) achievements didn’t come cheap. As     6     consequence of the frantic pace of his research, Huang was absent from his father’s funeral, and even his own cancer went undetected as he had no time     7     (see) a doctor. To sum     8    , Huang sacrificed everything for his research, so it is vital that more people should honour him.

10 . Accompanied by the rhythmic sound of bamboo strips (竹板), Yang Ziqi, 17, from Xi’an Qujiang No l High School, listens to interesting stories in the Shaanxi dialect. The stories range in subject greatly from the story of the Monkey King to instructions on garbage sorting.

“Shaanxi kuaiban is amazing. It can not only bring you great joy, but also broaden your horizons” said Yang. Shaanxi kuaiban is a traditional Chinese form of storytelling in the Shaanxi dialect to the rhythm of bamboo clappers. In June, it was recognized as an intangible cultural heritage at the national level. It can be performed by a group or solo. The art form can be traced back to the late Qing Dynasty (1644 — 1911). According to its performers, the art was originally used by farmers to share their knowledge and earn money. But now, more people perform Shaanxi kuaiban on different occasions-for example, at festival celebrations, parties and art shows.

Yang Jinlong, 45, is an experienced Shaanxi kuaiban artist. He first learned the art at the age of 9. Before that, he often went with his father, an amateur performer, to watch kuaiban performances.

“As a young boy, I was attracted to the art form because many of the stories are about heroes. The performer tells stories while playing kuaiban, and it’s easy for the audience to remember the stories since all the lines rhyme,” Yang said. He has practiced Shaanxi kuaiban for more than 30 years. Since 2003, he has been teaching the art form to young people. At 9 am on weekdays, he drives to primary and middle schools in Xi’an and teaches students about Shaanxi kuaiban until about 6 pm. Then, he returns home to prepare classes for the next day. On the weekends, he teaches for six hours each day at art education institutions in Xi’an.

Yang has made some adaptations to the art form to relate more to students. When he tells modern stories, Yang abandons the traditional gown and wears a suit. He also integrates many pop elements like tap dance, ballet, jazz dance and the rhythm of popular music into kuaiban performances. His stories focus on more trendy topics, like stories of heroes who have worked to alleviate poverty (扶贫), as well as the Chinese Olympic team.

“Art education is important for students in China. Just as many students learn to play Western musical instruments like the piano and violin, there are many people learning traditional Chinese folk arts, including Shaanxi kuaiban. They are committed and passionate,” Yang said.