Famous scientist as he is, Yuan Longping considers himself     1     farmer. He grows     2     is called super hybrid rice. As a young man, Yuan Longping saw the great need for increasing the rice output. At that time, hunger was a disturbing problem in China. He wanted to increase rice harvests without     3     (expand) the area of the fields. In 1973, a special strain of rice made     4     possible to produce 20% more of the crop in the same fields. Thanks     5     his research, the UN has more tools in the battle to rid the world of     6     (hungry). Using his hybrid rice, farmers are producing harvests twice as large    7     before. He is now circulating his rice knowledge in less developed countries     8     (increase) their rice harvests and he wants to export his rice so that it can be grown around the globe. Though he     9     (struggle) for the past five decades, Yuan Longping is quite satisfied     10     his life. In his spare time，he enjoys listening to violin music，playing mahjong, swimming and reading.

Yuan Longping, known as the “father of hybrid rice”，still considers     1    (he)to be a farmer. When he was young, he was encouraged to pursue a career in science or medicine. However,     2     concerned him most was farmers’ shortage of food to eat, and as a consequence, he had a     3    (prefer)to study agriculture at college. After graduating in 1953, he worked as a researcher and was devoted to     4    (create)a kind of hybrid rice, which could attain a     5    (high) yield. In 1974, he succeeded in making it     6     reality. Today, about 60% of domestic rice consumption in China     7    (comprise) of crops generated from his hybrid strains, for which he has received numerous awards at home and abroad. But the humorous old “farmer”，caring little     8     celebrity or money, was still leading a simple life. Despite his     9    (advance) years, he was trying    10    (accomplish)his dreams of getting rid of hunger.

Because of her contribution to the fight against malaria, Tu Youyou has become the first female Chinese scientist     1     (receive) a Nobel Prize. 

Born in 1930 in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, Tu    2    (study) medicine at university in Beijing and acquired a broad knowledge of both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. In 1969 Tu became head of a team that intended to find a cure for malaria.     3    (inspire) by an over 1,600-year-old text about preparing qinghao extract with cold water, she succeeded in making qinghao extract that could treat malaria in mice.     4    , the trials on real patients were likely     5    (postpone) because they did not have sufficient safety data. To speed     6     the process and ensure its safety, Tu and her team volunteered to test qinghao extract on themselves first. 

The efforts of Tu and her team finally paid    7    . In November 1972, they     8    (success) discovered the most effective part of the extract and named it qinghaosu,     9     is now a key part of many malaria medicines. Tu encouraged scientists to further explore the treasure house of traditional Chinese medicine    10     raise it to a higher level.

About 800 meters above sea level and next to the picturesque Taiping Lake, Houkeng village in Huangshan, a region in the south of Anhui Province, seems     1     (bless) by nature and is home to the handmade tea variety Taiping Kowkui. Every spring     2     foggy days moisten the emerald hillsides, villagers know their harvest will come. “    3     any of the three key factors — proper location, plant variety, or processing technique — the perfect Kowkui will not be born,” Fang Jifan, the fifth-generation tea farmer says. “It’s     4    signature of our home”.

Kowkui’s exceptionally large     5     (leaf) often lead to its being     6    (mistake) for   “vegetable”   by first-time viewers, but this “king” of green tea in Fang’s eyes beats other varieties at more than just size. “Its fragrance and flavor also stand out, thanks to the time-consuming work to process them.”   Fang says.

Last November, traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in   China     7     (add) to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. “The tea culture not only reflects a refined taste in life, it also shows the beauty of craftsmanship     8     people’s creativity.” says Zheng Yi, deputy head of Anhui Tea Culture Research Society. “For centuries, the scent of tea     9     (offer) nutrition to this land. This intangible cultural heritage of tea processing techniques is deeply rooted in people’s everyday life. This     10     (whole) handmade version of this famous tea showcases its soft and clean-flavored heirloom cultivar with a sea mineral aftertaste and signature fresh bamboo aroma. ”

In some legends and stories, we have seen some mysterious talking plants, which can give advice and warnings to people. Alexander the Great and Marco Polo were said     1    (visit) such a tree in India. In the modern movie Avatar, trees can communicate with animals and people. With us long     2    (believe) that talking plants are fantasy, recent research has revealed something amazing: plants appear to be able to communicate after all. When a plant     3    (attack) by insects, it sends chemicals. When another plant detects the chemicals from its injured neighbour, it starts to release different chemicals, some of     4     drive insects away. More     5    (surprising), plants also use sound to communicate. Some plants make noises with their roots. Some trees make clicking noises when there is not enough water,       6    (indicate) drought is arriving. Plants also have an amazing system of     7    (communicate) that can link nearly all the plants in a forest. Through the system, plants can share information and even food     8     each other as well as steal food or spread poisons to attack other plants. Scientists hope to learn how     9    (create) a “firewall”to help prevent these attacks. Maybe one day we will know enough     10     plant communication to be able to “talk” with them.

Bamboo is called “poor people’s material” and even in China it is not       1     (wide) accepted as a modern building material. But bamboo makes nearly the lightest houses, which       2     (become) better than “modern” materials at surviving earthquakes over the years.

And unlike the “Tofu” buildings that may     3     (destroy) in just several seconds in some earthquakes, bamboo makes a much     4     (safe) building. That is why it is suggested as a replacement(替代品)by International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR).

INBAR notes that     5     number of people who do not have safe and healthy shelter will increase with population growth if no proper action is taken.

Study shows that bamboo is excellent in     6     (strong) and is as strong as wood. Besides, because     7     the lightweight and good elasticity(弹性)of bamboo, bamboo buildings are very good at resisting(抵抗)earthquakes. For example, all of the 30 bamboo houses survived without any damage in the 7. 6 magnitude earthquake in Costa Rica in 2012.

Ancient Chinese people preferred living in houses     8     (make) of bamboo. In Yunnan Province, some locals still live in bamboo homes which can protect       9    (they) from rain and wind. And in Zhejiang Province,     10    bamboo is plentiful, local officials have been encouraging architects to design buildings using bamboo.