Chang’an Tower, also known as the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, is an architectural wonder     1     (locate) in Xi’an, China. With its rich historical significance and stunning beauty, this ancient tower stands as a masterpiece of China’s cultural heritage.

    2     (original) built during the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century, Chang’an Tower served as a Buddhist pagoda, housing Buddhist materials that the monk Xuanzang brought from India. Its construction     3    (order) by Emperor Gaozong to promote Buddhism and facilitate (使……便利) the translation of Buddhist scriptures (佛经)     4     Chinese.

Rising to a     5     (high) of 64 meters, the square-shaped, thirteen-storey tower showcases the splendid craftsmanship of ancient Chinese craftsmen, each storey of     6     exhibits unique architectural features,     7     (reflect) the cultural influences of the time. Visitors can go up the internal staircase to the top for magnificent     8     (view) of the city. Surrounding the pagoda, the serene gardens and the Da Ci’en Temple offer a peaceful retreat as well.

Whether it is for experiencing a piece of history     9     exploring cultural wonders, Chang’an Tower is     10     essential destination for those exploring China’s vast historical landscape.

As a Qinqiang Opera actor, Hou Yan was once ashamed of her profession as a performer of local folk opera, which mainly thrived (兴盛) in northwestern China in the 1990s, a time     1     pop songs and music introduced from the West were popular.

Qinqiang Opera, which originated     2     the ancient folk songs and dances of the Han people in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, is one of the longest-lived     3     (form) of opera in China. But in the past, the sweeping trend of pop and Western music hit Qinqiang Opera hard. During this difficult time, Hou had no choice but     4     (leave) the opera stage she loved. She then took on several jobs to make ends meet, including working as a waitress,     5     (run) a clothing shop and acting in small film roles.     6     she did, she never lost her love for Qinqiang.

    7     (thankful), things were turning around.     8     (list) as a national-level intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) in 2006, Qinqiang Opera has gradually seen a return to popularity in recent years.     9     is inspiring that the number of young performers is increasing. And the average age of Hou’s opera team is 30.

The comeback of Qinqiang Opera in the past decades     10     (reflect) the country’s cultural development. Hou’s attitude to her career as a performer has also changed. “As an opera actor, I’m very confident in our culture. I couldn’t imagine it decades ago.”

The book pages are not anything modern-day readers are used to. When the pages are unfolded, they resemble the bellows of an accordion (手风琴的风箱) or waves     1     (approach) a beach. This is the result of dragon-scale binding (龙鳞装订) , a technique     2     goes back more than 1, 000 years to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) . Hundreds of sheets of thin paper were     3     (delicate) placed on a long strip of paper. They can then roll back into a hand scroll or open up to show a moving picture. The myriad (无数的) sheets of paper tilt up (翘起) and even the     4     (slight) movement of air can make them dance. It was thought that each page seemed like     5     scale, hence the description.

In ancient times, the dragon-scale binding technique was favored by well-off families and     6     (royal) , because it could shorten a book's length and make for efficient reading and indexing. Every sheet of paper needs to be in     7     (it) right place. Any misstep, as little as a millimeter, could produce an eyesore when the whole thing is displayed. However, the complex and time-consuming process     8     (require) by the distinctive bookbinding style has pushed it to the verge of extinction. Today, the only existing ancient book using dragon-scale binding     9     (preserve) in the Palace Museum in Beijing. And the only inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage has been trying to save the art     10     fading away.