Human history begins with stories. Some stories are so important that they    1    （pass）down for countless generations. And storytelling is a useful tool,     2    gives a lesson much more powerfully than other ways. For example, once I had to tell actors to be on time for a performance. Instead of    3    （repeat）the time over and over again, I told them a true story. “The year before, one of the actors was late. We replaced him so he didn’t get a chance to perform.” Then, no one    4    （be）late again.

China is     1    (wide) known for its ancient civilisation which has continued all the way through into modern times,     2     the many ups and downs in its history. There are many reasons why this has been possible, but one of the main     3    (factor) has been the Chinese writing system.

At the beginning,     4    (write) Chinese was a picture-based language. It Dates back several thousand years to the use of Longgu ---- animal bones and shells on which symbols     5    (carve) by ancient Chinese people. Some of the ancient symbols can still be seen in today’s hanzi.

By the Shang Dynasty, these symbols     6    (become) a well-developed writing system. Over the years, the system developed into different forms, as it was a time when people were divided geographically,     7    (lead) to many varieties of dialects and characters. This, however, changed under Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty.

Emperor Qinshihuang united the seven major states into one unified country     8    the Chinese writing system began to develop in one direction. That writing system was of great     9     (important) in uniting the Chinese people and culture. Even today,     10     matter where Chinese people live or what dialect they speak, they can all still communicate in writing.

Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English     1    (speak) are always making new words and we should be able to know where most words come from.

Sometimes, however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers     2    (be)called hamburgers,     3    (especial) when they are not made of ham? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America     4    Europe. They came from a big city in Germany     5    (call) Hamburg. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. Some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef. Never had they seen such a strange way. They couldn't help     6    (ask) the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, "We came from Hamburg." One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He made up     7    mind to do something new. He cooked some round pieces of the beef like     8    the men from Hamburg ate and     9    (sell) it quite a few countries around the world.

Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is     10    (interest).