Art is influenced by the customs and faith of a people. Styles in Western art     1    (change) for many years. During the Middle Ages, the main aim of painters was     2    (represent) religious themes. During the Renaissance, new ideas and values gradually replaced those     3     (hold) in the Middle Ages. People began to concentrate less on religious themes and adopt a more humanistic attitude     4     life. One of the most important     5    (discovery) during this period was how to draw things in perspective. If the rules of perspective had not been discovered, no one would have been able to paint such realistic pictures. In     6     late 19th century, Europe changed     7    (quick), from a mostly agricultural society to a mostly industrial one. Naturally, these changes also led to new painting styles. Among the painters     8     broke away from the traditional style of painting were the Impressionists. The Impressionists were the first painters to work outdoors. In a sense, without the Impressionists, many of modern art styles might not exist. On the one hand, some modern art is abstract; on the other hand, some paintings of modern art     9    (be) so realistic that they look like photographs. These styles are so     10    (difference) that no one can predict what painting styles will come into being in the future.

Between 139 and 126 BC, Zhang Qian traveled to Central Asia as a diplomat（外交家）for the Han emperor. As a result of his efforts, Chang'an became the starting place of the Silk Road, a network of trading routes that went all the way to the Roman Empire. People who traveled on the Silk Road     1    (carry) more than just silk. Merchants also used the Silk Road     2     (bring) tea, spices, and Chinese inventions such as paper to Europe.     3    return, Chinese received fruits and vegetables, some of     4     were unknown in Asia before then, along with glass products and carpets.

    5    , in many ways, Chang'an was the most powerful during the Tang Dynasty(618-907). During that time,     6    had as many as one million people, and was in fact the     7    (large) city in the world.

Meanwhile, Chang'an was also the center of Asia.     8    (near) everything produced in the world could    9    (find) on the streets of Chang'an. A large percentage of the population: merchants, students, artists, and diplomats, came from other     10     (country), and the city served as the model for the design of the ancient capitals of Korea and Japan.